Writing: the new language of story

So I’ve recently gotten back into gaming. You know, gaming on the table top, without electronics, software and all the technological accoutrements that seem to be part and parcel of the scene these days.

Most gamers are tried and true D&D nerds, or at least, that’s where they cut their teeth. Back in my day it was Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2^nd Edition. There was one PHB, one DMG, a whole bucket of dice and the good times just kept on coming. But now, as I sit with my group, in a much larger basement, complete with mini-fridge (and the obligatory beer inside it), a full size white-board table to allow illustrations and diagrams, miniatures and more, I can’t help but feel as if some of the imagination has gone out of my favorite hobby.

The game has evolved, of this there can be no doubt. But then, did it need to? I had the honor of interviewing Gary Gygax way back in ’99, and he was, summarily excited about the new 3^rd edition rules. I for one, found them mild and easily acceptable. Quick to learn, quick to run, most things were still covered, those that weren’t we just made up. But, as I started in on a career of corporate insanity, I found I had less and less time to slay dragons in my buddies’ basements.

The 3.5 rules were released and some I remember over a martini somewhere in Colorado, a friend telling me that Vin Diesel contributed to the book. He was apparently an avid gamer. Nothing against Vin, in fact, I like the guy, but renaissance dressing, costume-sword swinging wannabe Kensal (look it up) are a dime a dozen. Unless he made the game that much more spectacular, I didn’t really give a rip.

So, years pass, I’m on a quest of my own making and not paying much attention to the state of D&D. I haunt bookstores like revenants wander ancient battle fields, and one day I came across a book entitles Dungeons and Dragons 4^th Edition. Whoa, says I.

I paged through it and wanted to do my part for the flailing economy; I plunked down my 30-kuatlos and went to home to read what had become of my beloved childhood hobby. In the mean, I was making old connections and becoming involved in a regular game of D&D 3.5 (which, until that point I’d never played).

The changes to the game were subtle at first, then as I delved deeper, watched this group of players who honed their tactics like a football team with an abusive coach, I realize that this isn’t even the same game. Sure, we rolls some dice and name our characters, but these days the game is more like a protracted version of Chess (yawn) with movement, action measurement and ranges all being constantly calculated and recalculated. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good war game, but I can’t help but comment on how vastly different 2^nd Ed. Was from 3.5, let alone 4^th Ed.

My research led me back to Dragon Magazine a staple of nerdom, usually filled with rehashed advice, bad puns and product release dates. Turns out, the magazine is no longer even being published. It’s all online. And therein lays the crux of the issue.

If I wanted to sit on a computer while I killed dragons, I’d play WoW. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I remember a day when the Gamer was a hunted being, hiding his hobby deep within a backpack of holding, nestled between a bible and a math book, in a vain effort to stave off the rampaging paranoid mothers whose fear of devil worship was only rivaled by their misanthropic relationship with their husbands.

So, did Vin Diesel add all the rules and ranges, not realizing that the chapter on Encumbrance was the one that no one ever read? Or did he popularize the Forbidden hobby so that gamers (though weak of spirit they may be) can show their faces without having their braces mangled?

Either way, I’ve got a 6^th level wizard who is in desperate need of some Vecna-esque artifacts to deal with in less than six hours…