Way back when, around the time my friends and I graduated high school, we experienced our first "D&D burnout". We swore off that hoary old system, repudiated its genre conventions, and looked towards the brighter lights of other systems. The less like D&D they were, the better. Alex, our group's other regular GM aside from myself, even went so far as to vow to not run so much as a single session of D&D for a year and a day.
That vow lasted something closer to a week and a day.
Despite our genuine frustrations with the state of the game at the time (this being during the dark years of post-Players Option, "2.5e" AD&D) and the various trappings of classic Dungeons & Dragons, we couldn't stay away from it for long.
I'm finding that that holds true to this day. Gaming-wise, I'm immensely enjoying the two campaigns I'm currently involved in--playing in a solo Pendragon campaign, running a Blue Rose group game--and on the thought-exercise level of things, my mind is occupied by non-D&D matters: planning a future Call of Cthulhu campaign, mulling over my Dragon Warriors/Magnamund conversion and Rifts:2112 project. Yet I find myself irresistibly drawn back to thoughts of pure-strain D&D.
Yesterday is when I realized that this has developed into a real problem; I made my computer desktop wallpaper Larry Elmore's "Waiting for Shademehr". I'm not a huge fan of the chainmail bikini, but what can I say? It works in this picture. When Des saw what I'd done, she sort of chuckled and sighed at the same time.
I like this picture for two reasons (well, three, but I already addressed the first). First, like most of Elmore's classic pictures, he really captured an arresting characterization in the faces of his subjects and the little details of their ensembles. Secondly, and specific to this picture, is that my eye is drawn (after the side-cleavage) to the grand vista sweeping out beyond the characters. It's like they're standing there, beckoning into the picture to join them in their adventures in the great, unmapped Wilderlands beyond.
(And yes, for me this picture is all about the Wilderlands. It would, I think, have been a better choice for the boxed set cover, as much as I love Frazetta.)
I suppose the whole picture just sums up D&D's appeal for me; my question is, why this particular genre stew and not others? Perhaps that is an answer we are not meant to know. Just roll the damn dice, as they say.
If you came across this post by chance and would like to learn more about Classic D&D, check out Dragonsfoot and its forums or head over to this link for a whole passel of awesome articles and ideas cranked out by the Old School Rules community!
One of those Elmore pictures that you spend an inordinate amount of time gazing at when you're a 12 year old boy.
ReplyDeleteWhat am I talking about? I still spend an inordinate amount of time staring at them now, 16 years later!
Who needs porn when you have an Elmore chainmail bikini picture?
Somehow, I knew that was the picture you were talking about before I even clicked on it. I love that one, in spite of it's many nonsensical elements. And yeah, on a web full of naked women doing all manner of amazing things, that pic manages to be more titillating than most.
ReplyDeleteAs for what it is about Classic D&D, I've often wondered the same thing myself. I think it's partly that we all know it backwards and forwards. We can play with it, while mostly ignoring it until it's needed. The last few sessions of both of my LL games have not involved any dice rolling. I'm happy and comfortable doing that with Classic D&D.
It also doesn't hurt that there's not much out there that's better. Most games come with cumbersome skill mechanics, overly-complex magic systems, or game-stopping combat algorithms. And making your own looks like a great idea until you hit one of those areas yourself, and you realize that you're making something that just isn't as playable as Classic D&D, and it's going to devour tens of man-hours of work to complete, man-hours that could be spent prepping and playing Classic D&D.
That's one of my favorite Elmore pieces for all the reasons you describe. It seems full of adventuring potential. That gnomy guy with the pipe is pretty rad as well. You know what? To hell with it. I'm probably going to catch same crap from my wife, but I just made it my background image.
ReplyDeletenoisms: If anything, I'd say I'm prone to staring at it more now than when I was 12, if for no other reason than, as an adult, I can rationalize various shades of deeper meaning in the picture, which is really just a justification for more ogling.
ReplyDeletetrollsmyth: Good points. There's definitely a mechanical element to Classic D&D's appeal; otherwise we wouldn't have the OSR! It definitely explains why running a d20-based campaign isn't scratching the itch for me. It just feels somehow wrong to be calling for Search and Notice rolls in a D&D context, even though I wouldn't think twice of doing the same in a BRP game, for example. It's all about context, I guess.
Jeff: Hell yeah, the gnome! It wouldn't be half the great picture without him. It's probably my favorite artistic rendition of a gnome; I love his "earthy" quality. And his red cap, of course.
Des analyzed the looks on both their faces: the Amazon seems to be sizing the viewer up, whereas the gnome seems somewhat detached, sort of like, "Join us or don't. You'll die like the rest."
Sirlarkins: The amazon has a face?? Can't say I noticed. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy sigh was more about the fact you are getting your D&D urges than the actual art itself. I love the picture.
ReplyDeleteSo are you saying 2.5e is classic D&D now? Or...are you just giving a reference for dating?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what part of characterizing 2.5e as "the dark years" might indicate that I'm lumping it in with classic D&D, but just to clarify: no.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, even 2.5 retained more in common with classic D&D game play (thus my bit about "the trappings of classic D&D") than with the editions that came later, so one could certainly make an argument that Player's Option AD&D was the last, diminished iteration of classic D&D.
I wondered the same thing...then I made a discovery:
ReplyDeletehttp://addgrognard.blogspot.com/2011/03/possible-explanation-for-rise-of-d.html
:)
A most plausible thesis! I could definitely say I was "infected" sometime around 1987. In point of fact, one of my few, dim memories of my first time playing D&D was being fascinated by the polyhedrals. "A pyramid dice? Too much!"
ReplyDelete