From Dinosaurs To Dungeons

  It all started with my drawing of a dinosaur in Mrs. Kline's third grade class.  I was a huge dinosaur freak when I was little, with several books on the subject, and of course the plastic miniatures.  If it ended in -saurus, I was all over it.  Turns out I wasn't the only dino-head in class, as the kid next to me, David Antolovich, was just as much a geek-o-saurus as I was.  We became friends, a friendship that would last throughout school.

I had this very set when I was a kid.  The good old days!

  During summer break in1981, David invited me over to try a new game he had.  I was thinking another new Intellivision game was what he was referring to, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  David had the new Basic D&D set, and wanted to try it out.  Since it was his game, he was the DM.  The set came with B2:The Keep on the Borderlands, so that is what David used as our first adventure.

  I don't remember what character i ran, being almost thirty years ago, but I do remember the final encounter of the adventure.  After entering another of the seemingly endless rooms in the Caves of Chaos, my party came across a witch, complete with pointy hat, feline familiar, boiling cauldron,etc.  To say she was displeased with our arrival was an understatement, this bitch was pissed!  After tossing a few ultimately ineffective spells our way, she decided to beat a hasty retreat.  David proudly stated she was doing a summoning spell, smoke belched forth from the cauldron, electricity sparked through the air, and when the cloud cleared the result was... <roll of the dice>...

  A gnome?! (You could just hear the disappointment in David's voice.  The dice had betrayed him!)

  David declared that the roll was null and void (except in the state of Vermont, 10cent refund in CA), and rolled again.  This time the dice rewarded him with a goblin, a much better choice in David's opinion.  The poor little goblin did his best cover his mistresses retreat, and she did manage to get away.  We chased after her, but by then it was time for me to return home, and we never did finish that particular adventure.

  It was the start of a lifelong hobby, and we gamed all through school, usually with David as the DM.  While the group didn't last past high school as we all went our separate ways, I sure do miss those sessions.  We were so into the game that we never bothered to get into Nintendo.  While everyone else was trying to rescue the princess, we were rescuing the world from evil, sometimes even the whole universe.  Beat that Mario!

  I'm going to have to introduce my new players to the wonders and mystery of the Keep on the Borderlands. It's somewhere I think everyone should adventure in at least once!

  PS- There is no witch in B2 :The Keep on the Borderlands, I've checked.  David added her, and probably a whole lot more I don't recall.  Thanks for going the extra mile David!