Were the first rules really published in 1974?
The highlight of my gaming life was to part of the first Oxford vs Cambridge D&D tournament. We even won. I think this was more due to stronger livers and coping better with sleep deprivation than to core RPG skills, but a win’s a win.
According to an interview with Gygax’s co-creator, it was.
BTW, I love that 5d6 bit. Any save baonuses with that?
I meant to say I heard the interview this morning on NPR’s Morning Edition.
So few women know the joys of being a geek chick…of sitting in the basement with a bunch of geeky, usally socially inept, high school boys–and being the only girl (and, as one slightly shocked GenCon-er put it, “woah, a hot chick!”…I wouldn’t go that far, but I would say I definitely didn’t look the part of the stereotypical gamer-chick). Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, girls like me could get away w/a bit more with a decent charisma score on their character sheet…just think creative & hormones.
I think I even won a GenCon tournament of some obscure new game (can’t remember the title, although I have the rulebook lying around somewhere) by hvaing my highly-charismatic female character seduce a female body guard during a raid (and steal her shirt) so the others of my team could get into some secured building. Unfortunately, in keeping with GenCon participant statistics, the t-shirt that I won was an XXXXL. So it goes.
Sigh…those were the days.
Amen to that. 
A female thief character masquerading as a … lady of the evening … can clean out an entire party before they even start their quest.
Happy Birthday to D&D, may your hit points never fade. 
I started young as a geek chick. I was playing D&D - before it was AD&D! - back in grade school with male geek friends of mine, plus my 3-years-younger sister.
HP may be fading due to advancing age and the inevetable -1 to Str and Con, Int and Wis are soon going to be getting a +1 due to life experience.
You know, it says something about my geekiness that I saw the subject line and said “No way, the median of a 5d6 rule peaks at only 17 or so. You’d need a 9 or 10d6 to get the proper average…”
Ah, D&D. I still remember the joy when I found that hardcover of Fiend Folio and could now get the stats for Drow. Unfortunately, I also got the stats for Flumphs and Flail Snails with it…
Yes, I think the venerable old game may be starting to push it’s life expectancy a bit - but no worries, I’m sure WotC has a few more potions of longevity hidden away.
I’ve been playing this game for slightly over 14 years now - more than half my life. It, and roleplaying in general, are probably my favorite hobby.
Memories…lesse…
Well, the first would have to be my aunt giving my six-year-old self my first copy of the rulebooks. She didn’t know what it was – she just knew I loved games. I flipped through it, but it was a little bit beyond me, so it sat on a bookshelf until I was about eight. By that time I grasped it, but couldn’t find anyone else to play with. I didn’t have a serious campaign until I was about 11 or 12.
There’s “Uncle” Jeff joining the army and selling me three milk crates full of rulebooks, modules and figurines for 20 bucks. :eek:
And, of course, there’s the +47 Halberd Of Destruction. 
Happy Birthday to the greatest game ever. curious_kell I’m with you as being one of the few females (to this day!) in my circle who are really into it. Keep your nailpolish and coiffs, I want a shiny new sword.
My brother and I first started playing D&D when it was still in the red box. You had to color in the numbers on the dice with crayons. You guys remember that, I’m sure. Been playing on and off ever since, and of course have discovered the joys of other games as well, along the way.
I’ll never forget my brother’s character going down a hallway that led nowhere. He asked what was at the end of the hall. Being ever so clever, I said, “Oblivion!” His response was, “I’ll kill the Blibian!” Classic.
Ahh…the good ol’ days! D&D for 12 hours straight. I was, am, such a RP geek! Best memory tho was after 6 hours of a grueling dungeon and being only one of two survivours. My best friend BS me as we left the dungeon, because he always wanted to be the only survivor! I still laugh my ass off when I think about it.
We had been lost for weeks. A storm had pushed us off course, and when it cleared up, we were adrift and without compass or lodestone. Our stores of food had spoilt, our drinking water was gone. Our situation was most dire.
But lo, there on the horizon was an island. Surely the gods were smiling on us. We made for land.
The inhabitants of that tiny land were strange to us. All of them had some long ago injury, making them lame or infirm. Some were blinded, some were missing limbs, some were burnt in horrible ways. They looked at our whole bodies like we were the odd ones. And this is how we felt – like we were cripples in a land of healthy and whole peoples.
We then met their leader, Eldrard. Some horrible event had claimed both of his arms. “We are the Scarred”, he said in a gruff and loathesome voice. “You are not of the Scarred. You must leave.” The problem was, our ship had been damaged, and needed at least 3 days of repair. “You must leave us. We are the Scarred.” Eldrard was growing imaptient.
While we were explaining our predicament, Eldrard ordered the attack. We were beset on all sides by scarred and injured warriors. We fought bravely sustaining only minor injuries. At last we appeared to be victorious. I drew my dagger and plunged it into Eldrard’s skull, full up to the hilt. But this did not kill him. He simply laughed, as if to say “Fools, you cannot kill me!” He reached up, pulled the dagger out, and walked away.
He did what?
sigh He pulls the dagger out and walks away.
Um, Mark? How does he pull the dagger out?
With his hand. Don’t be an idiot.
Sorry. I’m just trying to understand. Does he pull the dagger out with his left hand or with his right hand?
heavy sigh It’s very simple. He uses his… er… um… He leaves the dagger in and walks away.
D&D is 30 years old? Hmm, just a few more years and it’ll finally be ready to move out of its parents’ basement.
I’m only kidding! Ouch! Stop throwing dice at me!
Ah yes, the Fiend Folio . . . some pretty goofy monsters in there to be sure, though I remember thinking the various types of Slaad were pretty cool. BTW, here’s a helpful hint: if you run into the very rare Tuna Slaad, just get it into the direct sunlight. It’ll turn pretty quick.
Thanks, I’m here all week.
Hey, who remembers Finieous Fingers?
Thanks D&D! Without you I would have never learned the following:
Happy birthday.
tdn reminded me off an oft-repeated scene 'round the old gaming table.
You enter the tavern. It’s dark in here, but then, it’s dark outside, too. A few dim lamps hung low over the table provide meagre illumination. At the bar, a trio of seedy-looking elves are sitting with hunched shoulders, leaning towards each other as if conspiring. A barbarian with filthy, matted hair sits slumped over a table, snoring loudly into a congealing puddle of ale. In the corner, a jukebox plays quietly…
A what plays quietly?
A juk… BAND! A BAND plays quietly in the corner.
Errr…music is eminating from an enchanted box in the corner. Yes, an enchanted box, marked with runes spelling out “Wurlitzer”.
There was also the GM who was running us on a post-apocalyptic (non-D&D) game, where we took control of a town with several oil mines.
“What sort of mines?”
“Oil mines.”
“What sort of mines?”
“Oil mines!”
“What sort of mines?”
“OIL… oh!”
He now teaches highschool.