Everyone has a starting point. Here was mine!

Years ago, when I first started playing Dungeons and Dragons out of my beginner kit, I made some pretty interesting game choices.

I was just learning, figuring out how to play, and I wanted it to be enjoyable for my friends who I convinced to play with me.
I only had what was provided in the beginner kit, which I believe only had:

• 48-page adventure booklet with everything you need to get started
• 32-page rulebook for playing characters of levels 1–3
• 5 ready-to-play characters, each with a character sheet
• 6 polyhedral game dice

So, no miniatures, only one set of dice, no maps or grids, and some guidance in a rulebook and adventure booklet.

I do not remember the adventure itself, but I had my friends Mitch and James there with me.

I was following the adventure, and my friends encountered their first obstacle in their way. It was a locked iron door. I am sure you can think of several ways to get through this setback. Investigate the door, look for a key, look for lock picks, and look for any means of getting through that could be provided for you.

Not these players. As new players looking through their character sheets, they decide to try something a little different.

“We want to pray to our diety for help.”

I was a little confused, but thought to myself, man, the odds of them rolling high enough for any divine intervention is so low, this seems like a fine thing to let them try.

Nope. The Dice Gods had other plans for me.

James goes to roll the dice, and after hitting the table and rolling back and forth around the table we were playing on it finally stops with that beautiful white 20 staring up at us on the basic black dice.

What was I supposed to do??

I didn’t have anything in the way of miniatures, but my Dad had a Lord of the Rings chess set that we were using pieces from. I reach into the box of pieces and pull out the fellowship’s king, Gandolf.

I place him on the board and in my best deep gravelly voice say “You have called me here, now what?”.

James without skipping a beat, or thinking for even a moment. “C4, I need C4”.

My mind was racing, but with this being our first time, there was nothing there to try and change the situation or something to say back. So I did the next best thing.

“Of course! I keep some just here in my pocket. Here there”

I gave them a C4.

Both my friends laughed. It didn’t help that the “Here there” sounded like “Hurr durr”.

James picked up Gandolf and walked him around the table for a minute going “hurr durr durr durr durr” with both Mitch and myself laughing.

Once we were done laughing you would think they would turn and use it on the iron door and continue on.

Nope. Nope nope nope.

They then turn back to their diety and ask. “I want money”.

I didn’t know what to say. But what came out was “I am a God, I do not need money. Goodbye.”

We continued on, they blew up the door and the few creatures who were waiting to ambush them behind it.

We played the rest of the adventure, and throughout the entirety of it, would refer back to the Hurr Durr. It was a fun time and was a very fun starting point to my Game Master career.

Sometimes, when I let my mind wander as I plan, I fall back to that first day playing Dungeons and Dragons and Gandolf appearing as a deity to my players, walking around the room going Hurr durr durr durr.

I suppose what I want all new players to know, is to embrace their ignorance! Have fun! Dungeons and Dragons is a game for friends to sit down and have fun. Make silly memories and build strong relationships.

May the dice ever be in your favor!

-GM Braden