Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax passed away yesterday morning at the age of 69. His pioneering work in formalizing the concept of make-believe though complex tables, graph paper, and polyhedral dice allowed generations of social misfits to directly express their power projection and other vicarious fantasies in a relatively controlled (and frequently contentious) environment.
I've already discussed my qualified affection for the hobby in this classic post, so instead of simply restating what I said last April, I thought I'd pay my respects to the man who taught me the difference between a bardiche and a glaive by spotlighting what I hold to be Mr. Gygax's greatest work, which appeared in an appendix to the 1979 first edition of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide:
Luck be a lady of the evening tonight (but preferably a "brazen strumpet" rather than an "aged madam".)
Billy Idol - Flesh for Fantasy (from Rebel Yell, 1983) - What happens if you roll a critical fumble on a "sex attack"? (Please don't say "weapon breakage.") And into what category of the above table does Heidi Fleiss fall?
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
for fantasy and taste
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
I'm going to append "or even a pimp" to virtually everything I say from now on.
A natural roll of "00" = Superfly in the 4th Edition rules, I'm told.
You know, the "back to back" bit in "Flesh For Fantasy" always confused me; now that I've seen Requiem For A Dream, though, it just kinda creeps me out.
Interesting that one has to roll higher for a cheap trollop than a brazen strumpet. My preference would always be for the latter.
That last statement seems to be saying, "Assume every woman you meet is a harlot." Talk about playing to your audience.
Post a Comment