I Am Nerd, Hear Me Roll

So this weekend, I'm returning to my nerd roots, as it were. You see, back in the early '80s, my older brother introduced me to something new. It was a game where you got to play make-believe in a world full of wizards and dragons, swords and sorcery. That concept was nothing new to me, but this game also had rules to give it structure. When you took actions, you had to roll a die to see if you were successful. No more "I hit you!" "No you didn't!" arguments. The die resolved all conflict. The game was Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, and I can still remember the first character I played, an elven ranger named Darkblade. Yeah, I know, cheesy. Hey, I was 9.

I will admit that I was never hugely involved in the role-playing culture. But occasionally, some friends and I would renew our interest and dive in for a few months at a time. The thing is, role-playing games sort of laid a foundation for me. They enforced my interest in fantasy and science fiction themes. They taught me to love story-telling and acting. They were a big part of who I became.

So here we are, 25 or so years later, and I'm about to return to the world I left behind in high school. This Saturday night, I'm meeting with a group of strangers to play D&D using the new 4th edition rule set that was released by Wizards of the Coast last year. I'm excited, but I'm also a little nervous. I mean, what if it isn't as fun as I remember? What if the group I'm playing with doesn't gel? Will the whole exercise just leave me a little more jaded and disconnected from my youth? Roll d20 for a save check against aging.