Darger of the High, Soft Boots: Part 2

Upon entering the dungeon, I found it was a sparse 10-foot wide corridor with doors down one side, approximately every 10-feet. It was, as dungeons go, pretty basic.

I was thrilled. I proceeded down the corridor towards the first door. Now, a more skillful player might have paused to search for traps, hidden doors, or invisible things. I did not. I pretty much charged forward. I was nine.

This is when I encountered the rat. It was, apparently, a big rat. I know because I asked Chuck.

Me: How big?

Chuck: Big.

I could have asked for specifics, but that seemed beside the point. I declared my intention to attack.

Me: I attack it.

Chuck: You cant.

Me: Why not?

Chuck: You dont have your sword out.

This precipitated our second DnD argument, as I pointed out it would be foolish to walk around without ones sword drawn and therefore it would always be drawn, whereas Chuck insisted I had not told him it was drawn. This argument probably lasted another 30-minutes. Finally, I ended it.

Me: Fine! I draw my sword.

Chuck: Okay. You can attack.

Me: What do I do?

Chuck: Roll a 20-sider.

Me: Which one is that?

After a pause to examine all the dice and compare numbers, we figured out which was the 20-sider. I rolled it and Chuck told me I hit (In retrospect, I think he just said I hit. I doubt he knew about to-hit tables). We then had to figure out how to roll damage. 2-8 was a complicated number. We eventually figured out I had to roll a d4 twice. I rolled well and the rat died.

I was victorious.

Knowing what I know now, I should have just had Dergar turn around, walk out of the dungeon, and retire. But I was flush with my first victory and decided to press on.

Tomorrow: Orcs and the Art of Diplomacy