As the door swung open into the dark back room a lone red ember glowed to life from a darkwood pipe. 

 

"Big John," an excited voice cut through the shadows, "I've got an idea..."

Tom flicked on the overhead lights and quickly took a seat across the gaming table from Big John.  

 

The big man put down the pipe and looked up to his old friend, "Let me guess, an all-night session of Call of Cthulhu LARPing? Maybe a best three-out-of-five afternoon of Gloom?  Oh, wait, I got it... an IG-88 and Spock-versus-a-Cyberman-and-Stewie-Griffin-minecraft-style-WWE-Hell-in-a-Cell tag-team-coffin-match-round-robin discussion panel?"

 

Tom lit an American Spirit cigarette and in a breathe of smoke spat out, "Yes! You're on! And Interesting... who would we get for this panel?"

Before Big John could answer Tom shook his head, "No. That's not it. (but lets come back to that one later) John, I think we should turn your D&D campaign into a podcast." Tom watched as his friend stood with slow shake of his head.  "Come on, its a great game.  I think it would translate smoothly..."

 

Big John cut him off mid-sentance as he turned to grab something off his gaming shelf and toss it onto the table. 

Tom looks down at an ancient red box with a fantastic, colorful picture of a fireball throwing sorcerous and spear-weilding warrior doing battle in a dark cavern against a loathsome green-skinned, snake-necked dragon. "Is that the Basic Set?"

 

Big John sits and strikes a match, the yellow and red halo ignit his pipe. "Yeah.  Wish it could be more impressive, that's only the 1980 Tom Moldavy edited Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, not the original 1977..."

 

With eye's glazed over it was now Tom's turn to cut off Big John, "I started with Advanced, never played Basic."

"Ah, its much deadlier than most people realize."

Tom's attention was further snared, "What do you mean, characters die a lot?"

"Like red shirts in a Klingon shooting gallery." 

 

Tom pours over the ancient edition of his beloved game.  Casting a grinning glance over at Big John he says, "Now we just need a name for the show..."