Chronicles of a DnD Noob: The Fighter #1
Aug. 28, 2013Chronicles of a DnD Noob: The Fighter #1
Dungeons and Dragons, orDnD, is a tabletop gaming experience to enjoy with friends. Here I detail my first experiences with it, over a few beers and up to some awesome fun!
Welcome and thanks for stopping! Don’t be afraid, this isn’t the dank, dark and creepy corner one might expect when hearing the word Dungeons and Dragons. This is DnD with wicked tattoos and a few new piercings. It’s the first hand chronicle of a newcomer to DnD, and the experiences shared when a group of girls and guys gather to learn and explore this daunting world. Over pizza and booze we roll d20’s, laugh our asses off and generally go h.a.m. on shit, and I report back here with what we discovered.
Building your first character is a bit daunting but worthwhile. Your attachment to him/her/it is instant.
Once you’ve gone through the process of character creation, it’s time to quest, and that is where the imagination of theDungeon Mastercomes in. YourDMis your storyteller, quest writer and overall guide. You and your party play the world he or she creates for you. The DM speaks and acts on behalf of all the NPC’s and monsters you’ll encounter and has the challenging task of designing a campaign that is fun but also balanced.
Official tools like theDM manual,Monster ManualandPlayer’s Handbookare indispensable resources for both players and DM’s and at the bare minimum are the holy trinity for all players. Rather than prattle on and on about the minutae of the game, of which there is a lot, as we go, I will take time out to elucidate some wrinkles as they come up. Otherwise I will focus on the action, drama and humor and incorporate how the juxtaposition of the game’s rules work with and against those elements.
Head spinning? There, there. It’ll all make sense eventually. For now, hop on and let’s cruise.
Ok, so my character has a bit of a problem. He suffers from a bit of bloodlust, which is typically fine in aDnDsetting (see:killing things and swiping their loot), however he is also a disciplined and dogmatic adherent to a centering philosophy of my creation known as the Balance. It borrows heavily from Buddhist and Hindu principles. You know, those decidedly non-violent, pragmatic and peaceful approaches to life and living.
Now the concept of awarrior monkorpriestwho set the world right through righteous extermination of evil is not unique to roleplay. There is even a monk class theme inDnDthat operates as a very stylish and holy striker (dps class). We have one in our party and she is downright lethal when it comes to administering a holier than thou foot in the ass. They typically subscribe to a cause higher than themselves, much like thePaladinclass. However, my fella is afighterclass.
Which brings us to the issue of bloodlust. Glorious, glorious bloodlust. The very reason why I did not choose a monk or paladin framework. Whereas he does not kill indiscriminately, once a target has been defined as evil (out of balance) he has a tendency to leave little for interrogation. Unless of course, all we are after is DNA testing. Or body parts. Or fertilizer.
Prior to combat, when the party is hashing out a gameplan, he is stoic, preachy and generally kind and compassionate. The kind of guy who catches a spider in a cup and carries it outside while everyone else is screaming “Kill it!”. When the fracas starts though, he becomes what he considers is the truest art form:the fighter in motion. Which more or less translates to a graceful bull in a china shop.
He knows what he wants to break, takes pains to avoid what he doesn’t want to break, and then attempts to split the atom with just his sword.
The current crop ofGnollswe are hammering through are getting a front row seat to his testifying and are screaming “Amen!” (or “grrrrrggh” but whatever, I claim poetic license). This is Marvin Gaye with a sword people. The initial agreed upon plan of this present encounter was to leave one alive for questioning as to why they are knocking over merchant wagons. Presently, he’s having issues meeting the terms of the agreement and his party mates are starting to notice. And possibly wonder.
Luckily 4E rules as I understand them, give me a chance to leave an enemy reduced to 0HP as unconscious instead of dead (IF I choose so, jury’s still out on that one), which ties in quite nicely with what we will discover is a definite guilty conscience.
It is a storytelling vein that I am hoping to tap into more deeply as we progress through the campaign. It will be an internal conflict of the soul as he attempts to reconcile his rage with his beliefs. But it won’t be all serious rumination. There’ll be some fun along the way in the form of his awkwardly timed humor, some koto virtuoso mojo, and in the myriad ways in which he makes enemies explode. Keep checking in, we’re just getting warmed up!
Read on toDungeons and Dragons 2: The Wizard
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Emergence
Editor at Fextralife. I look for the substantial in gaming and I try to connect video games to the emotions and stories they elicit. I love all things culture and history and have an odd fondness for the planet Jupiter. I think my dogs are pretty awesome too.
Man I would like to play D&D once. But where to get people from is the question at hand… Anyway, great article, I’ll certainly be following the cronicles of the noob!
Coming from an AD&D vet (my mom got me into it when I was in single digits), it sounds like you’re doing it right. The best groups I ever played with had every person out of their comfort zone, acting out a story we created minute by minute. The dice are there for probably but all the choices are on you and therein lies the beauty.
[…] creation on this guy was fun. He’s a contrast in personality to my fighter; rather than harboring secret bloodlust beneath a zen like veneer, my wizard is a self interested […]
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