tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post5892399510251956825..comments2024-03-28T01:53:34.870-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: "Ya Don't Tug on Superman's Cape"James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51345107061721665442022-08-23T00:16:06.324-04:002022-08-23T00:16:06.324-04:00I have to admit, I find Gygax's statements in ...I have to admit, I find Gygax's statements in using the rules as written to be... odd, especially since in his later years he mentioned that there were large swathes of rules he never used, like the weapon vs armour types and psionics. Personally I find his statements on the inviolability of the AD&D rules to come across... more than a little asshole-ish, to be frank, sometimes I'm not surprised that his business relations could be fraught.<br /><br />As for crits, I've always used them, but that's because my RPG journey started with 3e where they're built-in from the start (and I still hold to them, it's one of those ones I will gladly house rule in). Monsters always had the chance to get them too, or at least I always ran that, but the 3e style requiring a confirmation roll for crit damage helps mitigate that a bit.doccarnbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13406919373469437352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-50083603116313337732022-08-22T23:23:15.293-04:002022-08-22T23:23:15.293-04:00It is possible that Bob used that rule, adopted as...It is possible that Bob used that rule, adopted as you say from EPT, in a D&D game at a convention or even in Lake Geneva while visiting TSR.<br /><br />All the edition wars and rules kerfuffle aside, of course, if you change the rules enough, you are no longer on laying D&D, you are playing some other RPG based, loosely or otherwise, on a D&D chassis, so to speak. Change enough rules and you end up with T&T or maybe RuneQuest or Rolemaster, etc.<br /><br />Make a few house rules that do not break rules but accessorize or complement them, that's still D&D. Make some rules that break or change the rules, that's not D&D, just D&D Adjacent.<br /><br />Varying damage rules? House rules. Add Critical Hit tables as core to the game a la Rolemaster? That's a new game.<br /><br />The thing is, everyone has a different level of tolerance for a House Rule versus a New Game Rule... And there's the rub.<br /><br />Plus, you have to consider regional rules differences that started at House Rules level to adjudicate the wibbly wobbly OD&D rules with full on New Game Rules as many such developed. Each region had their own version of Interpreted D&D, sometimes not compatible with D&D as Interpretated in other regions.<br /><br />A big googly moogly mess, from a play perspective and from a sales perspective, setting off negative reactions from both Gamer Gary and Business Gary...James Mishlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03510782553325944558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38069017427556488572022-08-22T14:04:17.985-04:002022-08-22T14:04:17.985-04:00Perhaps giving away a bit too much of my professio...Perhaps giving away a bit too much of my professional life here, but I do wonder if there wasn't some little bit of intellectual property concerns informing Mr. Gygax's take(s) here. I don't think it was by any means a sole or primary factor, but I can see it as something a savvy business person might have mentioned at some point. Were you to publish all sorts of different rules for "Dungeons & Dragons" there would eventually be a risk of genericizing the trademark (think "aspirin" in the U.S., which was originally a trademark). Were I advising Lake Geneva in those early days, I might have mentioned that it would be wise to keep the game narrowly defined, lest "D&D" simply come to mean "table-top roleplaying." I am by no means an expert in the history here, and could certainly be wrong, but it's a thought that keeps recurring for me. At any rate, cheers, everyone. LCMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02000605927262574842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61917096223031427232022-08-22T13:03:49.802-04:002022-08-22T13:03:49.802-04:00I think you're reading Bledsaw absolutely corr...I think you're reading Bledsaw absolutely correctly, down to where the "instant kill rule" probably came from. What seems to bother Gygax here, though, is not so much that Bledsaw uses that rule in D&D, or even that he modifies it, as <i>how</i> he modifies it. As I read it, Gygax thought Bledsaw let the players kill monsters instantly with high attack rolls, but limited the monsters to doing double damage with those same high attack rolls. That really would upset game balance. As to why Gygax called Bledsaw on it, why did he gripe about anyone altering the rules? All the reasons that have been suggested over the years apply in this case. Furthermore, Bledsaw published licensed D&D products, so Gygax may have been particularly concerned with his respect for the rules: it would not do for Bledsaw to publish anything that could be seen as giving official sanction to altering the rules.John Brinegarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123235797335728124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46021747889683516662022-08-22T12:12:04.411-04:002022-08-22T12:12:04.411-04:00This is a fascinating snapshot of RPG history....This is a fascinating snapshot of RPG history....Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09872338936249305301noreply@blogger.com