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Nerd Apex Reached: Dungeons and Dragons

Posted by Alex Zalben


I am going to end this day of geek-out with what is, by far, the geekiest thing I have ever been involved in: Dungeons and Dragons. In Junior High, I would get together with a group of friends on the weekend, and play D&D. I can’t tell you exactly what my character was because, honestly, we were pretty casual about the whole thing.

We were all nerdy outcasts, so it was a lot more about the camaraderie, and getting together, than about playing the game. Though, don’t get me wrong, we played the game. For hours. And hours.

However, this was not my nerdiest encounter with D&D. Not by a long shot. I swear, there’s no reason I should ever admit this in a public forum, but this is, without a doubt, the nerdiest thing I have ever done in my entire life. Ready?

I used to play Dungeons and Dragons… By myself.

I was a pretty smart kid, and would get done with my homework early. So to kill time before dinner, I would take out my D&D kit, break out the dice, and play a game with myself. And I was honest about it, the entire time. If I got a bad dice role, I’d go with it. I developed my character, work on it, and then would play, in my desk, in my room, alone.

So yeah.

Anyway, I’m TOTALLY cooler now, because I spend all of my time at home, blogging on the internet about gadgets. Yup, I’m much cooler.

If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can check out the brand new Fourth Edition Core Rulebook Boxed Set, which is coming out in June.

[$66, Amazon]


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT
Posted Mar 27 2008, 05:30 PM
Filed under: ,

Comments

Wendy Atterberry said:

Wow, that's  hardcore.

March 27, 2008 8:21 PM

Alex Zalben said:

This is the sort of post that encourages people to buy the things I suggest, right?

Right guys?

Hello?

March 27, 2008 11:04 PM

Mike Auteri said:

I totally played too... But in high school... ouch. Then it got worse because I was introduced to MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons/Domains). Basically it was 1996's version of World of Warcraft without the graphics, just multi-colored scrolling text. So I would sit in front of my computer for literally HOURS with text scrolling in front of my eyes. That was a real low.

Anyway, never played D&D by myself (probably because I never thought to), but I did roll up a gazillion characters for possible future games.

If you're wondering, yes I play WoW (still a nerd).

March 28, 2008 7:12 AM

Kristine said:

@Mike

Wow. I thought I was the only one who was willing to admit that they ever played MUDs. Many a summer vacation was spent inside in a dark cave with the text constantly scrolling. It always amused me to watch my parents come in and gape in astonishment, "How on earth do you read all of that so fast?"

I don't want to play WoW. Not because I don't want to... but because the last thing I need is something else to waste time with.

April 1, 2008 5:15 AM

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about the blogger

Wendy Atterberry is a recent transplant to New York City via Chicago. You can often find her at some karaoke dive bar singing her repertoire, which includes "Midnight Train to Georgia," "Daniel," and most recently, "Sweet Dreams." Don't expect her to always hit the right notes. She lives in Manhattan with her boyfriend and two cats, and has a blog like everyone else.

Alex Zalben is a writer living in New York City. He's written for McSweeney's, Modern Humorist and PulpSecret.com. As one-fifth of the sketch comedy group Elephant Larry, he has been written up in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and pretty much every other major publication. Their blog was named one of PC Magazine's Top Blogs for 2007, and they recently won an ECNY Award for their viral short, "Minesweeper: The Movie." Alex did not know love until he bought his first Mac.

Steph Auteri is a freelance writer and proofreader who has been published in Publishers Weekly, New York Press, Playgirl, and other bastions of fine writing. She maintains a professional site https://www.stephiswrite.com, and also blogs about freelancing over at Freelancedom. You can keep up on her day-to-day by visiting her Twitter page.

Diana Vilibert is a freelance writer, among other things. Born in Lithuania, she now lives in New Jersey, where she doesn't have to walk to work ten miles in the snow, barefoot, uphill both ways. Diana cannot afford most of the products she writes about because she buys too many pairs of heels to make up for her shoeless childhood. She's written for MarieClaire.com, Janemag.com, and CosmoGIRL!.

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