Write a letter to your favorite game. . .

[jdrakeh]

Somebody else posted this elsewhere, though I though that it was a neat idea and clever way to fawn over favorite games. So, I'm going to give it a go here (note that I have a few favorites).

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Dear D&D,

You've been around for a while but your years of experience make our every meeting better. Though your rules are many, those that exist are far more polished than those found in most up and coming games, meaning that I have to worry less about if they'll work at the table. That peace of mind is nice. Thanks also for nearly thirteen years of fun!

Your fan,
James D. Hargrove

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Dear Basic Fantasy RPG,

Thank you also for being simple and building on the foundation of a tried and true system (D&D). That "different for the sake of being different" stuff is for the birds. I like a game that I can pick up, read, grasp, and play in an evening. Thanks for being that game. And thank you also for not telling me how great you are every few sentences. That kind of self-centered vanity is a real put off. Hats off to you for being modest.

Sincerely,
James D. Hargrove

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Dear Principia Malefex,

Thank you for your thorough and scholarly treatment of sensitive topics such as rape and religion in the context of horror roleplaying games. Thank you for not taking the road more travelled and showcasing a collection of low brow sexual jokes or satire in some sad, desperate, attempt to earn yourself a "mature content" label. Your professionalism is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,
James D. Hargrove

 

[Belbarid]

Somebody else posted this elsewhere, though I though that it was a neat idea and clever way to fawn over favorite games. So, I'm going to give it a go here (note that I have a few favorites).

Hmmm....
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Dear D&D:

Much like Metallica and Johnny Rotten, you're pandering for popularity and have lost much of what made you once special.

Stop it.
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I like this. Especially the fact that the proper nouns are interchangable.

 

[Ry]

Dear D&D,

For a long time I felt like we were drifting apart. Maybe we've never been perfect for each other, but we try, and trying is really important in a long-term relationship like ours. I want you to know that I appreciate how hard you're working to be a better game, and I'm working hard to play you better, too. I know sometimes it seems like we're drifting apart - I'll write about other games sometimes. But we're in this together - my family likes you, my friends like you, and I like you. So even if I come up with some crazy ideas in a while, like playing you without a GM, I know we're heading down the road in the same direction.

Sincerely,
Ryan Stoughton

 

[Clavis]

Dear D&D,

I know you had a rough life, girl. You were kidnapped from your Daddy by people that he trusted, and then sold to an evil old Puritan woman who made you cover up everything she thought was naughty. I know you had such high hopes when she sold you to a group of partying young people, but it soon became apparent they didn't understand you at all. They cleaned you up alright, but then they started insisting you go to schools where you didn't fit in, and wear clothing that made you look silly. In the end, they made you take a job that you hated, just to take your money to give to their parents. Now they've sent you to the plastic surgeon, and are saying that they always thought you were an ugly girl. Just know that some of us will always remember you when you were young, and your life seemed so full of possibilities. No matter what indignities you are subjected to, don't lose hope that perhaps someday you will be allowed to be yourself again. I still love you, even if I can't bear to look at your new, absurdly large breast implants.

Love,
C.

 

[theredrobedwizard]

Dear D&D,

Thank you for letting all those young party guys talk you in to getting plastic surgery (as well as vocabulary and public speaking classes). You were ugly and retarded back in the day. I mean, I always loved you, but now I'm no longer embarrassed to flaunt you in public.

Love always,
Jeph

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Dear Serenity/Battlestar Galactica/Supernatural RPG(s),

I love your source material, yet I hate the CODEX system with such a fiery passion that I will never play your licensed games. Why, oh why, couldn't you have been based on a good system.

Much love,
Jeph

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Dear Eberron,

Just writing to say I miss you and I'll be seeing you again soon. *hugs*

{inappropriate comment deleted},
Jeph

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-TRRW

 

[Wombat]

Dear D&D,

What can I say about you? You've been there for me since 1975, even though sometimes our relations have been rocky. You were the one hobby that brought together all of my interests -- history, mythology, storytelling, improv acting and, yes, even cooking. You brought forth from the benighted, argumentative world of miniatures wargaming into something happier and more cooperative.

It's been a long trip, yet a fruitful one. May your days grow ever longer,

Angus MacDonald

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Dear RuneQuest,

Yes, I know I started with D&D, yet you brought me to a new place, one where worlds, cultures, and individuals mattered, where skills were important, where character classes were simply a broad concept rather than a tether. You showed me how different magic could be, how important religion was to various peoples, and that even trolls have culture, albeit hard for humans to grasp. While I have not played you in many years, I remember you fondly and will every time I introduce someone to a game that is not D&D.

Go forth in the light of the Sun,

Angus MacDonald

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Dear Paranoia,

The Computer is my friend. He maketh me walk down corridors and if they are of the wrong Security Clearance, it is my own treasonous fault. He brings me unto the land of Research and Development, for my own edification and the glory of Alpha Complex. Yea, though Commies and Mutant Traitors abound, he is with me, for his is the glory and the Confessional Booth and, hopefully, I will have one more clone on tap.

The Computer is my friend!

Angus MacDonald

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Dear Ars Magica,

I found you when I was in Santa Barbara while I was intensely studying Medieval History and, like a breath of fresh air, you entered my life. You understood many things that other games simply did not -- the importance of community, the sense of time and history, the fact that both reality and folklore could be mined for inspiration in equal measure. You helped me to teach my players that the passage of time, even aging, is as much a part of a game as is accruing experience points.

I have gamed with you now under your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions; I have also used the 5th edition and been allowed to be involved in playtesting this, your latest incarnation. Each edition has had changes, and yet the core notion is the same -- tribunal, covenant, magus, consors, custos. I know you Mysteries and your Houses, your Auras and your Regiones -- each is sweet to me in a different way. I know I shall game you for many more years.

Yours in deepest affection,

Angus MacDonald
sometimes known to you as Julia Peregrina filia Cerebus Facto of House Merenita

 

[Driddle]

My Deer D&D,

Im been watching U, specially when U take showers in the morning. U real sexxxy. I think we was made for each other. Im gonna come visit U tonite, even if U lock Ur doors.

Ur Secret Admire,
Driddle

 

[Tinner]

Dear Shadowrun,
I remember when we first met. I was a young man with a few dollars in his pocket, and an itch for something new. You wwere there on the shelf with your lovely Elmore cover and glossy blue binding. Other games tried to catch my eye, but once I realized you were a cyberpunk game from the fantasy side of the tracks, I knew you were the one for me.

Our relationship started like many others, those first edition days were wild and wonderful. Your innovative magic system, fast-paced rules and fun original pre-published adventures really made our relationship special.

As our relationship matured, you moved into your second edition and things just got better. You got over that weird armor hang-up you used to have, and streamlined that clunky staging mechanic. The gawky colt I fell in love with blossomed into a well-formed attractive adult. How could things get better?

Your third edition was breathtaking. All that baby-fat was gone, and in its place was a sleek, mature engine of gaming goodness. Your mechanics were even more refined. But along with maturity came a slightly disturbing trend. You seemed to be changing into more of a paramilitary game than a cyberpunk game. Your adventures started to become more global and epic, and somewhere along the way you lost your cyberpunk feel. It takes more than a metal arm to be part of the Movement baby.

And now here you are with your brand new fourth edition rules, looking like some cast-off reject from the World of Darkness's gutter. Oh sure you still call yourself Shadowrun, but you aren't fooling anyone. You can put a dress on a tramp, but it doesn't make her a lady. I miss you Shadowrun, I really do. We had some good times. But I don't even know who you are any more. Heck I don't even know your publisher any more.

You're dead to me.