Wednesday, July 30, 2014

D&D Those were the days

Dungeons & Dragons is back in the news, what with it being 40 years old (Happy Birthday, D&D!) and the release of the new Starter Set. Hopefully this means lots and lots of new players and new fans. There’s a lot of history when it comes to D&D, however, and anyone discovering it for the first time might also be interested in this history.

George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), a poet and novelist among other things, famously said “Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.” Yeah, that doesn’t really apply here. Well, unless you’re a Dungeon Master (DM) that hasn’t figured out that it’s a bit cliche to start your players’ new adventure off with You’ve all gathered at the Griffin’s Tail Tavern…

Don’t be that DM.

... Many of us see D&D as a game, but we forget that there was a company, filled with employees (over 300 at one point), that answered to a board of directors. And as anyone who has ever worked in an office setting knows, there’s office politics in every business. And TSR wasn’t immune.

... Finally, I’m going to return to Jon Peterson and recommend his blog that continues to provide background stories, interesting facts, videos, and much more about D&D (and do NOT forget to reads the comments as they often contains some gems). It’s one of those websites that I’ve pinned to my favorites and check in on often. Peterson always manages to find the best stuff to share with his readers, so please encourage him to continue if you like what you read there.
As we fans celebrate the release of the new rules, let’s not forget where D&D came from and everything that’s happened in between 1974 and 2014. .... And D&D is (and always will be) all about the good times.

from article link

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