Grrr. I always have problems getting the links to work at Googledocs. Not my favorite platform for file sharing, but then again, I'm not very proficient at interweb stuff.
I glazed over pretty quickly at the sheer volume of this beast. I'll have to sober up and get back to it. Honestly though, Simon Bull's 2 digest-sized pages in Delving Deeper seem to accomplish the same thing with much less....words. Also, I'm not sure that a flat 1 - 20 roll is the way to go.
Condensation is always good, especially when you know exactly what you want; Dr. Smale's 'essay' is good for those players who want to go a little more in-depth, want a little background philosophy towards the original design, an attempt to explain why these tables and this system were designed the way they were with the "implied setting" in mind.
Maybe it preaches to the choir, or it reaches a new 'modern' audience who never gave a thought as to why it is the way it is, or never understood the implied setting - and that is the thing about Holmes and OD&D: the rules imply the setting, and it is a setting that has fallen by the wayside in favor of the modern approach to game settings and politics.
Neither is bad/wrong, however some modern games dismiss the old ways because of modern ideas that have nothing to do with medieval settings. Its simply a choice as there is no wrong way to play or design a setting, but the older versions shouldn't be discarded because we are modern gamers.
Is my phone acting up or is the link to your PDF missing?
ReplyDeleteGrrr. I always have problems getting the links to work at Googledocs. Not my favorite platform for file sharing, but then again, I'm not very proficient at interweb stuff.
ReplyDeleteTry a direct link while I fight it out with Googledocs & my blog when I get online next time:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B959vbM0xzS2Rk9GelpTaks2UHc/view?usp=sharing
Got it, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI glazed over pretty quickly at the sheer volume of this beast. I'll have to sober up and get back to it. Honestly though, Simon Bull's 2 digest-sized pages in Delving Deeper seem to accomplish the same thing with much less....words. Also, I'm not sure that a flat 1 - 20 roll is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteCondensation is always good, especially when you know exactly what you want; Dr. Smale's 'essay' is good for those players who want to go a little more in-depth, want a little background philosophy towards the original design, an attempt to explain why these tables and this system were designed the way they were with the "implied setting" in mind.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it preaches to the choir, or it reaches a new 'modern' audience who never gave a thought as to why it is the way it is, or never understood the implied setting - and that is the thing about Holmes and OD&D: the rules imply the setting, and it is a setting that has fallen by the wayside in favor of the modern approach to game settings and politics.
Neither is bad/wrong, however some modern games dismiss the old ways because of modern ideas that have nothing to do with medieval settings. Its simply a choice as there is no wrong way to play or design a setting, but the older versions shouldn't be discarded because we are modern gamers.