July 9, 2008 - As a kid, I skipped the first two of SSI's DOS games in the (AD&D) Dragonlance series and bee-lined straight for The Dark Queen of Krynn. This might have had something to do with the fact the box prominently featured a scantily clad 80s serpent chick exercising her dominion over some bound-up wizard guy. Since then, I've read the novels, I've played the tabletop games, and I've accepted my place among the ranks of the geek elite.

Yes, my ears perk up when there's talk of THAC0 and saving throws afoot. DQK whet my palate for the stuff, and rightly so. It let you roll up your characters, pick classes, form a party, and fly solo for some seriously nerdy, fantasy ass-whomping.

Efficiently navigating the land of Krynn was next to impossible, but the story and odd encounters made the experience worth the pain. The tile-based combat system was also great, allowing a huge level of strategy to creep into the hacking, slashing, and virtual dice rolling. Single battles would soon turn into epic affairs that might last several sittings and involve numerous hours of toil.

Magic was always one of the best parts of AD&D. Firing off spells like Magic Missile, Blade Barrier, Stinking Cloud, and Ice Storm was awesome, but nothing was as satisfying as watching a well-placed Delayed Blast Fireball erupt across a densely packed swath of Draconian scum. On the other hand, being on the receiving end of such a blast usually resulted in violent cringing as the damage assessment tallied. Draconians also had a nasty tendency of immolating themselves and others around them as they breathed their last - this ticked me off to no end.

Of course, with no Dungeon Master required, there was no one to gloat at if you rolled a perfect 20.