Dungeons & Dragons in the New York Times

I’m basically unaware of much of contentiousness the article talks about, mainly because there was a twenty-year gap, more or less, between last playing the game and joining a campaign in 2010. I’m just happy that I can remember some things from the now ancient days of the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

But, to date myself, I will admit to remembering when AD&D issued its second edition rules. I will also admit to having greater affection for the 1st edition rules. I will further admit that I like the relative fluidity of the current D&D rules (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons doesn’t exist anymore; the ‘advanced’ literally referred to the greater number of rules governing more situations, as opposed to the greater emphasis on ad hoc improvisation in D&D), though I am still getting used to the greater tactical emphasis implied by playing out fights on a grid with small figurines indication the location of each actor in the fight (AD&D fights were somewhat more likely to be simply sounded out verbally than played out in this manner, or maybe I was just doing it wrong before).

This article also makes me think that it’s no surprise that our group is made of men in the 30s and 40s. We predated the dominance of video games. Oh, I had video games as a kid, but they weren’t the huge, all encompassing part of culture that they seem to be now.

Of course, I was warned off joining a group by a friend who tried to take the game again after a similarly lengthy absence and said, Don’t do it! Everybody was a teenage! I felt so old and creepy!

It seems that it is my band of intrepid, armchair adventurers who are typical and his that are the atypical ones. Breathing a sigh of relief.

P.S. – The company that now owns D&D is preparing to re-release the original, 1st edition rules from 1974 (the year I was born, actually) in honor of Gary Gygax.