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Culdraug
March 16th, 2007, 20:12
I was reading through old threads and noticed a few people who apperently served or are serving in the US military. Since I myself served (USAF, 1982-2002), it brought back memories of my first gaming days sitting in a barracks because I couldnt afford to do much else. I thought it would be interesting to hear peoples stories of how they got started roleplaying.

For me, it all started one day when strolling the halls of the barracks, I passed by a common room where a bunch of ummmm strange people were all hundled around a table with a bunch of books and dice laid out. Curious kid I was at the time I just had to see closer. The DM was carrrieing on about some fountain and no one could seem to figure out what to do with it. So i said to grab a glass and take a drink. They all looked at me like I had lost my mind. "No!" it could turn you into a female one guy said. Huh? The DM asked me if I wanted to join in and handed me a premade fighter. Someone handed me some dice and said "here roles these when we tell you". After several killings of orcs and goblins I was hooked.

tdwyer11b
March 16th, 2007, 20:52
Started my gaming career while I was in junior high, but managed to keep gaming through high school and the Army. I then moved back home for a while where I was able to play with the people from the old days. Then I moved to Colorado and hadn't played for a few years. Then I picked up FG and I'm actually gaming with my old roomie from Ft. Carson.

Yenooc
March 16th, 2007, 22:29
I played wargames--military simulations--in the late 60's, before enlisting, but I didn't play my first DnD until I was in the Army. I played in the late 70's and early-to-mid 80's, then took a long hiatus until I found FG last year.

richvalle
March 17th, 2007, 03:24
Started in High School but on a Nato Base (SHAPE Belgium). After playing games (Dnd, Busido, Boot Hill) with HS friends I hooked up with some guys in the Army that played. My Mom wasn't too thrilled about that but after meeting them said it was ok.

Played Dnd, Rune Quest and Space Opra with that group as well as Board War games (Squad Leader, Third Reich, Terrible Swift Sword...).

We even took a cruise from England to Sweden that had a small game Con on it. Quite fun.

So, started in... 1980 or so and been playing off and on since then. More on then off now that we use FG!

rv

mr_h
March 18th, 2007, 01:39
Started in elementary school when a friend showed us basic D&D. Back then we didn't understand the rules right...figured if you got an 11 or higher, you hit the enemy. 20 killed them. Then we learned about Star Frontiers....then Top Secret SI, Shadowrun, TMNT, TFOS, etc etc etc....and it went downhill from there:)

Never served (tried to join the coast guard, ruled out due to heart condition).

Elf
March 18th, 2007, 19:27
Started in Junior High when I saw a bunch of guys rolling dice in a corner of the lunch room. I asked a few questions when I overheard them fighting a green slime. That summer I managed to get my hands on the original white boxed set and the rest is history as they say. I have never served in the military although my father was the civilian equivalent of someone in the service (ie they get moved around a lot); a civil engineer.

Smagaard Fowlbreath
March 24th, 2007, 05:48
Kudos to the thread here Culdraug! I just kinda wandered in here & then kept reading. For some reason it's very interesting listening to how ppl got started playing :) . I started around 8 years old with some friends and we never looked back. I served in the army (90-95) and really missed playing 1/2 way through. I was in Korea (Pan Mun Jom)at the time and happened upon a hobby store out of the blue! So I bought the books again & showed some pure noobs what it was all about. Before we knew it we had 11 guys around the table. It was hard to manage but a lot of fun. I did the same thing when I moved to Colorado. Now I'm back in my home state of Michigan, I'm hoping that FG allows me to get the group back together, as well as meeting/joining some cool groups. :D

Yenooc
March 24th, 2007, 17:39
. . . I was in Korea (Pan Mun Jom)at the time . . .

Not to hijack this thread :D (just a short diversion), but were you assigned to the JSA, Sir Fowlbreath? If so, Greetings! I was there '75-'76--left the month before the Ax Incident, and it was my platoon that was in the JSA at the time.

"In Front of Them All"

Celban
April 4th, 2007, 19:26
I was in the US Navy in 1975-1981 and was involved in the CIC (Combat Information Center) on a destroyer

I was fortunate enough to have had first hand experience in watching the brains of a warship in action. Plotting courses, tactical information coming in from many sensors, command decisions being made about what weapon to fire and when. So much more and too lenghty to add it all in here

During mock engagements and wargame maneuvers, there were books of numbers and charts the officers used to calculate hit chance percentages that served in lieu of firing live rounds at friendly ships.

All in all it was basically a REAL wargame, and I found it engrossing and I loved being in CIC when things were active

Then I heard about these guys down in one of the crew recreation rooms playing this weird game. Well, being somewhat weird myself, I decided to drop by and see what it was all about.

They were playing the AD&D first ed. The first Gygax stuff. Well I was hooked, mainly because it wasnt too different than what I was experiencing in CIC.
Besides, one of the guys I saw regularly in CIC, played D&D in that group, so over the next several months, when things were dead in CIC, we would talk for hours about game

Thats how I got started

kimba
April 10th, 2007, 01:42
I was in 7th grade. my friend Chuck brought in his books after school and showed my Social Studies teacher and I how to play. We were doing a chapter on greek and roman mythologies. I was a Cleric and she (yes she) was a theif. Chuck would tel us what die to roll and when, then what the results were. I still remember vividly that first encounter (1981). Since then I have owned all the original books, most of second edition , and now allot of 3rd edition. I have been a player, a DM and have at one time been paid to DM a tournament. Notice I said "DM" not "GM". SO Chuck, Mrs. Pettijohn? you guys out there? still playing?

anyway - been hooked ever since.

VenomousFiligree
April 10th, 2007, 02:16
Currently serving on submarines, been RPGing since school days, but would never dream of letting my shipmates know I'm a D&D geek!!! :D

richvalle
April 10th, 2007, 14:20
Currently serving on submarines, been RPGing since school days, but would never dream of letting my shipmates know I'm a D&D geek!!! :D

Hah... maybe they feel the same way! A bunch of gamers on a sub not letting each other know they game.

:)

rv

JMOxx75
April 15th, 2007, 17:30
I remember my older brother and his friends talking about orcs and such at the table. I was 11 at the time and since I did everything my brother did I sat down with them. My older brother was a big influence with me, I played every sport that he did and we were athletes or jocks if you will. Many think that the average role player is nerdy or geeky but I later discovered that isn’t the case at all.

Anyways back to the table. There were two soft back books in red with dragons on the cover. My brother had a piece of graph paper with a dungeon drawn on it. His friends were bashing down doors and rushing into the rooms to kill beasts and take their treasure. I thought it was cool and asked if I could play.

My brother being tired of DM’ing I supposed gave me a book with monsters told me to draw a dungeon and put monsters in each room for them to kill. Mum was the word when it came to how I determine which monsters to use which lead to a funny encounter in my first dungeon. It began with my brother’s Fighter kicking down a large door, bursting into the room sword drawn and screaming for any beast to try and best him. When I replied that he was answered by the booming voice of a large red dragon my brother’s first response was to close the door and run lol. Unfortunately brother you destroyed the door when you kicked it in was my reply.

So I learned right away that a DM and a monsters manual is be a dangerous combination. From that point on I played many different RPG’s and in basic training in Chicago for the Navy I invented a system that used a deck of cards so a friend of mine and I could play when we had nothing.

I served on a submarine, Los Angeles Class for a 4-year term and met many different role players and played different games. AD&D seemed to be the most popular.

After my first Navy Enlistment I left and joined the Army and found even more role players and yet again the new D&D 3.0 was the most common.

Now that I am older and have little time I am hoping that FG will be the next stage in my RPG experience.

Culdraug
April 16th, 2007, 17:35
When I replied that he was answered by the booming voice of a large red dragon my brother’s first response was to close the door and run lol. Unfortunately brother you destroyed the door when you kicked it in was my reply.

Geez, most little brothers just want to get you in trouble with mom! To funny!!


Now that I am older and have little time I am hoping that FG will be the next stage in my RPG experience.

I can empathize with that (too little time).