Thursday, September 16, 2004

Hold on to the Ancient Dreams

It's Thursday again but no game. Real lives and gaming don't mix very well some weeks, we'll you've all seen Mazes and Monsters so I’m preaching to the choir. I figure I will tell you a story, tell you a legend, tell you of days of yore. Back in the days of stirruped stretch pants and 8 bit video games I was a D&D playing dork, little changes with age. Saturday nights between Headbangers Ball and late night Taco Bravo runs we gamed. I know you are probably expecting a room full of scrawny gimps that would be turned away at a blood bank for not hitting the 110 pound requirement, not the case. This was the late 80's Iron Maiden had made swords kewl and all the rockers were gaming.

Our DM was an enigma. I've never know anyone like him, yet everyone who games knows someone just like him! We are all perplexed maybe he just really gets around. Anyway Brian was the little guy with glasses and a denim jacket covered in metal band patches. I aint talking Cinderella or Trixter either; we are talking Venom, Exodus, Coroner! This guy had more D&D crap than you have seen; think you had more Bzzzt WRONG JACK! This guy had seven feet stacked up in one corner. Judges guild, All the Worlds Monsters 1-3, Alexander Van Thorne he had it all. First / Second edition he didn't care.

That was how we played first edition monks next to 2nd. ed rangers and some crazy terramancers he photo copied off some dude at Pacificon. It was insane and my friends made it worse, half of them were burnt during the game. One guy either way didn’t make much difference, you said the title of any heavy metal song though, and he would tell you the name of the record. Just randomly "We must stome the conjuering of the demon queen." "Hey The Conjuering thats a Megadeth song!" Once we had over fifteen people playing, it took four and a half hours for us to go round the table three times and kill a dragon. Half the time we would walk down to the Bon Faire on Capitol and waste another hour there. I guess I understand the looks the clerks would give us back then. A bunch of skuzzy looking kids wandering through the store showing up all at once.

I would catch a ride back home in the back of my friend’s truck which wasn’t too fun in the middle of the night around December. At least he usually had a blanket. My parents were usually waiting up and pissed off at me when I got home. My Mom had called the hospitals, blah blah. I would be in trouble a while, usually ok by the next weekend. I think Adam Curry comes on at nine and Testament is with him this week.

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