Sebastian Francis
First Post
I'm currently reading through it, more for interest's sake than anything else. I owned it back in 1980 when I was 10 years old, but I never really read it. I've heard it described both as "awkward, verbose, and confusing" and "brilliant, inspired, and poetic." 
AT TIMES PERSONABLE:
"For those of you who haven't really thought about it, the so-called planes are your ticket to creativity, and I mean that with a capital C!" (57)
AT TIMES WORDY:
"If you have plenty of time and ideas, you should design a continent (or a large portion thereof) which perfectly meshes with your initial setting. If this is not possible, obtain one of the commercially available milieux, and place the starting point of your campaign somewhere within this already created world. At the risk of being accused of self-serving, I will mention parenthetically that my own WORLD OF GREYHAWK (published by TSR), was specifically designed to allow for insertion of such beginning milieux, variety being great and history and organization left purposely sketchy to make interfacing a simple matter." (47)
AT TIMES BRILLIANT (THOUGH STILL WORDY):
"All magic and cleric spells are similar in that the word sounds, when combined into whatever patterns are applicable, are charged with energy from the Positive or Negative Material Plane. . . . The triggering action draws power from some plane of the multiverse. Whether the spell is an abjuration, conjuration, alteration, enchantment, or whatever, there is a flow of energy--first from the spell caster, then from some plane to the area magicked or enspelled by the caster. The energy flow is not from the caster *per se*, it is from the utterance of the sounds, each of which is charged with energy which is loosed when the proper formula and/or ritual is completed with their utterance. This power then taps the desired plane (whether or not the spell user has any idea of what or where it is) to cause the spell to function." (40)
SO, what do you think? Is the 1e DMG brilliant? Awkward? Overrated? Underappreciated? Inspired? All of the above? None of the above? Is there any good quality it has that our present 3.5 DMG lacks?
Discuss.
AT TIMES PERSONABLE:
"For those of you who haven't really thought about it, the so-called planes are your ticket to creativity, and I mean that with a capital C!" (57)
AT TIMES WORDY:
"If you have plenty of time and ideas, you should design a continent (or a large portion thereof) which perfectly meshes with your initial setting. If this is not possible, obtain one of the commercially available milieux, and place the starting point of your campaign somewhere within this already created world. At the risk of being accused of self-serving, I will mention parenthetically that my own WORLD OF GREYHAWK (published by TSR), was specifically designed to allow for insertion of such beginning milieux, variety being great and history and organization left purposely sketchy to make interfacing a simple matter." (47)
AT TIMES BRILLIANT (THOUGH STILL WORDY):
"All magic and cleric spells are similar in that the word sounds, when combined into whatever patterns are applicable, are charged with energy from the Positive or Negative Material Plane. . . . The triggering action draws power from some plane of the multiverse. Whether the spell is an abjuration, conjuration, alteration, enchantment, or whatever, there is a flow of energy--first from the spell caster, then from some plane to the area magicked or enspelled by the caster. The energy flow is not from the caster *per se*, it is from the utterance of the sounds, each of which is charged with energy which is loosed when the proper formula and/or ritual is completed with their utterance. This power then taps the desired plane (whether or not the spell user has any idea of what or where it is) to cause the spell to function." (40)
SO, what do you think? Is the 1e DMG brilliant? Awkward? Overrated? Underappreciated? Inspired? All of the above? None of the above? Is there any good quality it has that our present 3.5 DMG lacks?
Discuss.
