For a long time now, I’ve been reminiscing about gaming “back in the day” and how all these new editions of D&D or any other game of my adolescent years lost their soul. And, when I say “soul”, I really mean they got all kinds of technical and stat based. However, even these statements are wholly false. I started gaming at the rise of AD&D 2nd Edition, RIFTS 3rd Edition, etc. Go back and read those rulebooks. Those versions have so many rules that even an Epic Bag of Holding starts to tear at the seams. Then what gives? If the RPGs of my youth were just as confusing and stat-based as modern games (arguably more so), then why can’t I get over them and just try the new stuff? Simple, I’ve turned into the gaming equivalent of Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. Standing at my gaming table, shaking a mechanical pencil with fervor and proclaiming “get off my graph paper!” Gaming in my youth was all fun, with the rules taking a back seat (or even stuffed in the trunk, Buffalo Bill style). Sure, I prepped for my games as any good DM does, but PCs have a knack for taking the game right off the rail and transform chaos into glory! Still, as the industry evolves and grows, it feels like all the “fluff” books go the way of the Dodo.
What? Fluff? Oh, right, sorry… Here, this will help:
Fluff [fluhf] – noun – A gaming book that has little in terms of system specific statistics and rules. Used primarily as inspiration for player and/or game master. See also Crunch.
Crunch [kruhnch] – noun – A gaming supplement for use with one rules system alone. Has multiple pages dedicated to new and/or optional rules. Often contains a large amounts of statistics, graphs, and number blocks. See also Fluff.
That help?
Okay, good.
This was all just a massive intro to say that finding a gaming book that acknowledges our rose-colored memories of youth and promptly plows ahead is few and far between.
The Dungeon Alphabet is such a gaming book.