Black Guard Reserve

Thieves have an intricate role in Dungeons and Dragons. They can be a quiet listening ear to over hear a private conversation. They can lurk in the shadows to watch as corrupt magistrates conduct business. They have a way of coming up with money for dinner when everyone else is a little bit short on cash. Of course, this all done with the best of intentions. But one afternoon while in the town of Pels, Nemesis the thief of the group decided to go off by himself and was minding his own business when the town guards decided that he fit the description of a very nasty pick pocket. A climatic chase pursued as he wound his way through a small market square and innocent townspeople’s homes only to finally execute his well-planned jump from one roof top to the next. The dice were rolled and fate was about to be determined. The Dungeon Master, Scott, smiled his devilish grin and said, Nemesis has landed head first into a pile of horse manure that the towns public works officer had just collected. HAHAHAH, Scott roared, served you well ol’ chum, hopefully the smell of jail will be better than that you’re wearing now. 

Back in the late 80’s, early 90’s our D&D group was comprised of 4 main guys who meet almost every week in the basement of Scott’s family home. We played D&D, talked about life and laughed for hours. Scott, his brother Jeff, Ron and myself were the tried and true to the group. There were a few others that drifted in an out of the ranks but we were the ones that showed up each week.   Time drifted by and each of our lives went into other directions; marriage, schooling, military and so we disbanded. Scott was the main dungeon master during our campaigns and he began to write down the story of our adventures. Years passed by and occasionally I would reconnect with Scott and catch up on things. It was during one of these times that he gave me a section of this manuscript for me to read. I read through it and hoped that someday I would get the rest of it. So, I tucked it away in a trunk and forgot about it.  Let it be said now that Scott was or had a hard line to him. If he thought you dishonored him, he didn’t let that go easily. Granted, Scott and I were good friends, but there was a time or two that I stood on the other side of that line and waited for him to come back to being friends. 

In August of 2016 I received a call from Scott’s mom. She told me Scott had died. At 46 years of age my friend had pushed backed the earthly veil and traveled into the eternal. He left behind bewilderment; all those who tried to put an answer to the reason of death. He traveled into the land of mystery; where someday we all must go. I decided to start a memorial Dungeons and Dragons campaign in honor of Scott. I assembled my three children and one of their girlfriends and set them into the World of Greyhawk, where I, Jeff, Ron and Scott had played for so many years. I interwove characters from then into the now and we have been playing for the past 4 years. The new group has increased in size and we have expanded from a small round kitchen table to a grand hand-hewn wooden table located in the midst of The Exquisite Corpse Coffee House in Port Huron.  Black Guard was the name of Scott’s character in Dungeons and Dragons and Black Guard Reserve is in recognition of those adventure filled nights. Black Guard is the eternal adventurer, bringing back treasures from lands forgotten or not yet discovered back to The Reserve. Black Guard Reserve is a place where everyone’s inner geek can be brought to life. 

P.S. Of all the years I have played Dungeons and Dragons, Nemesis was my favorite character, even if he couldn’t get that smell totally out of his leather armor.   

-Paul