Dungeons and Dragons changed my life!

[surgical111]

Yup Dungeons and Dragons changed my life and thus Mr. Tolkien (who was burrowed from heavily by that game) changed my life. From lean and swift Elves, gruff and stubborn Dwarves to good-natured Hobbits ( or halflings), the high fantasy genre has inspired and captivated me from the age of 7 to present (32 now).

I was lucky to have been as exposed to Dungeons and Dragons early and more importantly the prolific series of novels that spun off of different D&D world settings like Dragon Lance, Dark Sun and my favorite Forgotten Realms. This of course led me in all sorts of directions and eventually led me to a second love; Sci-fi.

I'm from the South Central Los Angeles, a very tough and gang riddled place when I was growing up (where Boyz in the Hood was filmed lol). I swear it was the intoxication I felt when reading one of these novels that kept me inside away from the gangs and also kept me inclined to more intellectual pursuits that helped me get to where I am today. Of course I had both my parents who had the foresight to get me into reading early by introducing such a game to me.

Today I am a stockerbroker in a start-up internet brokerage firm( so I'm not a millionaire yet) and aspiring author of both sci-fi and fantasy novel and accompanying world settings. I've always dreamed of traveling the world with my family trading and writing from my laptop, allowing me to have total freedom from any given place.

Thank you for listening to my babbling, I just wanted to know if fantasy, sci-fi or Mr. Tolkien himself has had a similar effect on anyone else. I thank you in advance for any response on the subject.

 

[BAYLOR]

I know my reply is a few year late but to answer your question . If I had never developed a love for Science fiction and fantasy , I like would never have developed a love for reading of any kind and in all likelihood , would never have gotten thought college.

 

[chongjasmine]

It is not exactly science fiction and fantasy, but enid blyton and hardy boys that get me to reading, and therefore do well in school. And this is all thanks to my God Jesus who gives me a wonderful mother who encourages me to love reading by buying lots of enid blyton and hardy boys' books for me.

 

[soulsinging]

It is not exactly science fiction and fantasy, but enid blyton and hardy boys that get me to reading, and therefore do well in school. And this is all thanks to my God Jesus who gives me a wonderful mother who encourages me to love reading by buying lots of enid blyton and hardy boys' books for me.

I started with the Hardy Boys too. Whatever it takes to get you there!

 

[Extollager]

Surgical111, if you're still here on Chrons: this is a good thread you started, but you might want to ask a moderator if you can change the title. Since I've never played Dungeons and Dragons, I almost didn't click on the discussion.

Yes, certainly the discovery of books of folklore and mythology, and science fiction and fantasy, in school and public libraries was enormously important for setting my course towards the enjoyment of literature and language. My career has been that of a high school (two years) and college (about 37 years) English teacher -- mostly I taught freshman writing, but I was able to teach literature too. That all owes much to the early discovery of books. Now I am retired, and grateful for these blessings.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I had some friends tell me all about D&D (and RuneQuest. And, er, Tunnels and Trolls) when I was about 11-12. The moment I heard about RPGs I wanted to get involved, and that led me over the years into reading some fantasy, namely The Hobbit, LOTR, DragonLance Chronicles, and David Gemmell's Legend. As it was the early 1980's there were a lot of systems based on a lot of IPs, such as the worlds of Judge Dredd, Elric of Melnibone, and - of course - Call of Cthulhu. I still have fond memories of spending one Christmas gorging myself on HP Lovecraft and Wispa treat-sized snacks.

A year of intensive AD&D in my early 20's inspired the fantasy and science fiction that I write now. The characters and world are somewhat different, and greatly extended, but my aim has always been to capture the essence of the experience.

So, yeah - D&D changed my life - but IMO it was a door always waiting to be opened. Without RPG's I might have found it through reading ancient history.