The incredible austerity of D&D in 1980

Ia Jubilex Ia!

*spouts acid from innumerable trumpet-nozzles*

lol @ module

lolth in module

WTF

http://gygaxmagazine.com/

Well, I just signed up for their mailing list .We shall see what Gygax brings...

Have any of you guys been listening to Brian Posehn's D&D cast, "Nerd Poker"?

didn't know it existed, so no. Worth a try?

Yup!

Downloaded the first episode after I asked. So far it's pretty fun.

what's it like?

it's a bunch of people, mostly writers and comedians, playing D&D with a mic in the center of the table. So far, that's really it.

I've really been digging it. I haven't played D&D since high school but Nerd Poker makes me wish I knew enough funny people to get a game together. All the guys I knew who played in school were metalheads who took their frustrated theatrical tendencies out in super-serious D&D games where you had to act out your character.

my suggestion for people who played D&D back in high school and want to play tabletop RPGs again is to check out Dungeon World. I somehow haven't gotten a chance to actually play myself yet but it has been said of this game that it is "better at D&D than D&D".

I've got a bad feeling that if this thread stays active I might start posting a bunch of stuff about the weird RPGs I'm into in it, or else linking to terrible people who make D&D terrible. I should probably not drag that whole scene to ILX though.

at least not the "laughing at horrible people" part, gotta k.i.p.

Do we have a "talk about RPGs" thread? I haven't played in ages but still check them out. The next edition D&D beta stuff has been fun to read.

I might start posting a bunch of stuff about the weird RPGs I'm into in it

PLEASE do. I've been out of that world for a couple of decades but have always found it fascinating.

BTW recently I almost lost my mind trying to remember the name of this weird game that used to advertise in Dragon in the 80s, it had really extraordinary art with weird humanoid creatures in it. It turned out to be Skyrealms of Jorune.

I never saw Skyrealms in person. Ads were creepy and memorable though.

I'm pretty sure our local game/comics place never carried it or I would've bought it in a heartbeat. It's apparently not a very well written game, though.

Really? I thought it was supposed to be moderately well-thought of, if ridiculously obscure. Adverts always made me think it was a ERB/John Carter rip-off, which would have made me buy it had I ever seen it anywhere.

let's start a d&d thread, i want a place to laugh at stuff like this:

http://critical-hits.com/2009/08/07/4th-edition-dd-beyond-level-30/

This kinda IS the D&D thread.

this thread is as good as any!

Above level 30, for each level:
+1 retelling old stories, +1 joint sensitivity to weather, +1 incontinence, +2 get off my lawn

The quest to eradicate all evil, everywhere, that’s ever existed would be another kind of such lofty quest that it would need to be undertaken by the mightiest of heroes.

you don't say

they better bring a level 30 philosopher with them

yeah this seems like a good D&D thread

The internet's true home of collecting horrible people's bad D&D opinions is grognards.txt and it sequel on SA. Hours of fun!

why not go around eradicating evil thru charitable work rather than ethnic cleansing?

30th level soup kitchen worker

+4 ladling

"Advanced" d and D - as if its an acheivement

When rolling dice, they can knock over other things on the table such as miniatures or fall off the table. This creates a disruption that interrupts the flow of a game. Remembering an old board game that had an interesting way of rolling dice by keeping them inside a plastic chamber, I came up with a simple and entertaining solution to this potential problem.
I went to the little toy vending machines at my local supermarket. I purchased a number of toys, some of which I could use as miniatures for combat encounters. The toys come in small plastic capsules made up of two halves that are re-attachable after opening. One half is opaque and the other is relatively clear. One could place a die inside and shake the capsule to roll the die. The opaque half may have a flat end (which my capsules do) so the die lands on that end with the result showing from the clear end. No risk of knocking over minis and no falling off the table. It also prevents some of the methods players use to cheat with their dice rolls.

cutecelsior

sweet dicehack

So yeah, after not playing since high school (around 1986 if you must know), I took up DMing again 3 years ago because my wife was turning 35 and asked for a D&D campaign for her birthday. We've played a few times a year with since then with the same group of ppl. It's been really great. 2nd edition, but only because it was easier to find the 2e manuals for cheap than the 1e ones, and 2e is pretty much close enough.

I kind of want to blow 100 bucks on the reissues of the original three manuals though. The 'good art' in the 2e ones makes me sad.

My friend Chris brings his teenage son Pete with him, it kind of rules to have the group be all these cartoonists in their mid 30s to early 40s and this one bloodsthirsty kid.

Original 3 AD&D books is where it's at. I gave mine to my best friend for his 40th birthday so he can introduce the game to his kids.

i find the reissue market half-baffling -- after they finally sort out the rules to the point of more or less making sense and being fun they flood the market with reissues of 1e ad&d and of basic set d&d -- which must be $2 thrift shop specials all across america. but then i guess the benefit of having a distinct elder generation with actual jobs that you can sell stuff to is that they might go into the nerd store and drop the money on a whim, rather than trying to market texts ppl feel like they ~need~

i've still ever only played d&d, like, twice.

which must be $2 thrift shop specials all across america.

Are they? Not in the thrift shops I go to...

there must be a pretty wide divergence between people who play and ppl willing to put up a couple bucks for a download of a book they had as a teenager

i mean in the right mood i might even drop $3-5 on a monster manual or something and i'm never going to play D&D of any edition again

feel like I'm in the latter. those books bring a huge rush of nostalgia to me but playing again seems patently ridiculous

i find the reissue market half-baffling -- after they finally sort out the rules to the point of more or less making sense and being fun they flood the market with reissues of 1e ad&d and of basic set d&d -- which must be $2 thrift shop specials all across america. but then i guess the benefit of having a distinct elder generation with actual jobs that you can sell stuff to is that they might go into the nerd store and drop the money on a whim, rather than trying to market texts ppl feel like they ~need~

― attempt to look intentionally nerdy, awkward or (thomp), Thursday, January 24, 2013 3:00 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

There is a very vocal and terrible minority of D&D fans who have a violent hatred of change, and see anything new in the hobby as a direct attack on their self-worth. They are also frequently opposed to the idea that role playing games should be fun.

Reminds me I forgot to post this link the other day -- the psych/stoner/metal dudes in the Linus Pauling Quartet have a new 3 CD collection out:

http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/LP4_WordPress/?p=1645

This is the cover:

http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/LP4_WordPress/wp-content/uploads/AVABL.jpg

They went ahead and created a self-contained, totally playable 28-page module, with appropriate hand-drawn art in full eighties self-made module style. You can download the module here:

http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/AVABL/Linus_Pauling_Quartet-Druids_and_Demons-Module_9204.pdf

And did I mention the promotional video:

http://vimeo.com/55408737

That reminds me - I need to order that.

album of the year

which must be $2 thrift shop specials all across america

these are surprisingly hard to find tbh - i have a handful of 1e stuff ive found used for cheap but it doesnt tend to come up much

i thought 4e was a good system to play - i dont have any nostalgia except borrowed nostalgia for earlier d&d and i liked the focus on tactical comabt - but im surprised by just how popular pathfinder is an alternative to it

I read the 4th edition rules and was turned off by the combat focus. Killing stuff is fun and all, but was never what I thought most fun about rD&D or most pgs. I mean, it's not old school Champions or anything, but I found it a bit much.

reading thru wiki on the 4ed rules. some of it is kinda interesting and streamlined, and giving every class something to do in a fight is a good idea probably. a lot of it looks like a naked attempt to chase after WoW. and the insistence on including every year's rules supplements in the core as well as semi-regular version overhauls reeeally looks like fan abuse to me.

Good call on WoW. It's very MMO on paper.