I have always liked the romanticized idea of the Middle Ages, with Kings and Knights, Swords and Armor, Castles and Dungeons, less focused on the poverty, disease and oppression. I would check out every book possible from the public and school libraries on everything even remotely touching these subjects. By age 10, I was would babble on about major medieval battles, castle design components, the codes of chivalry and progress of medieval technology driven by warfare. Once history became less interesting, fantasy popped onto my radar, leading me to my favorite book series, The Lord of the Rings, which I would read in it’s entirety once a year for the better portion of my formative years. (Which, oddly enough, would actually take about the same amount of time as watching the extended cuts of the movies back to back to back..) When in the Lake Harriet Public Library, I stumbled across a book labeled “Advanced Dungeons and Dragons”, or “AD&D” to those in the know. What it contained was a fairly concise set of rules that would allow anyone to simulate a fantasy world and adjudicate nearly any activities you’d think of taking therein. You want to rescue the princess? Fight a dragon? Collect mounds of gold? Become a famous hero? It’s no problem armed with an imagination, a vocabulary, some unique dice and a friend who’s willing to keep the world spinning for you.
Now, this was back in the early 80′s when it was widely thought that the mere notion of reading such a book would somehow confuse you so badly it could break down the walls separating imagination and reality, or teach you how to summon a demon using ordinary household ingredients. Simply watch the terrible Tom Hanks movie “Mazes and Monsters” to see this theory in horribly acted action. Granted, just about every pop culture or technological phenomenon has to run the same gauntlet of misunderstanding and ostracism (Books, Movies, Music, Video Games, The Internet) but this one was something special for me.
These books did more to encourage my creativity than any art classes I’ve ever taken. It made me invent new worlds, the personalities of the inhabitants within it, the motivations of the monsters and the amazing treasures that could be uncovered for those willing to look. I would draw out intricate maps of these worlds/cities/dungeons, create long narratives that I would run for my friends and when all else fails, come up with my own set of rules I thought would make the game more engaging. This was less of a shaping of my personality as what I feel was the fullest expression of what I was truly interested in at that time. Over the years, the controversy surrounding D&D has faded into the pantheon of “things that will destroy our children” that didn’t quite live up to the hype. But my interest has always been there. I’ve been lucky enough to play in a great campaign run by a friend for the past 3 years (Thanks Paul!) and have finally decided to dip my toes back into the water of being a Dungeon Master (DM).
Thus, the world of Edarion and the Heroes of Blackfield were born. Granted, the players aren’t quite heroes yet, having only recently been conscripted into their required military service in the defense of the Coal Mining town of Blackfield. Although they endured their grueling training, bested their fellow trainees in the arena, graduated with honors, and survived contact with their first skirmish with the denizens of the world. They’re well on their way to becoming the titular Heroes that they’ve always aspired to be.
Thanks again to D&D to inspire me to dust off my sketchpad, upgrade my scanner and start thinking about the history of an entirely new world. It might not be high-fiction, but I’m having a blast and am remembering why I put such a large effort into being a DM for my friends back in Middle School and College.
