Slashdot Mirror
Dungeons and Dragons Knowledge Compendium
ScurvySeaDog writes "Like me, I would bet many slashdotters where D&D players before they got their first home computer in the early 80's. This site seems to have every book, module, supplement ever published along with scans of the covers. They also have current collector values for you packrats. It was nostalgic for me to browse around looking up all the old modules and books."
Ooohhh, a counter. *Reloads website*
Is anyone working on putting the adventures from the original D&D sets into Neverwinter Nights? It would be great to go and play them again. I might even try and track down the crazy DM I used to play with!
D & D as an action game was an interesting take...wonder if anyone will ever try that again?
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
there was a D&D database called "Vast Database". Seems like everyone added their house rules to the database untill it was this monsterish download.
I can remember spending 2 days on a 14.4 modem on some BBS in Hawaii. I was in Alaska. My parents were VERY upset with the phone bill.
Has anyone seen it around? It had the # to another BBS to send updates/recieve updates. In mid 1992 it was 101 mb. That is about the last time I saw it. BBS died and the new "internet" thing was rolling.
Even now, no one has the bandwidth to host such a file given it's exponential growth rate. Given that it always seemed to take up half my hard drive, it ought to be up to about 80 gigabytes by now.
If voting were effective, it would be illegal by now.
The link between computers and RPG's goes back as long as either existed. Geeks' love of Role Playing Games has affected computer culture for decades: from "Adventure" and "Zork" which were both originally programmed on mainframes, to the heavily D&D-influenced classic "Nethack", both computers and RPG's have developed together to the point where today we have... um... faster computers and more elaborate RPGS.
...
Damn, I was hoping for something more profound to come out of that line of reasoning...
It's true that many people started with D&D, but I guess that, while it has a lot of nice features (being quick and clean the one I like most), also many people got soon tired of the stereotypical characters it allowed and the poor realism of its rules. That's why I've always liked RM (RoleMaster) more. Much better (and complex, and maybe slow, yes), IMHO.
:-D). Sure D&D is the most "mainstream" of the RPG rules around, and that's the cause.
:-)
And it's a pity there's no good shop to boy RM things, as it seems there's for D&D (on-topic protection, yes
But only my 0.02EUR, of course
My weblog in spanish
I agree with the previous poster that we (Slashdot users) should be allowed to insist on the editors doing a good job.
If they don't (as in this case not correcting an obvious spelling error), I think the comments to the posting is a reasonable place to critisize also meta-issues, like the selection of articles to be posted, or spelling errors.
As far as I know, there is no other forum for discussing the work of the Slashdot editors.
Therefore, I think it is wrong for moderators to mod-down meta-comments as off-topic, as long as there is no other forum on Slashdot where it is on-topic!
(Puts on the Asbestos suit)
Maybe now I can find the motivation to unload the 600+ issues of Dragon Magazine clogging up my apartment ... oh, well, someday.
Casual perusal of the Web site didn't turn up reference to the (failed) attempt to collect the "Wormy" cartoons into a single volume. I believe the artist was making a stab at self-publishing, selling "shares" to interested individuals. I must have been thirteen or so at the time, but I sent off for my "share" only to have it refunded months later due to insufficient share sales. I believe I still have the nifty printed scrap of paper somewhere.
Also of note are the "Phil and Dixie" volumes published by Phil Foglio long after its run in Dragon Magazine. Again unlisted, but I guess the site focuses on direct TSR publications only? Perhaps that's why the CD-ROM collection of a substantial number of Dragons is also missing (it gets brief mention in the "What's New" section. Maybe I'm simply too tired to comb through the site for the info.
... too many (*$#^@^# different dice! That's why Steve Jackson gave us GURPS ;-) Incidentally, these were the folks that got raided a while back for their BlackOps supplement...
The Monster Manuals were always my favorite D&D books. Where else could you find the intelligence level or hit points of a vampire or Dracula himself. Monster Manual 2 even had the stats for omnipotent beings who existed on multiple dimmensions simulataneously. The Old Ones, the Greek/Roman Gods and other legendary monsters were all systematicaly categorized with pictures as well. The monsters descriptions, "special attacks", and stats all followed traditional monster lore to a T and geeks appreciated this.
troll n. First recorded at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in I 471, but must predate this by some time. Still extant at the time of the War of the Ring at the end of the Third Age
Divisions: Cave-trolls, Hill-trolls, Mountain-trolls, Olog-hai, Snow-trolls, Stone-trolls
Meaning: 'Troll' is a word from Scandinavian myth, used as an English translation of the Sindarin torog, of uncertain derivation
Lumbering evil creatures originated by Melkor, and said to have been made by him 'in mockery of the Ents'.
Taken from the Credits & Legal section of the site
Our scans are watermarked, and have been since the site's inception (albeit for a completely different reason); modifications to the image will not remove this watermark, and distribution or public posting of a watermarked image, without permission from The Acaeum, is prohibited.
Is this actually possbile? I noticed the images are stored in JPG format so wouldn't the watermark perhaps be lost in the compression scheme?
BTW Can you even copyright the scan of artwork/cover of which you don't even own the copyright?
aus.music.scrapbook
I can't believe anyone would really pay that sort of money for my old floorplans and city geomorphs.
On the other hand, I'd pay a lot for the original Petal Throne maps.
TWW
"Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
Is thanks to the new game, Neverwinter Nights.
FYI, User Friendly's latest cartoons are about a game of AD&D...
it's very fun if you're into text based adventures
:-P
Hmm... Too bad I'm so hooked on a hardware accelerated 24-bit 3D adventure with 3D environmental effects right now...
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
The books on that site are good if you're studying for your Ph.D&D.
Intercarve Networks, LLC
Has several chapters on the raid. The full text of the book is available at Bruce Sterling's site.
Best Slashdot Co
I am familiar with the site in question. It is nowhere near as comprehensive as the story suggests. They seem to have all the 1st edition and earlier stuff but hardly any 2nd edition and no 3rd edition.
This is, I think because it's mainly a site for collectors, and 2nd edition stuff doesn't fetch as high a price as 1st edition stuff. (Although I have seen a lot of 2nd edition stuff fetch lots more than some 1st edition stuff).
Details of modules etc are confined to differences between printings, rarity, etc.
This is definately a site for collectors, not players, and people wanting a stroll down memory lane (complete with random encounters) should look elsewhere.
graspee
Looking at my shelf and I count no less than 15 different books that they don't have listed on their site. In addition 10 modules of which they have no mention. That site isn't as good as it looks.
Josh Winslow
Listening to those RM guys ranting on D&D and calling their RPG 'realistic' allways has been a good laugh. ;-) .
Fact is that D&D and RM are RPG's that follow very much the same 'classical' principle of Charakterclasses, Levels and Hitpoints (aka 'CLH' RPG). And tons of pointless table-filled books to decash the junkies
Anyway, talking about realism in an RPG is silly even if the rules come as close to being plausile as it can be (GURPS and Milleniums End kinda go that direction).
To me the hilarious paragraph-and-rulebook tonnage of CLH RPG's allways was the major downside of playability and fun. Torg was one of the first real reliefs I expierienced - and the Dramadeck is so much of an encouragement to drop CLH Hack'n'Slay I couldn't believe it.
RPG's have come a long way since D&D (the DOS of RPG's), RM and it's heritage , it's kinda a shame people still stick to those game mechanisims that actually hinder roleplaying quite a bit (one would be suprised).
Bottom line:
If you wanna get an RPG, buy one of those which don't have Characterclasses, Expieriencelevels and Hitpoints. Everway, Torg, GURPS, and Milleniums End are a few that apply to that rule - and are worth looking at.
Oh, and please spare the endless "if you don't like the rules you can change them" and "rules aren't important, the people are" - I know those allready. Here's the response: You can by a good RPG in the first place, saves you a lot of time. And I usually pick my friends first, then pick the RPG. Might aswell be a good one.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Thou shall bow before the Loard of the ping!
Or is it... I'm all confused now!
I'd rather be sailing...
Read the FAQ on the site and check the publication date of your books. They don't appear to cover anything after 1990, when the 2nd edition came out.
/me falls over. I wish my mod points hadn't just expired.
DM: "You enter a clearing, and near the center, you see a gazebo."
Incredibly Ignorant Paladin Player: "Has the gazebo seen me?"
DM: "Um, no."
IIPP: "I approach the gazebo."
DM: "Ok."
IIPP: "It still hasn't moved?"
DM: "No."
IIPP: "I attack the gazebo!"
DM: "Ok, you swing at the gazebo. Pieces of it are flying off."
IIPP: "Is it attacking me back?"
The good news is, roleplaying will improve IIPP's vocabulary.
Eric comes quite close to being a computer. When he games, he
methodically considers each possibility before choosing his preferred
option. If given time, he will invariably pick the optimum solution.
It has been known to take weeks. He is otherwise in all respects a
superior gamer, and I've spent many happy hours competing with and
against him, as long as he is given enough time.
So... Eric was playing a neutral paladin (Why should only lawful, good
religions get to have holy warriors? was the rationale) in Ed's game.
He even had a holy sword, which fought well and did all those things
holy swords are supposed to do, including good or evil (by random die
roll). He was on some lord's lands when the following exchange
occurred:
ED: You see a well-groomed garden. In the middle, on a small hill, you
see a gazebo.
ERIC: A gazebo? What color is it?
ED: (Pause) It's white, Eric.
ERIC: How far away is it?
ED: About 50 yards.
ERIC: How big is it?
ED: (Pause) It's about 30 feet across, 15 feet high, with a pointed
top.
ERIC: I use my sword to detect whether it's good.
ED: It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo!
ERIC: (Pause) I call out to it.
ED: It won't answer. It's a gazebo!
ERIC: (Pause) I sheathe my sword and draw my bow and arrows. Does it
respond in any way?
ED: No, Eric. It's a gazebo!
ERIC: I shoot it with my bow (rolls to hit). What happened?
ED: There is now a gazebo with an arrow sticking out of it.
ERIC: (Pause) Wasn't it wounded?
ED: Of course not, Eric! It's a gazebo!
ERIC: (Whimper) But that was a plus-three arrow!
ED: It's a gazebo, Eric, a gazebo! If you really want to try to
destroy it, you could try to chop it wih an axe, I suppose, or you
could try to burn it, but I don't know why anybody would even try.
It's a @#%$*& gazebo!
ERIC: (Long pause - he has no axe or fire spells) I run away.
ED: (Thoroughly frustrated) It's too late. You've awakened the gazebo,
and it catches you and eats you.
ERIC: (Reaching for his dice) Maybe I'll roll up a fire-using mage so
I can avenge my paladin...
At this point, the increasingly amused fellow party members restored a
modicum of order by explaining what a gazebo is. This is solely an
afterthought, of course, but Eric is doubly lucky that the gazebo was
not situated on a grassy knoll.
Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
Hiya MaDROMer! Glad to see there's more than just me from MaDROM who visits this geeky place.
Should I go into a vast diatribe describing the many wonderous advantages of text-based over graphics based RPGs? No, fact is both have their advantages.
Cheers from MP,
Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
Go on gnutella or your preferred p2p and search for "demento dungeon dragon".
There's an mp3 (the original) and an mpg (someone created a computer animation to go along with the soundtrack).
If you played dnd in high or junior high (now called middle) school, you will love this. You won't be disappointed.
Software Wars
I got the main page and a couple of the price lists before the /. effect kicked in.
Check it out. Its from the game summoner and its funny cause its true.f o/0,369 9,220487,00.html
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilm/product/film_in
My love for you is ticking clock, BESERKER.
D&D was, for it's time, an incredible piece of work. It managed to put across so much that's now taken for granted. For example, the fact that you play just one character was near revolutionary for the time - D&D was the first to get that across sucessfully. Were it not for D&D, RPG's would exist . (Okay something else would have taken it's place, but that's a given).
Since then, however, there's been a large number of different RGP's produced, some more or less like D&D (such as RM), some a bit different (Call of Cuthullu, Vampire:the Masqurade, etc), and some rather different (Sorcerer and
De Profoundis.
Some of them really push the envelope of what RPG's are. Some are just kick ass fun. With all the nostalgia, remeber to try some of the newer stuff.
On RM Leisure Games based in london, will mail order, and have a stock of
Rolemaster gear. They will deliver outside the UK (including Spain), but that costs extra. Hey, if it's the only place to get it...
When I first heard about Neverwinter Nights, I thought "Great, I can go and code all those modules I had when I was a kid"...then I started flashbacking to all my favorite modules' codes...D3, S2, Q1, etc.
But I realized it probably wouldn't work very well. The best modules always had a problem-solving aspect to it that just would never translate well to a the game frameworks that we have now. Neverwinter Nights is just not going to allow you the flexibility to really solve puzzles without cueing you so obviously as to what the solution might be.
The only game framework I could imagine that could really capture the essence of the best modules and campaigns is an Infocom-style framework - where the textual descriptions are so rich and your range of actions so potentially large that the solutions to the problems - and even the problems themselves - aren't painfully obvious. A puzzle isn't very satisfying when you only have to select one of 3 solutions from a menu, or when you just have to show up with an item and walk close to some target character, etc.
But sadly, this framework is almost completely incompatible - almost by definition - with Baldur's Gate-style graphics.
All of this is especially funny because Wizards (whom I hate because of all of the collectible card games) is in fact the best RPG company I've dealt with. They produce the best qualtiy (and proof-read) books that I've bought in forever. Anyways. Wizards has made a good effort at making all of the old D&D materials available at their site either for free or for a nominal fee and you can download them all as PDFs.
See Wizards page for Classic downloads So ultimately you don't have to go to a pirate site to download someone else's copyrighted materials, but can in fact "do the right thing" and download it for free from wizards or pay for it...
Wizards is committed to making all of the old books available for those of you that "must have them all". It's also probably cheaper then scrounging in old bookstores to get beat up copies of all of the books. Though Ebay might make it easier these days.
...you have to follow the rules closely or you have no game. It would be like letting a guy run down the court with the ball tucked under his arm...that wouldn't be basketball anymore.
And as for the LG comments...
Anyone can be Chaotic, being Lawful (Good, Evil, whatever) is a much more challenging alignment to play. 20 years ago when I used to play AD&D it was so fun to DM a game and try to push a Lawful character outside their alignment...make them do something totally selfish. One Lawful Good character, IMO, was a must for almost any party...they tended to be the glue.
Is anyone else getting weird defects when visiting NWVault in Mozilla? Yesterday any page I tried would load about 90%, then go to gray and start over. Today the pages load but I'm seeing black text on a black background.
Some settings info: no popups, no status bar scripting, no cookies from ign, no 3rd party images
I'll have to pull out my near-mint The Dragons and Strategic Reviews and total them up...
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Bah. RuleMaster is a pain. Real roleplayers do it with no dice and no rules, just imagination and character play. :p
xDND is like Windows and x86 -- it's annoying and kludgy, still based on old cruft that was a bad idea 25 years ago. But it's also the predominant standard.
Anyone want to complete this analogy for GURPS, Hero System, RuleMaster, RuneQuest, etc? ;)
--FDND now available
I first played D&D somewhere in late '79 or early '80. Looking at the Acaeum site and seeing the values placed on some of those modules... I still have quite a lot of them... I don't think I could bring myself to ever part with the stuff. It's been years since I've even looked at it, but somehow, it's a part of my life.
I love computers and computer gaming, but I am really quite glad that I was at just the right age to get involved when D&D was at its peak. (God I feel like an old fart for saying this...) Today's kids will never find the intellectual and creative stimulation from their consoles and gameboys and PCs that many of us did from books and dice and mountains of graph paper. (To this day, I still always keep a pad of the stuff nearby)
I've played through Neverwinter Nights, and enjoyed it thoroughly, but as other posts here have said, much of the joy of roleplaying AD&D is just not possible to emulate in a graphically oriented paradigm. Until someone can develop an AI computer that is 1 part actor, 1 part genius, and 2 parts off its rocker, computer based D&D games will never measure up.
The Digital Sorceress
Verily, thou canst not do even such a thing. For by sooth, thou wouldst say, werest thou worthy of thine attitude, thus: Virg
...that there are those who would pay to see him hung, I think you mean "hanged, drawn and quartered" (at least, I hope you mean that).
Virg
Nay, I say, for I am unable to train such a recalcitrant beast! but still, well and verily hath I schooled his arse.
Virg
Player: What is it?
DM: It is a scroll of thesis.
Player: I read it.
DM: You can't, your scroll of thesis is blank!