If everything goes according to plan, Ryan, Nolan and I will embark on a new and wonderful phase of our lives together this evening. We will grab some root beers, sit at our dining room table, and I will take them on their very first dungeon crawl.
We have spent the last week or so creating characters, discussing the rules, and building excitement for tonight’s adventure. I have been staying up an extra hour or two each night after the kids go to bed, pouring over websites and my core rule books, simulating combats and creating NPCs. I’m pretty nervous, because I’m DMing an adventure for the first time since The Isle of Dread in 6th grade. And back then, I managed to kill everyone in the party pretty quickly, and never got to sit behind the screen again.
(For those of you keeping score at home, that would be about 19 years ago — Holy crap. Ninteen years ago? I’ve really been feeling older lately, and writing that number really put a crick in my neck. When did 31 become old? I know it’s not, but . . . damn.)
Anyhow, last night, Nolan and Anne were in the kitchen cutting his hair. I was at the dining room table reviewing Cleric spells, while I listened to The Two Towers soundtrack. Ryan came out of his room, and sat down across from me.
“Watcha doing?” he said.
“Just refreshing my memory. It’s been –” I paused. “Well, it’s been a really long time since I played ran a campaign, and I want . . . ”
(I want you to think I’m cool. I want to do something special for you. I want to share something with you guys that isn’t sports-related, so your dad can’t take it over and force me out of it.)
“I want to make sure you guys have a good time,” I said. “It’s important to me.”
“I’m so excited!” he said.
“Me too.”
He absentmindedly rolled some d20s I’d scattered across the table.
“Can I roll up an extra character, just for fun?” he said.
“Is your homework finished?”
“Yeah. Everything’s done, and I worked ahead in Biology.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“Dude. That’s super-responsible. I’m proud of you.”
He smiled. “So can I?
“Sure,” I said. “The dice bags are on my desk.”
He got up, and walked over to my office. My desk, normally buried under computer books and writing journals, is currently coverd with gaming books: GURPS, Mutants and Masterminds, Car Wars, too many Cheapass games to count, and — of course — a stack of D&D books ten feet tall.
“It’s 4d6, right?” he called out.
“Yep, 4d6. And you –”
” — throw away the lowest roll.” we said in unison.
“Ryan, I . . . ”
(I love it when that happens.)
“I have an extra character sheet here that you can use.” I said.
“Okay.”
I went back to my books. A moment later, Ryan returned. Four six-sided dice dropped from his hand and rolled across the table.
“Since you’re the DM, will you watch my rolls?”
“You bet! This is . . . ”
(This is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.)
“This is really fun.”
He picked up the dice, and threw them: 2 – 4 – 5 – 1
“Eleven?! Oh man!” he said.
“Hey, eleven isn’t a bad roll at all.” I noticed something familiar about the dice. Two of them were black, with red numbers. There was a skull where the one would have been.
“Hey, I have dice just like those in –” my heart stopped. I jumped up, and ran into my office.
There it was, in the cool blue glow of my monitor, atop my Freedom City sourcebook: an open bag of dice. My bag of dice. The black one, with the red pyramid from the Bavarian Illuminati on it. A clear d10, and two brilliant blue d12s sat near its open top. Its drawstring was cast carelessly across the side of the book, dangerously close to my Zen fountain.
Ryan slowly walked into the room.
“Is something wrong?” He said.
“You . . . you touched my dice!” I said. I felt a little woozy.
“Well . . . yeah.” he said.
“No. Ryan, you . . . ”
(You are about to see your stepdad as the old gamer geek he really is. The gamer geek I hope you’ll be one day . . . heh. This is actually kind of cool.)
“You can’t ever touch my dice.” I said, patiently.
“Uhh . . . aren’t they all ‘your dice’?”
“Technically, yes, but these here, in this bag, they’re the ones I’ve played with since I was in high school.”
He furrowed his brow and looked at me for a moment, while I put my dice back into my bag. A white d8 with worn off blue numbers, the clear d10 with white numbers, a green d6 that’s really a poker dice . . .
“When I was younger, these dice . . . ”
(These dice were some of the most important things in my life. Well. I have some perspective now.)
“These dice were a big part of my life.” I said.
I held the bag in my hand and looked at him. For the first time in eight years, I saw some of myself reflected back.
“You know what? It’s not that big a deal. I’d just rather you use some other dice.” I said.
“So do I get to re-roll that eleven since I used . . .” he lowered his head, and spoke in a grave voice: “The Forbidden Dice?” He smiled.
We laughed together.
“Eleven is a good roll, Ryan.” I said.
“I know, but twelve gets me plus one.”
“Okay. You can re-roll. But if you get a lower roll, you have to keep it.”
I tossed him my green bag, and he dug out 4d6.
“Deal.” He said.
We walked back into the dining room and sat back down at the table. Ryan threw 4d6: 2 – 5 – 2 – 1
“Nine?! Oh man!”
“I bet that eleven is looking pretty good now, isn’t it?” I said.
“Shut up.” he laughed.
He collected the dice, held them thoughtfully for a second, and said, “Wil, I’m sorry I used your dice. I just thought that bag was really cool.”
“It’s okay Ryan. Someday . . . ”
(Someday, I’ll give that bag, and all the dice in it, to you.)
“Someday, you’ll have your own dice, and your own dice bag, and you’ll understand.”
He threw 4d6: 6 – 6 – 4 – 4
“Sixteen! Rock!” he threw the goat.
On a 3×5 card, he wrote a one and a six beneath his nine.
“Ryan, I . . .”
(I love you more than you’ll ever know. Thank you for sharing these moments with me.)
“I can’t wait to play with you guys tomorrow night.”
Discover more from WIL WHEATON dot NET
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Rock on! You’re never too old, or too young! ;D
That was a great story… I hope you have many more memories like that!
That was a marvelous read. Thanks for sharing it.
Good job! You’ve laid the groundwork. Now for a whopping 5d12 geek points, you need to get them dice of their very own.
Then they’ll understand. The geekdom will be complete.
Wow, you don’t always let us comment on the ubergeeky stuff. (I mean being a player itself only slightly geeky, a trip into the imagination, you know; but there’s so much detail involved in running a game!Which rules to use versus imagination fillingin the blanks, etc.)
Anyhow, thanks for sharing both the gaming experience and the family experience with us. I think you’ll have fun role-playing the stranger NPCs with different voices and body language and stuff. Its often the descriptive environment and the weird people, as much as the puzzles involved in fantasy roleplaying gaming that kept me engaged as a player, and kept my players engaged when I took up running scenarios and games.
So, I’ve never made a response before, but have wanted to many times. This was the one I couldn’t resist.
This was beautiful, and thank you for sharing it. I’ve got several gamer dads who need to read it.
I wonder if, at your game, it might be nice to give the kids reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally cool dice of their own – but just one each, to start them off. I bet they would love that, and it would give them a “treasure” to keep. All D&Der’s love treasure.
Thanks so much, Wil.
He he, you’re a geek. But it’s cool. Geek on buddy. There aren’t enough of us in the world.
I have a set of red dice from the old D&D Basic Set. They’re so old that the corners are rounded and the numbers are starting to decay (the 6 is really 5.99995, the 3 is almost a 2, and the 1 is now the square root of -1; so whenever I role a 1, the die ceases to exist for moment).
I love them very very much. I can’t say why, but I’m glad I’m not the only one.
wow dude,
thats horribly geeky, but touching and way cool at the same time.
I still have my dice bag from when I was a kid.
you are such a sweetheart:) anne, ryan and nolan are damn lucky
Your post made me smile and really made my day! It sounds like you have such a great family and I’m so glad you’ve found something you and the boys can share together that’s all your own. They sound like great kids and (I was going to say they’re lucky to have you, but really I think you’re all lucky to have each other.)
Good Luck to you, DMing for the first time is not an easy thing to do. Main thing is you and your friends enjoy playing.
Helpful hint in being a DM from my point of view is to use a screen to hide your dice rolls, means you can fluff it easier if you feel someone is getting really bad luck and you don’t want to kill them 🙂
Only thing i’m sad about is I gave away my tub of D6’s that I used to play Tunnels and Trolls years ago. (amend that, many years ago 🙂 )
At least I can blame my sniffles on my cold…
This was a beautiful piece. All the more poignant for me because I lost my father 34 years ago this year (damn, I’m old…). I can remember playing all the traditional games with him and the rest of the family, and even though I usually got skunked, I still enjoyed playing. One of my favorite memories is playing Pokeno (it’s kind of a combination of poker and Bingo), and totally wiping everyone out at the tender age of 7. (We only played for pennies, so no, I didn’t make my first million that night!)
Never was able to get someone to show me D&D (I was so geeky even the geeks ignored me), and sometimes wonder if it’s too late to try. Anyone want to tackle teaching an almost 45 year old how not to get killed in 10 easy lessons?
Wil, you totally rock. If I ever adopted any kids (highly unlikely at this stage of the game), I hope I could be half as cool as you. I’m sure Anne knows how lucky she is…but why don’t you go remind her, just in case??? 😉
Hey, Wil. This is a little bit off-topic. Sorry.
I just noticed that In these days of “anyone-saying-anything-bad-about-Bush-or-the-war-is-unpatriotic” (which I find to be complete and utter BS) It seems that PABAAH.com has put you on some sort of fruity boycott list.
What a sad and miserable world we live in…
Wil, as a parent and writer and (yes) someone who railed at Wesley Crusher years ago, I have to say that this is one damn fine piece and I’m sorry about that railing against Wesley stuff.
Nice job and thanks.
That was sweet.
Just make sure they go outside now and then so they know how to walk on dirt.
RE what Sean O’Hara said: Yeah, it’s really kind of eerie, how mainstream RPGs have become. When I started gaming in the late 70s, I’m pretty sure I was the *only person* in my entire high school who knew what this stuff was.
Trying to explain it . . . man, it was like having an 11th toe; you’re better off keeping your shoes on.
Although, thinking back, I remember introducing a few people to MELEE* as a senior.
Stefan
* Proto-GURPS combat system.
Ahhh, their first trek through a dungeon. I remember my first game, though I wasn’t plowing through a dungeon. I was crossing a vast plain, fighting wights and other interesting critters, on my way from one town to the other to get information and gather a party for the quest.
This is totally awesome, Wil. You guys are going to have such a blast. The passing of geekery such as this is a beautiful thing. The bond you share with Ryan and Nolan is amazing, and deserves to be recognized. Though I’m not a stepfather myself, I understand how tough a situation that can be. But you’ve conquered it well. In fact, VERY well. Anne is lucky to have a guy like you who can bond with her kids.
Go easy on them, though, man. If this is your first time GMing in (undisclosed) years, resisting the power trip is going to be a challange. Funny-ha-ha power trips aside, you guys are going to have a great time.
Good luck, boys! And welcome to the world of REAL RPGs!
Let me just join in the rest of horde here in praising you for “breath of life”. Great stuff.
But doesn’t Nolan read your site from time to time? If he reads that one, he’ll know you intend to give him those dice.
Worth it though… great stuff.
\m/
Wow! Awesome, man!
You’ll do fine just get in the groove.
My only bit of advice is not to let your story get in the way of their creativity. And when in doubt…punt!
Have lots of fun!
Both my fiancee and I are gamers – and I broke my then 5-year-old daughter into RPGs with Baron von Munchhausen, which is mostly storytelling and uses rock-paper-scissors for conflict resolution.
She’s looking with greater interest at dice now that Dad and Mom and a couple of friends are playing HeroQuest…she thinks Sedenya looks cool.
Maybe we’ll have to have Dad run us through a low-key dungeon crawl soon. She’s 7 now, so that’s old enough, and it’s been a long while for us too.
Anyhoo…yeah. I get it.
Wil,
Being a stepdad is one of the hardest jobs around, especially when you have The Ex actively trying to subvert your relationship with the kid(s). It’s great that you’re finding something you can share with them that he can’t upstage or take away. We only have my stepdaughter alternating weekends, which makes it even harder to build a good relationship.
What’s even harder is if & when you have kids of your own. It’s a constant struggle to treat them all the same and not play favorites. But it’s worth it. If you & Anne ever hatch out one of your own, you’ll know. I thought being a stepdad would have totally prepared me for being a father, but it really is different on a deep-down emotional level.
Very cool Wil! I started gaming in 9th grade and have now been a DM for over 25 years (not much recently :^( Regarding killing your entire first party quickly: remember, keeping the game going by fudging die rolls and what-not is not cheating. It’s an important component of being a good DM. Any idiot can roll dice and blindly follow rules. The good ones concentrate on the story that is evolving.
Welcome back to the GM’s guild. You might find this useful: http://roleplayingtips.com
If that isn’t the beginning of a great D&D meets The Princess Bride type of story I don’t know what is. It’s a little difficult to picture Peter Falk as you, but it sounds like you’re going to have a blast. Since I’m posting this on the 20th hopefully you already did. Thanks for sharing!
I am so very envious of you right now, Wil. The love you share with your step-sons is truely moving, and when you add to that a true milestone on the road to geekdom it creates an emotoinal moment that rivals any literary work I can think of. Please make a follow up entry and let us know how their first sesion went.
X&
I am so very envious of you right now, Wil. The love you share with your step-sons is truely moving, and when you add to that a true milestone on the road to geekdom it creates an emotoinal moment that rivals any literary work I can think of. Please make a follow up entry and let us know how their first sesion went.
X&
I am so very envious of you right now, Wil. The love you share with your step-sons is truely moving, and when you add to that a true milestone on the road to geekdom it creates an emotoinal moment that rivals any literary work I can think of. Please make a follow up entry and let us know how their first sesion went.
X&
Will, Will,Will… you are such an amazing guy! No really, what you write is so personal and touching, you are a true inspiration to us all in every way. I’ve been writing a diary since i was nine- okay i’m only 16 now but i’ve filled 15 in that time. i’ve been globe trotting because of my Dad’s work i have always felt a constant fear of forgetting the major and minor things that have happened to me, and just the things that have made me smile on a specific day- i’m sure you know exactly what i mean as you have just demonstrated that exact thing. Sigh… Ann is such a lucky woman as are Ryan and Nolan – as are we really. Just make sure you don’t stop writing on the site and i’ll make sure your fan club will grow over here in bonny Scotland!!!! Although (in the words of Vern Tessio) – “there’s one thing i don’t understand” what’s wrong with Corey Feldman?!!!! JennX
Amazing Wil. What a beautiful moment in life. One question: What version of D&D are you playing?
Reading the bit about the ‘Forbidden Dice’ reminded me of Brent Sienna’s line in PvP – “I’ve used these dice since 1986 and now you’ve gone and jinxed them.”
I wish I could get more people into DnD…
I wonder who is looking forward to it more, you, or the kids?
You’ll do fine, I’m sure. Just remember the best advice for any DM: +2 or -2 to a roll will handle most ad hoc situations. And the best advice for any dad: they’ll love you no matter what just for trying.
Good luck!
My friends always rave about your site. I peek in now and again, but I’m a really sucky geek. I don’t have dice. I never played D&D. The only Star Trek I’ve ever gotten into was the 70’s version while still a kid and watching with my parents.
This, though…wow. This I can relate to. I turned 34 two days ago and it’s not old but…when you look back, sometimes it feels old. What struck me the most was the thoughts between the words to Ryan. I have two kids who I want to amaze and thrill and be cool for. I want them to see my stuff and yet…save my stuff too, for when they’re older.
I really, really enjoyed reading that. I should peek in more often! 🙂
I read your blog on a regular basis. I have never responded, but after reading this anecdote I have to post. That was so incredibly touching. I agree with ~D~ about the interior monologue, and that was a great glimpse into your heart, which seems huge. It is touching to hear that there are guys out there that love the children in their lives, who are not blood related, to that extent.
that is soooo sweet!
(insert violin music here)
🙂
sorry ’bout that, kind of hit the “post” button too many times, haha…
Damn. You made me all teary-eyed. AGAIN! I have a three year old son, and on of my best friends and the best DM ever has a three year old daughter, and we fantasize openly about this very moment in our future. I will say it again, like I did in the audience at your panel at Comic-Con last year. “You ARE a Writer.”
Can I play in your game? 🙂
Wil, they’re going to grow up to be /horribly/ soft and spoiled if you keep pampering them like that. When -I- am a father, anyone who touches my dice will automatically lose 1/2 their current level’s span of experience points, even if it means they lose a level.
Spare the exp. penalties, spoil the child, I always say.
Reminds me of the horror I had a few years back when my now 5 year old daughter got ahold of my dice from back in the day. [Still keep them in an old gold dicebag I got at a con almost 20 years ago.]
I can’t wait [or at least hope for] the day I can teach her how to play.
Great post ….
Way down towards the end, so who knows if you’ll read it, but that was great Wil.
I’ve been going through my old original 3 books to introduce my son to D&D myself. (Egads! Copyright 1979! With my name written in the front in case it should show up mysteriously in my brother’s room. With notes in the Dungeon Master’s guide from my mom from the first dungeon she ran!!!)
Pass on this bit of news to Sean Astin: My son named his character Samwise. ^_^
Although about 85% of this story went over my end, thanks for sharing such a personal moment. It was really sweet and hopefully, someday, Nolan will become the geek you proudly are… and perhaps you will both develop a secret, telepathic language. 🙂
– A new fan of WWDN (who somehow hasn’t been receiving email notifications of new posts. Hmmm…)
Wil, you cannot leave us hanging like this. After writing perfectly about the joy in looking forward to this event, how’d it go?
Wil
great post!!
I havn’t played D & D in more years than I care to admit , but hell I still got all my stuff all the old pc sheets, world maps, dungeon maps enerything all and all a set of files about a foot thick and add on a box of book that ways 50 lbs. or so
you got me to thinking about my old set of dice and damm I’m not sure where thare are black leather bag and draw string one set of black with silver numbers one set of clear with black numbers ( you need the right set of dice depending on what side of the aliment table you sat ) and a green d30 that I never really fig. out what to do with.
I hope your game went off well and I hope you the next time to play aready set up because you KNOW you will all have to play again soon
anyhow keep up the good work both with your writing and most inporten with your stepkids
peace out bro
Oh my god. My heart. Literally warmed. I wish they could bottle you and sell you in stores, Wil Wheaton.
Hey Wil, first time poster here.
I’m a big fan of your stuff now that I’ve become a regular reader here at WWDN. I even like most of the geek stuff I don’t understand.
But hey, even the coolest of cats do silly, irrational things. So what’s the deal with the damn dice? He’s a kid. Your a grown man. If at your age you still find yourself obsessing about material possessions, you either haven’t been married long enough or you need to grow up.
Now don’t think I’m some old fart trying to talk down to you. I’m not. Were the same age. I just find it hard to teach kids the importance of sharing if we, as parents, are unable to be a good example.
Anyway, thanks for the mushy reading.
Wow… that’s so sweet! I greatly envy your kids.
A couple of my friends just recently started teaching me to play D&D (got my very own dice just last weekend, as a matter of fact), and I can’t believe how much fun it is! It’s got to be ten times better having your dad show you how to play.
My job has turned into a LARP version of Paranoia. Luckily, Paranoia is being re-released this fall! That’s a game to get the family hooked on.
Greetings, Troubleshooters!
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/uclickcomics/20040216/cx_crstr_uc/crstr20040216&e=6
Corporate Radio for you.
I can see this happenign to Wil.
say, just as a total aside to kill time while the sponsorship page comes up, in may my boyfriend pete and i are going to the coachella music & arts festival in indios in calfornia. radiohead are headlining the first day and the pixies are reforming and this is the big kahuna show of their reformation. we are coming from sydney in australia to go and i was just thinking it might be another amazing thing to share with the boys – taking them to a music festival with one of your bands headlining…. we are so excited i can’t even tell you. am so proud of the humanity you express with this site and everything else you do and am going to start looking in good bookshops in sydney soon for your books
j
I am so damned envious right now. I wish I was playing AD&D with you guys.
Wil, i know exactly how you feel. my husband and i love rpgs and we have been heavily into everquest for the ps2 for the past year. well this weekend he is going to help our six year old son set up his first charachter and they are both so excited about it!!! he still has all his dnd stuff from growing up to although ive only played once it was fun. maybe i should talk him into getting everything out. hmmmmm now theres a thought. cant wait until our 2 year old daughter gets interested!!! by the way wil, you are doing a great job as the boys dad, from reading your posts for the past year i can tell you really worry about these kids and being a good parent to them and believe me you are doing a wonderful job so don’t stress to much. lots of love, brook
Wow. Best. Entry. Evar.
Yes, it’s horribly cliched to say that, but it is true. I’ve been reading this site for a while now (only blog I read), and enjoy it immensely. The Geek Factor is one of the major reasons, and this is the first time I’ve really seen the Geek Factor intersect with the Family. These are two of the things you are most passionate about Wil (Anne and Writing being th other ones that I really enjoy reading about). You always write so incredibly well about the things that you are passionate about.
I have a daughter going on 4 and a son that just turned two. The boy is interested in the dice, and my daughter likes the dice and is excited that I told her we’d be buying her a set of dice for her own. I cannot wait to introduce them to the joy that is gaming. You are lucky to have two kids that are interested in it.
I had tears in my eyes reading this post as well. My folks weren’t geeky, but were very cool about such things, trying to involve me in things that interested them. Much like an earlier poster, my father always had me out in the garage. I treasure both the time spent and the skills learned and plan to have my two out in the garage with me when they’re old enough.
Thank you for being such an inspiring geek and for sharing it with us, especially the internal monologue.