Building Bridges in 2024

In 1974 the then new Tactical Studies Rules, TSR for short, released their premier product, Dungeons and Dragons. This revolutionary product consisted of three little brown booklets that according to gamer legend were three typed on a typewriter, hand assembled and put into a box with a glue-on label bearing an amateur illustration closely resembling comic book art. The publisher reportedly sold copies from the trunk of a car. The product, which really was an extension of a previous product, Chainmail, published by another amateur company, Guidon Games, started a gaming revolution as the concept of playing a character going on adventures rapidly caught the imagination of hundreds, then thousands of hobbyists.

A half-century later things are much different. The past year has demonstrated that most convincingly. The positive side of this change is that the hobby of fantasy role-playing games has become widespread, maybe even mainstream in our society. The stigma once felt by people who played at being elves and magic users is nearly gone, and few people today are completely unaware that the game exists as a harmless form of entertainment. It has never been easier to find a group - or has it?

The game released in 1974 contained options, and required decisions to be made by the referee, as the person who set the game up and ran the adventure for the players was then referred to. An early observation made in those days was that each group played the game differently as custom content was added and rule adjustments made including interpretations and additions. By the end of the decade, the principle author, Gary Gygax, would promote a more standardized version of the original game he titled Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The idea was that all groups should have a more common understanding of how to apply the rules of the game, even if they were still expected to create their own setting and adventures.

Fast forward fifty years to 2024. As I gaze into my crystal ball in order to "see the future" of our hobby, the corporate giant looms large and in charge of the famous brand. In the giant's shadow, however, I see many interesting things. As a person often out of step with popular trends, I frequently find the 'one size fits all" approach to not fit me at all. While this may describe me, it leaves aside the many who enjoy precisely the popularity of going with the crowd. Hence, the subject of this post. How to enjoy a more personal version of the hobby within the wider context of the popular "giant in the room" phenomenon.

As said giant stumbled and perhaps stepped on a few toes in 2023, an opportunity born of necessity presented itself. In my last post I touched briefly on three games that were released in the wake of this kerfuffle. Notably, new versions of Swords & Wizardry, Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game, and Pathfinder have appeared devoid of all reference to the branding and licensed materials. The familiar holds a certain appeal and the popularity of a thing rests on more than marketing hype - there must be some good substance or it can't last. Rather than complete rejection of the familiar, some game designers have instead chosen the path of revision, remastering and re-imagining the game. There are three products that I see in my crystal ball which I believe hold significant promise for bridging the separation between those who enjoy the familiar, yet desire to put the past behind us. 

I have had the pleasure of running a couple of sessions using the preview version of Tales of the Valiant from Kobold Press. The game's mechanics are (imo) an improved version of a popular system. The creative folks at Kobold have produced some of the best supplemental material in the past and I look forward to the final release of Valiant. 

The image above may be familiar to some readers. Shadowdark is written by Kelsey Dionne, illustrated by Brandish Gilhelm and others and it should be published next year by The Arcane Library following a successful crowdfunding 2023. Shadowdark leverages the familiar mechanics, but gives them a decidedly "old school" twist some will appreciate. The Shadowdark quick-start and digital beta release have already generated interest in the game across the hobby including some additional adventure material as any quick online search will reveal. If crawling through some dark and dangerous dungeons sounds appealing (it does to me!) then Shadowdark may be just that answer. I am reasonably certain that once we have the physical books there will be people playing Shadowdark. 

When a gamer for whatever reason becomes dissatisfied with the game they are currently playing, the tendency is to look afield and see what else is available. Shadow of the Weird Wizard by Robert J. Schwalb is yet another game I hope to see more of in 2024. Mr. Schwalb has contributed to various versions of the worlds most popular fantasy role-playing game and is the author of Shadow of the Demon Lord. Anyone familiar with that product knows Mr. Schwalb has a lot of ideas as Shadows of the Demon Lord has been very well supported with additional materials. The Weird Wizard takes a bit more of a "traditional" approach in its fantasy world setting as compared to what we see in his Demon Lord game and of course, he applies the same creative design talents that Mr. Schwalb has demonstrated in all his previous work. I expect good, fun things when the Weird Wizard project is published. Shadow of the Weird Wizard is still in its alpha stage and as a backer I have some digital content, I don't have a cover image to share.

The year 2024 holds promise of even more creativity to come.