Fair Use Friday

Anyone looking to stream a terrific interview should check out the Roll For Combat guys' YouTube video with Ryan Dancey. Yes, it's two hours and twenty minutes long...time you could spend watching a film or something. I listened to the thing while doing household chores and waiting in my car at (a very rainy) soccer practice. It's fascinating, not only discussing the legal ramifications of the original OGL, but also the history, purpose, and intention of it, why it came about, how it affected the gaming industry, possible consequences of WotC/Hasbro's attempt to "revoke it," and reasons why they would torpedo themselves (and upset their fan base) taking the actions they are.

If you're a person interested in the nuts-and-bolts of the industry behind the hobby, it's very good stuff.  Certainly more informative and interesting than anything I could write about the subject myself.

Young Grognards

Maybe that should say, Young Groglings?

Yesterday, my son ran his first AD&D game for his friends (also aged 10) via a Zoom meeting. He had exactly two players (Evan and Caroline) who played a human ranger and a half-elf assassin, respectively.

[I later asked him about the potential alignment conflicts from such a pair to which he replied that he wasn't using alignment in his game...]

Per my suggestion, he is running the Tower of Zenopus from the back of the Holmes Basic book. For a first time adventure, Zenopus makes an excellent introduction to the game, offers multiple types of interaction with the game mechanics, and is easily converted to the AD&D system. 

[it is also an adventure my son has experienced first-hand (as a player) and is fairly short to read and prep]

Besides the suggestion (and providing the books), I did nothing but set-up the Zoom meeting for the kids...that is to say, I did not interfere with the experience. Diego has already been running his Star Wars game at school for the last few weeks (he's up to 7 or 8 players), so there's no reason for me to butt in and undermine his authority. It's his game, not mine. 

And they all had fun (of course), and want to meet on Thursday (tomorrow) rather than waiting till next Tuesday (of course)...because it's D&D and it's awesome (duh).

[some notes about their game: they encountered the ghouls and were able to survive. Only the ranger was hit, but he managed to make his save versus paralysis. Treasure was discovered, tunnels explored, and I believe they just finished (or are in the middle of combatting) a skeleton. They spent the first part of the session rolling characters; all the children have their own dice (provided by my son). He's using all the AD&D rules he can remember...yes, including weapon length and speed factor, etc...and is keeping careful track of time and light sources and wandering monsters and all that jazz. The main difference...besides dropping alignment...is that he is using Alexis Smolensk's experience system, which has been standard in our house since May 2019. It necessitates tracking damage inflicted and received, but that's still a lot easier than it sounds (as even a ten year old Dungeon Master can manage it)]

My kid's rulebook.

Prior to the appointed game time I did take the time to reach out to the kids' parents (via email) to explain a bit about what was going on and assuage any concerns they might have...there is still, to this day, left over impressions of negativity surrounding Dungeons & Dragons among folks who grew up in the 1980s. never played, and yet heard rumors the game was "Satanic." And, of course, our kids go to a Catholic school (though, of course, so did I and all my friends and our teachers/parents never had an issue). There were, it turned out, no worries at all, though both child's parents thanked me for taking the time to reach out to them.

Evan's mom wrote this to me as well (after the kids' game):

Thanks for giving Evan dice and letting him borrow your books too! He actually received a D&D starter kit for Xmas but Chris was overwhelmed and I didn't even try to learn, so it's great that Diego is teaching him how to play.

This...this is so much of what is wrong with the hobby as it is being marketed by its current Keepers of the Flame. Hey, does anyone remember that old red book, penned by Tom Moldvay that said "Ages 10 and Up" right on the cover? I was able to teach myself AND my ten year old friends how to play D&D just using that book. Hell, the thing even came in a box with dice and an adventure to boot!

But now, even the "Starter" set is too much for adults (let alone kids) to be bothered to learn. And the damned thing doesn't even come with dice.

And I've written about this before...multiple times...at least since 2015. These are not stupid people; they are actually very smart, educated professionals. Creative professionals even. Ones with fairly open minds...

*sigh* I will stop beating this dead horse.

ANYway...my son ran a game of AD&D for his friends, without supervision. They enjoyed it, they want to do it again. The culmination of a decade of waiting for my child to take his first step into his father's world.

I am proud.

Not as proud, perhaps, of the kids' athletic accomplishments - scoring goals, hitting fastballs, recording strikeouts - as these are things I was never able to do in my youth (still not sure where he gets it from). And, also, it is pride tempered with knowledge that the journey is long and he has only just begun. But still...I feel proud. 

And content in a way also. Even should he turn away from D&D or transition to a different form of the game (6th edition? 7th?) or even a different game altogether...at least, at least he has the knowledge now. The acquired experience of knowing "Hey, I can do this. It's fun, people enjoy it, and I can even teach it if necessary." I have passed on what I know...he, in turn, can develop it further (delving deep into the game even as I have), or even pass it on to his friends or his own children some day. I have assured that my love of gaming will not die with me.

Legacy. I think I've written about that before, too. 

Happy Wednesday, y'all. I have some dishes to clean up from last night and then I'm going to start combing through these Dragonlance modules to make my notes. Busy-busy!

: )

Legacy

I was thinking a LOT about legacy the last week or so...so much so that I even had a dream the other night that I was sitting in a room with Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and (if I remember correctly) LL Cool J and counseling them on the subject, with a fourth rapper (Eric Wright? Maybe) being conferenced into the session via telephone.

Why those particular individuals I have no idea...the only rap album I've ever owned was Straight Outta Compton (back in the days of cassette tapes)...unless you count Ice T's Body Count (which I don't). Bizarre. Yet, in my dream I brought a tears to Dre's eyes when I started taking about his grandmother.

As I said, bizarre. And yet, the idea has been heavily on my mind. It started with the death of Christopher Tolkien last week and was perhaps driven further into my brain with the passing of B.J. "Big Fella" Johnson (you can read about him from his friends Dan and Paul). And to top it off, I was grabbing a bite at a local sandwich shop last week when I saw this old Brent Spiner scene playing on the TV (which I still remember from the handful of ST:TNG episodes I watched, back in the day).

[yes, I realize there was another rather celebrated individual who tragically died yesterday, but this post was planned long before that event. This is just the first chance I've had to blog]

The fact of the matter is, we all die eventually (of course) and very, very few of us will ever achieve the degree of fame and notoriety in our lives that we will be celebrated and remembered by the masses in our passing...and even those of us who DO are unlikely to be remembered for more than a handful of generations before leaving the collective memory. Even the most celebrated individual is likely to be forgotten by all but the most dedicated historian (of a particular sphere)...and even then, even then, we will mainly (only) be remembered for our works, not our personalities...not for "who we are" only for what we've done.

And for most of us, the ONLY thing that will be remembered (after our immediate friends and family have likewise followed us into the great beyond) is WHAT we have done, nothing more. Think of all the amazing inventions and innovations that have been created over the decades, and consider how little we know about their originators. Consider the piano...perhaps the most powerful musical instrument created prior to powered instruments...did you know that its invention is attributed to Bartolomeo Cristofori? I didn't...and I'd bet the majority of piano students have no knowledge of (or interest in) this information; suffice is to say the piano exists. Consider the skyscrapers that grace the skyline of any major metropolitan city, marvel at how many individuals it took to construct each...and realize that the names of those individual laborers will never even rate a footnote in the history of these edifices.

History does not remember US...it does not "judge" us. It only regards our works, the things that we create that may...or may not...have any lasting value. And what IS "lasting value" anyway? For most works, they serve only as stepping stones to later, greater innovations. Yes, someone started the industrial revolution by burning coal and heating water vapor....we've moved far beyond that now. Our creative works are built on the shoulders of others, and others will step upon us as well...IF (and only if) we are blessed with the creativity to create things that will inspire others.

This is what I've been thinking about for the last week or two. THIS. That accomplishment or recognition of accomplishment are small, perhaps even worthless, objectives to have.  Accomplishment and accolades are not the same thing as creating a legacy. A legacy is something that will outlast our finite mortal existence...it is a seed that will take root and grow and have a life beyond ourselves. Children can be a legacy...but they, too, are simply finite, mortal vessels for the immortal soul. At best, I believe children can help nurture and grow and spread the legacy of their parents. And, of course, they can create their own legacies as well.

I think...I think (I'm not certain) that going forward, this is the attitude I want to cultivate in myself, the perspective with which I want to orient my mind. Am I building a legacy for myself? This is the question I want to ask. Not "am I accomplishing anything?" Not "am I receiving due recognition (fame or fortune)?" Not "will I be remembered for this after I'm gone"...because, of course, I most definitely WILL be forgotten in 10 or 20 or 50 or 500 years...as we will all be forgotten, eventually.

But am I creating a seed-worthy thing? Is this something that can grow and transform? That is what I mean. What am I bequeathing my children? And my children's children? Am I creating something that will be a stepping stone to something greater?

That's where my mind is at the moment. More on D&D in the next post (I hope).