Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Late Unpleasantness

It probably speaks poorly of me to say so, but do you have any idea how nice it is that the latest old school Internet drama doesn't involve me or something I wrote in any way? I think I could get used to this, so, gentlemen, please continue to carry on without me; it's a welcome change of pace.

(Just to be clear: This is humor and not an attempt to make fun of anyone except possibly myself, who, despite being a really nice guy, has inexplicably been at the center of one too many tempests in teapots over the last two years. The foregoing statement is also humor.)

41 comments:

  1. You DO know that use of humor in the OSR has been expressly forbidden, under pain of catapult?

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  2. Another sex scandal? Damn, I missed it!

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  3. If I don't receive your check in the next two days I'm changing it back to D&D With Rainbow Kittens. You've been warned.

    -Your Loving Decoy,

    Zak

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  4. I'm afraid news of the scandal didn't reach me in my cave. Ooh, pretty pictures, though.

    Off to beat things with sticks.

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  5. @Zak: At least you're on Grognardia's sidebar links...

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  6. @Paladin - No, no, its Defenestration. Didn't you get the memo?

    (I don't get to use that word very often.)

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  7. @James: When you Google 'defenestration', the second result... just seemed oddly amusing:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defenestrations_of_Prague

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  8. I think it's terrible James is being left out of a scandal. We should start a rumor to help him: "Maliszewski declares ascending armor class is the only true way!"

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  9. @scottsz - How bizarre! I was first introduced to the word, during a D&D game. I thought then, and still think it odd, that there was a special word for the act.

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  10. @anthony - Something more believable, would probably go further. "Maliszewski proposes tightening level limits on demi-humans."

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  11. (Joe Pesci voice)
    You making jokes? You think this is funny? Funny how? Like a clown? You think other's blogs are here to amuse you?

    ..oh, that's right, they are.

    Nevermind...

    Ciao!
    Grendelwulf

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  12. While I don't think defenestration was invented in Prague, they certainly came closer than most to both perfecting it and popularizing it as a means of transitioning governments. Perhaps someday mankind will live in an ideal Defenestocaracy, and the noble Czech pioneers who brought us this wonderful concept will be given the accolades they deserve.

    Also, this Puritan "what about the children!" streak that the OSR is developing is very unnerving.

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  13. 2010: The Year Of The OSR Defenestration.

    I am comforted in the knowledge that I live in a bungalow.

    I promise to write glowing eulogies for of all of you.

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  14. Well, keep your voice down, Tim, but there's a blogger in this very thread that plays D&D with porn stars!

    Naturally, this can only mean one thing: widespread panic!

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  15. @Everyone: I am terrified... I live on the fourth floor in an old building with old windows!

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  16. @Fitz

    Thanks, but please stop. You'll just goad someone reading into trying to defend their position and then they'll say something that crosses the line and then someone will respond with something that crosses the line and it'll all just start over again.

    Just let it die. If someone's got a problem with me, they can take it up with me.

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  17. @Fitz: Not trying to antagonize you, but the TARGA website is asking for commentary, presumably about the kids/parents/D&D/porn issue. It's better to place your discussion there, as TARGA is requesting it.

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  18. The OSR needs to have a bit of argy-bargy to keep it from getting decrepit and complacent. I think the community is sufficiently resilient to keep from going into full schism-mode.

    Things haven't been so much fun round here since the Mckinney heresy.

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  19. Oh. Sorry 'bout that.
    I thought something went down at Gary Con.

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  20. Oh, wben I said sex scandal I was being facetious. Didn't realize, hahaha

    This is only now starting to ruffle feathers? Wow. Figured if it would have happened, it would have happened sooner. Silly

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  21. I thought then, and still think it odd, that there was a special word for the act.

    "Urticate" is an even funnier example of this trend.

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  22. Every once in a while I get all depressed about the inevitable slide of any group into demented politico-moralistic argy-bargy, backstabbery and bullshittery. But then I realize that I don't actually have to have anything to do with those particular people, and I cheer right up again.

    It does mean, however, that I almost never join any kind of capital-G Group.

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  23. Well, if anyone should be blamed it's WOTC. Afterall, if your going to interview people who play your games and openly work in the sex industry, chances are more then one person is going to be a little upset.

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  24. Hmmm...just took a look at playing D&D with porn stars, and all I see in the latest post are tired old hats like "...OK, lets look at what monsters start with the letter F today." Hardly contoversial stuff. in jokes aside, could somebody point out the location of the latest drama?

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  25. If you average the porn stars with the nerds, it turns out that the average role-player has had sex about as often as the general population.

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  26. Heh.... I love all you crazy bastards.

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  27. "When the tao is lost, men turn to talk of good and evil."

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  28. What are bridges for, but to burn?
    Although, it would be easier if I could swim.

    I actually have a proposition for Zak to make this all into a positive situation in the long run.

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  29. So, could someone give me a link?

    Apparently I suck at finding drama.

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  30. James: "Maliszewski proposes tightening level limits on demi-humans."

    I really did choke a bit on reading that.

    Major thumbs-up to Zak for making things interesting.

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  31. The amazing thing is that all this is going down during GaryCon. And let me tell you about GaryCon.

    I had a magnificent time. I mean, I know all about the rancor of the OSR infighting and pissing and moaning, and I know all about the Edition Wars, and, hell, I know the history of TSR and that there's a lot of not-sweetness-and-light.

    But you know what? I played something like 28 hours of RPGs over the weekend, with probably 50 different people running and playing with me. And:

    NOT ONE OF THEM WAS A DOUCHE

    No, really. I even had a longish talk with someone much newer-school than me, from Chicago, whose name I've forgotten, about why I preferred rulings-not-rules rules-light games, and about plot-driven versus sandbox style, and improvisation, and all that stuff which drives people on the Net into frothing rages....

    And there was no rancor. I had some good discussions and I had some GREAT games.

    I played OD&D, AD&D v1, AD&Dv2, Astonishing Swords and Sorcery, Rules-Cyclopedia-mostly-Mentzer-Basic, Metamorphosis Alpha (well, I didn't play that very long, but it was my own fault: Jim Ward doesn't kill you, he just doesn't get in the way of your killing yourself), and the Goodman Games d20-derived game-in-playtest. I had a terrific time in each and every one of those. And the thing was, everyone else I saw was having an equally good time. Well, except for Jim Ward when Ernie Gygax and Tom Wham were picking on him in Dragon Lairds. And they were being mean to him. But I digress.

    The thing is, I came away with my faith in old-school gaming--though maybe not "The OSR" whatever that is--completely restored. I haven't felt as much like a kid on Christmas morning in a very, very long time. And, I repeat again, of all the different people I played with, none of whom I'd ever sat at a table with before to the best of my knowledge,

    NOT ONE OF THEM WAS A DOUCHE

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  32. That sounds cool but why wasn't there a Rancor?

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  33. "It's D&D. With Strippers and Porn Stars."

    Not sure what the big deal is. It's pretty tame compared to my junior high school back in the day.

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  34. Hm, isn't one of the main arguments of the OSR that D&D took a wrong turn with the kiddie marketing?

    Otherwise, have fun applying retroactive bikinis to the succubus, Eldritch Wizardry cover girl, etc.

    The video is actually pretty mild for something that proclaims "porn actresses and a stripper" on its splash page.

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  35. If not a complaint, James, how about a round of applause?

    I was thinking of Grognardia today, actually. Though I have been gaming for 30 years--starting with the 77 Holmes boxed set--I fell in with those deviant and weird RuneQuest players soon after and abandoned D&D. I've played hundreds of games and worked in the retail end of the industry (the Compleat Strategist) back in college, but while I have kept up on D&D over the years it never held much interest for me. That began to change with the OSR. First Labyrinth Lord and later Swords & Wizardry caught my attention, and then, your superb blog. My interest piqued, I have been running S&W White Box for some time and having a blast. Today I actually grabbed a thick, plain white cardboard box that a photo album came in, printed a Swords & Wizardry cover for it on photograph paper, and pasted it on the lid. Then I printed out the S&W White Box rules in pamphlet size, along with a few other goodies like Matt Finch's Old School gaming primer, tossed in some dice, and voila! A White Box all my own.

    It was, largely, this blog that awoke my awareness of the virtues of Old School gaming...namely the "do-it-yourself" spirit that extends these days to even how you print out and package your own game.

    Let 'em complain James. That's how you know you are doing some good.

    (word verification "slingore," Lord Kilgore's younger brother?)

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  36. Is it bad that, as soon as I read about "tempests in teapots", I immediately think of Gong and Steve Hillage?

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  37. @Zak:

    Is that the porn star Rainbow Kittens?

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  38. There was no Rancor because we didn't want to get sued by Lucas and then forced as punishment to watch the Christmas Special over and over and over.

    To be fair, one of my characters was named "Lumpy" so maybe the Spirit Of Christmas, which as Cartman Skywalker taught us is "rancor", was already in the room.

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  39. why didn't anyone tell me before?

    do you mean that the same generous souls who help me perpetuate my other adolescent delusions into middle-age also want to help out with this one?

    these girls just give and give and give. and they love it, too!

    I've held my tongue before, James, but this just goes to show, there needs to be more skin on grognardia.

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