Now here is a game that got me excited. It is not because it was D&D 3.5, because I think that there are better systems out there, nor even because I am a fan of Ebberron, even if I am one of the few people to remember Keith Baker’s hushed-up forays into PC gaming.

No, what got me was the feeling that everyone served a purpose and every class was true to its roots. You don’t get much more true to D&D than using the system. I played a rogue and I was suddenly not just a DPS-machine. I would see the odd idiot (Barbarian 9 times out of ten) who would declare that they had enough hit-points to ignore the traps instead of waiting the three or four seconds it took for me to disarm them, but then things like opening a door that nobody had ever seen a rogue manage before made up for it.

What killed it for me, of course, was the same thing that had made it so great; the game was balanced for groups. The same mechanic that made me useful also meant that I was nothing without at least a tank and a healer. I started out, back in beta, playing with my wife. After release, I quickly found a guild and specialised as just about the best trap-springer door-opener I could be. Life was great, but that post-beta honeymoon will always end. The guild started to fragment as people’s enthusiasm waned. I would log in some days and see no guild-mates on. One day, the guild was gone.

For a while, there were pick-up groups. I would get the odd ‘rouges suk! lol’ from people who thought that another barbarian was better than inviting a rogue, but there was enough call for me. I died a little more than average, since I was specced for rogue skills more than combat and PUG clerics don’t tend to think of healing the rogue while there is a tank to dump spells into.

I was spoilt as a D&D player, I suppose, by people who could spell ‘rogue’ and understood waiting for them to disarm traps rather than setting them off and killing everyone. The frustration became too much to bear and I left.

One day, I might go back. I think I would have to take a group with me rather than relying on strangers, but I want so badly to go back. It was everything I wanted from an MMO, D&D for the internet. I suppose I have Neverwinter Nights for that…