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I have an interesting story inspired by D&D Next. Like many of you, I have been keeping up with D&D Next and have been getting involved in the playtest. I started in AD&D 1e, but I never played OD&D, aka BECMI, that came before it. I decided I should obtain all of the boxed sets and check it out to give myself a more full comprehension and understanding of the game and its roots.

I go to a local comic book shop, Clint's Comics, and find all the boxed sets. He sells me the entire collection for $20 and even throws in the original Isle of Dread. Not bad. I looked through the boxed sets and low and behold there was a character sheet with the player's full name at the top!

I immediately went into sleuth mode and searched online what I could for his name. I ran across information telling me he lived in the town I bought the boxed sets in. I asked several friends that lived in the town and eventually came across someone that had his contact information.

I contacted him and he was shocked but very happy! That was the last character he ever played and he had put a lot of emotional involvement into it. He thought he'd never see that character again, and he had thought about it in the many years of their separation. I actually got to meet with him Friday and told him about D&D Next and how its what led to him getting his character back. This convinced him to be a player in my playtest games. This is by far the most convoluted way I've recruited a player, but hey, it worked!

This is a personal thank you to D&D Next and the design team. You helped reuinite Justin with Gregor, a human fighter he last played in the 1970s! We are going to convert him into D&D Next rules and playtest him!

Awesome!  Welcome back!

Great story !

Wow...that is a terrific experience.

That is a great story.  WOTC_Trevor, if you see this thread, you should probably try to contact Justin as a playtester profile after he's had some time to playtest the game.  The story and perspective of someone who has been out of the hobby for almost four decades could certainly make for an interesting read.

That is an awesome story, and I agree that it would be nice if that gentleman was interviewed on a playtester profile, if he's willing. Very cool!

That's too fun. 

Thanks for sharing this.  To hell with all the kvetching about mechanics and edition wars.  *This* is what D&D is about.

That is incredible.
 

Oct 7, 2012 -- 2:50PM, professordaddy wrote:

Thanks for sharing this. To hell with all the kvetching about mechanics and edition wars. *This* is what D&D is about.

Great point! I am glad you guys like the story. Even the non-gamers I've told this to seem to like the story. A geek reuiniting another geek with something extremely geeky even appeals to non-geeks, it seems.

I am most curious what one who stopped playing at OD&D will think of Next. If it appeals to him after all this time, that would bode well for the direction Next is moving in regarding really old school players. I'll definitely write up our playtest session and what all happened, which I think will be this coming Sunday. I may even try to convert the Isle of Dread over to Next for the playtest with Justin.

Long lost family members reuniting after many years is old hat. And it is likely they will try and find eachother.

Being seeked out in regards to a D&D characters character sheet. Thats just brilliant. 

Agreed, awesome story, I also second the motion to get that guy on the boards and give a playtester profile... story needs to be heard by others...

Great story.  When I read the topic, I thought it was an Onion headline! 

Oct 8, 2012 -- 1:37PM, Daganev wrote:

Great story.  When I read the topic, I thought it was an Onion headline! 

I never thought of that! When I saw a name on that character sheet I couldn't imagine anything but trying to reunite him with his creator. That definitely sounds like something The Onion would write about.

The character Gregor will always be a major NPC in my games because of this story. I wouldn't have it any other way!