Starting Out with the Basics

The idea of teaching my son to play D&D is an exciting one. It's an opportunity for me to continue doing things with him now that my body is having a harder time with the stuff we did before. I still love the sports, but a fifty-year-old body doesn't handle back-catching or goaltending very well anymore. But the stuff we do with our brains? That is still good to go.

So, assuming that my wife finally gives in to the opportunity, I've decided to start him with the grand-daddy of them all, the D&D Basic Set. The Mentzer 1983 version, that is; it incorporates a great introduction to RPGs and their mechanics in a fun, choose-your-own-adventure style. It's perfect for kids of that age, even thirty-seven years later.

So, I found my dice and the Basic Set and grabbed my copy of B1, In Search of the Unknown as well. Together, these are going to provide an excellent foundation for a beginning role-player, and give him a springboard for his imagination to really fly.

So, in the spirit of preparing him for this grand adventure, I've got him reading some of the true classics of the adventure genre: Tarzan of the Apes and Call of the Wild. Sure, neither of them is fantasy per se in the mold of Tolkein or Howard, but they're great, imaginative stories that will give him an opportunity to visualize some exciting scenes and settings. He's already gotten a taste of Edgar Rice Burroughs after reading the first two Mars books (Princess of Mars and Gods of Mars). Now, he's reading about Burroughs' most famous creation. Get him off to a good start, that's the motto.

He's very excited about designing a character of his own, and I'm sure he's going to have a lot of fun. He's also going to go through the power-gaming, munchkin phase at some point; hopefully, we can minimize that phase, or at least shorten it. But, we shall see.

Gaming, especially right now amidst Corona-mania, is a good alternative to the relentless assault of video games and internet stuff we're dealing with. Right now, in my home, I have enough material that we could keep ourselves entertained for the next few years if necessary, and that's not including the stuff I've got on my computer. I doubt it will get to that point, and it doesn't have to; there's plenty of adventure to be found. Let's hope he gets the opportunity to experience it himself.