That's cool.

ShaneG.

Howdy all, I am Joe Barrett, I often go by a screen name starting with Jez (for historical reasons).  I virtually bumped into Ryan Simm when he purchased my Tractics rulebooks via eBay a couple of weeks ago.  We talked about our shared hobbies and he mentioned The Acaeum, thinking I should pop in, take a look and perhaps learn a bit.  First things first, I should introduce myself and how I relate to D&D...

I got my start in the summer of 1975 at Origins I on Johns Hopkins Campus in Baltimore Maryland.  My father who had gotten me hooked on war-games a couple years earlier when he gave me a copy of AH's Panzerblitz took me (I was 14) to what was billed as the first National Wargaming Convention.  He encouraged me to sign up for a Dungeons & Dragons tournament.  The listing for the D&D session said no experience needed -- I was clearly qualified as I had none. Sadly for my group, I drew the 13th level wizard from the premade characters and proceeded to do essentially nothing useful.  Our group died miserably in the Tomb of Horrors, but I had fun.

I did earn a small notice from Tom Buckley who wrote an article titled, "Clean Carnage," which was published in the May 1976 issue of Harper's Magazine.  I have a PDF of the article on my iCloud Drive available at: icloud.com/iclouddrive/014Wr3m8ksZHFL8i ... 05-0022460.  I am mentioned in the third column, page 31.  My dad Chuck Barrett, is quoted. My experience at Origins I lead to a small surge in D&D interest in my friends group and I started buying, playing, and loving many things related to TTRPGs.

Overtime, my involvement has declined and returned several times.  I managed to accumulate quite a few books & magazines ranging from original edition, AD&D, 2E, 3E, though the current, whatever we should call the 2024 5E books (I like to call the new ones 5R).

Nowadays, I host a regular session for one group, typically as the DM.  We play with the 5R rule set and my miniatures on the table top. I really like having a nice set of mini's.  I know they are at best table top ready quality, but I enjoy collecting them, painting them, and using them.

I have been in a downsizing mode for a while now.  With downsizing the pressure on my collections has increased and I simply can't justify keeping all of my pieces.  That brings me full circle to meeting Ryan and learning about this community.  I am hoping for some advice at times, perhaps a home for some of my treasures and to learn some bits of D&D history that I missed along the way.

Welcome Jeznar!  You've come to the right place.  One of the things you may want to consider is attending the North Texas RPG Convention which is held the first weekend of June (5-8).  There's more information on the web-site:

NTRPGCon - 2025

It's the best D&D convention in the world.  :)

Welcome Joe! Looking forward to seeing some early days gems you have on your shelves!

Welcome to the forums Joe!

Hello Alison!  Welcome to The Acaeum.  You have listed some nice items!

Welcome welcome! We're a pretty friendly crew. Plus, you never know - hang around here long enough and you might end up buying things as well as selling!

Jeznar wrote in Introduce Yourself, Fellow Collectors:Howdy all, I am Joe Barrett

I got my start in the summer of 1975 at Origins I on Johns Hopkins Campus in Baltimore Maryland.  My father who had gotten me hooked on war-games a couple years earlier when he gave me a copy of AH's Panzerblitz took me (I was 14) to what was billed as the first National Wargaming Convention.  He encouraged me to sign up for a Dungeons & Dragons tournament.  The listing for the D&D session said no experience needed -- I was clearly qualified as I had none. Sadly for my group, I drew the 13th level wizard from the premade characters and proceeded to do essentially nothing useful.  Our group died miserably in the Tomb of Horrors, but I had fun.

Sounds like quite the introduction, Joe! :)

Did you by chance also attend the Origins seminar about D&D in 1975 and/or 1976?

Allan.

dbartman wrote in Introduce Yourself, Fellow Collectors:Welcome, Borden! If you ever feel like trading nostalgia for initiative rolls again, you might consider delving back in at one of the smaller, more intimate conventions like Gary Con, NTRPG Con, Shire Con, Gamehole Con, or the Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo (PAGE). Who says the best adventuring days are behind you?

If traveling to a convention is a bit too much for you, hopefully The Acaeum’s treasure trove of info and the members’ banter make for a worthy substitute.

Gary Con is on the bucket list. But I'm in Canada, so I will just leave it at that for now. lol