Post by Shelby on Feb 22, 2022 13:14:37 GMT -8
I just read another post that casually states that "today's game" is oh so very different from gaming in the 1970s. Gaah. Here's the reply I posted, for your amusement.
While I understand what you’re saying, when I read phrases contrasting “In the hobby’s early days” with “In today’s game, player characters do more than assault dungeons” I start to twitch. Remember, 1974 edition D&D’s three-book set has plenty of non-dungeon information, from flying horses and bands of nomads to baronies and adventures on the high seas. 1975’s Empire of the Petal Throne, arguably simply a D&D variant, details adventuring in the city of Jakalla. Judges Guild met with TSR in 1976 and we all know their extensive Wilderlands and City-States. Your experiences in 1977 may have been all dungeoneering, but there were plenty of games within the same period that did “more than assault dungeons.”
So sure, there are reasons both for and against splitting the party, but I’d argue very strongly that breaking the adage is not contingent on playing “today’s game.”
While I understand what you’re saying, when I read phrases contrasting “In the hobby’s early days” with “In today’s game, player characters do more than assault dungeons” I start to twitch. Remember, 1974 edition D&D’s three-book set has plenty of non-dungeon information, from flying horses and bands of nomads to baronies and adventures on the high seas. 1975’s Empire of the Petal Throne, arguably simply a D&D variant, details adventuring in the city of Jakalla. Judges Guild met with TSR in 1976 and we all know their extensive Wilderlands and City-States. Your experiences in 1977 may have been all dungeoneering, but there were plenty of games within the same period that did “more than assault dungeons.”
So sure, there are reasons both for and against splitting the party, but I’d argue very strongly that breaking the adage is not contingent on playing “today’s game.”