Ok, let's talk about a few D&D urban legends, then...

Since the Thieves Guild post was so popular (at this point, I think it has gotten more comments than any post I've ever made), let's keep going with another semi-related topic. Here are two D&D stories I've heard/read about. Are they true or urban legends? Anyone know? Anyone want to speculate? Or just to weigh in? Even if you don't know any answers or have any strong opinions, I hope you enjoy reading and/or thinking about the following:

( #1: Dice )

( #2: the Tolkien influence )

So, there we go. Anyone?

Supplement to last post

I just found a fairly nice history of Dungeons & Dragons essay. There is some definite editorializing, but it seems accurate (from everything I know) and I thought folks would find it of interest, whether you're a player or not. (FRP history and interesting as the game definitely shaped the fantasy market that would explode in the '80s...)

For those of you who honestly don't care about D&D/fantasy role playing, I swear I'll post other content soon. Really. For true.

ADDENDUM: Here's an awesome article from the Forge talking about role playing in the 70s and how it was completely different from everything that developed after. A must-read for anyone who games (relatively) seriously or who's interested in how gaming developed. And yes, it's still slow here at work, so there may be more coming...but this article blew me away. (Warning, there is a bit of a geezer alert connected with it, though...)

A History of Role Playing (last one, really)

A History of Role Playing, a 9 part* article covering everything from early wargaming (I had no idea that H.G. Wells produced the first miniature wargaming manual!) through WotC's acquisition of TSR in the late '90s. It's a bit scattershot and I noticed a couple of very minor errors (I'm betting there are some I didn't notice), but this is a great critical overview of the whole hobby. Should be pseudo-required reading for anyone who plays or GMs any game, if only to get a long view perspective.

...and it'll kill a bunch of time, too. ;-) Go, read! And comment if you have anything to say about it! (I'm not used to getting all these comments! It's awesome!)

*=I know the first page says "five parts" and later it says "six;" trust me, it winds up being nine.