So as we sit on the day before we release our first episode, I have been enjoying looking back at where this all started. When I say that I don't just mean how this cast got started(which will be a story for another day) but how I got started into this hobby.
So when I was younger I found a copy of Deities and Demigods from AD&D kicking around my grandparents house. Not knowing about the game yet I found myself more entranced by the pictures (which I look back on now and find that they are pretty rudimentary) as well as stats for not only any D&D pantheon but also a ton of earth based pantheons as well.
While writing this I found a PDF of the book and noticed that finding that when I had to be maybe 7, this was also my first introduction to the Cthulhu mythos (something I am almost a bigger fan of than D&D itself) which is something I never connected. Losing this book is something that I regret still but I still look back on it as an informational moment in my life. A few years later, I found 2nd edition in a boarders or some other bookstore and picked it up. I sadly didn't have to many friends who were into this kind of things so I just kinda read them for fun. I found THAC0 and a bit other rules a bit above me so I never was able to play a game of second edition.
I found that my interest slightly dissipated, still loving to skim through these books but never really going past that. This changed drastically when I started my first year in highschool. I had know a few people through different means (Boy Scouts and other groups) and had become fast friends. These people offered me a spot at their gaming table, and this is where I truly got to play my first game of Vampire the Masquerade.
It kinda changed my life I was able to embody a character so much more than any video game up to that point had allowed. This game opened up the world of what table top rpg's could be, showed me what a collaborative story telling game could be like. Heck I even still have one of my first character sheets, bent and ripped as it is it's a treasure of mine.
That point on I just wanted to play more, and right around the corner was came a break through. 3rd edition had just been released and many at the same table had gotten books excited to play.
This was a main stay for a while even after moving away I was always able to find a couple of friends willing to sit around the table, and roll some dice. This was followed closely by 3.5 of which I had the most knowledge of in the end, playing for many years on and off and always looking to expand my collection. After that though I kinda fell out of the loop from what was coming out, I missed 4ed completely. Knowing that some people reading this will say I didn't miss anything and other will defend it I'm just going to state I have no experience with it so I really don't have many opinions on it though I think the minions system is interesting.
After many years of not really having anything but fleeting conversations about D&D and other games a friend was gifted a copy of Return to castle Ravenloft. This was a D&D boardgame based in the castle of the Monster Strahd von Zarovich which lit a spark in me. After many long nights of playing this game I proposed something to the group "Why don't we play actual D&D?". I got a go ahead from all of the group and started writing my first campaign, but I think I'll leave the rest of the story for another day.
I'm so excited for everyone to be able to hear our little tale and I hope you enjoy it. These blogs should be a regular thing so you will be hearing from me soon.
Hope you all have an amazing day,
-Chris Knittle (DM)
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