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Happy 49th Birthday D&D

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By scott | 5:02 PM AKST, Sun January 29, 2023
Shelfie of D&D and AD&D books.
The Cook edition of Dungeons & Dragons Expert Rulebook with a cover by Erol Otus
Dungeon Module X2: Castle Amber with Erol Otus's painting on the cover

Today seems to be a good candidate for celebrating the release of D&D, so I'm marking the 49th anniversary of its release.

Alas, I'm not playing much lately, due to a combination of several factors, chiefly being busy with work and too exhausted to have much of a social life on weekends. But I'm planning something for next year, the last Sunday of January, where I hope to have a game going.

Game Restart
blog
D&D
Basic D&D
X2: Castle Amber
X1: Isle of Dread
The Fiend Folio
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A Proposed alternate cover for the Cook D&D Expert set

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By scott | 8:35 PM AKST, Tue January 18, 2022
Alternative cover art proposed for D&D Expert rulebook
Basic D&D
D&D
Roslof
D&D Expert
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Via @YoDanno on Twitter: an alternate cover for the Cook D&D Expert set. Rough and unfinished, but it offers a glimpse into what could have been.

Two Articles on Dave Arneson…

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By scott | 6:20 PM AKDT, Sun October 03, 2021
D&D
Dave Arneson
Gary Gygax
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Come by way of James Maliszewski for Goodman Games:

How I started collecting role-playing games

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By scott | 8:52 PM AKST, Thu December 17, 2020
Dungeon Module X2: Castle Amber
Stars and Stripes Bookstores
Yokota
D&D
AD&D
collecting
1984
1987
Adak
Japan
Canada
modules
Dungeon Masters Guide
Players Handbook
G1-2-3
B2: Keep on the Borderlands
X2: Castle Amber
Deities and Demigods
personal history
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It's 1984.

Blue Dragon by Erol Otus

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By scott | 6:59 PM AKST, Fri February 14, 2020
Erol Otus Blue Dragon 1981 (From the Year of Dragon 1982 Calendar)
TSR
Erol Otus
D&D
AD&D
Dragon
Blue Dragon
1982
calendar art
gaming-adjacent art
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Art like this reminds me why I really love Erol Otus' work. It's iconic, graphic, and I've always loved the colorful and cartoonlike approach to his fantasy art.

Pure, quintessential of a lot of 1970s and early 1980s fantasy art. (Scanned from the “Days of the Dragon” calendar for 1982.)

G is for Goblin

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By scott | 12:15 PM AKST, Sat February 08, 2020
Goblin in watercolors.
Monster Manual
Goblin
AD&D
D&D
Scott's gaming and gaming-adjacent art
watercolor
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In this watercolor, I resume the monster alphabet from seven years past, this time for a goblin, one of many possible kinds.

Rust Monster in Watercolor

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By scott | 5:58 PM AKST, Fri December 06, 2019
Watercolor of a Rust Monster -- a D&D monster.
Pencil drawing of a Rust Monster -- a D&D monster.
AD&D
D&D
Monster Manual
Rust Monster
Scott's gaming and gaming-adjacent art
watercolor
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Another watercolor posted back in 7 October 2011, original also long gone.

Rust Monster toy

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By scott | 5:49 PM AKST, Thu December 05, 2019
Rust Monster toy.
AD&D
D&D
Rust Monster
Monster Manual
gaming-adjacent
chinasaur
toy
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My favorite Rust Monster. Circa 1970s toy chinasaur plastic figure which served as the inspiration for the D&D monster. I’d like to snag more of these someday.

My Personal History with Electronic Games: 4 of N

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By scott | 6:47 PM AKDT, Wed March 14, 2018
Moldvay Basic D&D with Erol Otus cover art.
Cook Expert D&D with Erol Otus cover art.
Dungeon Module X2: Castle Amber with Erol Otus cover art.
Mentzer Basic D&D with Larry Elmore cover art.

Previously on Game Restart: [it’s a series]

The thing about arcades is that arcades are expensive. 

Adjusted for inflation, a quarter in early 80s money is approximately 63¢ in today’s money at the time of this writing. Most people probably aren’t used to spending money after the initial investment in the console and then the game for their home, but imagine spending that for every three tries, lives, or continues.

Game Restart
blog
Zoids
personal history
arcades
Star Wars
Orlando
Florida
80s
KOA
Nintendo
D&D
Basic
Expert
X2: Castle Amber
Japan
Yokota
Chaffee White and Grissom
Antigua
Watership Down
Apollo 1
AFRTS
Vectrex
Micronauts
X-Wing
Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II
GameCube
luigi's mansion
bega's battle
Stars and Stripes Bookstores
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My Personal History with Electronic Games: 0 of N

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By scott | 3:53 AM AKST, Sat March 10, 2018

We didn’t have much money. I understand that now, though I didn’t understand it then. 

This meant toys of an electronic nature—especially in the 1970s—were rare, and although I still recall we had a lot of toys, even limited lots of toys like Lego, Micronauts, and some Star Wars figures and (hand-made) vehicles, electrical devices were rare.

Game Restart
blog
personal history
Commodore
C64
C128
Atari
Sanyo
Vectrex
Casio PB-80
286
D&D
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