How do you politely say...
Mar. 10th, 2008 08:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
subplotkudzu Over the last few days I've been dipping in to the first edition DMG to remind myself of what the game was really like. I had intended to post some comments on the how DMing theory had changed over the last three decades. I may yet, but first, I have to comment on this:
http://www.slate.com/id/2186203/
Now I'm trying to find a polite way to tell the author that, with his points had been debated to death decades ago and "hurting bad fun" condescension, his best course of action is to go f*** himself.
"The problem with D&D is that it plays like a video game?" No, the problem with video games is that they play like the weakest, least innovative sort of D&D - which is not the sort of D&D that Gygax played, or really that anyone else plays either.
"More importantly, characters in this new system [GURPS] could be fleshed out down to the smallest detail, from a crippling phobia of snakes to a severe food allergy." Funny, I played D&D characters with a fear of snakes too, and the system didn't have to bribe me to do it by saying that having a fear of snakes gave me the points to be a better archaeologist. I just decided the character was afraid of snakes. And without D&D, GURPS would be non-existent. The creators who you mention whose works "far outclassed" Gygax have been writing eulogies to him, which makes it clear they understand all gamers debt to the original D&D concepts, even if this writer doesn't
Pisses me off.
http://www.slate.com/id/2186203/
Now I'm trying to find a polite way to tell the author that, with his points had been debated to death decades ago and "hurting bad fun" condescension, his best course of action is to go f*** himself.
"The problem with D&D is that it plays like a video game?" No, the problem with video games is that they play like the weakest, least innovative sort of D&D - which is not the sort of D&D that Gygax played, or really that anyone else plays either.
"More importantly, characters in this new system [GURPS] could be fleshed out down to the smallest detail, from a crippling phobia of snakes to a severe food allergy." Funny, I played D&D characters with a fear of snakes too, and the system didn't have to bribe me to do it by saying that having a fear of snakes gave me the points to be a better archaeologist. I just decided the character was afraid of snakes. And without D&D, GURPS would be non-existent. The creators who you mention whose works "far outclassed" Gygax have been writing eulogies to him, which makes it clear they understand all gamers debt to the original D&D concepts, even if this writer doesn't
Pisses me off.
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-11 05:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-11 11:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-11 03:25 pm (UTC)"The Perrin Conventions were Steve Perrin's house rules modifying D&D distributed by Steve to his gaming group. A lot of us had house rules in those days.
"Steve contributed to A&E for awhile, mainly announcements about RQ. He had contributions in 12,13,14,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,25,26, 30,31,32,37,40,42,56.
"A brief dip into ancient A&Es reveals that Steve Perrin didn't do mailing comments, just writeups and house rules -- lots and lots of them. Some of these later became the Perrin Conventions which later became RQ."
Lee also wanted me to comment that anyone whose interested can get copies of the issues to which Steve contributed for a nickel a page, plus postage.