Welcome to The Wasted Lands

Catchy title, ain't it?

Not so much, I know. It's a bit cheesy and cliche, but it'll work in the absence of a more evocative title.

So, what is The Wasted Lands?

The Wasted Lands is a pet project of mine: a campaign setting/"sandbox" for the Original Dungeons & Dragons rpg published between 1974-1979. And when I say Original D&D, I don't mean this:

And I don't mean this:

And I sure as heck don't mean THESE...






No, when I say original, I mean just that: ORIGINAL




Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's move on, shall we? *grin*

Since I became involved with the Old School Movement, my fascination with, and love for, OD&D has grown exponentially. I study it as a scholar studies his chosen field, and I adore the base simplicity of it. I've come to hold the opinion that the current trend in RPGs--to have a rule or system covering every situation and circumstance--is just wrong. "The more fixin's, they put on the plumbin'," as Scotty said in Star Trek III, "the easier it is to stop up the drain."

That is, the more rules you put in a game, the more holes there are in those rules. OD&D is elegant in its simplicity. It's straightforward and gives a solid foundation upon which any game you like can be built. There's no extensive lists of feats, powers, or situations that result in tactical disadvantages. There's very little that can be munchkined.

I want to run this game. If I didn't think my players would riot, I'd convert my existing AD&D first ed. game tonight. As it stands I'm likely going to sneak in some OD&D systems instead of consulting the DMG all the time.

So I'm going to dedicate this blog to my ongoing study of and fascination with Original Dungeons & Dragons--yes, yet another one of those--and to notes and ideas regarding my own "sandbox" for eventual play. Enjoy!

Comments

  1. I wish you the best in this new project! May we see the wonders of your imagination!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looking forward to this blog!

    ReplyDelete

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