A 1974 Review of D&D 404
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.'"
Re:I have no D&D experience... (Score:4, Informative)
A lot? Try everything. D&D gives you a framework, and consistent rules for engagement so you don't think you're at the GM's whims, but without someone who
Re:I have no D&D experience... (Score:3, Informative)
However if you've ever played Taboo or any of the drinking games, or even doing charades, then it's very similar to that. You can have as much fun as you put into it. You are only limited by your imagination.
If you happen to have a good DM then you're gonna have tons of fun.
I play D&D ocassionaly, and a lot of the times it basically is a chance to just get together talk, and have fun. For an avg session that goes for about 6 hours, we only have about 2 hours of serious game time and the rest is just goofing off and having fun.
Re:I have no D&D experience... (Score:5, Informative)
With CRPGs, you normally drastically cut down on the personality and interaction aspect -- you're normally restricted to preplotted conversation trees or keyword systems, for instance -- that make pencil-and-paper RPGs shine.
It's not about the dice. It's not about the system, although choice of system will affect style -- e.g. players in the Middle Earth RPG system need to be extremely careful since healing's far harder to get than, say, AD&D-type systems.
And some minor advice... (Score:4, Informative)
Should you decide to play, have fun with it and keep an open mind.
That having been said, you should:
Oh yeah, get some dice. A nice big set of "matching" dice may look nice, but the favorites become those sets that are a hodge-podge of dice bought here and there. ;)
Re:My poor memory (Score:4, Informative)
A dragon seen thru a doorway, sitting
on a trasure pile, and a scared mage
with his mouth hanging open with a wand
in his hand
Hehe, forgot about the archer
It was light blue , and so was the box,
and came with a few cheap dice too
Here is a picture
http://www.acaeum.com/DDIndexes/SetPages/SetSca
Ex-MislTech
About the reviewer, Arnold Hendrick (Score:5, Informative)
Jeez, I was the one who submitted this story to Boing Boing. I never thought Slashdot would go for it. I keep missing so many Karma opportunities....
What I said in the Boing Boing submission that Wil didn't repeat here is, the 1974 review is by a gamer named Arnold Hendrick. Hendrick went on to run Heritage Miniatures and to design some cool boardgames for Heritage's short-lived Dwarfstar game line. Later Hendrick went into computer games, working for Microprose and others; he helped design or develop many of Sid Meier's best-known titles. Hendrick's best-known work as sole designer is probably the 1992 Microprose fantasy game Darklands. Here's his MobyGames rap sheet [mobygames.com] and a Darklands FAQ [fred.net].
What I learn from this: Be bold! Despite all qualms, submit to Slashdot!
Re:Very interesting. (Score:3, Informative)
Of course the modern D&D product is of far higher quality - paper and production wise (content is of course a matter of taste) explaining the price increase.
* Figures from http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/p07.htm
Re:My poor memory (Score:3, Informative)
Re:My poor memory (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Very interesting. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:My poor memory (Score:1, Informative)
Re:believe it or not (Score:2, Informative)