# D&D review: 1974



## Eben (Feb 18, 2003)

A review of the dungeons and dragons from 1974.  You really should read this.  

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~beattie/timeline/1972-1979/dd.gif


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## paqman (Feb 18, 2003)

*Funny*

I Like the ... but at 3.50 each are priced rather high.

This guy would probably scream if he was able to know that they would be priced more then 10 times that today.


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## Bagpuss (Feb 18, 2003)

I love the fact its not suited to be a table-top game, better suited to play-by-mail or phone.


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## Henry (Feb 18, 2003)

Dorn proves the important example: never adventure alone... 

The funny thing is that people have proven that it is fun to play by phone, (I have done this), by mail (I haven't done this), by e-mail (nope), by message board forums (yep), and by computer game online play (again, yep)!

And my favorite is the part where he says it puts too much work on the referee, compared to the players...


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## EricNoah (Feb 18, 2003)

Wow, that is awesome!  You can almost literally hear the paradigm shifting...


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## diaglo (Feb 18, 2003)

he didn't review my favorite thing mentioned in Booklet 1. a campaign should range from 4 to 50 players per referee. with a 20 players to 1 referee being the optimal.

they were referees not Dungeon Masters then.


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## nsruf (Feb 18, 2003)

I knew it, a game like that can't possibly work! Why oh why didn't they listen to this guy back then? 



> From the review:
> *The resulting mess in interpretations is enough to tax the patience of most gamers to the extreme.
> ...
> The scope is just too grand, while the referee is expected to do too much in relation to the players.*




Hit the nail on the head, that reviewer...


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## Drawmack (Feb 18, 2003)

that's great. The funny thing is I know a lot of wargammers and they still say the same things about RPGs.

Wow 50 people. that would be one hell of a chaotic mess.


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## barsoomcore (Feb 18, 2003)

Okay, nothing is quite as funny as:


> *For those without gasoline to visit their fellow wargamers, or without a car, Dungeons and Dragons can be very, very interesting indeed.*



Enjoy D&D more! Sell your car! Stop hoarding gasoline! It's more interesting! It's very, very interesting indeed!


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## BOZ (Feb 18, 2003)

Drawmack said:
			
		

> *Wow 50 people. that would be one hell of a chaotic mess. *




even with 4 DMs.


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## DDK (Feb 18, 2003)

> In general, the concept and imagination involved is stunning. However, much more work, refinement, and especially regulation and simplification is necessary before the game is managable.




Which brings us to... 3rd ed.


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## Left-handed Hummingbird (Feb 18, 2003)

Arnold Hendrick?

I wonder if it is the same as the game designer Arnold Hendrick who created i.a. _Darklands_ (one of the great CRPGs, IMHO, and one I'd like to see updated), and worked together with Sid Meier at Microprose...

*googles*

Perhaps it is; this is what a Darklands FAQ has to say about him: 

"What do we know about Arnold Hendrick, the designer of DARKLANDS?

Before he designed games for Microprose, Arnold Hendrick designed a few role-playing games. Of note: BARBARIAN PRINCE, a paragraph adventure boardgame from DWARFSTAR (1981) and TRIREME from Avalon Hill (Redesign and Development). "

I guess he decided to give it a go?


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## Breakdaddy (Feb 18, 2003)

I am old, and this "rocksors my boXorz" in the common(?) parlance. I remember strategic review and the very first issue of Dragon Mag. This is way cool, thanks for finding it!


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## JeffB (Feb 19, 2003)

barsoomcore said:
			
		

> *Okay, nothing is quite as funny as:
> Enjoy D&D more! Sell your car! Stop hoarding gasoline! It's more interesting! It's very, very interesting indeed! *




I think you have to remember that at the time this was written the Gas "Crunch" of the mid 70's was in full swing.....Gas lines were insanely long, you could only buy gas on certain days, prices were astronomical, etc.


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## diaglo (Feb 19, 2003)

JeffB said:
			
		

> *... prices were astronomical, etc. *




yeah, gas went up to $0.75 per gallon for regular leaded.  



> _Originally posted by DDK_*
> 
> Which brings us to... 3rd ed. *




no, it brings the reviewer to       ed.

some of *us* still prefer the Original (1974) D&D.


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## Henry (Feb 19, 2003)

diaglo said:
			
		

> *no, it brings the reviewer to       ed.
> 
> some of us still prefer the Original (1974) D&D.  *




...and yet still play 3E regularly. 


Yes, I know, you still haven't yet converted your group to the true heir to the crown, but admit it - you still have some fun with the impure, deviant, and corrosive thing that is 3E, don't you?


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## diaglo (Feb 19, 2003)

why would i be here if i wasn't having fun.


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## Ranes (Feb 19, 2003)

Excellent post. Thanks.


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## Eben (Feb 20, 2003)

Glad you liked it.

Does anyone know where other stuff like this might be found? It would be great to have a sort of "history of D&D" section on these pages.


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## HiLiphNY (Feb 20, 2003)

Eben said:
			
		

> *Glad you liked it.
> 
> Does anyone know where other stuff like this might be found? It would be great to have a sort of "history of D&D" section on these pages. *




www.acaeum.com

Well, not really a site of historical story telling or parly, yet it is interesting to leaf through all the various priducts.  I.e., what is your D&D old gear net worth!


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## Kilmore (Feb 22, 2003)

Sounds like it would be a little messy to me.  Did they ever revise it?


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## tleilaxu (Feb 22, 2003)

two thread on the same subject. the other one has a link to a gif or pdf of the article


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## psychognome (Feb 22, 2003)

That was really funny.


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## Col_Pladoh (Feb 22, 2003)

Using the OAD&D rules, a Dm could handle 20 players withoug much difficulty.  As a matter of fact I was the lone DM at a DMG-sponsored con, and I ran five groups of 20 through a torurnament adventure.

Remember PCS were not expected to be long-loved back in those days

I admit i was a bit sanguine when I mentioned 50 as the upper number.  Anything over 20 and I called fro a co-DM (referee) to assist in keeping track of who was doing what--and rolling the dice for the hordes of monsters such hige parties attracted.

The more "refined" game sessions where there was actual roleplay, problem solving, and the rest were always done with much smaller groups, usually one to four or five players,

There's my trip down Memory Lane for the day 

Gary


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