I've told the tale of my first couple of gaming sessions on a few messageboards over the years. I feel the urge to tell the tale of woe again.
I came into RPGs at the age of 11 through the misrepresentation of a friend. He told me of an incredible game called Dungeons & Dragons where I could play various fantastic adventures straight out of The Hobbit. The catch was I wasn't interested in playing the Hobbit. I had enjoyed the Rankin/Bass cartoon years earlier, but I had no desire to play a game like it. I much prefered the idea of playing something like Star Wars with dogfighting starfighters and lightsaber wielding jedi. No problem, my friend told me, Dungeons & Dragons could do that easily.
Eventually, I saw the game in Sears (yes, Sears sold RPGs) and convinced my mom to buy it for me. I remember being hopelessly confused with the Keep on the Borderlands map. If this game didn't need a board, why did it include one and mention metal miniatures? Yeah, I was stupid, but I eventually groked it.
Ironically, or perhaps predictably, the friend who turned me on to the game never wanted to play it with me. Nor did I ever see how I could easily play Star Wars with it. Regardless, I managed to get into the idea of the game, and made several characters in my spare time. I soon found myself at a private school, and I met some other kids who played. I asked if I could use my newly created fighter to join in.
They laughed at the idea I was playing "Basic" D&D. It seemed ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS was the true way to play for the mature 12 year old. Despite my apparrent total-loserdom, they deigned to allow me to play my "pussy basic character."
The other player was playing a magic user he had just rolled up. The DM instructed me I had just arrived in the village looking for adventuring work and my best bet was to go into the bar and see if any other adventurers were around. So, I did this and met the mage. He agreed to adventure with me only if I could pass a test of strength. I figured my guy was confident and wouldn't flinch from showing his prime requisite off to the mage. So, we went outside and the mage summoned his "familiar."
The "familiar" turned out to be a 100 foot "Adamantite Golem." I was to fight it to the death. It won initiative and stepped on my fighter. The damage was over 5 or 6 times my guy's hit points, so that was that. The DM and the other player laughed a bit, and then the bell rang for end of lunch period. Thus ended my first foray into the world of Dungeons & Dragons.
Sometimes I wonder if my love of mecha games comes from that experience. Better to be the squisher than the squishee.
A whole grade passed before I was able to play again, and then I discovered there was a group which played during lunch at my new school. I asked if I could join and was accepted. I made an elf character and was excited to play.
Once again, I was belittled because I only had "Expert" D&D (I had upgraded in the past year) and not ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. The other players informed me that if I misunderstood anything, they weren't going to hand hold me, and I'd be out of the group. I felt confident I'd be OK, and just wanted to play.
My elf met the other characters in the bar, which was an occurrence I was learning was standard in these games. They were planning an expedition to some cave or other to kill goblins or kobolds or something. Cool! I was finally going to see what an adventure was like.
All our characters walked out of the bar and then one player said, "I strike to subdue." I didn't know what was going on, and the other players started giggling. The strike was a hit, and the DM told the player to roll damage. I was informed my elf was dazed and incapable of action as the other PCs drug him into the alleyway next to the bar.
Once in the alleyway, the players stripped my character of his equipment, money, and clothes. They described in detail how they defecated on him and mutilated his genitalia with various sharp implements. During all this, it was apparrent they felt this was the greatest form of entertainment ever, and emphasized it all with some personal mockery to boot. I was in tears, and fled the table crying, which was a further source of amusement to them.
I don't know why I stuck with the game. Maybe it was because I was a little introverted geek with few friends and little to do with my free time. It was a while before I tried again, but I eventually did. It was mostly uphill from that point onward.
