Posts Tagged D&D

We just wrapped up the “dungeon” layer of the moat house. In going through the dungeon I had felt that the combat was cramped, and just too “close quarters”. It wasn’t until after the last fight, and reading the last room description that I figured out why.

The last room they searched was an offshoot of a larger room, which was used to store supplies. The room was 2 x 4 squares on the map. Coming from a 2e AD&D background (and subsequently 3e and 4e), I mapped this room out with 5′ squares as 10′ x 20′. Much to my surprise the room description listed it as a 20′ x 40′ room. I reviewed the map again, and skimmed through the entire description in the module. At no place did it ever give a scale.

The overland maps each have a scale. The map of Hommlet is 30′ squares, and the map of Nulb is 20′ squares, and the map of the Temple exterior goes back to 30′ squares. I found a scale note in the page corner of the map that detailed the Church of St. Cuthbert in Hommlet, and it says “Scale: 1 square equals 10 feet”.

I never would have guessed that the scale note on the one map would apply to all interior maps. And maybe the 1e AD&D standard is 10′ squares, and I just didn’t realize. At least I’ve gotten this figured out for the rest of the grand trek, and combat will be all the better since everyone will have more room to maneuver and plan tactics. I know the thief and ranged fighters will certainly appreciate it…

In my last post, I started talking about this blog post by Arcane Springboard at This is My Game. My initial thoughts and memories about the Red Box and my first experiences with D&D spiraled on for several pages, and I never got past the 6th grade.  I thought I’d go ahead and finish out my thoughts on D&D and how it impacted my friendships.

My longest lasting friendship was not forged over D&D, but it has been strengthened. Royce Roemisch has been my best friend since 7th grade.  I clearly remember forging that friendship talking about King’s Quest II, as we walked back from a local class field trip.

That common interest of computer games sparked a lifelong friendship.  We quickly delved into Computer RPGs such as Ultima and Bard’s Tale.  I’m not sure why we never tried D&D in Jr. High or High School.  It was probably because we didn’t know anyone else who played.  I really wish we had.

Fast forward to college (Louisiana Tech) and first close friendship (and first real roommate, Patrick Jacobs) was forged over arcade games and PC games.  In our sophomore year, we started going to the Wesley Foundation and met Jeff Bolger.  He was an avid AD&D player and was currently DM’ing a game.  We joined and were hooked.  Jeff introduced us to Richard Markley, and we played in his games for years after that.

(more…)

About a month ago, I read this blog post by Arcane Springboard at This is My Game about how the original D&D Red Box was the catalyst to some of his longest lasting and most meaningful friendships.  His post caused me to look back at my first Red Box experience, and the impact D&D has had (and continues to have) on my friendships.  Looking back I found a common thread running through my life.

D&D, Computer RPGs (and other computer games) have either been a catalyst in creating friendships or something that cemented existing friendships for a lifetime.  D&D wasn’t the catalyst or sealant on my earliest friendships in grade school (that didn’t come until college), but I do remember my first exposure to the Red Box

I was in 4th grade.  A friend and I were staying the weekend with our “surrogate grandparents”, and he brought the Red Box.  I remember opening it up and looking at the maps and reading the books about elves, dwarves and monsters.  I’m not sure we actually “played” the game.  I think we just went through and drew the dungeon on graph paper.

Even without understanding what we were doing, I was enthralled with what I was reading and seeing.  I remember seeing the Red Box and other AD&D books and modules in bookstores after that.  I remember being in awe of the art on the covers, and spending countless hours perusing the racks of modules and shelves of books. (Remember when stores like Walden Books had a large D&D section?)

(more…)