World of Orenda

Author notes

“Securus publicus est maioribus lex”

oachambers

on June 3, 2007

Yep, we were hooked on the dungeons and the dragons at an early age. That didn’t mean we knew what we were doing, though.

We usually only had two players, so one of us would DM while the other adventured. This resulted in serious one-upmanship, with the power of both the monsters and the characters being increased seemingly at random whenever we got bored. Armed with only the red Basic set and the blue Expert set, our avarice was kept somewhat in check. We cleaned out the Keep on the Borderlands, and pillaged our way across the Isle of Dread. Once we got our hands on the Advanced D&D rules, however, all hell broke loose, literally.
When I hear the term “Monty Haul Campaign,” it always takes me back to those early adventures. Frankly, once you’re a 40th level fighter/magic user/thief armed with the Krull Glaive, a Sunsword, and a magical Bauble that shoots rays of blowing stuff up, there’s nowhere to go but down. So, alongside my trusty pet ancient Gold dragon Goldenrod, we spent the better part of an evening moving through the 9 levels of hell, killing each and every one of the Archdukes and taking their stuff.

It was a wild ride, but it was also a turning point for me. Like a wino lying in the gutter after a long night of drinking, I realized there had to be something more to life. It would be a long road back, but I knew I’d break the Monty Haul addiction.

Those were my earliest D&D experiences. What do they have to do with this comic? Not much, except to describe everything that World of Orenda is not. Next week, some things that do influence the tone of our comic.
-Allan