Iskra's AD&D page

AD&D - that old standby...

The lowest common denometer of gaming...

What everyone played...

(until they learn any other game)

I know exactly when I starting being a "gamer." It was in 1978 when I bought a first edition hardbound book called Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook. A friend wanted to run the game and I wanted to join. I had one experience with gaming before that but It was a college group and I was nine years old (1974). By 1978 I was a wargamer of the SPI and Avalon Hill variety (go Grognards!) but I was looking for something more dramatic than another run of Panzer Blitz and more social then my then avid reading habit.

Ah! You always remember your first time, don't you? I remember when I did 117 hit points with my 4th level Elf who had finally aquired the Heart Bow (8 point trivia: can anyone name the movie? For 10 points: can you name what NBC called it's summer lineup that year?) so that we could defeat the giants and get to the starship.

Those were the days. Quite Monty-Haul, but fun. Luckly I've tempered, broadened, and evolved as a role-player since 1978. I have quite a lot of material for AD&D in digitel format, eventually I'll get around to posting it.

What Role-playing page would be complete without characters from my old campaigns?

• Zalotun Atlantes - My highest level character (Wizard 20) and dirty old man of the bright desert nomads.
• Savant Vorak - A Psionicist of high level (Psionicist 14) and retiring sage, and the only Lawful Good character in a campaign of many neutral alignments (and some Evil alignments that thought they were Neutral).
• Lord Sargon - A high level character (Mage 16) who almost conquered Keoland, Geoff, and the Pomarj before he was killed by his closest ally and best friend. Lawful Evil has all the fun, particulary with someone who has studied Machiavelli and Ceasar.
• Sven Goldnose the Deep Gnome - Illusionist, Thief, and Father to 12 children. True Neutral at it's best and worst. He's called goldnose not due to some obscure Deep Gnome convention, but because he lost his nose when he was captured by Drow slavers. He used the gold he pulled from their gilded fingernails to make an artificial nose for him.
• The Harlequin - Thinking of a Bard? Wrong. Very Wrong. Necromancer, Level 14, Lawful Neutral, and lord of a realm in Forgotten Realms.

Spells

You must have noticed by now that I like magic weilding characters. I find AD&D very boring for warrior types. I am a martial artist (Kenpo, Uichi-Ryu, Tai-chi-chaun), fencer (Mosty saber because I can't find Epee clubs), and a decorated veteran so I have a pretty good idea of what a fights are. I'd rather have the fantastic. That said, I have kept track of spells since I first played the game. Click here to see a list of the spells that have survived countless GM's scrutany.