Geek Confession/Preface: I have played D & D (Dungeons and Dragons) practically since its inception (I think since 1980 or 1981). I still have the original dice that came in the basic addition box set and a copy of “The Keep on the Borderland”. I have a group of friends that I still play with at least once a year (It used to be almost every weekend). We have been playing together since Thanksgiving Day 1986, and still make sure we get together at least then.
Flash to Yesterday: As it is getting close to Thanksgiving, we have started planning for the annual game. Everyone wants to play with the Third Edition rules (we usually play 1st edition — Second was slow and overly complex). We played one game with the new rules, and they seem to be some nice changes. It is somewhat of a cross between the original rules and Warhammer. Most of the BS of second edition seems to have been removed.
I have been elected to run the game this year (be the Dungeon Master a.k.a DM). Whenever no one is prepared to run a game, I am tasked with being DM, because I can usually throw together a pretty good campaign on the fly. Sometimes the preparation is done on the car ride over to the Sanz-Agero house. This year several people asked me to do it, because Villmish refused (he has been the DM for a number of our games, together we have run probably half of the games over the last 16 years.)
I figured I would do something completely different this year, be prepared to run the game. Yesterday I started reading up on the third edition rules and realized that there is no way I can both learn the new rules and build a dungeon in under 3 weeks (editors note: since I first started playing the game, the terms adventure, campaign, and dungeon have been used interchangeably. Its essentially the story and maps behind the game you are playing.). Not willing to give up that easily, I called Villmish. Villmish is the Regional Manager for all of the Fantasy Shop Comic and Games stores. I figure I can go to one of his shops and buy a dungeon to run. We talk for a while and he tells me that he hasn’t played any of the pre-made dungeons, so whatever I buy should be fine. He also tells me that there is a store in Ofallon, right down the street from my house.
Cool. I pack up the three kids, we hop in the van and head to the Fantasy Shop. I walk in the store and the guy behind the counter is your typical comic book store attendant - Geek with a Pony Tail, probably 18 to 22.
store guy: Can I help you find anything?
Me (standing with three kids in front of the D & D section):Yeah, I need to find a first level dungeon.
Long Pause
store guy (with puzzled look on his face and a condescending voice): You mean an adventure?
Me (a little ticked off, and short with the guy): Yes, an adventure.(thinking: I’ve been playing this game since before you were born, you little...)
storeguy (very condescending):Well do you know what world you are planning to use
me (thinking I’ve never worried about playing an existing world in my life — If we do a canned dungeon, we tweak it anyway.): No, it doesn’t matter.
store guy (still in a snotty voice): Well this one is kind of cool. Oh but it has guns and stuff.
me (thinking if I wanted guns, I would be playing a different game, not D&D): No, standard swords and sorcery.
store guy(at a loss): Umm, any of these are probably good. The levels are on the back.
me(giving up on getting any information out of this guy): Ok guys pick one out (I always trust my kids opinions).
They picked one out, I bought them each a die (have to buy them something when I am buying something for me). Justin points to a crystal 20 sided die.
Me: Oh that’s an unusual die,
storeguy (condescending yet again): THAT, is a crystal die.
me (thinking who the hell cares): Ok, he’ll take a blue one.
I must be getting old — If a fellow D & D geek can get me riled…
Original CommentsSubmitted by Dan at 11/4/2002 3:14:04 PM
Tell Villmish about his snotty, condescending ponytail
guy. He’ll fire him. Actually, he’d probably have to
cut the whole staff loose if all you can tell him is
that the guy had a ponytail.1st level. Got it. You sure you don’t want to jump
to 3rd or 5th? sigh. I wish we got to play more.
Villmish, you, me, Reeb and Mike. A four player
game’s not bad. Five or six would be better. A
bi-monthly game? Definitely a vacuum in my life.
Submitted by jim at 11/7/2002 4:43:35 PM
Funny.
Egg: HD:0+1,HP:1, SA:Disease, SQ:Shell
I don’t know that the guy meant to be an ass, but I was under enough stress taking 3 kids in there in the cold and rain, that I definitely wasn’t in the mood for him. It had Simpson’s written all over it.So if the dungeon sucks (there, I continue to say dungeon rather that “Adventure”), you can blame it on my kids. I put 4 first level dungeons in front of them and the unanimously chose the one we’ll be using.