Inspiration can come from a lot of different places. About the time I acquired my White Box, a fellow out in Berkley, California published the first Arduin game book titled The Arduin Grimoire. The author, David Hargrave, must have been an exceptionally inspired referee and game designer based on the number and originality of the ideas contained in this and other products he authored. The cover illustration of this printing, done by Greg Espinosa, is dense with detail, just like the interior contents of the 94 page booklet, which has the look of a Little Brown Book. The cover depicts a combat taking place on what looks like the steps of a temple. The combatants include a phraint, an insect warrior unique to Arduin, a warrior who bears a resemblence to Clint Eastwood and an attractive female with face paint/tattoo, all fighting a pair of saurigs, Arduin lizardmen. Flipping the book over to it's back cover we see the "story" continued. The female warrior stands guard in her skimpy leather bikini. The saurigs are seemingly dead, the temple doors open and "Clint" and the phraint are examining the contents of a treasure chest, all while an evil visage looks on from the shadows.
Over the decades I have purchased and read many game supplements and rule systems, none have inspired me the way Arduin has. I heard an idea one time, that there are places where"the magic" seems to coalesce, at least for a time, and great imaginative things happen. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and the Twin Cities, Minnesota during the late sixties, early seventies for sure were "magic" places. I think Berkley, California and Phoenix, Arizona can be included in that magic mix as well based on the imaginative gaming going on there shortly after the White Box became available. The Arduin Grimoire describes Mr. Hargraves' roleplaying world often simply called Arduin. Arduin is one of those words that sounds like we have heard of it before, but just can't quite place it. Arduin is campaign, game system, world and philosophy and much more. It's a wild and crazy place in many ways, one where you get experience for dying (and being resurrected), where sharks fly through the air, often with goblin riders astride, and you can cast the Rosy Mist of Reason magic spell to compel hostile beings to parley with you rather than attack. The Arduin Grimoire is choke full of tables and charts that inspire my imagination. Mr. Hargrave concludes the book with a couple maps, one a wilderness area, the other a dungeon, neither with any explanations...just there, to inspire and get those creative juices flowing.
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