D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Recap

The D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge is now over.  I completed every post and I enjoyed reading many of the posts by others.  I have participated in other similar events with a D&D focus but I think this round of questions was probably the overall best.  I noticed a strong trend of similarities on some posts while other posts were vastly different in experience.  

I attempted to break up the monotony of the posts related to the challenge by inserting posts on other topics at random intervals throughout the challenge.  I noticed something right away when I did so.  The "off topic" posts generated much more traffic than the posts related to the challenge.  I am not talking about a small margin of difference here; it was literally ten times or more for the number of views on the "off topic" posts.

I am not sure that I am going to participate in any more of these month long challenges in the future.  I may participate in a "different" way.  Maybe I will do a combo post every week combining all of the week's posts into one or do a post every 3 or 4 days with the previous 3 or 4 days all lumped together?  I am not 100% sure if I will do anything at all with them yet.  There is the upcoming A-Z challenge coming up and I will make up my mind about participating soon.      

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 28

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 28: What’s the single most important lesson you’ve learned from playing D&D?

Simply that variety is the spice of life even when it comes to a hobby that I enjoy tremendously.  I referred to this in my previous post for the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  My gaming group had a tendency to playing “just D&D” which meant AD&D or Basic D&D.  Even though we would occasionally play something else, the vast majority of the games we played were D&D-like in their rules or play style.  In short, we leaned heavily towards these types of games from 1980 to 1991. 

I took a long break from 1991 to 2000; basically, the entire time I was in the Army.  I played once or twice during that time but I was not excited about A/D&D or even fantasy gaming in general.  It somewhat felt like a chore to me and I needed a break at that point.  The reason for that break was that I had over played A/D&D and similar games to the point that I was not interested in playing anything at that point.

I have a much smaller collection at this point in my life.  Fantasy still takes up the most shelf space but it is a slight margin now instead of the vast majority.  I have a lot more variety with games like SteamCraft (a steampunk role-playing game) and Dead Reign (zombie apocalypse) as part of my collection.  It would be easier to GM some of these games now if I would have expanded my horizons back in my early days of the hobby.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 27

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the 1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 27: If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything different when you first started gaming?

I would not change a thing about when I first started gaming.  There is, however, one thing that I would change.  We got into A/D&D mode and got stuck in a rut.  There would be other games suggested and people were always stating “Man, I need to keep playing my Elf so he can level up” or something similar.  It would be false to say we never played anything else.  For instance, FASERIP Marvel, V&V, Talislanta, and Palladium Fantasy all got their fair share of play.  We actually could have played many more games than we did.  There were several games that each of us bought but could not convince the rest of the group to give it a try.  At times, some of the content would definitely influence or inspire our other gaming but we seemed to stick to just a handful of games when we had many more available.  Just off the top of my head I know that we passed on GURPS and Middle Earth Role Playing just to name a few.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 26

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the 1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 26: Do you still game with the group that introduced you to the hobby?

No, I do not still game with the group that introduced me to the hobby for various reasons.  I am still good friends with some of them and some of them live too far away for anything practical.  Of the ones that are close by, there are too many scheduling conflicts to make it happen.  I am currently in that spot “between groups” at the moment but I do have some potential gaming lined up with my cousin and his wife.  

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 25

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 25: Longest running campaign/gaming group you’ve been in.

The only constants in the longest running gaming group I have been in were Jamie King and me.  We began gaming together in the fall of 1980 and would continue to do so until the summer of 1991. That was the year that the majority of the gaming group was seniors.  Upon graduation, five of us had joined the military and would soon leave out for various destinations all over the globe.

Over the years, others would come and go at the game sessions.  There were times that my brother Mark would play A/D&D with us.  Our mutual friend Dan would join in but it was mainly when it was something other than A/D&D.  He was not fond of the class & level system because his older brothers had convinced him that other systems were “superior”.  The stoner kid down the street – I can not remember his name – would play but he was mainly into the live action events.  For several years, the Carman brothers (Ray and Neal) gamed quite a bit with us and that was when we played the greatest variety of games; Talislanta and Palladium Fantasy were some of the most often played.        

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 24

I will be really surprised if Krull is not mentioned several times by other participants.  My buddies and I were all excited by the Krull trailer and we talked my Uncle David into taking us all to see it.  The Glave made several appearances in our campaigns over the years. I always stop and watch for at least a few minutes if this movie is playing.  D&D comes to mind instantly because it was the first time all of us in the group went to see a movie that we related to our game sessions.

Now Open - A Megaversal Miscellany

I have just started a new blog, A Megaversal Miscellany, to fill the gap I see in blogs devoted to game lines from Palladium Books.  There are certainly a decent number of RIFTS blogs or blogs that have some RIFTS material posted from time to time.  I am not worried about the RIFTS material because there is plenty of it available.  The focus of this new blog will be on the lesser supported Palladium game lines such as Dead Reign, Beyond the Supernatural, Nightbane, Heroes Unlimited, and Palladium Fantasy.

Currently, I am starting off by focusing on Dead Reign.  I am sure you are wondering why I would name a Dead Reign blog "A Megaversal Miscellany"?  The answer is simple - I plan on expanding into the other game lines at some point in the future.  I thought it was better to plan ahead instead of changing the name later.  I will make appropriate changes to stay in compliance with the Palladium internet policy once the change over happens.

Currently, I have just the welcome post up but there are various small projects underway.  I have some house rules that I will be posting up and an alternate setting for the Dead Reign game; eventually, I want to include all of this in a net book.  In addition, I have begun work on some of the custom additions like zombie variants, new OCCs, and a host of other resources.

At the moment, I am just the Dead Reign guy at A Megaversal Miscellany but it will be much easier to expand into the other game lines with your help. I want to stick with the lesser supported lines at the moment; all of the official resources are tied up with RIFTS and Robotech.  Certainly, there must be a fan or two of the Palladium lines that would like to contribute something.  I am on the hunt for guest posters or even permanent contributors.  

Do you want to write a review of a sourcebook?

Do you have a Palladium Fantasy race or O.C.C. that you have created and would like to share?

Do you have a write up for a new superpower for Heroes Unlimited? 

What part do you want to play?

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Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Phase World®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. RPG Tactics™, Beyond the Supernatural, Chaos Earth, Coalition States, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, SAMAS, Thundercloud Galaxy, Three Galaxies, Vampire Kingdoms, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.

Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 23

I must have borrowed this movie from my Uncle David "a million times" when I was a kid with D&D always on the brain.  I used to play this movie when I was working on D&D stuff.  I would get out some graph paper and just start knocking stuff out.  That is why O Fortuna from Excalibur makes me think of D&D when I hear it.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 22

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 22: First D&D-based novel you ever read.

The first D&D-based novel I ever read was actually a trilogy; the Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.  I do not recall a lot of the details around that time; did I buy them all at once or one volume at a time?  What I do remember is that it was summer time so there was no school to be worried about.  I started reading until I went to sleep that night. 

The next morning, I got dressed and then I started reading again.  I remember this so well because my grandmother was worried because I had “done nothing but sit there and read all day” for several days in a row.  I wanted to tell her to relax because this was not 1940 but the modern world; there are plenty of modern conveniences that make “working in the field all day” obsolete. 

I stopped reading and asked, “What do you want me to do?”, as I waited for an answer. 

She got a puzzled look on her face and replied, “Well…I don’t know.”, and went back to whatever it was she was doing at the time.

I continued on and finished the trilogy.  I would go on to read several more Dragonlance novels over the years.  For the most part, I think the Weis & Hickman contributions are the best but there are others that are just as good.  The one I currently need to buy and read is the final volume of the Dark Chronicles trilogy. 

I know some people do not care for these books but that does not dissuade me from reading them.  I choose not to get irritated or argue with them – different strokes for different folks sort of thing.  Not everybody is going to like everything I do and the opposite is very much true as well.    

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 21

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 21: First time you sold some of your D&D books – for whatever reason.

The first time I sold some of my D&D books was after a few years in the Army.  It was during the height of popularity for Vampire: the Masquerade and I could not find anyone interested in playing A/D&D.  I thought long and hard about but I eventually reasoned that I probably would not be playing again and probably should not hold on to stuff that would just take up space.  I sold quite a few items and I now wish that I had not done so.  Since that time, I have purchased some of the items again but nothing will replace the actual books that I had accumulated since the early 1980s.  Lesson learned!

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 20

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 20: First non-D&D game you played.

I am absolutely positive that the first non-D&D game I played was a science fiction game.  It was either Traveler or Star Frontiers.  I am leaning towards Star Frontiers because my brother got it one time when we visited the local game store so I could pick up one of the D&D boxed sets.  Neither of these games really caught on with our group but Gamma World did.  We played and enjoyed several editions of the game – my personal favorite is still the original – and it would directly lead us into picking up RIFTS years later.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 19

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 19: First gamer who just annoyed the hell out of you.

The first gamer who annoyed the hell out of me was actually one of the originals of our gaming group.  He was a good player and DM but he started going through a phase as a player that just started irritating pretty much all of us.  For some reason or another, he became obsessed with his character being “the best” regardless of the situation.  It may not sound too bad but I will provide some examples.

One example is character creation – we used to just roll up characters and then bring them to the gaming sessions.  This guy started showing up with characters that had multiple scores of 17 plus and even showed up once with straight 18s!  The only answer he would give was that he had “rolled it all with my dice” which we knew was bogus.  The DM decided that we should all generate characters at the first session of the next campaign.  This guy takes out every d6 in his dice bag and rolls ALL of them.  Then he was pulling out three dice and assigning them to an ability score.  Keep in mind that boxed sets were really common during that time and most boxed games had at least a d6 or two in them.  It was not hard to see how he way rolling those scores with 30 or more d6s. 

Another example of irritating behavior was his decision to start solo adventuring his characters that he was using in campaign play.  He would get a module, his character, and his dice and just start reading through the module.  There was no attempt at impartiality in his dual role as DM and solo player.  He would show up to the game sessions with his character and there would be additional experience points, levels, treasure, and other stuff on his character sheet.  There were several players that got really irritated about that.

After a few of these episodes, he came around and started gaming like we had always done before.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 18

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 18: First gaming convention you ever attended.

I have only been one dedicated gaming convention in my entire life.  It was the first year of Conjuration in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Once again, I owe that trip to my Uncle David.  I do not recall hardly anything about it except for a few details.  We went the cheap route and slept in my uncle David’s van.  I know for certain that Steve Jackson Games was one of the vendors as I bought Necromancer and Car Wars from their booth; Steve Jackson may have been manning the booth because the person looked remarkably like the pictures I had seen.  There was a vendor selling hand made swords.  Somebody was hawking the entire Man, Myth, & Magic series to people as they passed by his display.  There was some sort of Star Trek miniatures game going on in a rather large space but I have no idea which one was being played.  There were several people in costume running around the convention.  I remember it being fun but that is about all for the details.  I need to get out and go to another one some time…

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 17

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 17: First time you heard that D&D was somehow “evil”?

I remember my step-dad made some sort of vague remark such as “I’ve heard some weird stuff about that game” when he saw my friends and I looking through our A/D&D books.  He did not insist on anything but just simply stated he had heard things.  It really was not a conversation at all.  The topic was pretty much dead at that point.  Fast forward a few months and then the television movie being played that night was Mazes and Monsters.

All of us sat around the living room watching the movie.  My step-dad made a few “yeah, that’s what I heard” comments but never really tried to push the issue with me.  He actually told me to “be careful” with the game!  I was intrigued by the bits of game rules hinted at throughout the movie but I mainly sat there with some quad paper drawing dungeon levels for the entire movie.  I would actually read the book years later; as usual, the book was better.  I even found it in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart a few years ago.   

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 16

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 16: Do you remember your first Edition War?  Did you win?

I have had some serious discussions over the years when it comes to game and game systems.  When I say “serious discussions” I do not mean the “dig in and call for reinforcements because this means war” type of discussions.  What I mean is two people offering up points and counter-points to determine which game or game system would be better in play for their group.  I have had many of those discussions and I do not recall any absolutely uncivil or rude behavior.

When I think of edition war it brings to mind images of “that guy” at the friendly local game store that absolutely has to make snide remarks about the shopping habits of other customers; worse yet, the employees that do this.  I have no problem spending my gaming money elsewhere but that is a different rant.  I think you all know the people I am talking about.  The ones that insist on going on about why your game sucks in a John Madden-like rant when you pick up a book to look through it at the store.

Winning is not the point and I will generally just ignore these people.  At my age and in my location it is difficult enough to find people to play with in a face to face game.  I am generally willing to play just about anything to give it a try.  Playing is more important than critiquing every little aspect of every game.  If I find out that I do not care for the game through play then no harm, no foul.   

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 15

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 15: What was the first edition of D&D you didn’t enjoy? Why?

The first edition of D&D that I did not enjoy was Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition.  My buddy Jamie picked up the core rulebooks as soon as they were released; he was a big fan of second edition and would later buy a boat load of the “Complete” series of books and other expansion material.  I had been following the articles and surveys in Dragon magazine leading up to the second edition so I was pretty interested to see what they were going to do with the game. Jamie brought the PHB, DMG, and MM over after he bought them and I looked through them and determined “they had gotten it wrong”.

It did not take me long to form my opinion – this is the kid friendly version of AD&D.  I kept noticing stuff that was taken out of the game.  The Assassin and Monk were absent from the classes like the Half-Orc was absent from the races.  There were no demons and devils in the Monster Manual.  The DMG was not full of archaic references that Gygax made in the original version.  It appeared that nothing from Unearthed Arcana was included, either.  Comeliness was not added to the list of Abilities.  Why were the Barbarian, Cavalier, and Thief-Acrobat not included?  I was not happy with the products as I perceived them – updates that actually took away content from the original – and I never did buy them. 

We did use some second edition stuff in our AD&D games, though.  The Bard and THACO were great changes.  I just never really saw the necessity to change over because the game systems were very similar.  For the most part, if something from a supplement caught my eye then I could most likely just use it as is or make a judgment call.  I was a little interested in the reprints but I held off because I am still not ready to pull the trigger on second edition.    

  

A Look at & Magazine Issue 7

Here is another post meant to break up the monotony of the D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge series of posts.  In this post, I take a look at & Magazine Issue 7.  This is not necessarily a review but more of a spotlight.  

What is & Magazine All About?

& Magazine is a free quarterly pdf publication supporting Dungeons & Dragons & Advanced Dungeons & Dragons by filling a role similar to other print hobby magazines of the past such as Dragon, the Fantasy Gamer, White Dwarf, & others.  Their goal with each issue is “filling in the gaps for old school gamers” & that is mentioned right on the cover.  I am going to take a look at Issue #7, the Winter 2013 issue.  This issue & all others are available for download at http://www.&-mag.com/downloads.html along with some bonus materials.  For anyone interested, they do take submissions & do print letters from readers.

Issue 7

Issue 7 of & Magazine is focused on the Inner Planes.  Within the 92 pages there are articles of various lengths covering such topics as extra-planar travel, adventuring on the elemental plane of fire, & expanding the elementals to name a few.  There are also articles outside of the stated Inner Planes focus such as an examination of the saving throws, bringing Doom & AD&D together, & even an update of the old Archer/Archer-Ranger character class from way back in Dragon #45 by the original author Len Lakofka.    

Artwork & Presentation

The cover depicts two people in a battle fairly reminiscent of the battle depicted on the cover of Deities & Demi-Gods; the biggest difference is that these people are using elemental powers to battle instead of divine powers.  Some of the dungeon maps are done in a style very similar to early TSR modules with the blue & white coloring; a very nice touch! The artwork used throughout the magazine is of varying quality but nothing feels out of place.  Some of it may not be to every reader’s taste but that is well within the normal range of artwork in this hobby.  I am reminded of the difference in artwork if you put an issue of Dragon, White Dwarf, the Space Gamer, Vortext, & other gaming magazines side by side.  The typical page is done in a two-column layout with a good font that is easy to read.      

Note: I am only discussing a limited amount of articles from each of the following categories.  This is not so much a review as it is a spotlight on & Magazine. 

Featured Articles

The features consist of two articles in this issue. The first article, You Want to do What??? Adventuring on the Elemental Planes, provides tips for both players & DMs about using the Elemental Planes in their campaign.  The article opens up with a bit of background & how the concept of the Elemental Planes has changed over the years in AD&D; this article is only concerned with the four basic elemental planes.  Then the article shifts to a player perspective for the first half while the DM perspective is used for the second half. 

The most important part of the player section is the note that regardless of whatever else has been read, the DM determines what is true for the elemental planes in his campaign.  Of course, most of the old timers know that from other topics but there is nothing wrong with reinforcement. The Players section covers the following topics on the elemental planes: how to gather information on them, how to get there, how to survive there, & how to get back home.

The DMs section provides tips for preparing & running adventures on any of the elemental planes.  The author points out that the DMs job is much harder while doing so.  The DM is directed to some official AD&D sources – Manual of Planes, Planescape, monster entries – that may provide clues about the planes.  Other topics of interest include methods of travel to the planes, spell & magic item changes, monsters, & changes to class abilities.  This section of the article is wrapped up with suggestions on how to make each plane a unique opportunity for adventure.         

Bonus Articles

There are four bonus articles in this issue.  The second article in this section, A Deeper Look At Saving Throws, shines on spotlight on saving throws in the older editions of A/D&D & the questions that often come up surrounding their use.  The author explains the concept of saving throws, why a simple ability check will not work, what saving throws really represent, & expanding on the uses of saving throws. 

Regular Columns

The seventeen regular columns in this issue are split among maps & several different types of articles.  There is quite a bit of variety on the topics with some articles being multiple entries of the same article type; Creature Feature I – IV & Spellcaster’s Paradise I & II, for example.  The included mini-adventure, The FireForge, is a companion piece to the earlier article about the elemental planes.  The For Further Reading section is not merely suggested articles from the past of & Magazine but a list of blog posts & articles from Dragon, Dungeon, & other magazines that tie into the theme of the elemental planes.  Along with the other articles not mentioned, there are classy touches like a featured artist spotlight included.   

My Thoughts

If you are an old school A/D&D player or enjoy one of the retro-clones then you should be reading & Magazine.  It lives up to the goal of “filling in the gaps for old school gamers” by the diversity of its content.  & Magazine is not one of those fan magazines that only include new monsters and maps in every issue but contains a healthy amount of substance within the contents.  The perfect way to describe how & Magazine is handling things is by reading the Tread Softly column which stated “we're trying to have the same type of balance Dragon had back in its day, with things aimed at more advanced players and other things aimed at those who just started and are getting their feet wet.”.  Nicole Massey explained it perfectly with that statement. & Magazine has the right feel and does, in fact, carry on the spirit of older Dragon magazine and I encourage everyone that fits into the old school type of play to check out this valuable resource.  Issue #8 should be out tomorrow… 

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 14

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 14: Did you meet your significant other while playing D&D?  Does he or she still play? (Or just post a randomly generated monster in protest of Valentine’s Day.)

No, I did not meet my wife playing D&D.  She has not played and has expressed no interest when it has been mentioned.  On the other hand, she does like the card games like Magic: the Gathering, Spellfire, and some others we have tried.  We recently bought Munchkin and are waiting for the opportunity to play.  She may not play D&D but she does enjoy computer games like Diablo and Tomb Raider.  She also happens to like movies such as The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.  Basically, there is a lot of common ground on similar subjects but she just does not play D&D.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 13

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 13: First miniature(s) you used for D&D.

Okay, this will be the easiest question on this challenge to answer.  Miniatures have gotten nearly no use at all in the games I have played.  For the most part, we never used them but jotted down the marching order on a piece of paper.  The very few times – maybe three times in 30 years – that I can recall using miniatures involved us picking up whatever small items – extra dice, poker chips, eraser –  were sitting around to help keep one spread out combat straight.  I have some miniatures and I have always wanted to play in a game that uses them but I have yet to play with a group that uses them.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 12

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 12: First store where you bought your gaming supplies.  Does it still exist?

The very first store where I purchased my gaming supplies was Tulsa’s Original Game Shop in the Farm Shopping Center. My first trip there was – again, thanks to Uncle David – in the summer of 1980. It was a small hole-in-the-wall operation but there was a ton of gaming products on the shelves.  My first visit there was when it clicked that D&D was not the only game in town.  I bought many products there ranging from old Steve Jackson mini-games like Car Wars or Ogre then also Palladium Fantasy, DC Heroes, Talislanta, FASERIP Marvel, and a bunch of others.  The staff encouraged customers to try other games than D&D so it was nice not hearing all of the “you’re doing it wrong” if you play that game nonsense that is common in some shops.

Unfortunately this shop is closed now.  Sometime around 2005 the Original Game Shop moved from the Farm Shopping Center to a strip mall approximately a mile away.  There was more room for product but something was not quite right.  Ben, the owner, was having some health issues and it was apparent that it was affecting his routine; he was forgetting to special order items, stock certain items and he just was not the same.  The store carried on for a while and then I pulled up one day and it was out of business.  Fortunately, there are at least three relatively close game stores that I can visit now.      

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 11

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 11: First splatbook you begged your DM to approve.

I do not recall ever wishing one of the DMs would approve of using any particular splatbook BUT there was my AD&D game that I hoped the players would embrace using Unearthed Arcana.  I remember being extremely excited about using the stuff inside after flipping through the contents.  I thought there was plenty to like – new ability score generation methods, new races, new classes, etc. – and it would help get our game a fresh start.

Unfortunately, I was pretty much the only one excited about the book; Jamie might have been also.  It was apparent that most of the players were kind of burned out on A/D&D gaming at the time and wanted something different.  I am pretty confident that we would have tried out some of the options in Unearthed Arcana if the book would have been released sooner.  That led us to try out different games such as Marvel Super Heroes, Champions, Car Wars, and many more.  We would eventually return to A/D&D and would even use some of the Unearthed Arcana options but we never did run a campaign using many of the options. 

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 10

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 10: First gaming magazine you ever bought (Dragon, Dungeon, White Dwarf, etc.).

I ran across Dragon magazine during one of my visits to the friendly local game store.  I am not sure which number was on the issue but I do know that it was lower than 100.  I read that thing front to back and would read it again several times.  I got a subscription so I would not have to go to town to pick it up.  I used to pick up Dragon quite frequently in the store after my subscription ran out; plus, it gave me an excuse to visit the game shop.  I used to have several folders with articles I had cut out to use in our games. 

Over the years, I have read many different gaming magazines and have valued them quite differently.  I never much cared for Dungeon even though I think it’s a great idea.  I was just more interested in the general purpose type of magazine that I got from Dragon.  I have read issues of Roleplayer, Pyramid, The RIFTER, Shadis, White Dwarf, and many others.  The only magazines that rivaled Dragon in the enjoyment and use I got out of them was The Space Gamer and The Fantasy Gamer.  I know that there are email newsletters, news sites, forums, and other online things that can serve as substitutes for these items but I really think we are in need of a quality magazine or two that we can pick up in print every month or so.    

What's on Your Quest List?

In my continuing efforts to break up the monotony of the D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge series of posts, I am taking a look at some products that I wish I had gotten over the years.  I was originally going to post about a free OSR support magazine but that will come later in the week.

It has been my experience that if you have been involved in this hobby - or any hobby for that matter - for a time then there are products you did not get when they were available for some reason and now you wished that you had added them to your collection.  Maybe one of your friends had the game and you were not worried about your own copy?  Your friend now lives three states away and it will not be so easy to borrow now.  Maybe you had a copy and sold it?  The game is now out of print and you can not find a copy. Whatever the reason may be, we all have an item, or even a list of items, that we would like to have if the opportunity presented itself.  I have a list of items presented below with a few notes added.

Chivalry & Sorcery 1st or 2nd edition

I knew about C&S being "like D&D but more like real medieval society" and was interested but I did not buy any products until the third edition.  I was intrigued by the ideas presented in the rules but I was not very fond of way they were presented.  The weird fonts used in some areas made headings hard to read and there were LOTS of errors in the text.  I sold it in irritation.  I am still interested in either original or second edition C&S for no other reasons than to see how well it captures a more realistic medieval flavor and to do some comparing and contrasting with Adventures in Fantasy.

Everway

I was intrigued by the notion of not only going with a game system built around cards instead of dice but the fact that the cards were similar to tarot cards instead of traditional playing cards.  I only every saw it in the store twice and I already had other products in hand to buy.  I have not yet found it at a reasonable price.

Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game original edition

This was the first game that came along that made us put away our AD&D game for a while and play it instead.  I know Palladium has its fair share of detractors but this is a different game than the beast that RIFTS has become with all of the changes to the rules.  It uses an earlier form of the Megaversal system that is much easier to handle and we had a blast with this game.  There were many more character classes than AD&D, there were insanity rules, nice little touches like the pictures of coins from various nations, and a score of other cool stuff.  I do not know the difference between this edition and the revised edition pdf offered on drivethrurpg but I just might take a chance.

Powers & Perils

I remember seeing this in the old hobby shop for a long time but I never got around to buying it.  I probably picked it up 20 times or more.  I have seen the website and looked at the rules; I would just like them in the original printed and boxed form.  Since realizing all these years later that Powers & Perils was designed by the co-author of Adventures in Fantasy makes me even more interested in owning this game.

That is probably the "big four" on my list.  I have excluded some games - Fantasy Earth and Pelicar - that I want but have since discovered they are cheaply available from online retailers. What is on your list?  Can you tell me anything about the games on my list?  Got something you want to sell? ;-) 

  

    

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 9

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 9: First campaign setting (published or homebrew) you played in.

When we first started playing A/D&D we did not really use any campaign world information outside of the scant information included in the modules or hinted at in various spots in the rule books.  We just sort of acknowledged it in the background and winged the details from there.  No one in our group ever bought any of the campaign settings for use in our games.  The best answer I can give is that defaulted to the information given on Greyhawk in our AD&D gaming and to the Known World in the B/X games.  We did not focus on or even go into great detail on the campaign world until we moved onto other games.

The first game world that really struck a chord with us was Palladium Fantasy.  The world was different from the standard fantasy offerings from TSR at the time.  We became very interested in exploring it after the core book and would pick up others.  The other game world that really stood out was Talislanta.   

Thoughts on Dual-Stats?

Here is another post to break up the monotony of the D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge posts.  

Looking over my collection of role-playing products I noticed that I have a few among them that are dual-statted for two different rule systems.  That got me to thinking about the projects that I am currently developing.  I started thinking that maybe dual-statting some of these projects might make them more useful to people that download them.  This is all hypothetical at this point and I am not worried about discussing any legal or cost ramifications at this point.  So, for anyone that has ever purchased OR created a dual-stat product, I have a few questions:

What is your overall impression of dual-stat products? In other words, do you dig them?  Do you like the opportunity to get an impression of another game system?  Do you hate the idea?  Either way, I want to know.

  

For those that like dual-stat products, how do you prefer the information presented? Do you like the systems on opposing pages? Do you prefer the information presented in separate chapters, an appendix for the alternate system, or some other method?

I am just curious at this point and would like to get a feel for this kind of thing.  Any and all answers will be appreciated!
 

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 8

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the 1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 8: First set of polyhedral dice you owned.  Do you still use them?

Along with the assortment of A/D&D books I received from my uncle David, I also received a bag of assorted dice from him.  The only items I really added to the collection were the mandatory Crown Royal bag plus any dice included in any games I purchased from time to time.  Yes, I still have and use my first set of polyhedral dice I owned.  The avatar I am using for this blog and Google+ is a picture of those polyhedral dice. 

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 7

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 7: First D&D product you ever bought.  Do you still have it?

The first D&D product I bought with my own money was probably the Moldvay Basic boxed set or the Monster Manual II.  It seemed like the most popular gift I received at birthdays and Christmas was cash.  I was ruled “difficult to buy for” because I would put the stuff I actually wanted on my lists when they asked for a list of ideas.  I distinctly recall one relative proclaiming how confusing it was going into “that place” so cash would make a better gift.  The good news is that I could get exactly what I wanted.  The bad news is that I was too young to drive so I had to convince a parent to make the 35 mile trek.

I do not still have the Monster Manual II.  It did not get near as much use as the original Monster Manual in our gaming group.  I do not remember being that impressed with the creatures inside.  I do still have the Moldvay Basic and the matching Expert rules also.  The B/X rules are my favorite presentation of the D&D system and I wish there would have been an official Companion set along with an eventual all-in-one Rules Cyclopedia type manual for that edition.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 6

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 6: First character death.  How did you handle it?

My first character death came when I played a magic-user for the first time.  All I remember is that the fighters in the group got knocked unconscious on the first round of combat and the other classes got outgunned from that point.  I handled it just fine.  I was so fascinated by A/D&D that I was often generating characters in my spare time for later use.  I probably have a folder full of characters with various stages of use – and even characters still yet to be used – in my parent’s attic somewhere. 

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 5

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 5: First character to go from 1^st level to the highest level possible in a given edition.  (Or what’s the highest level character you’ve ever ran?)

In my old gaming group we would play for a while with one person as the Dungeon Master and then we would rotate.  Another person would be Dungeon Master and everybody would make new characters and start over at level one.  This was not planned but it just seemed to happen that way.  The highest level of character I played was somewhere in the mid-teens; but I had several at that level.

I actually spent much more time being the Dungeon Master than I did playing in someone else’s game.  That also was not planned but it just worked out that way.  Even though AD&D was our main game, Jamie and I had a solo D&D game going on for quite some time.  We would play pretty obsessively staying at each other’s house every other weekend.  I know that we played enough for his character to get to the Companion set for sure.  I know that both of us had the Masters set but I do not recall if we actually used it in play.  Simply put, his character level was somewhere in the 20s for certain.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 4

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 4: First dragon your character slew (or some other powerful monster).

I am going with my best guess on this one because I honestly have minimal confidence in any answer given.  I am certain we fought Ogre Mages and Vampires along the way.  I am leaning towards a Black Dragon for the first dragon.  I always seemed to like using them for the big bad guys in my games. 

Staying on the subject of monsters – What I do recall is receiving a monster book from my step-brother Lee named All the World’s Monsters.  I do not know which volume I had but I remember digging the monsters inside because they were different from the standard selection available in the Monster Manual.

I had the book for several months before I paid any real attention to the final page.  It had a series of tables that you could roll on to generate new monsters.  Jamie and I used to spend quite a bit of time rolling on those tables and using the results for inspiration. We would keep all of the monsters in a folder for later use.  I need to do another attic expedition at my mom’s to see if I can find that folder…   

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 3

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 3: First dungeon you explored as a player character or ran as a DM?

The first time I played D&D was an adventure that had Dan and me as the players with one of Dan’s older brothers as the DM.  The adventure took place in a homebrew dungeon of his design and the reason for entering was either rescuing a kidnapped person or for reconnaissance.  Honestly, that is probably all I can remember at this point.

The first dungeon adventure I ran was The Keep on the Borderlands – I’m betting this is mentioned in many of the posts by others – as a solo for my old friend Jamie or a small group consisting of Jamie and one or two others.  I remember being completely fascinated with the little bits of world detail, the information on rumors, and especially the picture of that nasty looking little hermit guy in the tree.  I remember daydreaming about the events that led up to him being a hermit.  I wanted to know why he was there and what he wanted.  Over the years, I have dug it out several times and ran it again.  I had some good luck and ran across my old beaten up copy one time when I was digging around in my parent’s attic.  Now it sits on my role-playing shelf waiting to be used again.   

Status of Projects

I am going to break up some of the monotony of this D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge during the month of February by inserting posts every few days, or whenever the mood hits, so readers will have something else to read.  This is the first of such posts.  I could have re-worked some of them into combined posts but I already have them queued up.

I have several projects that I am working on at any given time; some come to the forefront while others fade into the background at different points.  Unlike school, I do not like forcing myself to focus on only one thing.  On my personal projects it helps me to have several going at one time so I can switch gears and refresh.  In no particular order, here are the projects I am working and the current status of each one.

Adventures in Fantasy

I have produced two characters sheets for this old game and I have received some feedback.  I am definitely going to add a block for a Defense rating on the sheet.  I am also working on a Dragon Record Sheet and a Dragon Hoard Sheet.  These may remain separate or be combined.  I am unsure so far.

Back to the Dungeon! RPG

Of course, this is the neo-clone that was primarily designed by Eldrad Wolfsbane from the Back to the Dungeon! blog.  I have provided feedback and helped with some of the design and layout in some versions of the game.  Now, we are discussing ideas for a science fiction game based off of the BttD engine with appropriate modifications.  I am brainstorming ideas on a post-apocalyptic rendition and a zombie apocalypse game as well.  I also have a little solo side project that involves converting my Toldara campaign over to the BttD RPG rules system.

Escape from Camp Blood

I was pretty excited about this because I had never designed a board game.  I began working on it with The Mayfly (Eric Baker) from the Memories of the Mayfly blog.  Although I absolutely love the idea of a board game that plays out an experience similar to the Friday the 13th movies, I have learned one thing real quick - I AM NOT your guy when it comes to board game design.  I thought I could do it with the assistance of Eric but I just do not have the experience or the know how about board games to get it done.  Besides, there is a game, Camp Grizzly, that just had a very successful kickstarter campaign.

Quick note to Eric Baker:  Hey, we gave it our best shot but any shortcomings in getting this project going smoothly should be placed firmly on my shoulders.  Role-playing design and board game design are two different areas and I was not up to par for a board game design.  You provided great feedback, ideas, and links to awesome resources that would surely be of help.  If you want to use the idea then feel free to do so.  Any and all failings are clearly mine and for that I truly apologize.

Perilous Journeys

I have some ideas for new edges and flaws that I am fine-tuning.  I am also in the process of converting the new races over to the Perilous Journeys rules system.  At some point, I will make this available for download from this blog.  Maybe I should dual-stat the campaign document for both PJ & BttD RPG?  Hmm...  

USR

I designed a character sheet that I made available for download.  I also announced a Resident Evil inspired ,USR powered game I was working on that was going to be called Outbreak.  I still have the notes I have been assembling over the months but I also ran into a snag.  I found another game called Outbreak that is already released.  That kind of took the wind out of my sails. I took a step back for a bit and I am reworking some things.  In addition, I wanted to see how USR Cyberpunk handled things before I continued; just to get a feel for further expansion.  I really dig USR but it is different from most anything I have ever played so designing is a little bit of an adjustment for me.  

  

 

  

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 2

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

Day 2: First person you introduced to D&D. Which edition? Their first character?

The first two people I introduced to D&D was Ray and Neal Carman.  I had playing for years with Jamie, Dan, and various other people since the second grade.  Ray and Neal moved from Iowa to Oologah with their family and started living just around the block from us.  We met one day and found out that we shared many of the same interests – reading, comic books, and heavy metal music to name just a few.  After we discussed some of our favorite fantasy books and did some trading I brought up playing Dungeons & Dragons.  They had both heard of the game but never played so I got out the books and a short time later they were ready to start rolling some dice.

I used AD&D to introduce the Carman brothers to this hobby.  We would play quite a bit and they fit right in with the rest of the group so there was anywhere from 3 to 7 of us on a regular basis.  It did not stop with AD&D and we would branch out to other games also.  The other games we would regularly play included Villains & Vigilantes, Marvel Super Heroes, Talislanta, and Palladium Fantasy.  For quite a stretch the AD&D campaign was basically put on hold while Neal ran an enjoyable Palladium Fantasy campaign. 

I can not recall the names and other details of their first characters but I do remember that Ray and Neal were like Caramon and Raistlin of Dragonlance fame when it came to their characters.  Ray was the athlete – football, wrestling, and track – so he was interested in playing powerful warrior type characters.  Neal was the quintessential picture of a nerd – tall with a narrow and slim frame, he wore glasses, and was a bookworm – and seemed to always be interested in the magic-user of one type or another.  They seemed to follow that general pattern throughout our games and would switch it up every now and then but would always play the opposite type of character from the other brother.

D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 1

This post is part of a series of posts in the D&D 40^th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge.  The information in many of these posts is related to events that occurred primarily in the1980’s. Since it is now 2014, I can not guarantee complete accuracy with such a large passage of time but I will present the events and information as best as I can recall.

 

Day 1: First person who introduced you to D&D. Which edition? Your first character?

If you have read the About Me area of my blog then you know I give a lot of credit to my uncle David for jump-starting my journey into the role-playing hobby by passing down his various A/D&D material to me.  Specifically, I received the AD&D Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Monster Manual, and Deities & Demi-Gods (with the Cthulhu & Melnibonean information even), and a Holmes Basic.  The funny thing about this is that I thought I was introducing him to the hobby after hearing about it from a friend of mine only to find out that David had been playing since the original set.

The person that introduced me to D&D was a friend of mine named Dan Boston.  We met in the second grade after my family moved from Tulsa to the very rural Oologah.  Dan and I were in the same second grade class and we were the odd ones out because we were in to stuff like comic books, fantasy movies, B movies on cable, and other stuff that did not line up with the “typical interests” at that time; there was a third member to our group – Jamie King – but I can not recall whether or not we were all in the same second grade class.  I have a strong suspicion that we were but that has honestly been lost to the passage of time.

In short, Dan had three older brothers that were all gamers of various sorts.  They introduced him to the game.  Dan and I met because I brought some super hero comic books for the reading table at school and he picked one up.  We started talking and hanging out from then on.  Eventually, fantasy stuff was brought up and he told Jamie and me all about this great game called Dungeons & Dragons.  Of course, we both wound up playing at his house some time and would continue on for years to come. 

I am not 100% sure of which edition I played at Dan’s house.  I believe it was probably AD&D because I know there was some sort of feeling about “Basic is the kid’s version” nonsense going on.  Sure, it made sense at the time but not at all now.  Plus, I remember his brother Steve talking up his own homebrew game – top secret information – that was “way better than D&D” but I could not see any of the material because it might somehow get leaked and someone else could beat them to the stores!  I actually did get to play “the game that must not be mentioned so no one can steal the name” years later and it was fun and the world was definitely more flavorful offerings with an insect-like humanoid race and a very interesting campaign world; a heavy influence from stuff like Arduin.  By the way, I was even told the actual name of the game – Dragon Stalkers – but I still have yet to see it in the stores from them or “someone else”.

I do not remember anything about my first character but I am highly confident it was one of the fighter type classes.  I understand the appeal of the magic-users and the others but I always wanted to play the warrior.  I was reading Conan books, watching the He-Man cartoon, repeatedly borrowing the Excalibur movie from my uncle, and interested in much more stuff that seemed to have a warrior type for the lead.  I can not recall the exact details but I know for a fact that D&D was like no other game I had ever played and I would continue to play pretty solidly for the next decade.