A 1974 Review of D&D

CleverNickName writes "Boing Boing pointed me to this 1974 review of the 'new' Dungeons and Dragons game. Some highlights: D&D was subtitled 'Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargams Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures.' The reviewer concludes, 'In general, the concept and imagination involved is stunning. However, much more work, refinement, and especially regulation and simplification is necessary before the game is managable.'"

Sheesh.

[majestynine]

I know Slashdot is renowned for posting news thats weeks or even months old, but *this* is just stupid!

Okay, really now

[mattdm]

Does it *get* more geeky than a story about D&D sent in by Wil Wheaton? I can't see how it possibly could.

Disaster could have been averted

[Sagarian]

If the review were more vehemently negative, the celibacy of thousands could have been averted.

Much more regulation?

[Hawthorne01]

However, much more work, refinement, and especially regulation and simplification is necessary before the game is managable.'"

And 19 years and dozens of rule books later, the quest continues..... :-)

Re:Okay, really now

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, you could be reading it on a Friday night.

Re:Disaster could have been averted

[EvilSporkMan]

That WAS an aversion of disaster. Think how many more people that'd be in about 10 generations. Way to fight overpopulation!

phone/mail D&D

[unsinged int]

The optimum solution seems to be play by phone, or when distances are too great, play by mail.

Oh I can see this working. "Hey, Fred, did you get my letter I mailed last week? You know, the one where I rolled a 20? I haven't heard from you yet. Did we kill the sucker or not?"

Acolyte Dorn

[MoonFacedAssassin]

<from the article>...the Acolyte Dorn from the village of Thane ventured into the ruins of Takator...</from the article>

Whoa! Michael Dorn played D&D?? Coincidence that Wil Wheaton posts this story...I think not.

THIS JUST IN!!

[josh crawley]

We recently got an email from a guy in Finland that he's going to duplicate a Unix box on commodity hardware! If you would like to give a hand, Send the person, Linus Torvalds an email or post on comp.os.minix ! He really needs your help.

Re:Okay, really now

[mattdm]

Heh. You mean *we* could be reading it on a Friday night.

Re:Sheesh.

[red_dragon]

How do you know this is not a duplicate article, eh?

I remember watching

[Zapdos]

The strange people who played this all night long in the lounge.. As far as I know they all are still virgins.

Play By Phone?

[Quaoar]

How the hell is the DM supposed to physically abuse the players if we did that?!

Re:THIS JUST IN!!

[op00to]

He's insane, Minix is the end-all be-all *nix on my 386!

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Re:Much more regulation?

[dalassa]

Second edition was managable, you just had to ue the secret magical DM power of, "No! Bad Player!"

"Can I use this supplement?" "No! Bad Player!"
"My old DM said..." "Bad Player, No XP."
"We should so do this in GURPS." *DM does a Shadowrun and shoots the player*

See? Simple.

Hey, cut this out!

[Lethyos]

michael, don't you realize that Dungeons & Dragons is a tool of The Devil? Satan uses D&D to warp and manipulate young minds into doing the will of darkness! How dare you use such a popular forum for advocating and informing people of this horror. D&D is nothing but suicide, sex, drugs, and evil! Burn it!

Oh wait a minute, you mean it's just a game? Sheesh!

And how has it managed since then?

[kfg]

"However, much more work, refinement, and especially regulation and *simplification* is necessary before the game is managable."

Well, they sure blew THAT one, didn't they?

KFG

Re:I remember watching

[cranos]

Hmmm not only did I play D&D, AD&D, Rifts, Heroes Unlimited and many others but strangly enough I am married with 1 and a half kids.

Imagination and the desire to move outside the square is usually a bonus in a sex life not a deficit.

Re:Play By Phone?

[OblvnDrgn]

No, no. You've got it all wrong.

A good DM mentally and emotionally abuses the players. It's far more satisfying than just hitting them with a rolled up newspaper when they try to twink. You know you're a good "referee" when the very mention of a Ring of Wishing puts fear into their hearts.
"Yes, please. Make a wish. I'm sure that this one... unlike the last seventeen your party has made... won't horribly backfire at all. Trust me."

Re:THIS JUST IN!!

[djcapelis]

It's microkernel arcitecture is clearly the wave of the future...

'bout time...

[The1Genius]

Took them almost 30 years, but they've done what he suggested in the review!

Re:Okay, really now

[merriam]

... and recognize Wil Wheaton by his slashdot nickname.

Wow ... internet in 1974 ?!

[bain]

And websites to ?!?!?!???! ;P

Re:Okay, really now

[jericho4.0]

OMFG!!!! You're right!! This was posted by Will!! And I was going to post something intelligent and thoughtfull. Good God!!! We are all such geeks I can hardly stand it.

I'm going to go try to get laid now. Good luck to you all.

Re:1974? 1982!

[Anonymous Coward]

Man come to think of it... why doesn't Tom Hanks submit star trek stories to this site?

I try, but they keep getting rejected.

-Tom

Re:Disaster could have been averted

[Twirlip of the Mists]

No matter what you say, *someone* will disagree.

That's bullshit.

Hmm...

[craenor]

*Finishes printing off the excel spreadsheet for his 6/6 psionic,Gray Elven Cleric/Magic-User*

Me? Play D&D...never
Craenor

Re:Disaster could have been averted

[CleverNickName]

No matter what you say, *someone* will disagree.

That's bullshit.

No it isn't!

ob futurama

[oaklybonn]

"Hi, I'm Gary Gygax, and I'm".... rolls die ... "Pleased to meet you!"

Re:Hmm...

[Anthony Boyd]

Finishes printing off the excel spreadsheet for his 6/6 psionic, Gray Elven Cleric/Magic-User

You know what's sad? I'm actually envious of the spreadsheet idea.

Re:Okay, really now

[orthogonal]

Heh. You mean *we* could be reading it [an article about Dungeons & Dragons submitted by Wil Wheaton who portrayed Wesley Crusher on the Star Trek spin-off with the bald French Captain Kirk who wouldn't fight Iraq (or the Germans) because the Prime Directive required him to be a cheese eating surrender monkey] on a Friday night.

Hey, I just got back from a date.

With a girl.

Who wasn't inflatable or mail order.

Oh shit, there goes my karma.

Re:I remember watching

[orthogonal]

Nope - Met my wife playing D&D - In fact, we first kissed leaving a D&D session - Can tell you the date, place, and who the DM was, but NOT the premise of the campaign
--
-- For the Children - RKBA! PGP Key on the servers

For the Children -- for your children, please, please, never tell them this.

Let them keep a little dignity, and avoid the therapy.

Re:Hey, cut this out!

[blincoln]

Oh wait a minute, you mean it's just a game? Sheesh!

You joke, but when I was in gradeschool I got roped into going to bible camp with some friends of mine. One of the counselors there fed us this huge line about his experience playing D&D, and how when he realized it was a tool of the devil, he burned all his books and miniatures, and that the demons inside them screamed as he threw them into the fire. The climax of the story was that he tossed in some kind of giant pewter dragon, and a like actual dragon flew out of the fire into the sky while his mom watched.

I still remember just because it was so crazy in terms of the amount of detail he put into the story.

Re:An odd request

[BlackHawk-666]

Cool, does she also know anyone who can teach me those spells...I've played D&D for years and am dying to cast a fireball at the next office party.

Re:I remember watching

[some damn guy]

"Nothing like having a bi-sexual girlfriend who liked to share and that all the women wanted."

Did you meet her on IRC? because if you did, dude... she might have been a guy.

Man, that would really suck dude. I really hope you left the lights on at least once.

Re:Disaster could have been averted

[Blue23]

Actually, back then (yes, I know I'm old) I knew several women who were D&Ders, and at least two male players who met their future spouses playing the game.

I still play, and my wife used to.

Sounds good for the geeky multitudes out there, eh?

I asked her why she stopped. Her answer:

Puberty.

Ouch.

Cheers,
=Blue(23)

Re:Hey, cut this out!

[radiotalent]

D&D is nothing but suicide, sex, drugs, and evil!

D&D and Sex?!? Damn, I must have been playing in the wrongs campaigns.

Question to all "in the Know" RPG'ers

[Stalcair]

Where would you say is a good site to look at reviews and analysis of various rulesets for pen and paper RPG's? I was struck by the comment (of the review in the original submission) about needing simplification. However I once again am reminded of how the entire idea behind much of the D&D ruleset was to avoid having a team of dice rollers, another team of rule lawyers with handy shelves full of indexed rules and then another team of ref's to look over the entire process and ensure compliance and "fun." I always felt that computers could aid in much of that, thus bringing back much needed complexity and richness of results without actual complexity of use. I have seen some set up small programs that did just that, adding very complex calculations including things like encounter scaling, NPC reactions, goal generation and adaptation and of course combat modifiers (especially for critical success/failure outcomes).

However, I feel let down when computer game developers merely throw the pen and paper system onto a computer. Since so much more is put into the prettiness of the game than in the actual gameplay and mechanics then I am left wanting so much more. So, what is a scalable ruleset that can more easily be expanded if computing equipment is used (whether just as number crunching or being an actual interactive gameworld) or simplified as needed for tabletop play? What I am looking for is a guide and cheat sheet for judging what tool (the ruleset or assisting calculator) is best for what need. While I believe in using the right tool for the job at hand I do not feel like getting a law degree in RPG & Action/Adventure rulesets just to find the basis for a ruleset I can use and even then have to start adapting and expanding it. Who would ever program if they had to manually create from scratch their own compilers each time they wanted a build to distribute?

Re:Okay, really now

[jdclucidly]

Actually, the Dead Alewives did a parody of just this. It was featured in CaptainImmy's Pointless Audio internet radio show some five or six years ago. The first time I heard it I laughed so hard I sprayed soda all over my computer and had to replace the keyboard. Anyways, it's still available on their web site as an MP3 if anyone is interested: Enjoy! [The_Dead_Alewives]-[Dungeons_and_Dragons].mp3 [deadalewives.com]

THAC20?

[SHEENmaster]

it's a bit harder to pronounce than in the good ol' days....

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