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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sacrosanct" data-source="post: 6464389" data-attributes="member: 15700">Holy Hell....I can't believe I'm even spending the time to point out what a lot of people who actually played D&D in the 70s and 80s already know and have been trying to say, but here goes.Official tagline of D&D: "Products of Your Imagination."Very first sentence in KotBL (been reference at least twice now as supporting evidence that D&D is all about combat): "Introduction: Welcome to the land of imagination"Other keyed points on the very first page of KotBL:"You, however, are above even the greatest ofthese, for as DM you are to become the Shaper of theCosmos. It is you who will give form and content to all theuniverse. You will breathe life into the stillness, giving meaningand purpose to all the actions which are to follow. Theothers in your group will assume the roles of individuals andplay their parts, but each can only perform within thebounds you will set. It is now up to you to create a magicalrealm filled with danger, mystery, and excitement.Read the module thoroughly; you will notice thatthe details are left in your hands. This allows you to personalizethe scenario, and suit it to what you and your playerswill find most enjoyable.While your players will haveadvanced in their understanding and ability, you will likewisehave increased your skills as DM. In fact, before theyhave finished all the adventure areas of this module, it islikely that you will have begun to add your own separatemaps to the setting. The KEEP is only a small section of theworld. You must build the towns and terrain which surroundit. You must shape the societies, create the kingdoms, andpopulate the countryside with men and monsters.The KEEP is a microcosm, a world in miniature. Within itswalls your players will find what is basically a small villagewith a social order, and will meet opponents of a sort"So there you go.  On the very first page it certainly stresses the other pillars other than combat.  And that's not even counting the rule of XP for treasure and the explicit guidelines to DMs that players are encouraged to overcome challenges by other than combat.  Or that the combat section of the 1e DMG is only 20 pages long, while the other two pillars take up more.  Or the fact that just because there are lots of rules mechanically for combat, you really don't need rules for imagination.Heck, half of the rules in Monopoly are about getting in and out of jail, mortgages, and bankruptcy.  Does that mean you're spending the vast majority of time in the game in Jail or mortgaging your property?So you can go on thinking that D&D has always been all about combat and little else.  You may play like that, and it's OK.  But if you try to say that it's true with any objectivity?  You'd be flat out wrong.</blockquote>

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