Dungeons & Dragons -- A Legacy

No matter where you've been or what you've played or where your allegiances now lie, none of us as current gamers can deny the influence of Dungeons & Dragons on our development as persons, let alone as gamers. The game has left a legacy to us all. Moreover, it has set the stage for gaming in the current age, and will likely continue to do so for many ages to come.

No matter what you currently think about Wizards of the Coast or Dungeons and Dragons 4, we owe them our bread and butter. They are the powerhouse leading the way, and truthfully they always have been. Don't get me wrong, lots of good stuff has come up in the wake of the greatest game known to man; but nothing matches the power and scope of the entity that is D&D.

And truthfully the guys at WoTC are doing a great job keeping the torch burning bright. The question for us is how do we contribute? What's our part in the scheme of things. It was once pointed out that there are two types of people: the type who build up and the type who tear down. I'm tired of tearing down.

Though tearing down has it's uses, especially when the edifice in question needs it. But before we go tearing things down, we should take a long hard look at what it is we are attempting to obliterate and why. Some might argue that tearing down is exactly what TSR and then WoTC did when they replaced the game you loved. But those games live on in the hands of many who preserve the heritage as it were. And they weren't so much torn down as renovated.

I've been through all these arguments with myself, with others, and in prayer with the Big Guy upstairs. Yes, this is that important to me. And I've come to the conclusion that I just love to game. I don't "hate" any element of the new to tear down the hobby in trying to do away with it. Especially since the old is in so many good hands. As I've done before, just look at the more common variants out there today:

• OD&D
• Swords and Wizardry
• Microlite 74
• AD&D
• OSRIC
• Labyrinth Lord Advanced
• Basic / Expert D&D
• Basic Fantasy Role Playing Game
• Dark Dungeons
• Labyrinth Lord
• AD&D Second Edition
• Dungeons & Dragon 3.5
• Pathfinder
• Dungeons & Dragons 4e

Just to name the more prominent ones. And more coming on the market all the time. And what can all of it be called? The Legacy. The legacy of Dungeons and Dragons through time. And I say we revel in it all. I will continue to support D&D in all it's forms and variations. And the current king deserves no less tribute simply because he wears the crown and no longer Arthur. For he is the rightful heir and he moves the kingdom forward.

So, yes: The king is dead ... LONG LIVE THE KING!!!!

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS!!!!

What ya play or who ya play with?

Yep. Dilemma number 34,512.52b. Is "real" gaming what system you use or who you game with?

Shudder me gamin' timbers, but I was gaming last week with my AD&D group, and ... you guessed it: I wasn't having fun. I mean it was fun after a fashion, but not "it". It wasn't really there for me. I spent this weekend reading Greyhawk's campaign materials and trying to get excited. But it just wasn't happening. By Sunday I didn't even pick it up anymore.

I kept wondering if it as the group instead to the system. I really like watching the pathfinder group game. Why? Because they are the kind of guys I like to game with. In fact they are a lot like the kids I did game with when I was in school. They tend to be more socially soft spoken, but intellectually "loud". They might be called nerds by some, geeks by others, and the fact is at least two of them have aspergers syndrome. Funny thing that. People have any accused me of being aspergers. I don;t think I am, but there it is anyway.

In short, they are my kind of people. Makes me wonder if most of them are INTP type 5s.

Anywho I'm wondering about doing a little experiment and trying to GM PF for awhile to see if "it"'s there with a group I prefer.

It has also made me wonder if I shouldn't try and find my own gaming group. My own KODT. How do I do that though? Put an ad out there at the hobby shop?

Wanted! Four Knights for my Dinner Table?

Not sure really. It's not near as easy making friends as it used to be in school.

An Old School Kid Lost In A New School World

First read this:

http://greatfane.blogspot.com/2007/08/time-for-change.html

I found it wandering around looking for inspiration to resolve my current dilemma.

Now, read the following which I share from a discussion on the very excellent Knights and Knaves forum:

In response to my comment that, Gygax and Arneson were seminal to the hobby, Axe Mental says:

"And what really pisses "them" off (and by them I mean everyone after Gygax and Arneson desiring to "improve" or simply complain) is that Gygax and Arneson got it 100% right with 1E on the first shot. . . the perfect home run never again to be surpassed in the FRPG world. No one has touched it in quality, following or sales. The fact that they got it perfect makes those making later "improvements" obsolete (that must kill them, after all they have to make their name too ... can't be fun always in Master G's shadow). Also, Gygax didn't aim for the lowest common denominator, believing kids could handle it. That says alot I think."

To put it all in perspective allow me to explain my "dilemma". What I didn't mention in my last couple of entries is that I have this nagging discomfort with C&C, and with HM. It's a sort of a back of the brain thing. Sort of lurks back there in the shadows making me slightly nauseous and incapable of completely enjoying the game despite my smiles and passionate pro-formed tirades. It's like worrying you forgot to turn off the burner on the stove. Now you are at work and you can't do anything about it--there's no one to call. So you are constantly plagued by visions of your house burning down, or returning home to a large, scorch-marked, propane-induced hole in the ground.

With C&C it started with the skills checks. It felt a little light and fluffy. It didn't feel quite "real" enough for me. I had some mechanics issues and questions, but those were pretty much answered by dropping by the Troll Lord forums and re-reading some of the rule books. But still, that little devil of an itch wouldn't go away. At first I thought it was maybe that I really preferred Hackmaster and that I had somehow betrayed that interest in deciding to go with C&C due to the fact that I play with a younger crowd. (You can read this thought process in my last two entries.) The kids need a simpler ruleset, I reasoned. But the more I read back over Hackmaster to get a feel for the cause of my unease the worse it got. Hackmaster wouldn't be any different would it? Last night I fell asleep with a GURPs 5th edition book at my side. Maybe Steve Jackson would have some answers. ... here we go again.

Firk! Ding! Blast! Where the frack was I going with all this?

Well, I certainly suffer from overthinking things. So not too long ago I knew I just had to apply the old strategy of the PDAC model for dealing with analysis paralysis. Basically PDAC is the Plan, Do, Assess and Correct model. Basically don't let yourself get hung up in the planning stage -- a real pitfall for me in a lot of areas of my life. I take forever analysing my options to find the one perfect solution. Problem is I end up never making a decision, just eternally tweaking my research. So the real solution becomes: Get out and actually DO something! So I did. I tried C&C. But it wasn't quite "it" for me. That was clear before the first session ended. Obviously I am now assessing my decision and in need of some correction.

So here I am this morning wondering what the heck to do, and I come across The Great Fane's blog.

Wow.

I don't think anyone could have expressed how I feel more succinctly than he could have. As I read his words, all of my old flaming tirades on the boards, groups and forums came back in a flood. I used to be the OSR banner holder and felt the cause like a fire in the bones; with ALL of my heart and soul. But, after a while I grew weary of the arguments; and of being considered a troublemaker, troll and nothing but a disgruntled grognard. I started to temper my comments with understanding. To each his own right? I also started to look for some replacement for my nostalgia bottle.

The problem has become I've bounced around for so long from system to system looking for the return of the gaming messiah. But face it folks, Gary Gygax aint comin back like Gary Jackson did in KODT.Would that he could. And in a way part of me still hopes for it. But I'm searching around looking for that "something" that could replace TSR really and truly. I mean heck look at the captions on my own page. Troll Lord the new TSR??? What the hell was I thinking?

Just like Axe Mental said, Gary and Dave got it right those many years ago. The problem is in carrying out Matt Finch's dream of creating a "quality" market of new AD&D product. We've got the vehicle to do it legally via OSRIC. The problem is there is no control on quality. And like The Fane said, there's no shortage of crap out there. Dee and others like him aren't doing us many favors simply because they used to be associated with old school. You have to weed through so much detritus to get to the gold gems you can sometimes still feel lost in a morass of decaying manuscripts and imitation diamonds.

So this really leaves me thinking. Not just about my own campaign or games. But about my blog, and more importantly my "place" in the classic realm of rpgs. All one has to do is follow my presence on the forums, like KCo, Knights and Knaves, GURPS, EnWorld, Troll Lord et al to get the impression I'm a schizophrenic psycho when it comes to my gaming passions. Old School, yeah, but what does all his amped up praise of first one system and then another tell us? In truth, not much. Where am I really?

One thing I'm sure of is that The Fane's worries were well founded. But that was in 2007. It's now 2011 and I will now admit to a growing "market" of old schoolers turning out some fairly decent gaming product. It's growing slowly, but it does seem to be growing. What can I do with that? I recall my disgust with the OSRIC unearthed document in regards to the classes presented therein. Just not the quality I am looking for in OS AD&D product. There needs to be some clearing house for OSRIC (read AD&D) compatible product; which I believe is being achieved at the Knights & Knaves Forum. What is also needed however is an actively commenting community reviewing these products to keep us honest in our efforts at keeping the quality level high for AD&D/OSRIC.

So that makes me think some changes are due around here. Cosmetic and at the core. First and foremost I'm trying to keep the world of AD&D alive. The vehicle for achieving that is really through OSRIC. So expect to hear more on that front. Also, I'm going to focus more on buying and reviewing classic product designed for the AD&D crowd. And lastly, true to form for me, I'm going to do some theorizing on what it is we are actually creating here. This is truly a grass roots market out here. OSRIC itself is the posterchild of what we are about. We need to police ourselves as we build this new kingdom on the ruins of the old. We need to stay true to form. And what really is AD&D and its place and presence in the world today. Don't just expect more cheerleading designed to convince myself as much as you. I'm already convinced. Let's get serious about the discussion at hand. Classic RPG discussion.

Sure, I'll entertain other systems and their product. Especially as it relates to the best game known to man -- AD&D. But don't expect any punches pulled. And i don't expect you to pull any either. It's time or us to pull up our big boy pants and get real.

Stay tuned for what's to come, it's liable to get exciting around here.

HOODY FREAKIN HOO!