1978:
D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (pastel cover - reprinted in D1-2 in 1981 and then in GDQ1-7 in 1986)
D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa (pastel cover - reprinted in D1-2 in 1981 and then in GDQ1-7 in 1986)
D3 Vault of the Drow (pastel cover - reprinted in 1981 with Blue cover, and then in GDQ1-7)
G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (pastel cover - reprinted in G1-2-3 in 1981, then again in GDQ1-7)
G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl (pastel cover - reprinted in G1-2-3 in 1981, then again in GDQ1-7)
G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King (pastel cover - reprinted in G1-2-3 in 1981, then again in GDQ1-7)
S1 Tomb of Horrors (pastel cover - reprinted with Green cover in 1981, and various other versions since)
1979:
S2 White Plume Mountain (pastel cover - reprinted with Orange cover in 1981 and as part of S1-4 in 1987)
T1 Village of Hommlet (pastel cover - reprinted in 1981 with Green cover and as part of T1-4 in 1985)
1980:
A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity (reprinted in A1-4 in 1986)
C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (pastel cover - reprinted with Brown cover in 1981)
C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness
Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits (reprinted in GDQ1-7 in 1986)
S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (reprinted in S1-4)
1981:
A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade (reprinted in A1-4 in 1986)
A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords (reprinted in A1-4 in 1986)
A4 In the Dungeon of the Slave Lords (reprinted in A1-4 in 1986)
D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (re-print)
G1-2-3 Against the Giants (re-print)
I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City
L1 Secret of Bone Hill
U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
1982:
I2 Tomb of the Lizard King
I3 Pharaoh (reprinted in I3-5 in 1987)
N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God
R1 To the Aid of Falx (re-printed in I12 in 1987)
R2 Investigation of Hydell (re-printed in I12 in 1987)
R3 Egg of the Phoenix (re-printed in I12 in 1987)
S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (reprinted in S1-4)
U2 Danger at Dunwater
WG4 Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun
1983:
EX1 Dungeonland
EX2 Land Beyond the Magic Mirror
I4 Oasis of the White Palm (reprinted in I3-5)
I5 Lost Tomb of Martek (reprinted in I3-5)
I6 Ravenloft
L2 Assassin’s Knot
R4 Doc's Island (re-printed in I12 in 1987)
U3 Final Enemy
UK1 Beyond the Crystal Cave
UK2 Sentinel
1984:
C3 Lost Island of Castanamir
C4 To Find a King
CB1 Conan Unchained!
CB2 Conan Against Darkness!
DL1 Dragons of Despair
DL2 Dragons of Flame
DL3 Dragons of Hope
DL4 Dragons of Desolation
DL5 Dragons of Mystery
MV1 Midnight on Dagger Alley
N2 TForest Oracle
UK3 Gauntlet
UK4 When a Star Falls
UK5 Eye of the Serpent
UK6 All that Glitters
WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure
1985:
C5 Bane of Llywelyn
CA1 Swords of the Undercity
DL6 Dragons of Ice
DL7 Dragons of Light
DL8 Dragons of War
DL9 Dragons of Deceit
DL10 Dragons of Dreams
DL11 Dragons of Glory
H1 Bloodstone Pass
I7 Baltron’s Beacon
T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil (re-print of T1 plus new material)
UK7 Dark Clouds Gather
WG6 Isle of the Ape
1986:
A1-4 Scourge of the Slavelords (re-print with additions)
CA2 Swords of Deceit
DL12 Dragons of Faith
DL13 Dragons of Truth
DL14 Dragons of Triumph
GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders (re-print with additions)
H2 Mines of Bloodstone
I8 Ravager of Time
I9 Day of Al’Akbar
I10 Ravenloft II: The House on Griffon Hill
N3 Destiny of Kings
N4 Treasure Hunt
OA1 Swords of Daimyo
OA2 Night of the Seven Swords
RS1 Red Sonya Unconquered
1987:
C6 Official RPGA Tourney Handbook
DQ1 The Shattered Statue
H3 Bloodstone Wars
I3-5 Desert of Desolation (reprint with additions and amendments)
I11 Needle
I12 Egg of the Phoenix (re-print of R series modules)
I13 Adventure Pack I
N5 Under Illefarn
OA3 Ochimo: The Spirit Warrior
OA4 Blood of the Yakuza
S1-4 Realms of Horror (re-print with amendments)
1988:
DL15 Mists of Krynn
DL16 World of Krynn
FRC1 Ruins of Adventure
H4 Throne of Bloodstone
I14 Swords of the Iron Legion
OA5 Mad Monkey vs Dragon Claw
OP1 Tales of the Outer Planes
WG7 Castle Greyhawk
1999
L3 Deep Dwarven Delve (part of 25th Anniversary Box Set)
2010
L4 Devilspawn (Download only)
2013
A0-4 Against the Slave Lords (reissue of A1-4 series with additional chapter A0 Danger At Darkshelf Quarry)
Showing posts with label medieval. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medieval. Show all posts
Tuesday, 2 April 2019
Wednesday, 13 September 2017
Fantasy Cupcakes
While browsing the cesspit that is Reddit I stumbled upon a
thread in one of the D&D subs where some people were discussing cupcakes.
Upon reading said thread, expecting to see tales of delicious treats consumed
by players whilst rolling dice, he was actually talking about characters in game
consuming cupcakes. My immediate
response, “Cupcakes! D&D? No, not possible.
In my mind, D&D is medieval. Technology is limited to that era, societal attitudes from that era are the norm, and there are no cupcakes…. because they are American, and weren’t invented until the late 18th century. And the US didn’t exist when D&D is set. And they are called ‘fairy cakes’ in this country anyway. But I digress. D&D’s roots are in games that attempted to simulate medieval warfare, and it’s easy to pick up on those themes when browsing through the 1E hardbacks for example – the weapons are drawn mostly from the period of AD1000-1500, as is the armour – though there are a couple of mistakes in there in the historical sense, as Studded Leather did not exist, and the jury is out on whether Ring Mail ever existed too. There are chapters on castles, complete with the correct old English terminology, and some of the terms used to describe spells and magical items are drawn from the Old English language – dweomer for example. The infamous ‘random prostitute’ table contained multiple archaic synonyms for the world’s oldest profession - Gary Gygax was clearly an avid enthusiast of European medieval history. Gygax’s own Greyhawk setting also showed direct feudal Europe inspiration – Perrenland is clearly Switzerland, and Veluna looks to be based on the Papal States.
I'll have a double Saucy Tart with a dash of Haughty Courtesan please barman!
Europe in the Middle Ages was a brutal place, cities were vile, rat-infested places, the general populace were uneducated and impoverished. Society was very superstitious and extremely intolerant of anything ‘different’ – resulting in religious persecution, genocide, mass public executions, civil war, and so on. AD&D (and the Greyhawk setting) reflected that. Various races did not get on with each other, certain states are at war, others are brought down by human frailties, and there are frequent clashes between devotees of various opposing faiths. It is a constant fight between clearly defined ‘good’ and ‘evil’. There is a grittiness to 1E and to Greyhawk, and beneath the layers of monsters and magic there’s that basis in historical fact.
In my mind, D&D is medieval. Technology is limited to that era, societal attitudes from that era are the norm, and there are no cupcakes…. because they are American, and weren’t invented until the late 18th century. And the US didn’t exist when D&D is set. And they are called ‘fairy cakes’ in this country anyway. But I digress. D&D’s roots are in games that attempted to simulate medieval warfare, and it’s easy to pick up on those themes when browsing through the 1E hardbacks for example – the weapons are drawn mostly from the period of AD1000-1500, as is the armour – though there are a couple of mistakes in there in the historical sense, as Studded Leather did not exist, and the jury is out on whether Ring Mail ever existed too. There are chapters on castles, complete with the correct old English terminology, and some of the terms used to describe spells and magical items are drawn from the Old English language – dweomer for example. The infamous ‘random prostitute’ table contained multiple archaic synonyms for the world’s oldest profession - Gary Gygax was clearly an avid enthusiast of European medieval history. Gygax’s own Greyhawk setting also showed direct feudal Europe inspiration – Perrenland is clearly Switzerland, and Veluna looks to be based on the Papal States.
I'll have a double Saucy Tart with a dash of Haughty Courtesan please barman!
Europe in the Middle Ages was a brutal place, cities were vile, rat-infested places, the general populace were uneducated and impoverished. Society was very superstitious and extremely intolerant of anything ‘different’ – resulting in religious persecution, genocide, mass public executions, civil war, and so on. AD&D (and the Greyhawk setting) reflected that. Various races did not get on with each other, certain states are at war, others are brought down by human frailties, and there are frequent clashes between devotees of various opposing faiths. It is a constant fight between clearly defined ‘good’ and ‘evil’. There is a grittiness to 1E and to Greyhawk, and beneath the layers of monsters and magic there’s that basis in historical fact.
Nobody really likes Half Orcs - quite right too, the smelly beasts!
As a child, the 1st fantasy novel I read was The
Hobbit. Tolkien also drew on similar inspiration – the technology of his world
is very much of the early medieval era, most racial groups are portrayed as
being wary of ‘foreigners’, and his world is also very brutal.
So, in my early teens, ‘Fantasy’ meant a medieval setting
with magic and monsters. I had no
interest in the sci-fi that enthused many of my peers, and the modern day was
just plain dull, no, when I retreated into my gaming world it was also back in
time to an era of swords, chainmail, brave knights, and damsels in distress.
Towards the end of the 80s Forgotten Realms became popular,
then the likes of Spelljammer (D&D in Space!), Planescape, and
onto the techno-magic of Eberron. Over
the next few decades it appeared that the historical grounding was being forced
out - the game was becoming more 'fantastical'. Classes were opened up to more
races, traditional racial enmities were quietly left to wither and die, as it
seems the game attempted to incorporate more modern societal norms in its play*. Gone was Gygax’s colourful, lengthy, often
difficult prose – in its place were more direct rulebooks written in a more
basic and mechanical style. The game was
no longer imparting its ‘feel’ on its players, it had become more of a
framework around which DMs and Players could build their own definition of ‘Fantasy’ - for better or for worse.
.
But mine will also be that gritty, medieval, somewhat
historical fantasy of the 1st Edition.
A time before cupcakes existed. And the USA. And Reddit.
· * something I’m planning to write on soon.
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REVIEW I4 - OASIS OF THE WHITE PALM By Philip Meyers and Tracy Hickman Published by TSR in 1983. Oasis of the White Palm was the 2nd advent...
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I've posted before regarding the main reasons why I love the modules of the 1E era, so I won't go into that again in any real de... -
REVIEW I4 - OASIS OF THE WHITE PALM By Philip Meyers and Tracy Hickman Published by TSR in 1983. Oasis of the White Palm was the 2nd advent... -
1978: D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (pastel cover - reprinted in D1-2 in 1981 and then in GDQ1-7 in 1986) D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa...