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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 9345508" data-attributes="member: 467">I was looking at Eldritch Wizardry in response to another thread, but this description caught my eye:The book you now hold in your hand represents new dimensions to an already fascinating game system. This is the third supplement to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and was produced as a result of an ever increasing demand for new material.This book also represents a new trend in the fine art of Dungeon Mastering. As originally conceived, D & D was limited in scope only by the imagination and devotion of Dungeon Masters everywhere. The supplements have fulfilled the need for fresh ideas and additional stimulation. But somewhere along the line, D & D lost some of its flavor, and began to become predictable. This came about as a result of the proliferation of rule sets; while this was great for us as a company, it was tough on the DM. When all the players had all of the rules in front of them, it became next to impossible to beguile them into danger or mischief. The new concept pioneered within these pages should go a long way towards putting back in some of the mystery, uncertainty and danger that make D & D the un-paralleled challenge it was meant to be. Legend Lore once again becomes the invaluable spell it was meant to be. No more will some foolhardy adventurer run down into a dungeon, find something and immediately know how it works, or even what it does, By the same token, no longer will players be able to send some unfortunate hireling to an early demise by forcing him to experiment on his master's goodies. The introduction of psionic combat is bound to enliven games grown stagnant. It opens up untold possibilities for both the players and the DM, and in so doing recognizes one of the favorite topics of science fiction and fantasy writers: the unknown powers of the mind.Obviously this is from the early days of the hobby, and it predates my experience by a decade (I was 10 in 1985 when we discovered BECMI). It strong suggests that the point of play back then was essentially puzzle based: challenges presented to the players by the DM, with it considered a normal and acceptable part of the game for players to learn the rules and tricks in the books and the DM having to continuously discover or invent (or, with supplements, purchase) new ways to challenge them.It is interesting. it is nota  style of play I have ever really engaged with for anything more than an adventure at a time, usually as an aside. But it sounds like this si what some (or many?) campaigns were like back then: an ongoing "battle of wits" competition between players and DM.I know there are lots of old hands here in EN World and I would be really curious to read about this stytle of play from the people who lived it. Does the above introduction actually track with your experiences c. 1976? Did you play this way? Even if you came in later, were you introduced to the game this way?Obviously, some portion of the OSR is an attempt to recapture this. If you like OSR games, how does it land with you?Thanks.</blockquote>

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