The Sale: Repost from Devereaux's Dungeons

As a new D&D player, I feel similar to D.S. Devereaux in this post.

I've been asked before, "Dev, what do you need to play D&D?". At one point a few months ago, I would have listed books and bits for player support and things. However, I now realize that all I needed to play - whether I wanted it or not - was a king heart and wide smile. I play with a notebook, pencils, character sheet, and dice. As I play more, I have come to realize that none of these items were ever bought by me. My notebook was a birthday present (It's a very nice notebook!) and so were my dice. My character sheet was downloaded from the Playtest Packet, and I was given the pencil before I played a particular day. My two promotional and one ranger-style d20's were gifts, as was my map of Baldur's Gate.

A friend of mine was very excited to play. She went to a store a few days ago and bought $200 worth of 4e D&D swag for a fifth of the price, as well as Magic and Kaijudo decks for free. She sent me a photo shortly after. I was very disheartened. I can't easily afford the books and I'm very blessed to be able to playtest for free, thanks to WotC. I'm essentially the bottomfeeding gamer junkie, rid of any way to buy anything shiny.

I went to Encounters that week feeling swamped over by the friend's picture. I realized how little I had and from that I felt like a lesser player. I walked into the store with a Dr. Pepper and a d10 necklace (Pretty much all of my "expensive" D&Swag.). There, I started talking with the others as normal. The DM was happy to see that I had turned up and waved through the window while talking on the phone. I sat back in my normal seat, opening my notebook and taking out my character sheet, crisp from being printed just hours before.

During the game, I fumbled with my d10 a little bit and one player suggested that I get one from the store we were at - the price was particularly low - and offered that I use his d10 until the end of the session. Nar became ravenously hungry (a very scary sight) and the DM offered his filled M&Ms punchcard for her to use. I began to come to grips with the fact that everything my friend had wasn't needed at all. I had everything I needed - a knowledge of the rules and dice - all as gifts through bits of kindness. I realized that D&D wasn't about shiny books and sparkly dice; It was about kindness and fun. These players - REAL players, not just enthusiasts - would happily give to others as needed and from this have taught me a very powerful lesson. So what if they have everything that my friend has and more? They don't flaunt their merch, they teach and give all that they have taken in.

From this, I have the shiniest, hardest to afford bit of D&D swag in the world - humility even more than books and sparkle. I will never, ever let this go.

devereauxdnd.blogspot.com (re-posted with permission)

 Dev teaches a powerful lesson here. Many things in this world don't require all the shiny things, even though they've been categorized to do so. I'm a pianist; I don't need a grand Steinway and crystal-backed metronome. I use a keyboard and a website. I'm a student; I don't need the latest calculator and Juicy backpack to go with my Blackberry. I have a TI from a few years ago, a backpack that smells like fallen pizza, and a phone that makes calls and checks my e-mail.
Dev also points out that  the players who she interacts with are genuine and "real", as I have referenced before. What an amazing post! Nice job, Dev!