For many years now, I’ve been covering books and other items related to the history of wargaming and RPGs. I never get tired of finding new resources that expand my knowledge of gaming, so below I’d like to share with you some new sources of information and history.
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When I was a kid, I drooled over the inside covers of Dungeons & Dragons books, marvelling at all the different campaign settings and splatbooks. Out of everything, the Planescape setting was the most fascinating.
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I enjoyed being a DM for my friends, and I’m looking forward to taking the reins again. The original AD&D Monster Manual was a great source of inspiration for many adventures — I’d pick the right Big Bad, create a dungeon or castle or other location, and then scatter lesser creatures around as needed. When I reached for the MM, my players knew something was coming… or around the corner… or hidden just beneath the water’s surface. The DMG and MM were all I needed (plus a few hours or more of prep time) to give my players a good adventure, and now it’s looking like I’m going to once again have a chance to create new adventures as the 5th edition books are two-thirds released. My original AD&D Monster Manual has sat proudly on my shelf, and now it has a neighbor… the new 5th edition D&D Monster Manual.
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Dungeons & Dragons is back in the news, what with it being 40 years old (Happy Birthday, D&D!) and the release of the new Starter Set. Hopefully this means lots and lots of new players and new fans. There’s a lot of history when it comes to D&D, however, and anyone discovering it for the first time might also be interested in its history.
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A few days ago, as I was pondering Ethan Gilsdorf’s NYTimes.com article on D&D and writers and thinking back to those wonderful days before discovering girls, cars, and other distractions, my doorbell rang. Sitting on my doorstep was a small box. I couldn’t remember ordering anything recently, but it had my name on it. I opened it up and couldn’t believe my eyes — a friend had ordered a gift copy for me of the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set (right, below photo) that was just released from Wizards of the Coast.
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Just a quick note to remind any of you who might be on the fence about the Metamorphosis Alpha Kickstarter project that it’s ending in less than seven days. What started out as a simple attempt to raise $30,000 has crossed over to a rush for a number of last-minute stretch goals that the team at Goodman Games has been adding that come with no additional costs.
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Gygax Magazine, a tribute to the gaming magazines of yore (think Dragon and White Dwarf, circa 1985), releases its second issue this week with a stunning cover by fantasy artist extraordinaire Jeff Easley.
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A few weeks ago I wrote about my move to my new office and a special shelf I set aside to hold some of my old gaming memorabilia. It’s got a mix of D&D modules and manuals, boxed games, and much more. I’ve been slowly going through boxes that I packed away years and years ago, and I’m still finding surprises. I knew I had a very special old boxed game buried somewhere, and I went on a mission this last weekend to find it.
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What is the future of the role-playing game? What value does a game like Dungeons & Dragons have in the digital age? How can D&D and other RPGs compete with electronic gaming, or should they try to compete at all? And can D&D still change lives, the way D&D changed my life?
Continue ReadingBack in 1975, a company called TSR published a board game called Dungeon! This was two years before the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set was released and Dungeon! built on the mechanics found in the recently released OD&D game — …
Continue ReadingErnest Gary Gygax (1938-2008), co-founder of Dungeons & Dragons, would have been 74 today.
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