Where's My d20?

I'm a little late on this, but apparently the 30th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) was this past week. 30 years! Wow, kind a makes a guy feel old. ;-)

I do have many a fond memory of sitting around a card table with my brother and our friends, with rule books, maps and bags of dice scattered all over, playing D&D into the wee hours. I remember pouring over the latest module by Gary Gygax and working up all the details for a new adventure. In fact, sometimes we probably spent more time (and had more fun) creating the campaigns and the characters, filling in the backgrounds and related stories, than we did actually playing the game. But of course the role playing was fun too.

I imagine it taught us a bit about personal interactions (real and imaginary), strategic and tactical thinking, problem solving, creativity and on and on. And it was really a great experience to have with your friends. One guy (who was usually the DM), took role playing very seriously. Playing with him you would really have to be true to your character, really play the role. We had another friend who always played a paladin character (think your stereotypical knight in shining armor) and and was constantly challenging NPCs to "personal combat."

I still have a big box with a bunch of my old rule books and modules. And, of course, I still have a little leather pouch with my dice. But, fun as it was, I just can't seem to find the time to play anymore. It's probably been 10 years or more since I've picked up a d20.

Anyway, for those of you who play D&D (or used to play), I found this little item in the comments (thanks Anonymous Coward) on Slashdot a few days ago... thought you might enjoy it:

ED: You see a well-groomed garden. In the middle, on a small hill, you see a gazebo.
ERIC: A gazebo? What color is it?
ED: (Pause) It's white, Eric.
ERIC: How far away is it?
ED: About 50 yards.
ERIC: How big is it?
ED: (Pause) It's about 30 feet across, 15 feet high, with a pointed top.
ERIC: I use my sword to detect whether it's good.
ED: It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo!
ERIC: (Pause) I call out to it.
ED: It won't answer. It's a gazebo!
ERIC: (Pause) I sheathe my sword and draw my bow and arrows. Does it respond in any way?
ED: No, Eric. It's a gazebo!
ERIC: I shoot it with my bow (rolls to hit). What happened?
ED: There is now a gazebo with an arrow sticking out of it.
ERIC: (Pause) Wasn't it wounded?
ED: Of course not, Eric! It's a gazebo!
ERIC: (Whimper) But that was a plus-three arrow!
ED: It's a gazebo, Eric, a gazebo! If you really want to try to destroy it, you could try to chop it with an axe, I suppose, or you could try to burn it, but I don't know why anybody would even try. It's a @#%$*& gazebo!
ERIC: (Long pause - he has no axe or fire spells) I run away.
ED: (Thoroughly frustrated) It's too late. You've awakened the gazebo, and it catches you and eats you.
ERIC: (Reaching for his dice) Maybe I'll roll up a fire-using mage so I can avenge my paladin...

So, here's to hit points, experience points, armor class, rangers, paladins, druids, clerics, bugbears, kobolds and, of course, dragons! And here's to great games with friends!