Peanuts In My Pocket

Way back in the 1970s, I started playing Dungeons & Dragons in high school. I remember those years fondly. They form some of my most treasured coming-of-age memories. I played well into the 1980s, both as a player and as a DM. The first computer program I ever wrote was a BASIC character generator for the Apple II. I was a bit of a nerd. I grew out of it. Not the nerd part, but the D&D part. Adult life, with all its demands, and eventually parenthood, took over, and the game faded into memory.

Both of my sons play now, and it’s become a big part of their lives. While talking with my son Michael, he offered to host a one-on-one game for me. I figured I’d stick a toe back into the water. It turned out to be a joyful learning experience and a whole lot of fun. I’m hooked. Why did I ever stop playing?

We held a planning session and I rolled up a character once again. This time I created a half-elf druid named Aedan Rowanfall. He likes birds and nature and isn’t much of a fighter. That’s a sharp departure from my usual paladin or ranger types from the past. I don’t think I’ve ever played a magic user before. It’s different, and surprisingly fun.

Aedan teamed up with a local, tank-like fighter and his pet wolf to investigate who’s been eating all the fish in the sleepy seaside town of Otari. I’m two sessions in and have somehow managed to stay alive through a few thrilling battles and challenges. I’m hooked in a way I never expected. I even spent four hours on my own writing Aedan’s backstory. I’m considering asking an artist friend to draw him.

Did I mention Obsidian? I’ve been logging the entire adventure there, along with my experiences, thoughts, and plans. It’s turned into its own personal knowledge base, a significant investment of time and energy, all in service of playing better and getting more out of the experience. Thank goodness I’m retired.

I plan to keep going. I’ll finish this game and then try to find a larger group to join. I’m sure someone out there can use a druid whose main skills include imitating bird calls and conjuring flowers. My healing spell is solid, which is good, because I seem to need it a lot. When the only thing you can do besides bonking someone with a shillelagh is provide limited healing support, you learn quickly that you should have bought more healing potions.

It turns out the curiosity I thought I’d outgrown was just waiting for the space to come back.