| Author |
 Topic  |
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Nov 2019 : 20:45:04
|
Hi folks I'm wonder in 1983 in North America and USA what were the youngest players of D&D would could DM as well?.
I'm thinking Preteen,
Did any players of that year also played Atari's Swordquest video games?.
LW
|
|
|
Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2019 : 20:48:48
|
| As of 1983 I had been playing AD&D for about five years and was 11 years old. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
 |
|
|
Seravin
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1293 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2019 : 21:01:30
|
| I definitely started playing in about grade 4 and 5, so 1984 for me. We had to hide the Monster Manual boobs etc from our parents. I could follow the basic rules of AD&D enough but not for magic users, and it helped I was great at math. |
|
|
|
Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 01 Nov 2019 : 21:57:00
|
There used to be a "Basic D&D" which targeted pre-teens, written for greater understanding and simplicity. Tabletop RPGs (and tabletop wargames) were still considered a strange (and vaguely perverse) new notion circa 1983.
But any child capable of reading (for fun) could muddle through "Advanced D&D" well enough. Even with ye olde High Gygaxian language it still has less vocabulary and complexity than some of the console/computer games which primary schoolers play a lot these days.
Late-2E and most of 3E were stuffed full of splatbooks and subsettings galore, some of which weren't as easily grasped by inexperienced young novices. 4E was (initially) dumbed down to be kid-friendly - which most veteran D&D players found insulting. But a good DM can engage players of all ages regardless which D&D game you prefer to play.
As for the boobs... well, of course healthy young boys (and girls) are gonna show (or hide) some special interest in certain pictures. But D&D is generally fairly tame and consistently less graphic than the imagery which endlessly bombards the same (targeted) audience through advertising, internet, comic books, video games, movies, and television... so it could even be argued that D&D is more "wholesome" for shielded young ones simply because it helps keep them occupied while away from a screen. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 01 Nov 2019 22:14:07 |
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2019 : 06:47:37
|
So D&D was targeted at pre-teens which means 12 year olds I hope, and off topic question could those same pre-teens solve the main puzzles of the Swordquest video games and win the prizes?.
LW |
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11897 Posts |
Posted - 02 Nov 2019 : 22:43:34
|
| I never saw swordquest video games. I was playing D&D when I was 10 years old (I had a set that was before the basic set). I will admit that back then I was trying to figure out what it meant and was trying to play with my 7 year old cousin, and "hit points" and "constitution" seemed to be the same thing to me. We also didn't have dice, we had cut out paper chits for dice. Lessee, so that would have been 1981'ish (got the game at a garage sale). Over the next few years I was also discovering the endless quest series of "choose your own adventure" type books. By 1983, I had the basic and expert sets and would have been 12 years old and was loving the D&D cartoon. By 1984, I was discovering "advanced dungeons and dragons" and dragonlance as I was finally starting to get my own money for chores and things. This was also when I actually started playing the game with other players. Then FR came out, and I've loved it ever since. They've come out with so many other settings, but its still this one I come back to. I can honestly say I'd be tempted to try Eberron and Scarred Lands as well. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
|
|
|
Rymac
Learned Scribe
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2019 : 01:16:52
|
My parents originally encouraged the hobby and interest, although later regretted it. I was 10 when I started playing Red Box Basic D&D with the original Monster Manual. Received the DMG, Players Handbook, and MM2 as Christmas Gifts (FROM MY PARENTS!) in 1983. Deities & Demigods, and Fiend Folio came soon after. I had been playing about a year-and-a-half when Reagan was reelected in '84 when I was in 6th grade. I can date 1983 because that's the year MM2 was released, the transition from Basic Red Box w/ Elmore art to AD&D was quick. Issues of The Dragon, Unearthed Arcana, Wilderness and Dungeoneer's Survival Guides, and a few modules were bought at a local hobby/music shop or at Waldenbooks. I was already hooked when the OGB came out.
I'm still amazed my Dad allowed the game and gifts. The political/cultural climate of the '80s towards the game didn't help and my Dad raised was raised strict Church of Christ.
|
- Ryan |
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2019 : 02:53:46
|
Yeah well those people who were against D&D were also hated Video Arcades, back in 1980's most those haters were using the moral panic for there own ends which was control, they were worst then the so called people they hounded.
What about Video Arcades any preteen D&D players go there and spend alot of money and time there?, also is possable for a 12 year old to understand prime numbers and win the first prize of Swordquest?.
LW |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36826 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2019 : 14:33:37
|
quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
Yeah well those people who were against D&D were also hated Video Arcades, back in 1980's most those haters were using the moral panic for there own ends which was control, they were worst then the so called people they hounded.
What about Video Arcades any preteen D&D players go there and spend alot of money and time there?, also is possable for a 12 year old to understand prime numbers and win the first prize of Swordquest?.
LW
I really don't understand the objective behind this series of questions...
A lot of D&D players like video games. It may not be documented, but it's rather unreasonable to assume that preteen D&D players weren't dropping a lot of quarters in their local arcades.
And while not every 12 year old is going to get prime numbers, I don't see why some wouldn't get them and thus win the first prize of Swordquest. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2019 : 14:53:52
|
The Objective is simple I creating a setting in 1980's starting in 1983 of main character and his 3 Friends are 12 years old, it's him winning the First Swordquest Prize wich cause Quarters to be opened.
Quarters itself is very large Video Arcade in size much bigger the a Convenience Store in size and operated by well dressed man who gives change, to the main character and friends he acts as a DM.
LW |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36826 Posts |
Posted - 03 Nov 2019 : 23:12:26
|
quote:
Originally posted by LWhitehead1
The Objective is simple I creating a setting in 1980's starting in 1983 of main character and his 3 Friends are 12 years old, it's him winning the First Swordquest Prize wich cause Quarters to be opened.
Quarters itself is very large Video Arcade in size much bigger the a Convenience Store in size and operated by well dressed man who gives change, to the main character and friends he acts as a DM.
LW
Then just do it. It's highly plausible for 12 year olds to be into both video games and D&D -- it was plausible in 1983 and it's plausible now. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2019 : 05:48:54
|
it has too more then Plausible but fiction that works, like in Stranger Things.
LW |
|
|
|
Snailey
Acolyte
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2020 : 22:51:44
|
| Well in 1983 for me, I was 4 years old though I started in 1987 Ad&D Greyhawk. |
|
|
|
ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer
USA
2077 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jan 2020 : 23:03:44
|
| I started playing when I was 10. I remember waiting for the AD&D1 DMG to come out. It was tough playing without a DMG before that. The anticipation was very high, and it delivered! The gorgeous cover of the efreeti did not disappoint. |
--
http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/ |
|
|
|
TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2020 : 02:43:30
|
I started playing at age 13 in '78. I remember getting the books at Waldenbooks at the only real mall in town. There was a B. Dalton Bookseller there, too, but Waldenbooks got them in stock first.
I vaguely remember that Atari game. I don't remember if I ever played it. My games on the 2600 was Warlords and Asteroids. |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
|
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36826 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2020 : 03:25:06
|
quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd
I started playing when I was 10. I remember waiting for the AD&D1 DMG to come out. It was tough playing without a DMG before that. The anticipation was very high, and it delivered! The gorgeous cover of the efreeti did not disappoint.
That was the first D&D book I purchased. I was 14, and CallMeGene and I were in our school library. One of the librarians said that her son was getting rid of his D&D books, and would we like to buy them? CallMeGene bought the PHB -- for $5, IIRC -- and I got the DMG for $6. This was around 1988. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11897 Posts |
Posted - 10 Jan 2020 : 12:02:47
|
quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd
I started playing when I was 10. I remember waiting for the AD&D1 DMG to come out. It was tough playing without a DMG before that. The anticipation was very high, and it delivered! The gorgeous cover of the efreeti did not disappoint.
You now what, this brings up something that I think might ring well with others possibly... or maybe it was just me. When I started playing, like I said above, I got the game at a garage sale (it was before the basic set). I had never heard of it before, and I didn't know what to make of it, but it had the keep on the borderlands adventure in it. Prior to this, I'd been introduced to Choose your own adventure stories, and it was a "hobby" of mine to basically DM my fellow students through a story giving them options and telling them what happened (I was making it up on the fly, and there were no dice).
Later, my brother bought me the expert set for Christmas. It was still all very new to me, and I hadn't heard of anything like dragon magazine I don't think. I only found out about advanced dungeons & dragons because I was roaming through a Roses department store in the toy section and found the second version of deities and demigods, dmg, and player's handbook on the shelf. To this day, I don't know how I paid for it, because I had no money. I'm guessing my mom just saw me light up. I think it was right after that that I realized I was missing the monster manual and decided that I would start doing chores as a means to earn a small income, and I started picking up dragon magazine monthly.
I never had the greyhawk campaign setting as a kid. I had heard of it mind you. Then the dragonlance stuff started coming out, and I was reading it voraciously. Looking back, I see that world was simple, but I still love it. To this day, if I ever had a son (which won't happen), I wanted to name him Tanis. It was also around this time that I started playing with my friends in school. Then the realms came out.... and OMG the numbers of NPC's I wrote up just because... fully statted mind you |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
|
|
|
Old Man Harpell
Senior Scribe
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - 01 Apr 2020 : 04:25:18
|
I started D&D in the late 1970's, so in 1983, I would have been 17, or 18 depending on the month (I'm guessing I'm older than most of the scribes in the Keep?)
My father didn't naysay my gaming hobby, and in fact allowed the throng to come over for Game Night (though he made no secret that he didn't understand the allure in the least, and likely still doesn't), and in fact once picked up the Monster Manual - when the page was open to the infamous succubus picture - and held the book sideways like a Playboy Magazine before setting it back down with an approving nod. That's one of the reasons I remember those years as well as I do. |
|
|
|
Delnyn
Senior Scribe
USA
989 Posts |
Posted - 25 Apr 2020 : 13:40:43
|
| I started Basic AD&D in 1981 at age 9. Did not DM until I started AD&D at age 12 in late 1983. |
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 30 Apr 2020 : 05:26:44
|
Well that's good then so a 12 year old can play AD&D in 1983, it's for my YA book series and setting which also features the Swordquest prizes as well.
The 1980's was also the rise of the Bluenoses those who started to protest and fight the corrupting influces of there kids.
LW |
|
|
|
King Libertine
Seeker
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2020 : 22:40:56
|
| I would imagine that the youngest you could be in 1983 to play 1Ed would be 8 years old. |
|
|
|
The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2020 : 20:03:39
|
| If memory serves the game was branded for ages 12 and up. I was 12 when I started playing but I've known players who were younger. I fully plan to indoctrin...erm, I mean introduce my grand kids to the game if their parents don't. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
|
|
|
Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2020 : 22:08:27
|
Many people bring their young children, their young siblings, their young cousins, etc. Sometimes also the friends of the same so the young ones don't feel isolated in a room full of "adults".
Gygax invented D&D because he noticed that his son (and other children) found the stuffy old wargames too uninteresting, they preferred playing "hero" units in place of the military squads/etc, they tended to embellish their "hero" units with descriptive backstories and avid narratives and nifty figs, they wanted special rules for how their "hero" units could train and advance outside of the wargaming battlefield.
So the youngest players might even be toddlers. The youngest "serious" players might be perhaps only barely old enough to read. |
[/Ayrik] |
|
|
|
The Masked Mage
Great Reader
USA
2420 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2020 : 03:30:18
|
First time I ever played a game was in 1985 at the first Milwaukee Gen Con. I was the ripe old age of "almost five".
TBH, I was more of a fan of the Dungeon! board game we got there, because there were pictures and a big colorful map. I've tried to find that game (the original not the remakes) but never find one that is complete.
|
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 02 Sep 2020 : 08:37:18
|
Well that's good so far the answers I've got here, so I can write my setting and novel series.
LW |
|
|
|
cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2020 : 19:43:56
|
Seeker LWhitehead,
I myself started that very year. I was (7) years old. :) My cousin, who was (13) decided to let me play with him after much pleading and being able to spell neutral. lol That was the test. haha
Best regards,
|
Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
|
|
|
Delnyn
Senior Scribe
USA
989 Posts |
Posted - 14 Dec 2020 : 20:16:20
|
I suppose you specifically refer to the erinyes, succubus and Type V demon. Deities and Demigods was just as naughty in that respect. Magic users were definitely the 'glass canons' and not even 'cannon' until 5th level.
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin
I definitely started playing in about grade 4 and 5, so 1984 for me. We had to hide the Monster Manual boobs etc from our parents. I could follow the basic rules of AD&D enough but not for magic users, and it helped I was great at math.
|
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 17 Dec 2020 : 15:04:25
|
Well I still need a general feeling of D&D for 1983,
LW |
|
|
|
cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
Posted - 20 Dec 2020 : 23:41:13
|
Seeker LWhitehead1,
quote:
Well I still need a general feeling of D&D for 1983, LW
Do you mean what a game back then for a kid was like, or something else?
Best regards,
|
Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
|
|
|
perlmugp
Seeker
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2020 : 01:50:56
|
| In 1983 I was six and for Christmas I got a used copy of the Players Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide and I was hooked. |
--Zoomable Map of Faerun-- |
|
|
|
LWhitehead1
Learned Scribe
126 Posts |
Posted - 21 Dec 2020 : 09:16:03
|
Yes what was like for 12 year old back in 1983 playing this game,
LW |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
D&D in 1983 what were official youngest players
