It was around 1981 – I think I was 12 years old – when I first discovered it. A red box with a fantasy picture contained a rule book and a playing module.
It was Dungeons and Dragons Basic Edition. I devoured the game, got my neighborhood friends involved, and a gang of little nerdlings was born.
Keep on the Borderlands
Like many players who got their start during that era of D&D, we cut our teeth on the Keep at the Borderlands, exploring the Caves of Chaos and other regions.
To this day, I have fond memories of staying up late, battling lizardmen, kobolds, a weird hermit, and a nefarious priest. The game launched hours of fun and when my father started playing, it was, for a long time, one of the very few things we seemed to be able to do together (the other being fishing) and actually enjoy it.
I still play to this day. My daughters also play with me, and one is quite into the game.
So many hours of fun and memories.
Philatelically
The USPS has announced a set of Dungeons & Dragons stamps, with ten images, as part of their 2024 lineup.
The release says:
“This stamp release marks the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, described by its owners as the World’s Greatest Role-playing Game, that has become a cultural phenomenon. By inviting participants to imagine themselves as wizards, warriors, and other adventurers in exciting and treacherous fantasy worlds, Dungeons and Dragons opened doors to whole new universes of creativity for generations of players. The pane of 20 stamps features 10 different designs that highlight characters, creatures and encounters familiar to players of the game. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps and pane with existing illustrations.”
As far as I can tell, this will be the first release of D&D postage stamps in the world.
Over the years, I’ve seen various discussions, not always positive, about some of the pop culture stamp releases by the USPS. I know some folks didn’t like the Batman or Wonder Woman stamps, but I loved them. And like those stamps, I’ll be buying everything Dungeons and Dragons – stamps, covers, whatever – the USPS has for sale to add to my stamp collection.
