A 70-year-old woman finds her old stuff that she used for Dungeons & Dragons and gives it to her granddaughter, who plays TTRPGs herself. She shows her treasure to the community, which emphasizes how cool her grandma actually is.
What did the player receive from her grandma? User SapphicSunsetter reports to the D&D community on Reddit that she received her grandma’s entire D&D collection, which had been stored in a storage unit for years. An attached picture shows player handbooks, guides for Dungeon Masters, and a lot of expansions mostly related to the second edition of the game, as well as the more complex and rule-heavy system of AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons).
The player writes that her grandma used to play quite a lot and remembers her granddaughter mentioning that she was interested in the game. Since she wanted to declutter anyway, she gave her not only the books but also a few figurines that can be used for playing. They are mostly a bit yellowed and dusty, some slightly torn, but other than that, in fairly good condition.
Since the player has only played the fifth edition of D&D and is also currently looking at other TTRPGs, she doesn’t really know what to do with the treasures, but she thinks it’s cool to see all the history that is in these items.
Here you can see the trailer for the fourth campaign of the famous group of Dungeons & Dragons, Critical Role:
“These are really good relics, kiddo” – the D&D community celebrates this find
What does the community point out? The D&D community is happy for the player and celebrates her grandma for being able to enjoy the game so much in her time – because that’s not necessarily a given. Dungeons & Dragons was much more niche in the 80s than it is now and was actually demonized in some strictly conservative circles, as several users report in the Reddit thread.
“That’s so cool!”, writes Nihilist47_ in reaction to the player’s find, “My grandma once told me D&D was evil when I was a child.”
The player explains on Reddit that she grew up in a place where people are much more open-minded and that she was taught early to separate reality and fiction, as well as morality and stories. However, the so-called “Satanic Panic” was completely crazy according to the player.
Also, Doc_Bedlam remembers the time when Dungeons & Dragons was part of the alleged movement that caused fear of satanic influences in society due to religious beliefs and panic triggered by the media: “I remember the Satanic Panic. […] Crazy is the right word.”
How do people otherwise react to the found treasures? The community is reminded of their own childhoods through the player’s and her grandma’s find and is happy to see the books they started playing with again – but they also feel quite old because of it.
“Grandma? Damn, I’m old,” writes Des8559 and also seaworks notes that time does not stand still: “‘From my grandma’ – I think I just turned to dust.”
Furthermore, SapphicSunset’s grandma is welcomed by gamers around the same age with a virtual hug, beside her coolness and the nice gesture.
“Give your grandma a big hug from us old players,” writes Tall-Peak8881, “Seriously, that’s a treasure. Forget the old mechanics, but the lore, the characters, the monsters, and pure fantasy will make up for years of campaigns. Ask her about her campaigns, about the NPCs she played, the players. A wealth of knowledge and ideas for further adventures, you could use those experiences to start new campaigns.”
It is not uncommon for game collections or their treasures to be passed down through generations. However, sometimes such things get forgotten, along with their usefulness. One game master stumbled upon a find one day that could come from such a game collection and wants to use it for future campaigns – the question is how? Game master asks what he should do with 100 black dice in D&D, community already has ideas to make his group suffer
