Thursday, September 23, 2010

Where Dark Things Sleep


Welcome to In Places Deep, a blog about old school D&D by a man who is discovering it for the first time.  I intend to use this space to outline my creative processes as I design, pitch, and run an OSD&D campaign.  I should note that this I am not "experimenting" with the old school.  I've already run Swords & Wizardry and Labyrinth Lord and I find that this style of gaming is the one that best meshes with the way my brain works.  The reason I'm starting a new campaign is that I have just moved into a new area, and will have to start a new group from scratch.

On that note I think I need to explain a bit of my background.  I started playing D&D in 2000 with 3rd edition, run by a very frustrated DM who was used to the Rules Cyclopedia.  Later I gathered together my high school friends and future wife and started a game about the time 3.5 arrived on the scene.  Some of my old group loved 3.5.  Most of us (including myself) hated it.  One peculiar influence on me during this period was Kevin Hendryx.  Many of you may know him  as a former  TSR employee, and he was (and is) a close family friend.  Our discussions about D&D turned my thoughts to games like Castles & Crusades, and settings such as the Wilderlands.

I should also note that I am an (aspiring) historian.  I tend to throw myself into the history of any activity I engage in and I soon found myself eating up the early history of the Hobby.  My last year in my home town I started a (fairly brief) Swords & Wizardry game, whose setting I wish to expand and use in my new location.

Thats enough about me.  I'll be posting a kind of summary of the setting later today.

5 comments:

  1. Hey man. To others in Evan's area that might meet him and read his blog, I'll point out that I was in his last regular group. Even though our tastes often differ on systems, not being a very big fan of OSD&D myself, I can definitely say that he's a wonderful DM and definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a group.

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  2. Awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing how your blog and game develop!

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  3. As another former member of Evan's gaming group and a victim of one of the most horrific pranks ever pulled in the history of language (possibly involving me being ever so -slightly- metagame-y with the mention of an adolescent red dragon), I still have to hand it to him. He's a heck of a DM.

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  4. Slightly parroting Mr. Morris and Mr. Freeman's replies, I too was a constant member at Evan's gaming get-togethers and I vastly enjoyed his ability as a Game Master while he was around.

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