I’m Back!

Wow….was it over a year ago since I wrote the last post on this blog? How time flies!

Since that time I have managed to get to the point where I was totally uninterested in D&D, and was ready to put it behind me, and then come full circle and rediscover the game I once loved!

How did that all happen?

Well, as part of my job I was lucky enough to travel to the states (I live in the UK by the way) and the journey also happened to coincide with Gencon Indy, and I was only a few hours drive away from Indianapolis.

Finding this information out, I was very inwardly excited, for I had dreamed of going to a Gencon in the states since I was a young man (I am now grey and much older). I went online to see if I could book myself a ticket, and finding that I could get one with the ‘will call’ option I rapidly sent them my money and set myself on a course for a very special event!

Time passed, and eventually I arrived in the States. I conducted all my business and then got on my trusty steed (a wonderful red Mustang – who I named Sally) and speeded (within the limits of the law) to Indianapolis!

Like a child before Christmas I could hardly sleep, and I woke up bright and early to make my way to the convention centre.

Upon my arrival, I wandered the corridors like a lost child and asked directions to the ‘will call’ area. I was directed to the far end of the convention centre and was told “you won’t miss it!”. They were not kidding! The queue started outside and seemingly went into infinity! But I am British, and if there is one thing that us Brits do better than anyone else it is standing in a queue!

I waited patiently, and moved around this snaking, never ending queue around the building and inside, for the best part of a couple of hours, finally getting to pick up my pass from the ‘will call’ booth!

Having never attended a Gencon in the US, and only having one day to look around, I started to run from one area to the next, looking into each room as I went, looking at all the excited faces playing everything from card games, roleplay, LARP, board games, LAN games and much much more! Whichever way I turned there was a genuine air of excitement. People of all types, shapes, sizes, races, religion or whatever, had assembled in this one mighty temple, to kneel at the altar of gaming!

My mind raced, and then I realised that I was running later for one of the things I really wanted to do. I wanted to meet R.A Salvatore, as I had his novel in my bag, which I had been reading on the flight over, and I wanted to get it signed. I ran into the area where the ‘Author Avenue’ was located, but alas I was too late. Mr. Salvatore had moved on!

So I wandered around the huge trade hall for some time, before wandering into this odd castle shaped structure, which I presumed was some promotional booth for an upcoming D&D computer game set in Neverwinter.

After chatting with the great guys from Wizards of the Coast, and being informed that this was all about the latest campaign setting (and slapping myself on the forehead) I told them my tale of how I came to be there, leading up to my sad tale of missing the book signing. They told me that he was actually there (around the corner) about to do some interviews with the press. With a bit of British charm, they kindly let me meet Bob (which I hope I can call him now we are formally introduced) and have a bit of a chat about his fiction, and finally get my book signed.

I left the WotC area full of joy, and continued to take in the rest of the day in some dream-like state, wishing that I could stay for the next 3 days. But alas, I could not, for I was due to fly out of the US the next day, and needed to haul my butt back to Chicago!

But leaving Indianapolis it reminded of one of my first loves. Dungeons & Dragons!

Upon returning home, I had many discussions with a good friend of mine (which some people might know as Alaundo from Candlekeep.com) about why we stopped following the latest developments coming out of Wizards of the Coast, and it seemed to hinge around the release of 4th Edition.

In this discussion we realised that we had not given the latest edition of D&D a fair chance, and we set out to rectify that by looking at something like the latest version of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. Actually, as we found out, it was pretty damn good.

This started to lead into exploring other products from the D&D range, namely the ‘Essentials’ range which we also discovered to be pretty amazing books.

A few months later and we are both hooked back into D&D like never before. Currently I am collecting a backlog of fourth edition D&D products to go along with the Dark Sun Campaign Setting (which Alaundo luckily found for me), and Alaundo himself pretty much has every product that has come out so far!

On top of this we are rediscovering the love of the old D&D fiction, and together we are reading the re-released versions of the Prism Pentad series for Dark Sun, and finding out that it is really good fiction (but more on that in another post).

And that leads me back here!

Over the next few weeks and months, I will strive to update this blog, and post more frequently. As part of my rediscovery I urge you all to join me, follow me, and tell me your tales of what makes D&D still special for you, as I know you are all out there – I have seen it with my own eyes!