Tuesday, March 11, 2008
An Alternate Take on Gary Gygax
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Why WotC is Slash-and-Burning Dungeons & Dragons
That is a really interesting point of view and I think much of it has merit.
The fundamental tenant of his argument, however, is easily debatable; that is, how much of "The Game" is a system of rules and how much comes from the mind of the DM and his players.
None of us would argue that the style of the rules system doesn't have a huge effect on the game-play and the overall "vibe" of the game. There is no way I could effectively run a Ravenloft campaign with the 4.0 rules without significant modification, for instance. It just wouldn't make sense. For traditional fantasy, however, is seems very workable.
I've never been interested in the rules. They are a necessary component to the part of the game that I am interested in; story, role-playing, and companionship. To abandon much of the old system may not be a detriment but rather an advancement of those elements of the game. Though it remains to be seen, I'm hopeful.
I'm in favor of simplification. It will speed game play and enable those of us with less time and/or inclination to wrestle with 3.0 or 3.5 to become better acquainted with the system and thus have a more significant investment in the game. Who knows, with a more intuitive and accessible system Scott might manage to decide his character's action in somewhere under an hour!
The success of the game will depend on its flexibility and ease of play. Fourth edition seems to lean in that direction. I say the King is dead. Long live the King.
The fundamental tenant of his argument, however, is easily debatable; that is, how much of "The Game" is a system of rules and how much comes from the mind of the DM and his players.
None of us would argue that the style of the rules system doesn't have a huge effect on the game-play and the overall "vibe" of the game. There is no way I could effectively run a Ravenloft campaign with the 4.0 rules without significant modification, for instance. It just wouldn't make sense. For traditional fantasy, however, is seems very workable.
I've never been interested in the rules. They are a necessary component to the part of the game that I am interested in; story, role-playing, and companionship. To abandon much of the old system may not be a detriment but rather an advancement of those elements of the game. Though it remains to be seen, I'm hopeful.
I'm in favor of simplification. It will speed game play and enable those of us with less time and/or inclination to wrestle with 3.0 or 3.5 to become better acquainted with the system and thus have a more significant investment in the game. Who knows, with a more intuitive and accessible system Scott might manage to decide his character's action in somewhere under an hour!
The success of the game will depend on its flexibility and ease of play. Fourth edition seems to lean in that direction. I say the King is dead. Long live the King.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
A Sad Day
The Father of Dungeons and Dragons, Gary Gygax, Has Died..
Do-It-Yourself – Ernest Gary Gygax ( July 27, 1938 -- March 4, 2008) was an American writer and game designer, best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson, and co-founding the company Tactical Studies Rules with Don Kaye in 1974. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of the role-playing.
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