Talk:Dungeons & Dragons/Archive 1

message: .--The_stuart 01:43, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: The link is valid... the server just happens to be temporarily offline.   ALKIVAR™ 03:29, 24 Jan 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Chick Link 

message: I just re-organized most of the article and generally cleaned it up. Sorry for the numerous edits, but I edited it section-by-section. If the "compare versions" feature in the "Page history" ever works, you'll be able to see all my edits in one swoop.
I added a "Manuals" section since it seemed worth mentioning (also wanted to provide a wikilink to Monster Manual). Since I stopped playing before the Third Edition, the list is based on the Second Edition (which is noted). If someone wants to add any manuals that I missed or add a Third Edition list, please do so.
I also added a "Dice" section since it wasn't mentioned in the article (I hope it isn't mentioned in role-playing game or elsewhere already—I didn't look). It'd be great if someone could add a pic of one of each die to the section (I would, but I gave all my dice away long ago). Please check the new section for accuracy; it's been a long time since I've played.
I also don't see a section on lead figures (I guess they're pewter now?), which, for me, was a significant part of the whole D&D culture. Gosh, since they were lead, I guess that accounts for all of my brain damage! If someone else doesn't add it, I probably will—someday... —Frecklefoot 17:41, 10 Feb 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Article work

message: Okay, I warned you! I added a miniatures section. I assume one of you will end up moving it like you did the Dice section (grr!), but I kinda like it here. Oh well, whatever is best for the 'pedia. :-) —Frecklefoot 22:16, 12 Feb 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Added Miniatures Section

message: I just added the article for the Player's Handbook. I just wanted to mention it here since I though it'd get more notice this way. Please edit, hack and slash it mercilessly. Thanks. :-) —Frecklefoot 16:13, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Articles on manuals

message: Nice article, quibble follows.
The article states:
:All other RPGs of today--including both pencil and paper and computer role-playing games--can be traced back to the original creation of Gygax and Arneson.
While there is some sense in which this is true, taken most plainly, I think this is not right.  Some issues:
* What people do in historical reeneactment, SCAers and improvisational theatre do is role-playing, some of it quite formalised, and all of these have had an influence on pen and paper role-playing;
* RuneQuest can be seen as work in progress in 1974:
** The game world mythology and history (ie. Glorantha) dates back to 1966, and the idea of Glorantha as a setting for gaming was already being developed in 1974, though first, as a board game.  The creator, Greg Stafford, was also involved in the SCA scene, and was familiar with non-pen and paper role-playing;
** RuneQuest itself was a response to, and was shaped by the 1974 release:
   Greg Stafford: I knew about D&D. I had a friend in Lake Geneva who was
   picking  up  abelt  buckle catalogue at the printer and he saw another
   guy  there  and  asked  what it was. They guy said, A fantasy game. My
   buddy said, Hey, I have a friend making one of those. Can I buy a copy
   from  you?  And  he  did.  Well, The guy was Gary Gygax and the gaming
   system  the  first  copy of D&D ever sold.  We read it but if you know
   that game, it was editorially terrible. At Chaosium we thought about a
   role-playing  game  with  Glorantha  as  gaming world, but we needed a
   gaming  system.  I finally met Steve Perrin who had developed a gaming
   system and he created our system: RuneQuest. It was published in 1978.
::: From an interview with Greg Stafford
** So while there is a connection, and indeed a causal one, it is not right to say RQ can be traced back to D&D: the essential ideas were already germinating in Stafford's mind.
I propose a modification, to saying something like; the 1974 release began the world of pen and paper role-playing, and all of the subsequent pen and paper role-playing games owe this system a great debt.  (Pen and paper role-playing games is awkard, but role-playing games is not specific enough).  Comments?
While I'm at it, comments sought on Glorantha ---- Charles Stewart
:If your quote is accurate, than I think your rewording would be a good rework. — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:15, Sep 1, 2004 (UTC)
:Thanks for the comment.  I'm confident the interview accurately captured what he said; of course I can't really vouch for the accuracy of Greg Stafford's memory, but I don't see that it sounds so unlikely.  I'll apply the rewording ---- Charles Stewart 17:03, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I've applied the change.  The quote I cited above is interesting because it is a claim to have been the first buyer for the system.  Maybe it would be interesting in a trivia section? ---- Charles Stewart 17:32, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: All RPGs can be traced back to Gygax and Arneson?

message: "Officially, the new version of the game is simply a "revision" and not a new edition of the game, but with the release of 3.5, Wizards of the Coast abandoned the open source format."
What's up with this?  They updated the SRD to 3.5 and the OGL still exists.
:Made me wonder too. I remember from skimming the books that a disclaimer said the "product does not contain open gaming content". It merely means they didn't use other people's work and can claim an exclusive copyright, but it might have been mistaken in the sense of the quoted sentence. Either that, or this sentence completely failed to convey its meaning, so I removed it. Femto 15:15, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  3.5 no longer "open source" 

message: someone needs to backfill in a complete list of the D&D/AD&D licensed computer games. a good list can be found at
| mobygames but as i am not completely familiar with all of them i would appreciate some help. It could probably also stand to have more data added on the other related software like Campaign Cartographer and other similar utilities.  Alkivar 23:46, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Using these sites I have compiled a relatively complete list of games. My next step is to list what systems they were available for, and to fill in the gap on the right hand side of the lists with a few screen shots of games. Alkivar 04:53, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Computer Games / Software

message: Pardon, but I believe that the SCA link does not belong on this page.  The SCA is committed to historical re-creation (however leniantly you might want to use that term) and has nothing to do with dice and character sheets and elves and whatnot, even though some members have been known to be avid RPG-ers outside of the SCA (myself included).  Putting a link to the SCA article propogates an identity-crisis that the SCA has been plagued with since its split from amtguard, namely that the SCA encourages fantasy roleplaying.
Small unofficial RPG and fantasy parties have been known to attend large SCA events hoping to "Live Action Role Play" (LARP) and this has had rather disasterous results at times (I was involved at an event when "ninjas" ambushed the camp of the local principality-- it scared us all terribly, scared the "ninjas" terribly when big men with live steel came running at them with serious intention to do them harm since we all had NO idea that said "ninjas" were all simply LARPers who were terribly mistaken in their choice of venues, and resulted in the police being called).
People who choose to attend an SCA event and play at fantasy-type games are not actively dissuaded, so long as they stay away from official functions at the event and don't disrupt anyone; however they are not really all that welcome as they do alot to kill any historical atmosphere.
I hope that you'll help the SCA avoid further episodes like the one described above by not putting the SCA link back in this article.
:Historically the SCA was the first LARP group. That is not debated, however the SCA has gone from its original origins as a "realistic live action fantasy roleplaying group" (aka no magic users) to its current form which is much more about battle reenactions. I think the SCA still deserves a mention.  ALKIVAR™ 00:40, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Society for Creative Anachronism? 

message: Frequently when roleplaying, during combat situations, we would take pieces of candy or coins or dice or beads or whatever was handy and use them as our miniatures, but I'm not sure if I should include that because it might be just a local thing.  67.124.122.26,  Mar 6, 2005
:We did too, but usually just for monsters and such, since we had plenty of miniatures of adventurers.  I don't know if it bears mentioning or not--it was kind of obvious for us. — Frecklefoot | Talk 19:01, Mar 8, 2005 (UTC)
::I play 3.5e, and there aren't too many easy-to-find adventurer miniatures.  What we usually do is use spare dice to represent ourselves and monsters.  I don't think that that is necessarily encyclopedia-worthy though.  →mathx314(talk)(email) 23:16, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Random Objects as Miniatures

message: Two things regarding a new Wikicity which aims to make a collaborative D&D 3.5e Campaign Setting:
#I founded it, and just wanted you people who might actually use it to pop on over.  The Main Page is here.
#Would it be okay to put a link to it at the bottom of the page under the External Links section?
→mathx314(talk)(email) 02:18, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  New Wikicity 

message: In the article it lists White Wolf as using the D20 system, however this is wrong.  While White Wolf games are pencil and paper RPGs, they use only 10 sided dice(D10s) and follow a completely different system of rules from the D20 system.
:Actually its not wrong, they also create D20 modules for use with Dungeons & Dragons. Their OWN games however are D10 based.  ALKIVAR™ 16:39, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Little error 

message: I think this article is generally too long.  For example, I wonder if the section on polyherdral dice should be broken off onto its own page.  Poly-dice certainly are central to D&D, but not exclusive to it.  I'd like to see it taken to its own page.  I'll do this soon (with re-writes) if there are no strong objections. Any other ideas on condensing this page? JRice 14:29, 2005 Jun 22 (UTC)
:Polyhedral dice already has its own article (or, at least it did, until someone merged it with dice).  I think it was broken off long ago, but then users started adding to the section again until it's grown to its current size again. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:35, Jun 22, 2005 (UTC)
::The dice section really ought to be cut down to a paragraph or two and merged into the main section on gameplay.  Listing what each die can be used for is close to overkill.  -Sean Curtin 00:01, Jun 23, 2005 (UTC)
:::I've tried to make a comprimize.  I think there's something to be gained by listing some common uses for each die, but not the mechanics and physical descriptions of the dice--that belongs on the dice page. I also kept the picture, because, well, that's part of the allure of the game.  ; ) ...I hope this all resolves well. I've actually stopped watching this page (my interest in the game is waning again), so I leave it to users' contributions from here! JRice 17:10, July 16, 2005 (UTC)
: Page could be further condensed by moving most of the "Edition History" section to Differences between editions of Dungeons & Dragons -- this main D&D page repeats much of the info that is at "Differences .." and it seems like the differences between the editions is too specific for this main page. RKallberg 21:20, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Too long? 

message: I've noticed that "Advanced Dungeon & Dragons" redirects here, and many articles link to it. Others link here, but the link text reads as "Advanced Dungeon & Dragons" beacause of the contex. So potential reader may be a bit confused why he/she game to mere "Dungeons & Dragons". I tought the distinction between the two versions had to be adressed in the lead.--The Merciful 17:20, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mentioning AD&D right in the lead