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Tag Archives: D&D

Not Forgotten

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Two years ago today (q.v.), our hobby lost one of its principle founders. You are still missed, Mr. Gygax.

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Dave Arneson, 1947-2009

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Dave Arneson, born 1 October 1947 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, passed away on Tuesday, the 7th of April.
Arneson was the co-creator (with E. Gary Gygax, who passed away in March 2008) of Dungeons & Dragons, the first role-playing game.
As obituaries and history books (both written and yet to be written) will attest, Arneson’s place in [...]

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A Very Happy Unbirthday to You

Monday, February 2, 2009

Thinking about gamer colloquialisms reminded of one that I coined during my AD&D, 1st Edition days:

unmodule
Any role-playing without the use of a written module, usually occurring during “downtime” between adventures and allowing player characters to pursue personal goals, run errands, buy equipment, carouse, or embark on missions of their own design.
Derived from “unbirthday” in Alice [...]

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Gamer Colloquialisms

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Related to the previous article, I just remembered an example of a gamer colloquialism not used by anyone in my own gaming group. I heard it in the 1980s when I was attending NOWSCon, a small gaming convention held by the Northern Ohio Wargaming Society. I was playing in the first round of an RPGA-sanctioned [...]

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GMing Terms Added to Glossary

Saturday, January 31, 2009

I have added three terms to the Glossary of Fudge and General Role-Playing Terms: “GM fiat,” “GM on the fly,” and “GM whim.”
I have also pondered whether it would be justifiable to include what may be considered gamer colloquialisms, but ultimately I think it would clutter the glossary, the aim of which is to be [...]

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E. Gary Gygax, 1938-2008

Saturday, March 8, 2008

E. Gary Gygax, born 27 July 1938 in Chicago, Illinois, passed away at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on Tuesday, the 4th of March. (Today is the day of his funeral.)
I will leave the writing of obituaries and the analysis of his cultural contributions to others for now. For the moment, Gentle Reader, I [...]

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Promoting Clarity in Gaming

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

To promote clarity in gaming is to promote gaming itself. If one wants to reach others, one attempts to communicate with them. Most game companies do not wish to exclude potential customers, but sometimes their adherence to old habits of convenience (such as the ridiculous overuse of acronyms and initialisms) is more an obstacle than [...]

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Deliberate Obfuscation in Gaming

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Sometimes a little issue reminds one of a bigger issue. In this case, the little issue is that of the occasional difficulty of interpreting a role-playing game’s attributes so I can include them in my List of Attributes by Game. Sometimes the only access I have to a game is its character sheet, which is [...]

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Yet Another D&D Edition

Friday, August 31, 2007

Most game companies want their prospective customers to know what they are offering with as little fuss as possible. Most game companies will go out of their way to provide a little information for free about a product that is no longer a secret. This is not the case with Wizards of the Coast. It [...]

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