It has often been said that all you really need to enjoy Dungeons & Dragons is some rules, dice, paper, pencil, friends, and Imagination!
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| TSR 1983 Product Catalog |
This is pretty much true.
Unlike Monopoly, Scrabble, or even war games from which it is descended, D&D largely exists as the "theater of the mind." There is no board. Your character sheet is just a collection of items and numbers. Same with the monsters being fought. The Dungeon Master, DM, describes what is going on, and you have to picture it in your mind.
This was particularly true in the early days. Yes, there were miniatures, in fact, Original D&D recommends them, but they were only being made by a few companies, and they were expensive (relatively speaking), and you had to paint them yourself. As opposed to today where those options are still available and there are cheaper plastic minis and even ones you can design on your own.
There is no board. Today, we can get maps where 1" = 5', perfect for 25mm minis. If you wanted to see what was going on, you had to imagine, and that was pretty good, really.
Back in 1983 TSR, the company that published Dungeons & Dragons, had an ad campaign with the tag line, Products of Your Imagination. It worked really since by 1983 they had moved out to other types of games and toys as the 1983 Product Catalog above reveals.
They also had a somewhat cheesy TV spot with a very young (Pre-Farris Bueller) Alan Ruck and very young (Pre-Lost Boys) Jami Gertz. It's a bit silly, but does capture the excitement well.
If you have been reading here since B-day, you will see that the actors are playing the Moldvay Basic set, but the ad appears to be for the Mentzer Basic set. Which tracks well with 1983.
Today we have all sorts of great things we can use for D&D. But there is something to be said about the whole use of your imagination to see how your adventure unfolds.
Tomorrow is J, so I will talk about Jennel Jaquays and the Judges Guild.
15 comments:
Imagination is essential. I suppose that was a deficiency playing the computer games since you could actually see stuff. In the end I guess it's like the difference between reading a book and watching a movie/TV show based on the book.
Tim: You are teaching me. I've heard of D&D my nephew loves it.As and artist and teacher - I love imagination. At this stage in the game of life where to I start learning about it. Is there a book?
@Linda,
There are many books! If I can, please come back for my Z post and I will have links to all sorts of resources. I am going to be focusing on free resources for the most part.
@PT Dilloway, L-Day is your day. I am going talk about D&D computer games and how they stack up.
I'm a big fan of TOTM, especially out of combat. In combat, some is helpful (for keeping range if nothing else) but it's fun to bash together an encounter out of the stuff in your pockets, desk, etc. THE PENCIL IS A DRAGON! Easier to let the imagination take over that way. If we're going to break out a ton of minis and terrain, I'd rather go play an actual miniature wargame than bog down my RPG.
Timothy, I am so impressed by your passion for D & D and your longtime investment in it! I am not into gaming at all, but I know an expert when I see one-- you!
Timothy, I am so impressed by your passion for D & D and your longtime investment in it! I am not into gaming at all, but I know an expert when I see one-- you!
I was always curious about D&D as a kid, as some of the boys in my class played it, but of course, it was boys only for them! What I know about D&D I learned on the Big Bang Theory!!! This A-Z guide is very cool.
I am a granny gamer, and our daughters played D&D for many years with friends in a nearby town. One evening, our younger daughter got so into the game that, when her role called for her to scream, she gave it her all -- and neighbors summoned two cars and four cops (half the town's police force) to the DM's apartment! After some explanations, the cops left and the game resumed.
@15 Minute Classic, Ah yes. We used a lot of different things over the years. Chess pieces were favorite.
@Kebba, Thanks! Been at now for 45 years. And I have passed this all on to my kids.
@Julie, thanks for stopping by! These days the breakdown is a little more equal and certainly more welcoming now!
@Karen, Granny Gamer! I love that! OMG the cops showed up? Well that is certainly a game to remember.
Hi Tim, Sue Bursztynski here! I used to play D and D in my early days in SF fandom. I never got very far with it, but it was fun. You certainly do need imagination to get anything out of it. I liked playing thief roles, so I could pick the lock and stand back while the heroes rushed in and maybe got killed instead of me…
I don't know much about D&D, but my husband does. He has a wonderful imagination. From what your blog says, it takes imagination. That means it's something I'd recommend to anyone. Thanks for the info.
Random chess pieces, checkers, Sorry pawns, etc. (all the leftovers from other games that are missing pieces or came in weird second hand lots) is definitely a fun one.
My son has been playing D and D for many years with a small group of friends. It certainly is an imaginative game and they enjoy their imaginary worlds.
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Happy A to Zed-ding
This sounds like such an interesting game but for my old brain, I can only figure out games like SpongeBob or Monopoly when Lia plays them. LOL
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