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October 16, 2004

Heart of Dorkness: D&D at 30

Even CNN lowers itself to cover the anniversary:

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Dungeons & Dragons players gathered in game stores around the country Saturday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games -- a pop culture phenomenon that has influenced myriad video games, books and movies.
An estimated 25,000 fans in 1,200 stores celebrated the anniversary Saturday, said Charles Ryan, brand manager for role-playing games at Wizards of the Coast, a Renton, Washington, company that owns Dungeons & Dragons.

...

Dungeons & Dragons went on to become one of the best-selling games of all time, inspiring fan devotion so great that some travel thousands of miles to play in tournaments.

There have been Dungeons & Dragons books, movies, puzzles, even a Saturday-morning cartoon show.

All quality entertainments, too.

The game peaked in the 1980s, but there are plenty of fans left. Some 4 million people play D&D regularly. Many of them laugh at a common suggestion that fantasy gamers are geeks: Of course they are, they say.
"I think a lot of people who get drawn to this game are loners, but here's a real opportunity to come out of that shell and feel safe about it," said fan Mitch Hamburger, 32.

Yes. There's something empowering about having a nicely-statted character sheet and smiting a couple of kobolds.

Look at me! I just rolled the shit out of that d4! Man, I'm fuckin' cool!

Related Dorkiness: Just on the phone with Son of Nixon.

Me: "I went to a blog party last month."

SoN (perfectly serious): "You mean like physically at a party, or just 'partying' in a chatroom?"

Me: "Give me some credit, for crying out loud."

Blog-party.

Me and bunch of dudes sitting around in a chatroom, telling each other how "freakin' wasted" we are.

That's me. Such a fucking dork that even a "friend" thinks that I'm "partying" on-line-- and then bragging about it.

posted by Ace at 07:50 PM

Comments

Snort, Ace ... too funny. I mean, I'm a loser, but at least I can blame my five kids (5 kids under 9 y/o.) I have NO life. Before kids, I got my "out" by being a bartender. Just a thought.

Posted by: Carin on October 16, 2004 08:04 PM

Five kids under 9? That's like 9 months and 15 minutes apart.

Posted by: Joe R. the Unabrewer on October 16, 2004 09:05 PM

Former dorks are the best people later on.

Posted by: lauraw on October 16, 2004 09:35 PM

True, lauraw, in a sense, but I would add that there are no "former dorks." It's like being a former marine -- no such animal.

But they have grown up to rule the world.

Posted by: George on October 16, 2004 10:47 PM

Shut up George, LOOSE LIPS...

Posted by: lauraw on October 16, 2004 11:43 PM

"I wanna cast - MAGIC MISSILE!"

Please tell me I'm not the only one who loves that Dead Alewives D&D routine :).

Posted by: on October 17, 2004 12:50 AM

Above comment was me - wasn't trying to be *that* mysterious.

Posted by: Sonetka on October 17, 2004 12:51 AM

I have some links you'll appreciate, Ace. They're at the end of the post.

Posted by: ccwbass on October 17, 2004 01:36 AM

Ace, if this is your way of announcing to the blogosphere that you're looking to DM a campaign and need players... Well, you have a funny way of doing it.

Posted by: someone on October 17, 2004 04:44 AM

--Ace, if this is your way of announcing to the blogosphere that you're looking to DM a campaign and need players... Well, you have a funny way of doing it.--

LOL, Ace does have a way of showing it.

But to be fair, Wizards of the Coast found a damn good way of modernizing the system. They latched onto Neverwinter Nights by Bioware and will never ever let go. The player created worlds have fared well, financial model or not. The greatest test will be the next online incarnation of D&D Online, to be specific, based in the world Eberron, which will be coming out in the next year. NWN2 is being developed, but will Eberron overcome it? Who knows. It's wizards vs Bioware.

Their competition is Middle Earth Online by Turbine. I fully expect MEO to whomp D&D, but we'll see. Wizards have been pushing Forgotten Realms for so long with so much detail, no one gives a shit. They've broken the D&D system into two camps. You either know FR, or you don't. Most of us don't. (I saw that Ravenloft comment in the other thread, damnit!). I give a shit about Forgotten Realms. What a generic asshat of a world. I want new, different, better. Which is what led me to all those other different worlds in the first place. Wizards never got that. That people wanted something different. So, they've been advertising to a different audience with Eberron. They hope to capture the player-base they fucked all these years by concentrating on FR.

My bet is, people abondon FR in droves for Middle Earth Online and Turbine sees numbers that were only wet dreams when they were building the Asheron worlds.

/geek

Posted by: on October 17, 2004 07:38 AM

Oh, the above comment is mine, btw. And I have an axe to grind. TSR, when they were still TSR, had a contest. The best fantasy writer could get a job with them. Submit your stories. I did. I won the contests, and then they merged, and my idea of pumping out D&D material went to hell, so they can all fuck themselves.

/bitterness

Posted by: Rob on October 17, 2004 07:43 AM

Joe - actually the closest they come is 13.5 months apart in age. I got the 2-year-gap thing DOWN after that mishap.

Posted by: Carin on October 17, 2004 07:56 AM

Hey, at this so-called "blog party", do you get to 'talk' to people or do you post comments in a thread...curious

heh.

Posted by: sonofnixon on October 17, 2004 11:16 AM

I'm with you Son of Nixon, I think this "blog-party" was probably something where Ace and company figured out how to use "roger Wilco" and all ended up on a channel (probably password protected: "wonketteass")talking about D&D and miami vice. We'll know for sure later if Ace puts up a post in which he compares Crockett and Tubbs to a chaotic good Paladan and a neutral Dark Elven Ranger.

Posted by: senator philabuster on October 17, 2004 11:47 AM

Where are the cheetos?

Posted by: Brock on October 17, 2004 06:37 PM

Amazon.com Widgets

Now Available!
The Deplorable Gourmet
A Horde-sourced Cookbook
[All profits go to charity]

Top Headlines

In response to someone asking why the video tape doesn't show Tyler Robinson's face (PS, it does, but it's crappy video so it's blurry):

Candace Owens
@RealCandaceO

Because as I demonstrated on my show, there were MANY young men that all woke up and decided to dress in Maroon shirts and light shorts on the day of the Charlie's assassination.

The footage can be any one of these young men and in my opinion is likely multiple of them.

If Tyler Robinson's defense would like to contact me-- I'd be happy to supply them the folder of the maroon boys that I began archiving when I noticed the bizarre fashion trend.

I have thus far ID'd two of them, but will focus on IDing the rest of them when I am back on air.

I have maintained that the Feds had multiple decoy maroon boys on the ground that day. Without a clear image, they certainly cannot declare it is Tyler Robinson which is why all the Zionist influencers are hoping they can simply hypnotize the public into trusting blurry images and videos.

For such an "open and shut case" they have thus far provided ZERO evidence of anything outside of a criminal government conspiracy, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the JFK assassination.

Fenix Ammunition responds to "retard" and Nazi Ian Carroll about the Candy Crew's non-expertise on ballistics

More "fedslop" that Cavernous Nostrils is too smart to be taken in by:

Blake Neff
@BlakeSNeff

BREAKING: Lance Twiggs says that Robinson admitted to him in-person on Sept. 11 that the message he had sent the night before (presumably, messages sent while he was trying to retrieve his rifle the night of Sept 10) was true. He says Robinson told him "He wishes he hadn't done it."

Fenix Ammunition
@FenixAmmunition

Photos of the ammunition recovered from Tyler Robinson.

Remington headstamp on the case and despite the somewhat low resolution on the photo you can see the somewhat blunted nature of the projectile's tip.

This is a Remington Cor-Lokt soft point round. It's SPECIFICALLY designed to deform, slow down, and prevent an exit wound. Available at literally every single gun store and sporting goods store that sells ammunition.

In fact, 16 out of the 17 .30-06 varieties manufactured by Remington use some type of expanding, deforming, or fragmenting bullet. Only ONE of their products uses a full metal jacket projectile that could/would be expected to leave an exit wound.

Here's a clip of them sitting in my desk.

This has been the most easily debunked claim of their entire web of lies and it's really mind blowing considering this is exactly what you would choose for an assassination.

But yeah, definitely keep getting all your information from the DEI hire and the Portland pizza boy. I'm sure they know more about this than I do.

Post here, showing Tyler Robinson's ammunition, matching this guy's own box. And it is an expanding-tip hollow-point round.

Boy these Internet Experts (TM) sure do get a lot of things wrong.

Lost 70s Mystery Click
And a song with another song as an intro, too:
Be it sight, sound, smell, or touch
There's something
Inside that we need so much
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound
Or the strength of an oak with roots deep in the ground
The wonder of flowers to be covered and then to burst up
Thru tarmac, to the sun again
Boy do they look like absolute dorks.

Lost 70s Mystery Click
Doing alright
A little jiving on a Saturday night
And come what may
Gonna dance the day away
Jenny was sweet
She always smiled for the people she'd meet
On trouble and strife
She had another way of looking at life

Podcast: Is Kentucky's long nightmare over? Maine's resident Nazi might be out, NATO making progress, or is it a fake, Le Pen in France might have a shot, Democrats are simply pinch-faced scolds who hate America, but is our youth going to revitalize the country...and more!

TJM talks about the new movie Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die

RIP Lord Humungus [CBD]

TJM definitively ranks the films of William Friedkin including, of course, CAT Squad Python Wolf

Podcast: Birthright Citizenship? The Democratic Socialists of the Democrat Party are ascendant, the President's misstep about gas prices, and more!

All of the music and sound effects from Star Trek season one

Forgotten 80s Mystery Click
It happened one summer, it happened one time
It happened forever, for a short time
A place for a moment, an end to dream
Forever I loved you, forever it seemed
One summer never ends, one summer never began
It keeps me standing still, it takes all my will

The Doors' original version of "Enter Sandman"

TJM explores the films of William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist.

An Update about Grammie Winger:
She is doing poorly...she is in the hospital and is having a tough go of it. She would love to hear from you folks, so anyone who would like to contact her is welcome to her address! Please contact Bluebell at moroncookbook@gmail.com for her contact info. (I expect her local post office to be furious with us!)
[CBD]

TJM definitively ranks the films of Terrence Malick.

"Profoundly Awful:" James Gunn's new Supergirl is a Hot Krypton Mess

Podcast: Sefton and CBD commiserate about the NYC primaries and whether the contagion will spread, J.D. Vance is becoming a cypher, Texas Antifa gets a wake-up call, and more!

Trump will present the trophy for the World Cup, and lunatic cultists will not be happy