Die Twenty Years Ago...

I love to start out a sentence with "Twenty years ago... oh crap ! Has it been twenty years?"
But I am a guy that has been gaming more than twenty years... and in this time I have come upon several pearls of wisdom.

More nuggets than pearls, but worthwhile to some I suppose. First I liked gaming if not loved gaming with a passion unknown to this earth. We all did. It was the outlet to the imagination, before video games, well before good graphics anyway. Atari was about, maybe intellivision, but by and large we would game rather than play the square with the arrow and kill the dragon, and get the chalice on the t.v. (Adventure). As fun as it was, nearly everything paled to the D&D, except maybe bowlin'... and cornbread... lots of cornbread, but we played every week. Sometimes in two groups, thats twice a week, five, sometimes eight players. And I was not so homely as to not get the "chicks", but we all tried to work around our busy schedules.

Video did some damage, especially now, with all the mmorpgs about, some of which I have played. But too be honest, the graphics on the screen cant compare with the imagery that resounds, and rebounds in my head. And the group getting together,with all its quips and snickers, highlighted the game. Team speak programs aside, they pale in comparison, especially when Todd says something that causes Pepsi to squirt out your nose. The tabletop sets the standard/model for video and all its hoopla.

It was NEW, which helped, and the rash of so many tabletop games have overpopulated the market with some less than par re-hashes. There are some great games out there, dont get me wrong, freakin great games, but which ones... D&D was AFFORDABLE. We could play cheaply, bring some sodas, and snacks, and have a good time for hours and hours. I get the third degree from the wife (see flickr.com/photos/teammartin/) for pics if you are curious, about spending money on almost anything and or spending time away from the family unit. Some new games are pretty hefty in sums, especially if all have to buy a players guide or something, and money as an adult is important, with IRA's, kids college funds (Coverdales), and cars and gas, and things, I just cant buy until I find one I , as well as all the group, wants to invest in. We played so long most knew the D&D rules, stats, bonuses, spells, ranges that some of us never had to buy a book at all.

I think the D20 idea was a good one, but I think that there are so many out there the gems are being lost, and many people are just making "something " to get on the market. I scour about the net for a consensus of what is good and what is not. Mostly our game is homebrewed on some existing system, with a better combat and or magic system, but we are always looking for the NEW thing. Well NEW and BETTER anyway. Mike buys more so than I, and his wife doesnt get the RPG thing, and wishes he would get a real hobby like golf, and moreover we never really play anything he does buy that is relatively new. He might steal a monster idea or two, but little else.

I like the Privateer Press Monsternomicon... some good ideas in there, thing I can tweak, things, never seen before..., and I like the Lord of the Rings RPG, some good thoughts there, but wouldnt play the milleau... been done. Alot.

Anywho... I know the talent is out there doing good work... someone let me know what it is. Hopefully its NEW, turning the RPG world on its ear, and is AFFORDABLE, and lets me roll my DICE, which kids of all ages love to roll. Its the only way to save the industry for the next generation before they get hooked on the need for better gear.