>> The lack of order in it annoys me, and it seems to rely a great deal on having a good “dungeon master.”
Yes it does. In my 35 years of playing rpgs, I’ve found that a good DM was easier to find back when people had been kids who used their imagination.
Most DMs today play it like it’s a miniatures game, and the 3rd and 4th edition reflect that lack of imagination by catering to the rules lawyers.
Yeah, we made our own fun back in those days, and played 1st and then 2nd Edition. I found that D&D was both stimulating and educational, and learned everything I know about Tolkien, the Arthurian Legend, and Norse mythology from all those Saturday nights we spent with pencil and paper.
“Most DMs today play it like it’s a miniatures game, and the 3rd and 4th edition reflect that lack of imagination by catering to the rules lawyers.”
That 3rd and 4th stuff doesn’t even seem like it is the same game from what I have seen about it. Some dude told me that the combat sometimes take 1-2 hours+ and you have to use a combat grid, I was like holy cow no wonder no kids are playing it in the library or on the bus any more. Somehow they thought it must be made into an even more dorky spectacle.
FReegards from the Isle of Dread