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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 8643316" data-attributes="member: 7026594">Right.We do always have to bear in mind that the general tabletop gaming scene was a bit less interconnected prior to common internet access and ahem networking.And that there was a ton of variance in play from table to table.And that sci-fi fans who weren't already wargamers grabbed onto it quite early, as soon as '74 or at least '75, and started trying to play more story-oriented games with it.So if you're talking to someone who's been playing since the 70s and he says that HIS group never did much megadungeon play, I'd absolutely believe him.That being said, there WAS still a lot of communication between hubs in the Midwest, West coast in SF and LA, and East coast especially in Boston and NY.  Fanzines like Alarums & Excursions (started by Lee Gold in LA, in June of 1975), The Wild Hunt (out of Boston, same year), and News From Bree (originally a British wargaming fanzine started in 1970, once D&D took hold in England it almost completely switched over to being a D&D 'zine) included tons of discussion of campaign materials, rules and play philosophy, and even play reports.  Simultaneously, D&D started being played a ton at sci-fi and wargaming conventions. Nearly all of D&D's propagation as a hobby was by word of mouth prior to the fad being set off by the publicity of the James Dallas Egbert disappearance in August of 1979, so most people were learning from and connected to other groups.And we do have a bunch of surviving written documentation in the zines and from contemporary players that the originally-emphasized big dungeons were the de-facto standard for at least the first few years.  But they were also something a lot of groups reacted AGAINST fairly soon, wanting to make their games more drama & story & character-oriented, or get into cities and political intrigue, and what have you.</blockquote>

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