In my mind, writing an introduction is the hardest part of authoring anything. Getting started has always been the most difficult for me. From papers in school to home-brewed adventures for my friends to play, there has always been something ready to distract me from my goal. Perhaps it is because I have the attention span of a 3year old?!
I have been an avid D&D'er since my younger days. I started playing the Basic (Moldvay) Set back in 1983 or 1984. Being only about 10 or 11 at the time, and not knowing anyone else that played, looking back, I think I grasped the concept of the game pretty quickly. I "charmed" my older brother into playing B2, and off his lovable dawrf, Bilbo (give him a break, he was 13) went - trouncing through the Caves of Chaos.
A few months later, my brother decided he had better things to do than play D&D, but I drew in an ever widening circle of friends that were interested. By the time we hit high school a few years later, girls and cars took control of my interests, and my gaming lapsed. Being successful at neither, I returned to the game around the time that 2nd edition arrived. My old group managed to merge our partying mentality with our nerdiness and we heartily, and unashamedly, played D&D again (this time we added beer).
Realizing that very few people could make a living playing D&D, I left once again to concentrate on college. But, in an effort to make up for my failure with my earlier interests, I spent too much time with the girls and the parties, and too little on the studies... Now, many years later, I am married with one child (so far!), have a decent job, and find my idle moments returning me to my gaming roots that began all those years ago, wishing I had never left.
It is in that spirit that I have felt the urge to contribute something to the world of gaming and, more specifically, the game that I love best, 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I credit this great game with much of my personal growth, from expanding my quirky imagination to broadening my language skills to teaching me (if just a little) a bit about leadership. I am a better story teller for my child, a better researcher (how can you not be after trying to find information in the DM Guide?), and a better writer. Okay, I will leave the last statement to those of you that will inevitably critique my work (provided anything ever makes it to publication!)...
Without further adieu, I present Nostalgic Adventures, my small attempt to bring my view of AD&D to the world. I hope you see the adventures that are to be published, as I see them, tributes to the people that created and expanded this game, namely, Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Rob Kuntz, Frank Mentzer, Tom Moldvay, Jim Ward, Tim Kask, David Cook, and the countless others that I cannot recall at this moment.
