While looking for the illustration of the mind flayer that appears in issue #78 (October 1983), I came across this classic bit from Phil Foglio's What's New comic. I've hidden the answer below a break.
It's a funny visual gag, but I think it's also genuinely representative of the way tricks and traps were often employed in the first decade or so of the hobby. What I mean is that, in those days, many tricks and traps were intended to test
the player rather than (or
in addition to) the character. Consequently, they were "gamey" in conception, more akin to brain teasers or puzzles than the kinds of things one might expect to encounter within the reality of a fantasy setting. I can recall several examples from my youth that depended on English puns or wordplay to resolve. I know my friends and I weren't alone in this.
Of course, the real takeaway from this is I miss What's New ...
What's new was the best!
ReplyDeleteI've been a fan of the Foglios' work for a very long time now, with Buck Godot (especially the Gallimaufrey arc) standing as some of my favorite scifi comics and Girl Genius as an ongoing pleasure.
ReplyDeleteBITD, "what's new" was the very first thing I read when I got a new issue of Dragon. And when it returned briefly for the 3.0 era it was no different.
ReplyDeleteThat brief revival was a high point of the 3.0 era Dragon, wasn't it? Can probably thank Magic for that - the Foglios had done a fair few pieces of art for the game and had a good working relationship with the WotC of the time. Never heard whether bringing the strip back was their idea or the company's, but it sure was nice to see.
DeleteAbout the only thing that would have made me happier would have been the return of Trampier's Wormy, but that wasn't ever going to happen, sadly.
Agreed.
DeleteAlso Gary back and penning some articles was a big draw for me. But yeesh those 3.0 years for Dragon (and Dungeon) were awful for the most part.I had subbed for 3 years at the tail end of 2E and was just too lazy to cancel and ask for a refund on the remainder of time. I kept hoping it would get better...
The first issue I ever bought was #84. Because it was the April issue they jokingly called their strip Hatway's Enway. Being young and a little bit dense (those two things seem to go together) I thought that was the real name of the comic for at least a month or two.
ReplyDelete