Tag Archives: Gary Gygax

6 Popular Things in D&D That I Fail to Appreciate

Posted on April 16, 2019 by David Hartlage
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The History of Traps In Dungeons & Dragons

Posted on April 9, 2019 by David Hartlage
Posted in Role-playing game history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

How D&D Shed the Troubling Implications of Half -Orcs

Posted on March 19, 2019 by David Hartlage
Posted in Role-playing game history | Tagged , , , , , | 75 Comments

How Years of Trying to Fix Obnoxious People Shrank D&D’s Appeal

Posted on March 12, 2019 by David Hartlage
Posted in Role-playing game design, Role-playing game history | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Bring the Thrill of Finding Treasure Back to the Adventurers League

Posted on March 5, 2019 by David Hartlage

Dungeons & Dragons started as a game about treasure hunting. The rules awarded as much of 80% of total experience points for finding gold, so no one missed the point. Co-creator Gary Gygax knew a thirst for gold resonated with … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventurers League | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

5 Tricks for Creating Brilliant Dungeon Maps From Will Doyle

Posted on February 26, 2019 by David Hartlage

If you played the Dungeons & Dragons adventures Tomb of Annihilation or Storm King’s Thunder, you adventured through dungeon maps created by Will Doyle. In an episode of the Official D&D Podcast, D&D’s principle story designer, Chris Perkins, explained why … Continue reading →

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Should Charm Person Work Like a Jedi Mind Trick?

Posted on January 29, 2019 by David Hartlage

In three original, brown Dungeons & Dragons books, what spell ranks as the most powerful? At 6th level, disintegrate could turn someone to dust, but charm person could put someone “completely under the influence of the Magic-User until such time … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The True Story of the Cthulhu and Elric Sections Removed from Deities & Demigods

Posted on January 8, 2019 by David Hartlage

Just a couple of years after its release, the original Deities & Demigods from 1980 became legend. The first copies included sections featuring the Melnibonéan mythos from the Elric stories by Michael Moorcock and the Cthulhu mythos from the tales … Continue reading →

Posted in Role-playing game history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Should a Dungeon Master Invite Players to Help Create the D&D World Beyond Their Characters?

Posted on December 18, 2018 by David Hartlage

In 1970, Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson joined the Castles & Crusades Society, a group of miniature gamers formed by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax. The group imagined a Great Kingdom and parceled out territories to players to develop for … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Unfrozen DMs, Annoying Spells, Dynamic Battles, and More Insights from the Comment Section

Posted on December 11, 2018 by David Hartlage

Time for another trip to the comment section. The unfrozen dungeon master In The Plight of the Unfrozen Dungeon Master, I wrote about DMs returning to Dungeons & Dragons and adapting the changes in the way folks play the game. … Continue reading →

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