I Found My First D&D Characters… And They’re a Mess
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I’ve been studying ’80s films recently, and they have flooded my mind with nostalgia. It was a strange time of confused optimism and pessimism.
I thought that when I grew up, I would live in an underwater city and work in outer space. Yet, the specter of nuclear war loomed, so I believed there was a real possibility I would have to be one of those kids from Red Dawn, and Mad Max was an ever-present vision of the future.
In many ways, it was a simpler time when every girl next door looked like Catherine Mary Stewart and complex geopolitics could be solved with a well-timed roundhouse kick.
These reminiscences also recall a vast array of role-playing game memories, ranging from silly fun to profound, life-defining moments I hope I never forget. However, they are not untinged with sorrow: three of my longest and most dedicated RPG friends (Shawn, Ray, and Shane) have passed on to other realms.
Amidst all these thoughts, I was drawn back to my first D&D characters. Dungeons & Dragons was a large part of the ’80s. Its wild popularity and the moral backlash it provoked helped define the era.
But I am losing myself in times long gone. Some years ago, I found many of my first characters. These character sheets represent my first steps into the hobby that made me dream of being a writer, a filmmaker, and now, at long last, has become my livelihood.
The image above is The Skull, the first D&D character I ever made. If you’d like to see fourteen more, including a human thief who was nine feet eleven inches tall, visit the original post where I reflected on finding my old D&D character sheets.
You will see what a lousy cheater I was, but I will tell you this: these characters opened my eyes to what RPGs could truly be.
Until next week, fellow adventurers.
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Warning: Star Trek Rant Incoming
This quote from the article confounds me:
“One of my aspirations would be that the series could do for Star Trek what Andor did for Star Wars,” Sussman added. “It’s a show where you can tell adult stories about adults and tell them in a very grounded, realistic way.”
Star Trek has always been aimed at adults. While it enjoyed a large following with children—at least in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s—it was always an adult show.
I don’t see how making a show about family drama and the foundation of the Federation will make the series more adult or grounded (whatever that means).
The foundation of the Federation or family dynamics would be inside baseball, wouldn’t it? The beating heart of Star Trek was always exploration. Where is the exploration?
The Last Starfighter (1984)
I’m researching The Last Starfighter for an upcoming presentation, so here are a couple of interesting videos.
Extras: