The Rise and Fall of Fan Boy		Next
	The Rise		Before

When I was 12 I got my first copy of Dungeons and Dragons. This was one of the box sets that came with dice and two separate books. It showed you how to run a low level game and build up. I wanted to be one of the heroes. Proud and brave. Going where no one should go and doing things no one should do. Defying death and coming out alive. It seemed so cool.
I could swear that those people had it made. Look death in the eye and no flinch. Go in to the great dungeon and come out with all the treasure. It was so beautiful. I wanted to be my character... until the Rust Monster destroyed all my equipment and a goblin killed me.

I didn't want to be a hero after that. It was unfair. I shouldn't have died I was a brave hero. I could do things that normal people couldn't and yet a stupid little goblin killed me. I looked for revenge against the unfair game and I found it in the Dungeon Master's book. Be the the controller of the world and it would never work against you. How could I die if I was the supreme being?
If I controlled everything nothing could kill me. I decided then that I would be the Dungeon Master and never ever have to face a stupid goblin and die. All I needed now was a party.

I found one in my chess club. They were willing and showed them the rules and helped them make characters. Then we ventured into a dungeon of my making. It was so much fun. I had them thrilled and in suspense and then they found the gold and took it. It was so much fun we just played D and D. I got more books. We kept playing until that day.

There was only so many boxed sets that you could buy. Once you got past level twenty there wasn't much the players couldn't do. I asked them if they wanted to make new characters and no one did. They told me to think of something but there were no books on how to keep going so I made stuff up. It worked but it didn't work well. I wasn't satisfied with my new creatures and challenges. I kept looking for the solution and then it came to me. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. One word. One little word changed everything. Now in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons we could go further. We had new powers and skills and classes. New classes all over the place. It was harder too. It was after all Advanced it wasn't the simple game meant for kids this was a man's game. It made people what they were and I was the Dungeon Master. I showed them the books and showed all the new stuff and everyone decided to make new characters. We started over. We were better now.

In Advanced Dungeons and Dragons we were limited like before. We were new and vital we were greater then before. I had new monsters and traps. New things to throw them up and new rewards if they succeeded. It was true power. Not like basic D and D power this was powerful stuff this is what worked.

I played Advanced Dungeons and Dragons all through middle school and in high school. I learned every game I could. I ran the stories because I was the best and when I had to play it wasn't as much fun. I had some fun but it wasn't the same. My friends couldn't come up with the same deep stories or great enemies or anything. I was so much better then them. I'd get discouraged and quit eventually. They just weren't good.
I was better.
I was so much better then them. I could keep hundreds of plots straight and made the game feel so much better. I made everything so much fun. I could see it in their faces that they were having fun. They liked my style of play and we had fun. It was great fun. I was the best and they loved my style because I was so good.

Then I realized that since they were listening to me I might as well try to make them understand how much better I was from them. I told them of what good stuff was and what good things were. What movies to see. What TV to watch and what books to read. They listened because they loved my stories. They listened to the all my other stuff because they knew I was so much better.
I was the best DM and all of them knew it.

Dungeons and Dragon and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons © Wizards of the Coast rest © Sal Ponce 2001