In school I wasn’t one of the cool kids. As much as I tried to spread the word that Marc the Shark was the best nickname for me, it was Marcus Carcass that stuck.
The coolest kid in middle school was Mike Mills. He always won class president. He was very popular. And of course it didn’t hurt that he would bring a big bag of M&Ms to school and hand them out on election day. “Vote M&M!” Smart kid!
So when I overheard him talking about the Basic D&D boxed set he got for his birthday in 5th grade, I couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t excited. The smartest, coolest kid in the whole world didn’t understand the amazing gift his uncle gave him?
The popular group that usually surrounded him were probably shocked when I uncharacteristically spoke up to explain the treasure he had.
“You want it? Got 5 bucks?” was his reply.
I didn’t. But told him I did and I would bring it to school tomorrow.
That night when my mom got home from work I explained how this box of strange books and even stranger dice was going to change my entire life! I jumped around our little one bedroom apartment theatrically trying to get her to understand how new and wonderful this game was. “It’s like nothing else ever. It’s almost not a game, mom, its like a way to live out stories where you are a hero!”
I helped her count out quarters from her tip money. And the next day I had a boxed set. The friends to play it with would still be years away.
But when I did get friends it was the thing we most bonded over. It was almost a secret society back then. We had our own language. We would get together at the back of the library or even sneak some dice into a boring class. Even if we weren’t comfortable with small talk or keeping conversations going with strangers, if we shared this hobby we always had something to talk about. We always had our own epic stories to share. You could be totally different people: weird or cool, shy or gregarious. It didn’t matter who you were, if you had this in common you had an instant connection. It really had changed my life.
I’ve played most of the versions of D&D, along with various other TTRPGs at some point. I’ve set the dice down for long stretches a few times as I went through different phases of my life, but never for good. I’ve taught my sons how to play and will probably teach my daughter soon.
Just last night, after having a month off, I played in the campaign that my friend of 30+ years has been DMing. Our games have a different focus now that we are older. Our characters are more nuanced, with conflicted motives and evolving personalities. But here I am still just wanting to play a hero with a few friends.
I’d love to hear stories about how you all stumbled upon RPGs or how they affected your life, if you want to share in the comments or if you prefer to privately email me: marcus@deckanddicegames.com.