Part of our salute to Gary Gygax:

In thinking back on D&D this week, I’ve realized that I was hooked by the concept even before I was old enough to really play the actual game.

One example of this was my collection of AD&D action figures. I remember these being well made and a ton of fun. I found a short article on the toy line and a listing with pictures.  Seeing those images brought the memories flooding back as clear as day.  I know I spent hours recreating epic adventures on my bedroom floor.  I even recall that my one issue with the entire line was finding a suitably heroic “good guy” warrior to be the main hero in the stories I created.

Now, Warduke was certainly a wonderful villain.  But when it came to the forces of good, well, there was no perfect fit. Northlord looked too much like He-Man and I felt that a sword was the most heroic weapon, not an axe.  Now, the Young Titan was pretty cool but way too Roman in style to really fit into the more medieval adventures I was creating.  Strongheart would seem like the perfect fit for my main hero and I did have this character.  But even as a kid, something about that 70’s style mustache prevented me from really identifying with the brave paladin.   [click to continue…]