Edition Wars...I want off the bandwagon

I have been wondering around the hills, dales, vales, dungeons and even braved the nodes of the Temple of Elemental Evil, Existential Evil and even braved the Return to the Temple and though I wanted to sally forth again into Hommlet for the current rules, I never have.

Yet, I have always complained, bitched and ranted about the rule sets that aren't MY edition of D&D.  And, I think I might have mellowed a little with age.  Because, I have gotten to the point where I just don't care anymore.  I will talk about the edition I want to, I might bring up a note or two, perhaps with a sarcastic quip along with it, yet I can't do this fighting anymore.  I am done, I am burning my draft card for the 2nd edition light brigade and just getting back to playing the damn game!

Am I saying I want to hold hands and sing?  NO!  Everyone is going to have their own edition or retro-clone that they want to play.  I am one of those people who love 2nd edition.  I also have found 1st edition AD&D to be an intriguing system.  But, I can't gripe and bitch about how something that is coming out now is horrible and a piece of shite.  Just done with this petty bull.

Everyone is going to play the edition that they want to.  GO FOR IT!  It doesn't matter what others say.  If all your friends want to play 4e, and you want to play Metzer, find a group who will.  OR, ask your friends to try it.  They might actually like some of it.  If they don't and call you stupid, go get new friends.

All of the edition have merits and flaws.  It is the nature of the role playing beast.  Everyone will have a favorite.  I know what mine is.  You know what yours is.  Should we get over this edition war bull, yes!  Do we have to agree?  FUCK no!  Should we at least be civil to each other?  YES!!!  We are all gamers here.  Be cool to each other.  Try a different edition ever once and again.  If you have and think everything after Holmes is horrendous, then by all means play your little heart out of Holmes.  If you think 4e is the bee's knees (yes, I went there) have fun!  Long as you tolerate other gamers and maybe try something new every once and again, things will be fine.

There is something for everyone out there.  As for me, I'm going to my shelf and work on a 1st edition campaign.  And, play in the Hackmaster/1st ed. mash up.  And, Serenity and the Fallout game.

Thanks for reading.

Back to blogging...and random shout outs

I am going to try and do something that a fellow blogger told me to try. (By the way, he has some really neat stuff over here.)  Going to just spend a little bit of time every morning coming on and doing a little memory dump...might work!

I have been working on a 1st ed. game...

Before I go any farther, I believe that these edition wars are garbage.  If you have a preferred D&D edition, cool.  If you can play every kind, from the Metzer or Holmes Box set to the newest 4e Essentials, then by all means.  Play.  I have my own quibbles about different editions.  And some of the retro clones.  But, for the most part, this blog is about the games I'm running, which do take inspiration from every single edition under the sun, those buried under the earth, those still in the æther and every point in between.  Regardless of what edition you play, have fun.  I think that is what needs to be ten away from these stupid edition wars.  I might gripe about an edition in past blogs, yet I am going to try and keep it out of the blogs from now on.  It is silly and useless to do so.

Back to my topic...ah yes, 1st edition AD&D.

I have been listening to varied podcasts: RFI, Book of Sorrows, Save or Die and THAC0's Hammer.  These are some great podcasts and I recommend them for any gamer.  Not just the hardcore D&D fans either.  The Book of Sorrows one is over for now, yet the stuff that the group gets into is hilarious and exciting to listen to as well.

My point?  That listening to all of these things have helped me craft bits and pieces of my own world.  RFI has their "Creature Feature" which has given me many many nasty things to shove into dungeons and encounters, both random and planned.  I won't innumerate all of them, yet I will say that every podcast on that list has helped.  As well as many of the blogs that are off to the right of this one.

But, the minions and maybe a big bad guy don't all come from blogs.  Sometimes they come from supplements or from my own imagination.

One last thing I want to talk about is City of Vornheim, a dense little book put out by another blogger, Zak S.  his blog is great fun and he recently came out with a small handbook for making city-based games.  I talked about it a little last time and I will talk about it more later.  It is a great read and for such a small boo it is PACKED with useful information.  (I also helped playtest one of the adventurers in the book.  So, my name is in print.  Which is rather cool.)

I realize after having started writing this particular blog that I have been talk about others and not my own stuff.  This happens sometimes...


I guess I will have to try again tomorrow.  For, I have to get back to my notes and work out something for my group.  Though, who knows when or if this game will ever see the light of day?