When we started, the rulebook was just a softbound booklet that was maybe 100 pages total. it was titled "Basic D&D" and the rules were childishly simple. Even today, I can still recall the awe and thrill that we all experienced when we discovered our first magic sword - encased in a wooden box, it illuminated our faces as we cautiously lifted the lid, garnering an audible "oooh" from all of us as we imagined it in our minds.
We played Basic D&D for a year or so before moving on to the more expensive, hard bound "Advanced Dungeons and Dragons." This was made up of 3 hard bound books, each one in the two hundred or so page area. It was a lot more complex, but we loved it.
As time went on, the rules got more and more complex. AD&D released version 2, then 3, and now is coming out with 4. Each one become more complex, with more and more rules covering virtually any scenario one could envision. There were rules for the weather, for sickness, for advanced combat maneuvers, special weapons, special armor, even rules for pregnancy and fertility! One could spend days just reading the guidelines for handling a forest fire in the wilderness!
The problem, of course, is that now it's so complex you spend more time reading the rules and less time actually playing the game. Unless you have a DM who can dedicate serious energy to keeping up with the system, it becomes a snail's pace game where every single move becomes a look up into a variety of rulebooks. Certainly not fun, no matter how much you're drinking. The magic of the game was lost.
I tried to re-capture the magic by going back to the basic rules, but it didn't help. Now the simplicity of the rules seemed to work against me; I wanted to do so much but I didn't have the resources in the game system to accomplish what I wanted. I found myself struggling to find the balance between a simple, playable system and enough versatility and flexibility to accommodate my rather complex story lines.
In a weird sort of way, this is how I feel about my life. It was simple, and exciting, and I looked forward to each day's challenges.
As time progressed, however, things have become more complex. To continue with my analogy above, I remember when we introduced the idea of critical hits in combat to the game. It was gruesome fun, and combat became a blood soaked gore fest as we gleefully rolled dice to learn the fate of our vanquished foe. Eventually, however, as player characters dropped one by one from being on the wrong end of a critical hit, we began to see that “crits”, as we called them, were not as great as we thought. It seems today that my life has way too may critical hits, charts and tables, and not enough actual adventure.
As I contemplate where I am in my life, I think that I have reached the point of “rule saturation”; I know life is not a game, but, to continue with the theme already established, I think I may be in serious need of a revamping of the game system.
But what exactly does that entail? In D&D, we could simply start a new campaign. Roll up new characters and start a new story – sort of like a new season of a show. Unfortunately, it's not so easy in the real world. I can't suddenly make myself 28 years old again, with my 7% bodyfat, tanned muscles and elevated testosterone levels. Even if I decided to push myself and get back into physical shape, there is a spiritual resuscitation that is needed as well, and I'm not quite sure I know where to go to do that.
Too bad I can't just pop down to the local wizard and be reincarnated as something new.
No comments:
Post a Comment