I got killed. Then he made me do the dishes.

So I am trying all sorts of new things here in Wellington, as I feel I should "acclimate" asap. One thing I had never really experienced was Role Playing Games, or RPGs. My host, Morgan, and a seemingly good deal of his friends enjoy playing them. The most famous of all is, of course, Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D.
I was asked if I was interested in joining in on a new game, one that was an "old school style dungeon with lots of traps and monsters." I said, "sure, why not? It'll be interesting." Indeed it was.
First I had to choose what type of character. Where do I stand in the spectrum of fighting and magic? I didn't like the appeals of magic, didn't want to be sneaky, or be a dwarf. I chose a Barbarian. I named him Lynard Skynard.

Since this was a new adventure for everyone, and either the other guys were new as well, or it had been a long time since they had played this style of game, everyone created new characters with a pretty advanced level. We needed all the help we could get. This dungeon was described by our dungeon master Morgue as "Dangerous. Like the opening of Indiana Jones!"
After rolling dice, equiping him, and figuring out numbers, I was set. Lynard Skynard=Beast+Rawk. An out and out destroyer. Who's illiterate. And that was listed under "skills." But man, can he cut shit up with his flaming greatsword!!! (which I secretly named "Freebird.")

Synopsis: The merry band has to go to a castle that has been abandonded. It was formerly occupied by EVIL wizards. Uber-evil. We go through the back entrance, and after turning into mist/vapor we go under the crack of magically sealed doors, and find a glowing chalice. When we take it, some bad guys come. I am in front. One looks at me with a "death-gaze."

I die.

Like that, out of nowhere, before I get to do the one thing I was meant to do in this adventure. After a sometimes amazingly thorough and cautious journey of maybe an hour or more, I die in the blink of an eye. So I did what anybody would have done: left the room silently in shock. And got dinner.
After an amazingly long battle with 4 "basically-zombies" the other emerge unscathed and victorious. But note: NOT DEAD.

And here I am. Apparently, I'll be back the next session, after some stuff happens which I know not much about. Morgue assures me the concept of death in this game is often not really permanant. Lynard Skynard never got to rawk out.

And the worse part is now Morgan feels terrible, because since it was my first game, and I literally died out of nowhere. I didn't have the proper fun experience he feels. And the guilt is setting in......

But he forgets that Rawk never dies!

what killed me.