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If you have no experience playing DnD, then I would actually recommend checking out the Beginner DnD sessions that they also run on Wednesday nights! Once you get a feel for the game and if you want to continue playing, then I'd recommend checking out the next mini-campaign when we enter the next one in the series (about 4-5 weeks from now).

Out of interest, are there any 1e or 2e games there?

Unfortunately, no. All of the games run there are 5e, but I wouldn't rule out that there would be people interested in giving 1e/2e a shot!

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Any reason you bring that up? Fuck Taarnaev.

Are there any groups aimed toward newish middle schoolers? I know a couple kids who love all things dnd but need to level up on rules and The Way Things work.

Currently no, there aren't any sessions that are catered towards kids/teens, but that doesn't mean we're not able to! There has been a couple of instances where a group wanted to set something up at the store (like a one off event/private event) and that was something we were able to accommodate. I'd recommend emailing the events manager, they'll be able to give you more info about it!

I’ll be running a BX/1e style of game up on the North Shore hopefully starting in April

Interesting. I haven't actually played since the early 90s. Beyond not liking the rule changes in later iterations, the shift towards more of a high fantasy model and more performative/acting playstyles doesn't appeal to me.

I recently read a book that did a dive into the material in the old Appendix N, appropriately called Appendix N. It rekindled my interest a bit & I've read that there's a bit of a resurgence of the old rulesets, have been curious how true that is. I guess I'm also curious if the interest is just in the old rulesets or also play styles.

Check out the OSR subreddit for old school play style resurgence. It’s actually been going on for close to 20 years at this point! I started playing 2e again around 2008, and have been playing some version of the BX retro-clones since 2010.

Also not a fan of High Fantasy, my usual games have been influenced by the late Tudor thru Stuart era, fairy tales & folklore, and Fritz Leiber.

Edit: free rule sets!

https://the-black-hack.jehaisleprintemps.net/english/

https://necroticgnome.com/products/old-school-essentials-basic-rules

https://paulgorman.org/roleplaying/dnd/misc/LotFP_Rules_and_Magic_Free_Version_without_Art.pdf

Oh neat, thanks. I've been lurking r/adnd for a bit but hadn't found r/osr.

I hear he also brushed his teeth every morning Idiot

I would go to Pandemonium Books & Games in Central Square, they will probably help you out

What kind of prep work should you do before the Wednesday beginner session?

I would say the most important thing is to make sure that you'll be as engaged as possible with the DM and the players, and that the focus should be on having a great group experience! For the game itself, having a basic idea of what type of character you'd like to play is always helpful. Do you imagine your character as a fighter, spell caster, holy warrior, etc. You don't need to have a fully fleshed out backstory, but having a basic one helps in the roleplay experience!

Once the age-rage of the players in general? I don't want to look like I am some guy waiting to take his kid home, or something creepier...

Almost everybody I’ve played with is in their 20s and 30s, with the occasional university student and OG player who was around during those founding years of DnD. I wouldn’t worry about what you think you look like, we’re just happy to have people who share our love for DnD and tabletop!

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