I haven't played in over a quarter century.
Back in high school I had managed to organize a number of after school activities and I had several clubs running; when a group of students approached me about setting up an AD&D game. I could recall sitting in on a game or two at another school, but roll playing still seemed like a psychiatirc BS session. Non-the less, I went ahead and looked into it and found someone who was willing to walk me through the mechanics of the game. Within two weeks I had a game running with myself acting as DM.
That game ran on and off for four or five years. It was an amazing game; we use to call it writting a novel en group. Depending on the mix of leadership and creativity it really was like watching an improvisational story take form. I can also remember turning several kids who had been turned off by school, into major literature bugs; it was funny to see people who had never cracked a textbook turning to read the Annead, Illiad, Oddessey, LOTRs, medieveal history, etc.
At another time we had a guy who had been seriously injured in a car wreck; he had just returned home after months in intensive care, and had a hard time getting around since he had nearly lost a leg. About the middle of the game, he walked over to where I was to discuss what had been happening in the game, and we talked for a few minutes before I noticed that he didn't have his crutches. "Hey, where are your crutches?" The guy nearly fell down when he realized where he was; he had entirely forgotten about the accident, pain, etc.
AD&D was a excellent game, and could be a powerful tool for developing leadership skills, encouraging literacy, and promoting analytical thinking. Its too bad that those who knew the least about it were most adamant in opposing it. I remember those days whenever I see our youngsters today glued in front of a video game; learning little more then how to blast some zot over and over and over again.
n2s
