A is for Adventure

Yes, indeed....another April A to Z blogging challenge. Almost missed this year as it was completely off my radar. But reading Tim's blog this morning reminded me of it (even though he's abstaining this season), and gave me an idea for a theme as well: specifically, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, a subject I spend an inordinate amount of time combing the internet and yet cannot find enough content for. At least, quality content.

For the month of April 2026, I'm going to endeavor to change that. Specifically, I'm going to try (in 26 blog posts) to give people a crash course in the AD&D (first edition) game...how to approach it, how to run it, how to enjoy a system that deserves to be played NOW, nearly 50 years after its inception.

Let's get down to it.

A is for Adventure...the whole reason people should play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

I've written the words many times over the years: AD&D is a game of fantasy adventure. It is one of the hardest things to explain to people who have been brought up on later editions of the game. The instructional language in the books would have you believe that the game is about "telling stories" or "story creation," which was most certainly untrue in the early days of the hobby and is largely untrue even today.

And I don't mean lipservice adventure. Ask a modern day player about D&D and they MIGHT say "yes, we are telling stories about 'adventurers' that go on fantastical adventures."  No, that's not what I mean. If I meant that, I'd say that: that "adventuring characters" are the premise for a storytelling game. 

"Yeah, we tell stories...stories about adventure." No.

A game of AD&D is a game of adventure. You have an adventure. The players participate in the adventure. That IS the game. 

The character that the player uses to participate in the game is NOTHING. It is MEANINGLESS. It is the vehicle for the player's interaction with the game world. It is not a part to be acted by the player, like in a play. It is not a fictional being that must be portrayed and developed with issues and storylines begging for resolution. None of that.

When we play AD&D we are not participating in a literary exercise. We are not engaging in performance.

The character is a means to an end...it is a tool that gives the player the ability to interact with the mechanics of the game and imaginary environment we call the "game world." It is NECESSARY to have a character, because the character (in addition to being a bunch of numbers that signify in-game effectiveness for rule interaction) is designed to be an effective method of survival in a (by design) dangerous game environment. Wizards. Warriors. Etc.

But make no mistake: the character is just a vehicle for interaction. Here is an example that (I hope) describes my approach to the game:

I roll a set of ability scores. I decide I would like to play a particular character type...let's say a half-orc fighter...and find that I have the correct scores to do so. I note that I am a half-orc fighter, I purchase my equipment (based on randomly determined starting gold), I choose an "alignment," (if playing in a campaign that uses such), and sit down at the table to play.

When the DM presents a situation to me...whether it is a sudden combat with goblins, a roadside encounter with dwarvish pilgrims, a chamber with an unguarded statue of gold that might be worth some coin, or whatever...I say to myself:

Given that I am a half-orc fighter (of alignment "x") in this particular situation, what do I do? What actions do I take?

Now some might say, 'Wait! Wait! You're just playing a character! You ARE trying to put yourself in the fictional shoes of this fictional being, just like an actor playing a role on stage!'

To which I say: NO. I am me (JB) taking actions that I (JB) want to take...in full knowledge and understanding that we are playing a game...given that my capabilities are determined by the character I am using.

My half-orc is a stout fighter. He can take some punishment and dish it out. This informs and influences how I play the game...I can't use magic spells to impact the world, for example. If I was playing an elven wizard, my options would be different.

The character is UNIMPORTANT. Characters DIE...by design. The game is DESIGNED to be challenging and the risk to one's fictional playing piece (i.e. the character) can be DEATH. Fortunately, you can always create another character and continue playing. 

Because this is a game we are playing, not a story we are telling.

WHY? Why do we want to play a game of "adventure?"

Leaving aside the usual reasons that fall under the category of "fun with friends," adventure...i.e. 'pulse-pounding excitement'...is not something people get to experience every day. Certainly not in cooperation with each other. USUALLY, to get that kind of action, a person has to be part of a sports team (not possible for many folks), OR go to war (undesirable for a LOT of folks). With AD&D you can experience adventure (dangerous challenges) with friends (AD&D is cooperative by design) in a SAFE environment (no one's really getting killed, and if you pull a muscle, you're probably playing the game wrong).  You do not need to be of a certain age, gender, fitness level, or socio-economic class to engage in a game of AD&D. You only need to be able to read, write, and roll dice...a pretty low barrier of entry.

So that's where we start: with the correct approach to AD&D as a game. It is important we have a solid understanding of the hobby with which we're engaged, because everything else will be built on that foundation. A lot of time and effort goes into running an AD&D game, and we don't want it collapsing due to false pretenses and misaligned expectations.

This is the beginning.