Sorry for the lack of posts

Been stuck with real life stuff and haven't had the go juice to think of anything.

Thanks for hanging in.

1o Reasons past is a foreign country D&D 1970's edition edition

Something to consider, D&D was invented in 1975.

This was a very different time in many ways, I'll list a few


#1 It was culturally and racially much more homogeneous. we all saw the same three channels, heard the same pop music in our limited interest sphere and mostly saw the same movies and such. Books were where most of the differences were though many fewer were published than especially in Sci Fi and Fantasy

#2 It was an industrial society where men worked and most women didn't not a post industrial one were women are starting to outnumber men in the work force

#3 People matured faster and there were fewer socially maladapted gamers

#4 Vietnam had just ended and the US was undergoing major cultural turbulence

#5 There were essentially no personal computers and in fact up till the mid 90's it was plausible for everything in a campaign to be in a notebook.

#6 There was a lot less game material out there will well into the 80's . Even a mediocre issue of Dragon would be prized

#7 There was some Sci Fi (Star Wars wouldn't be out till D&D was 2) and very little fantasy, few enough that it would be perfectly plausible to have read the entire appendix N. Everybody knew the same stuff and there wasn't much of it.

#8 History especially material history in the US was laughable. Very few people had any idea about the past. A lot of people didn't really care though, they just ate whatever was in the book and played the game.

#9 D&D original designers grew up in the age of westerns which has a strong influence on D&D, In many respects D&D, especially Greyhawk is a post apoc western with medieval and magic trappings

#10 The psychedelic movement and such was still out there and it had an occasional impact on D&D and as I understand it, D&D was originally a stoner thing not a nerd game.

Rulings not rules and the inventors of D&D were middle aged

As odd as it is to consider for some, the original inventors of the game, Gary and Dave and everybody were full adults as was Dr. Holmes of Blue Book fame (the first truly mass market D&D in my opinion) , who was a respected surgeon . they were in modern terms were middle aged men in their 30 with careers, families and all the markers of adult hood.

This maturity allowed them to have very light rules, and to just in the words of Old Geezer (at 17 the youngster of the time) To Make up Some *bleep* they thought was fun

They were grown up enough to handle it.

And because they were grown ups not teen or shudder young teens, the cognitive skills they needed were well developed and as such "rulings not rules' worked.

This approach won't work with some player with maturity issues (there are lots of these alas) with with some kids and with some teens but no one considered kids much till the early 80's (Blue Book started it but B/X really took off)

I am guessing TSR s assumed that it would be imaginative adults that would play.

That of course changed as the hobby grew and and in the fullness if time D&D changed evolving into its opposite "rules not rulings" in 4e.

Now 5e from what i can tell is rolling back a bit either because they figure Old Grogs will be the main buyers or they realized that modern kids can in fact figure this stuff out and don't need to be spoon fed. Either way i am happy to see the game get back to its roots as in this mans opinion, the old way was better.

Bah, get off my lawn ...

My Pirate Name

Tis True, Maties ..

Thanks to Gothridge Manor for the idea.


My pirate name is:

My pirate name is:

Calico Sam Flint

Often indecisive, you can't even choose a favorite color. You're apt to follow wherever the wind blows you, just like Calico Jack Rackham, your namesake. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

So what on the horizon for 2013?

2013 looks to be an interesting year for me. I expect to run GURPS in Midrea for the second time, some Angel/Buffy and maybe some Old School D&D (hopefully)

I have no idea what they guys have planned RPG wise but I'll play it whatever it is.

Our group will also do a lot of freeform games, little mostly systemless based on just whatever idea comes to mind.

No every group can do this but my group cam handle it well and even managed 2 non violent mini games in a row to close out 2012.

I suspect though that the battle lust will be catching up with them and I'd better give them a good fight soon before they mutiny.

As far as writing, I have some projects to play catch up on and if I have any discipline at all and Fallout NV or Skyrim don't eat my time I might manage an OSR bit or two.

I'm working on a setting that could be described as D&D without the Eldritch . Drop much of the 70's stuff and the Howard, Leiber, Lovecraft and Vance .

Don't get me wrong I love all these things but its time I think for a something new.

Call it the Anti-Lament of the Flame Princess if you like. And no disrespect to James Raggi here, LOTFP is a great game. Its just want something a little different and a little less weird and dark.

More Faerie Princesses and no Cthulhu. We'll see.