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I agree. When players know the rules, it's not much different than understanding the world around you irl. Some players will have a better knowledge of the rules than others and some people irl have a better knowledge of how the world works irl. In some situations (in game or irl) some people...

Given that there were only a thousand copies of D&D in that first print batch (1974) and as I understand it they took a year to sell out, I doubt there was a massive infusion of anyone playing the game. I knew about 12-15 players and there were three boxed sets among us. I don't think they had...

Using referees in miniature wargames was pretty much an option. We did it when we could because it allowed for things like hidden movement on a battlefield and using campaign maps like wargame boards dragging out the miniatures when they met and having battles then. That added a real strategic...

Actually wargamer / miniature gamers were the whole market for the game in 1974. It eventually spread to others. TSR sold miniature rules to miniature gamers. As for bolting things on, we expected that. I think I mentioned that pretty much every group I played the same miniature rule sets with...

The original game did everything we (see below for who "we" were) needed it to do in 1974. That's not "a crap game". We had all been playing Chainmail (and other miniature rules) for years. We were familiar with the fact that each group modified / added to the rules as they saw fit. A framework...

OK, looking around I don't see it... and someone has to say it... Ahem, This is the Way. :D

People wanted shorter adventures. Here you go. As for mysteries, magic makes it difficult but not impossible, to do well. And for those who wanted non FR, how hard is it to convert / drop a short adventure into a setting? Not very. Adventure paths with the geographic spread of many of them is a...

Congratulations on the first 20! Now, on to the next 20. Hey, I'm getting old and I don't want to have to find a new site :D And nice job on it btw.

I am not playing a lot of anything right now. My classes have all gone virtual and teaching takes far more time as a result. Everything in the classes has to be converted / changed/ redone to fit the virtual format. It's Christmas break and I just finished replying to e-mails from three...

I just wanted to say how much I enjoy this series, even when I don't have time to chime in on them. The nostalgia is at a pleasant level and the reminders of past thoughts / ideas have come in handy. I hope everyone has a great holiday, I am!

Berserker is the name I use for "barbarian". It is pretty much what they do. Glad to see I'm not alone in that.

I preferred Bushido for my pseudo Japanese FRPG back in the day. Still interesting. I haven't looked at C&S since it's 3rd edition though. What's the current one like?

My game is a sandbox. I have a starting location with numerous adventure possibilities and the demographics to match. It draws would be adventurers from across the world. Now, if they wander off to a quiet village with nothing going on... not my fault :D

True or there wouldn't be any adventure to be had. That's story related as opposed to demographics / world building. The smallest village could end up hosting an adventure. That sounds... wrong, like they were throwing a dinner party :D

I've always assumed that large wealthy locations that are transportation hubs are going to draw a higher percent of the adventuring population than some dusty village in the farm belt. That's always been my go to reason for a higher proportion of mid to high level characters in a city like...

This is a thread on demographics (titled "What proportion of the population are adventurers?"), so... all about the fidly bits and worldbuilding :)

He was all right with it. I explained how / why I applied it. His PC was "rusty" and needed to get back into it. He could have left his PC in the hands of the group, but he wanted him sidelined instead. Actually, thinking about that group I kind of understand the decision :D

I remember this issue for a reason :) It spawned my negative experience point system for PCs / NPCs who had quit their profession. NPC classes were common in AD&D and Dragon Mag. I did the typical thing and figured they gained experience practicing their profession at a slow level if they didn't...

Not a pirate. Well, my first choice is the hardback. I'll pick it up and, if I like what I see, I'll pony up for the PDF. I prefer dead tree for reading but use the PDFs for reference. And I'm intrigued enough to want to read it. So, unless I decide to run it they are out the money on the PDF...

I have really fond memories of the board game. And now the RPG sounds interesting. I think I'll pick up the hardback when it releases, and the PDF then for portability. After that we'll see how it goes. It's been a while since I was willing to dive into a new RPG system. Hmmm... "new" :D