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Review: Jon Peterson's Game Wizards
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<blockquote data-quote="robconley" data-source="post: 8430200" data-attributes="member: 5636"><p>That not accurate. If you read Playing at the World and read the anecdotes from folks back in the day, Gygax created D&D with some help from Dave Arneson. However Dave Arneson by all accounts invented tabletop roleplaying. Not just the general idea but the practical nuts and bolts of how to do in a the time one has for a hobby. However what he did for Blackmoor wasn't D&D. They shared some elements but Blackmoor was pretty much it own thing prior to Gygax writing up the D&D manuscript.</p><p></p><p>In fact nobody knows definitely what the rules for Blackmoor were prior to D&D. Dave by all account was an outstanding seat of his pants referee. His binder wasn't so much a rulebook but rather a collection of tables, memory aids, and various notes. Which is not something unique to Dave but characteristic of the time for miniature wargamers running campaign. There was almost not published set of rules for them to use. So if they wanted to play something they had to come up with the rules themselves.</p><p></p><p>This is further reinforced by how D&D turned out. D&D was primarily about dungeon exploration. Why? Because that what Dave showed Gary and his group when he came down to Lake Geneva to show them what he was doing with Blackmoor. Why he showed them the dungeon? Because it was the one thing he would easily transport. The rest of the campaign that focused on the players building baronies and fighting each other was based around miniatures and props and wasn't easily transportable. </p><p></p><p>As a result Greyhawk campaign that Gygax started running to playtest his rules started out as a dungeon.</p><p></p><p>Another major difference is that Blackmoor was mostly about two opposing sides of players fighting each other and recruiting allies among the neutral. There were little to no NPCs until the Blackmoor Dungeons became popular. This way different than Gygax's Greyhawk which was Gary running monsters and NPCs for the players to deal with from the get go. That in Greyhawk, players generally cooperated with each other against the challenges of the dungeon. </p><p></p><p>In Playing at the World, Hawk & Moor, and other sources there are several accounts of how Dave was never really comfortable playing the opposition all the time. He preferred to be a true referee adjudicating players as they cooperated or came into conflict with each other. Which incidentally is a direct evolution out of Wesely's Braunstein games.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="robconley, post: 8430200, member: 5636"] That not accurate. If you read Playing at the World and read the anecdotes from folks back in the day, Gygax created D&D with some help from Dave Arneson. However Dave Arneson by all accounts invented tabletop roleplaying. Not just the general idea but the practical nuts and bolts of how to do in a the time one has for a hobby. However what he did for Blackmoor wasn't D&D. They shared some elements but Blackmoor was pretty much it own thing prior to Gygax writing up the D&D manuscript. In fact nobody knows definitely what the rules for Blackmoor were prior to D&D. Dave by all account was an outstanding seat of his pants referee. His binder wasn't so much a rulebook but rather a collection of tables, memory aids, and various notes. Which is not something unique to Dave but characteristic of the time for miniature wargamers running campaign. There was almost not published set of rules for them to use. So if they wanted to play something they had to come up with the rules themselves. This is further reinforced by how D&D turned out. D&D was primarily about dungeon exploration. Why? Because that what Dave showed Gary and his group when he came down to Lake Geneva to show them what he was doing with Blackmoor. Why he showed them the dungeon? Because it was the one thing he would easily transport. The rest of the campaign that focused on the players building baronies and fighting each other was based around miniatures and props and wasn't easily transportable. As a result Greyhawk campaign that Gygax started running to playtest his rules started out as a dungeon. Another major difference is that Blackmoor was mostly about two opposing sides of players fighting each other and recruiting allies among the neutral. There were little to no NPCs until the Blackmoor Dungeons became popular. This way different than Gygax's Greyhawk which was Gary running monsters and NPCs for the players to deal with from the get go. That in Greyhawk, players generally cooperated with each other against the challenges of the dungeon. In Playing at the World, Hawk & Moor, and other sources there are several accounts of how Dave was never really comfortable playing the opposition all the time. He preferred to be a true referee adjudicating players as they cooperated or came into conflict with each other. Which incidentally is a direct evolution out of Wesely's Braunstein games. [/QUOTE]
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