I have officially launched a Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel for RollStats! And I know what you’re thinking! You’re thinking, “Why is there another guy sitting in front of a shelf full of books talking about nerdy stuff”?
Well. Because nerdy stuff is awesome, and I want to talk about nerdy stuff. So, I’ll be posting new videos every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday featuring Dungeons & Dragons RPG discussion and theory, along with reviews of Dungeons & Dragons RPG Products and Accessories, both new and old.
You can watch my first video below:
I have been playing Dungeons & Dragons (and other assorted RPG’s) since about 1982.
When I was twelve years old I discovered the Moldvay D&D Basic Boxed Set, and it was everything that I had wanted to play but didn’t know existed. When I finally discovered it, it completely blew my mind! It came with the classic Dungeons & Dragons module “B2 Keep on the Borderlands”, which was the definitive hack-and-slash dungeon crawl and I was immediately in love!
From there I found the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Boxed Set (Moldvay & Cook) and the quintessential hex-crawl D&D module “X1 The Isle of Dread”, which was meant to introduce players and Dungeon Masters familiar with only dungeon crawl adventures to wilderness exploration.
From there I moved on to First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) and this is where I really started getting into the game. I loved 1st Edition AD&D, warts and all! 
I began moving away from B/X Dungeons & Dragons and really embracing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
Then, the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia came out, and although this wasn’t my beloved B/X it was really close. This was a compilation of the BECMI (Basic, Expert, Companion, Master & Immortal) rules, well, sans Immortal. It expanded the Moldvay B/X system and offered rules to take characters up through 36th level. I loved this book and it brought me back from AD&D for a while.
But then Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition came out, which took the 1st Edition rules and cleaned them up and organized them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking AD&D First edition. I love 1st Edition! But, it was a little disorganized right?
And then, well then life happened. I stopped playing altogether. I didn’t play Third Edition. I didn’t play 3.5. I didn’t play Pathfinder. I didn’t play The Fourth Edition so I really can’t get involved in all of the edition wars.
Side note: I think edition wars are silly. I think if you like D&D, you like D&D. It doesn’t matter to me which edition you like, as long as you’re playing right? All editions have their strengths. All editions have their weaknesses. It’s what you and your group prefer to play. As long as you’re having a good time at the table, then I think you’re having a good time at the table. Who cares which edition you’re playing? Anyway, end rant.
The problem was everyone became busy. You know life happened, work happened, family happened. I became busy, and I wasn’t having fun at the table anymore and it didn’t have anything to do with the edition that I was playing, or what version of D&D I was playing or my group. Everyone just became busy, and D&D became a chore. So, that was a period of 20 maybe 25 years. I couldn’t even tell you exactly, but it was a long, long time.
Then Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition came out and made a huge splash. 
Regardless of what you think about D&D5e, I think that we can all agree that 5th Edition has brought Dungeons and Dragons, the game that we all love, the RPG that started it all further into the mainstream than any Edition previously. I don’t want to go as far as saying that
it is the savior of D&D, but it’s probably the savior of WOTC (Wizards of the Coast) right? So, this is the edition that I play now. The Fifth Edition is the edition that brought me back to the game. The Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons has rekindled my love for the game and it has certainly brought a lot of joy into my life, and back to my table.
Honestly, it’s why I’ve started this blog, it’s why I created a Youtube channel, it’s why I’m here writing to you guys right now. I want to talk about D&D. I’m excited! I’m jazzed! I’m ready to talk about D&D. I’m ready to play D&D! I’m ready to delve down into the tiny details of D&D! And that is thanks to Fifth Edition.
So, what can you expect from the RollStats YouTube channel? Let’s be clear. I’m not here to run ads. You’ll never see ads on this blog. I’m not here to sell you anything. I don’t have any affiliate links. I’m not trying to make any ad money. I’m not trying to make any affiliate money. I’m here to talk about D&D with other folks that are interested in talking about D&D. That’s exactly what you can expect from the RollStats Youtube page.
I don’t claim to be the best dungeon master in the world. I don’t claim to be the best player in the world. I’m here to ask you questions and talk through things that I’m experiencing in my game, things that I’m experiencing at my table, and I’m hoping that you will respond in the comments with your answers, your thoughts, and your opinions so that we can all dig on the game that we love!
So, if you want to see videos about D&D head over to the new RollStats YouTube page and subscribe. I’ll be pushing out new videos every Tuesday and Thursday featuring Dungeons & Dragons RPG discussion and theory, along with reviews of Dungeons & Dragons RPG Products and Accessories, both new and old.
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