Pear was shaped like a pear and Crewcut looked like a literal jackass with a crewcut. The two subnormals took turns being the Dungeonmaster (DM), who spins the story based on a guidebook and his own imagination. Both sucked at it. As we were all young adults, I expected the psychological complexity of young adults to enter the game, beyond slashing orcs.

But Pear and Crewcut were useless. They mostly argued with each other and swore like sailors in front of George's kids (for that I wanted to kick their asses). I don't know what I was doing there. It was the 90s. I didn't want to step in and DM, though many years before I always ended up being the Dungeonmaster (I've been playing God ever since).

George had a lovely, devoted wife. I mention her only to lend cheer to this recollection: since she worked late at a video store she avoided being at the rented house for these unbearable D&D games. It got so bad I tried to kill off my character by not fighting back against pterodactyl-like creatures dive-bombing our party, but every time I was mortally wounded that idiot Crewcut, with a saving roll of the die, would revive my character. Finally I said, "I draw my knife and slit my own throat," (something I've been doing ever since). Oops, failed the saving throw.! R.I.P. I then got to watch the Sci-Fi channel with George's kids while George stuck it out.

I remember the look on George's face more than anything. An accomplished family and military man and generous all-around good guy, he was nonetheless hungry for adventure. I;m sorry now that I couldn't help him then, or didn't try. I should've stepped in and been the DM.

If you're not familiar with Ploomy check it out the other articles on there, they are very interesting and worth taking a gander at! I've also added a snippet of the Nerds article to wet your whistle.

Gary Gygax

What he does: Nothing (deceased)
What made him famous: Dungeons and Dragons

Gary Gygax invented Dungeons and Dragons, a staple game for nerds growing up. He and his friends had a simple desire to create characters and explore Tolkein’s world of the Lord of the Rings. Of course the game would evolve over the years, and Gygax changed and added things that made it different from the original game. But ultimately the core of the game stayed the same, allowing people to play in a fantasy world slinging spells and fighting monstrous beings...

Ploomy

Dr. Luke Meyer is no fool. I tried to pull the wool over his eyes today, but when a call came into his office from Gary Gygax, he picked up on my dastardaly plan nearly immediately. "That can't be right," Luke thought to himself. "I best get to the bottom of this mystery, much the same way as I got to the bottom of that bag of Cheetohs at lunch time!"

"Mister Gygax, are you calling from heaven?" Luke asked when he picked up the phone. I knew my cover had been blown. I nonchalantly pretended to be joking. Laughing, I responded.

"Hey Luke, it's Rob calling. How's it going?"

Damn it. I had been foiled again. Next time, Luke... next time.

In this episode of Barbarian Needs Food, Evan and Paul talk about Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 and 3.5, a role-playing game of high fantasy in realms of magic and monsters.

Discussion includes: an in-depth look at basic game mechanics, a brief digression into the philosophy of role playing, discussion of differences of earlier versions, tips on how to prevent players from abusing certain rules, and examination of the d20 System and Open Game License developments.

NEXT EPISODE:

Cuddle up with a cute half-orc man slave,

because Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God

is the Greatest Movie EVER!

This movie contains:

OH SNAP! A MIGHTY KRAKEN!

Champagne Villains.

BARBARIAN RAGE!

FINAL THOUGHT:

Undertones!

COMING SOON!

"GRRR! ARGH!"

Embrace your inner redneck-gamer with this Dungeons and Dragons Trucker Hat. Available in chain mail matching grey/black, this +2 Helm of Nylon will make you the envy of your next tabletop campaign... at least until until
Ashton Kutcher gets one. Found on eBay.GeekDad Puzzle of the Week: The Gamer's Ordeal Solution, Jul 2008

Era filho de um imigrante suiço e uma americana. É mais conhecido como o autor do primeiro jogo de RPG sobre fantasia medieval (D&D), criado com Dave Arneson e co-publicado com Don Kaye em 1974 pela empresa TSR. Inc., nos Estados Unidos. Sua fama se espalhou entre o mundo do RPG e assim foi comum que recebesse a visita em sua casa, a cerca de 88 km ao sul de Milwaukee, no Estado de Wisconsin, de pessoas afirmando que o jogo havia as ajudado a se tornarem médicos, advogados, policiais etc. Apesar da doença, Gygax gostava de receber jogadores em seu conforto.

Gary Gygax e Dave Arneson criaram o "Dungeons & Dragons" em 1974 utilizando elementos medievais e criaturas míticas. O jogo ficou conhecido justamente pelo seu caráter estranho e se tornou um "hit", principalmente entre adolescentes. O jogo também ganhou versões adaptadas para o videogame, além de livros e filmes.

Que os dados do destino sejam generosos com o primeiro dos mestres.

You think I'm kidding?

You thought all this time that Gary Gygax invented Dungeons and Dragons?

You would be mistaken! Gary was doing archeology one summer in Egypt and dug up some dice in a leather bag, including a 20-sider, and found a stone carved with hieroglyphics near by. He and some of the guys stayed up late translating the inscription on the stone and found that one side of the stone was directions of r a game that used dice, and the other had the start of a story about a guy named Conan who was fighting in a colloseum against 3 lions. So for the next 3 weeks they stayed up until 2 or 3 every morning playing this game. Eventually the crew boss caught on that they weren't translating anything new, so he gave them an ultimatum: either get with the program or go home. Gary decided to go home, and on the plane he wrote out what he remembered from the inscriptions. When he got home he enrolled several of this buddies to do some research one weekend, after which he had the basics for the game, the monsters, what kinds of dice to use for which weapons, hit probabilities using the 20-sider, and how critical hits and fumbles worked with the 20 and 00 sides. The rest is history. Well, I guess the start was history. But Gary got the credit for the find, but not the way most people think he did, and not the find of that table in Egypt.

But Gary's gone now, so we'll never know exactly how the details got worked out.

The other guys he was playing with? They were working in a tomb one day when their battery died. Only one made it out, though on the way out he smashed the top of his head on a stone, rendering it completely flat; he said that the rest were eaten by a Grue, though there was never any evidence that they had been in the cave despite the crew boss's record that that was their assigned work area for the day.

However, we do have 20-siders from Egypt and Rome, so we know that part is true.

I long for this moment but sadly feel I have nobody to share it with. No creative sparring partner. Hence my fantastic ideas will never bare fruit.

Sure I have ideas. I have tons. Mostly these days I have internet based ideas. That is, ideas that are executed in a web page. These ideas are generally entertainment related. Games. RPG type games. I love that stuff. But ideas can float around quite freely. I just don't feel like I can share these ideas with anybody for what you might term a 'brainstorm'.

I wonder whether there is even such a thing as "geeky enterprise" anymore.

I read with interest the biography of one Ian Livingstone who aged 23 moved from his native North West (England) to London and shared a flat with Steve Jackson. Between them they shared a passion for traditional games and soon hit on the Dungeons & Dragons idea distributing the games in the UK from their Games Workshop outlets. Originally the business operated from their flat in London. Ultimately it became a huge international retailer.

Have all the great ideas been soaked up? Is there any room for this kind of enterprise any more or is everything in retail dominated by the huge out of town sheds that specialise in nothing and stock everything.

I continue to have my ideas and long for somebody to work them out with. If you're like minded and fancy joining forces (and are preferably not a spotty oik), putting creativity before profit then shout up. We might just be on to something...

TUCKER
16th Level Chaotic Neutral Thief

Strength: 10
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 8
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 14
Charisma: 17
Comeliness: 17

Special Abilities:
99% chance to detect food left out uncovered
85% skill climbing onto tables and countertops
90% chance to steal food not being directly observed
Stuffed toys get +2 to their saving throws when within 10 feet of Tucker
Recovers 1 HP/turn when in Mama's lap

TRIXIE
16th Level Lawful Neutral Barbarian

Strength: 14
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 16
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 17
Charisma: 15
Comeliness: 16

Special Abilities:
90% chance to inspire fear through display of ferocity and big teeth
95% chance to steal toys, treats, or other desirables from other dogs when Mama is not watching
Immune to cold and water damage due to heavy fur

DENNIS
10th Level Chaotic Good Acrobat

Strength: 15
Intelligence: 17
Wisdom: 14
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 10 (but improving)
Charisma: 18
Comeliness: 15

Special Abilities:
70% chance to catch any thrown object in mid-air
All toys coming within 10 feet of Dennis must save vs. Death or be de-stuffed and de-squeaked
Special agility coat provides AC 5 vs. edged weapons
Double damage vs. furniture and upholstery

TROUBLE
15th Level Neutral Illusionist

Strength: 6
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 16
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 8
Charisma: 12
Comeliness: 16

Special Abilities:
70% ability to make self invisible when it's time for medication
80% chance to Confuse dogs within 5 feet by hissing and waving front paws
Able to make self appear larger by poofing fur straight out
2d6 claw damage when bunny-kicking
Immune to Sleep spells due to extreme well-restedness

Hell of a day at work today, but MIT made me smile. An oversized d20 on Killian Court in honor of recently deceased Gary Gygax. Those guys are great.

(via boingboing)

Well, wouldn't you know it, I'm dating a gamer.  Now, I've dated gamers before and one of the reasons I'm not dating them anymore is the fact that they were 'too' into it.  As in, it took over their lives and they'd spend beautiful summer days in front of a computer playing WoW in 10 hour stretches.  I couldn't work with that.  My current Partner in Crime kept his gaming past pretty well hidden for a while but when Gary Gygax died (aka St. Gygax and creator of D&D), he started slipping away for late night sessions.  There was an enforced 'No Girlfriends' policy in the group though so eventhough I was curious and wanted to try, the door was shut.

Yeah, as if that would stop me.  I organized my OWN game and it happened to fall at the end of Norwescon weekend.  Perfect timing.

Norwescon is a conference for sci fi and fantasy junkies and there are workshops, dances, lazer tag, room parties, costumes, all that.  Basically, imagine every single genre typically associated with geekdom and I can say to you with reasonable certainty that it was represented there.  His gaming friends were going and once I got a look at the schedule, we cancelled our weekend plans and headed down to Sea-Tac.  Here are some photos:

Here's what I noticed:

Going to Norwescon for the first time was almost like experiencing Burning Man (on a smaller scale). There were people there who clearly had an insane passion for sci fi/fantasy and this was a chance for like minded folks to converge and go nuts. Sound familiar? At one of the room parties, I even heard a girl mention her 'Con Boyfriend'.

I also think the whole community has a bad and slightly undeserved reputation. This stuff is actually really really fun and I'd totally prefer my kids playing D&D until late hours instead of drinking and doing all the other stupid things kids do at school dances, ya know? Not saying that it's one or the other but I think that stuff is pretty harmless and actually provides a good catalyst for community building.

And when I was telling people that I was about to have a mega nerd adventure weekend, people came out of the woodwork and admitted to having played the game back in the day. People I NEVER would have expected. Which just goes to show that it's got broad appeal.

And lastly, Eric brought up a good point last night: why is dressing up, role playing, and learning stats socially awkward and for losers in the context of gaming but not in the context of sports? You have office sanctioned March Madness brackets and all that and you're seen as 'more manly' if you participate.

Weird.

Anyway, I had a great weekend. Much bonding was done and I had my perspective changed ever so slightly.

The major national newspapers covered this passing (see articles in WSJ, NYT) .  I’m noting it here because, after a bit of research, I’ve learned that D&D emerged from the same innovation process that I’ve seen everywhere in today’s economy.  Although Gygax certainly deserves to be recognized for his important role, he was not the sole creator of D&D; it emerged from a long series of collaborations, from an almost invisible community of like-minded wargamers.  Innovation always works this way: Even though one person often gets credit for an invention, all innovations emerge from groups.  In Gygax’s case, the group included dedicated wargamers who lived around Lake Geneva in Wisconsin.  Many different Lake Geneva groups came together to play wargames, with names like the Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association and the Midwest Miltary Simulation Association.  There were so many groups that in 1966, they formed an umbrella organization called the International Federation of Wargamers (IFW), with separate chapters for different periods of military history—the “Castle and Crusade Society” for medieval wargaming, for example, and the “Armored Operations Society” for World War II wargaming.  IFW became nationally known by sponsoring an annual convention of gamers called GenCon, and publishing a magazine of wargaming called The Spartan.

These communities of hobbyists had been experimenting with medieval wargames using miniature figures, just like D&D, for years.  The first published set of rules appeared in 1967—for a game called Siege of Bodenburg, created by Henry Bodenstedt and published in Strategy & Tactics magazine, a wargaming fanzine created in 1966 by Chris Wagner.  (Wagner created his fanzine to compete with the magazine The General, published by the wargame-publishing company called Avalon Hill starting in 1964.)  The wargamers around Lake Geneva read these rules, and a couple of them began experimenting with their own variations.  In 1971, two of them—Jeff Perren and Gary Gygax—published their own set of medieval wargaming rules; they called it Chainmail and sold it through a company called Guidon.  Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, was gaining a cult following at the time, and sales of Chainmail were surprisingly strong.  A third Lake Geneva wargamer, Dave Arneson, began experimenting with his own variation that he called Blackmoor.  When Arneson and Gygax began collaborating on the next generation of medieval wargame, they took most of Blackmoor’s features intact.  They intentionally named the main characters after those in Tolkien’s trilogy—orcs, ents, hobbits, wizards—to tap into its popularity.  (A lawsuit from Tolkien’s estate later forced the game's publisher to rename some of these characters.)

I love stories like this one, because they show so clearly how innovation emerges from a collaborative process.  In my book Group Genius, I tell many similar stories—for example, how Monopoly emerged over a 30-year period from a national community of Quakers, frat boys, and economics professors.  Dungeons & Dragons was a collective creation, emerging from an unsung, almost invisible collaborative web.  With the help of Gary Gygax, this emergent phenomenon was disseminated far beyond the Lake Geneva community to become an international phenomenon.  When the International Federation of Wargamers faded from history in 1974, its passing was not noted—there’s no such thing as an obituary page for groups.  So we use the obituary pages to remind ourselves of the true nature of creation by recognizing those individuals who played key roles within genius groups—like Mr. Gygax, who died March 4 at age 69 at his home in Lake Geneva.  It's all about collaboration; as Gygax himself said in a 2006 interview, "The essence of a role-playing game is that it is a group, cooperative experience."  Rest in peace.

First up is D&D 0: a fun look at the very earliest incarnations of what would become Dungeons and Dragons. This observation about the rules of proto-D&D struck me as interesting:

The rules themselves were barely there. You had to make it all up. This put so much responsibility on the GM. He had to be entertaining, imaginative, fair, rational. In many ways the steady march away from original D&D has been a sustained effort to remove the effects of a bad GM on the game. The more game elements are objectively determined, written down in books, the less you have to rely on the GM. The less you need a really good GM to run the game. And yes, the more of a science it becomes, and less of an art. Running this game was an art form and only a few people could do it really well. There’s something magical about that. Newer versions become more systematized and therefore more people can play. Mediocre GMs can run good games. But, if I’m being honest with myself, something of the magic is lost. That feeling that most of this game lived in your mind. Because of that, I think, it was more real. As more and more of the game lived in the rules and on character sheets, it became a game instead of a world in your head.

I think that's definitely something to that. I like the more systematized, rules-complete modern versions of D&D myself. But I'll also admit that by refining and revising the game over the years, we've lost some of the "I can do anything I can imagine!" magic that was present in the very earliest editions. And looking at the vast array of nostalgic early-D&D recreations popping up these days, a lot of people agree.

(That said, I for one am happy we now have games where Elf is not a character class, the GM has a bit of help from the rules, and thieves are not the only type of character that can attempt to be sneaky.)

The second item is The Seven Stages of Gygax over at Chris Pramas' blog. I've definitely been through most of those. Funny stuff.

This is my favorite:

“Geek Love”, a New York Times Article by Adam Rogers, featuring a wonderful D&D flowchart by Sam Potts

There's also a cool Gary Gygax rap by Doc Pop...

[Via Laughing Squid]

note - want to leave a comment? read the "leaving comments" page. thanks.

arthur c. clarke...

fcuk. i was all set to write about tibet & china & important stuff like that.

then, i found out that arthur c. clarke had kicked the bucket.

fcuk.

first, gary gygax drops dead & now arthur c. clarke joins him in geekdom heaven. i'm beginning to think that the end times is upon us.

ok, arthur c. clarke isn't god &, like gary gygax, his best days were decades behind him. after all, he did write "3001." i'm sorry, but... 3001. it was by no means 1,000 better then "2001." heck, it wasn't even at the level of 2001.

still... arthur c. clarke. give the man some props. the man was writing e-mails even before they were called "e-mails." he was writing e-mails before the internet was the internet. grandpa was hooked up long before the kiddies were, you know what i'm sayin'? 2001 & rama (the first book, i think that the series slid after the first but that's just my opinion) are kings amongst sci-fi literature. the man did predict communications satellites.

i'm bummed out. too many big people dying this year.

the whizzball report...

started = #462. ended = #461. net gain = 0. days until #100 = 324.

Todo mejora o empeora, pero jamas será lo mismo.

Si vives algo con alguien y no logras solucionarlo , date cuenta que si lo vuelves a hacer , ese factor humano de quien dependes que te apruebe de nuevo, no sera satisfactorio a largo plazo.

El pensamiento humano es el espectáculo más divertido y más desalentador de la Tierra.

Por ello, nunca mires hacia atras, pero no olvides lo que haz aprendido, pues es lo que hará que valga la pena revivir situaciones esencialmente similes , pero diferentes en grados. 

Todo es ciclico esencialmente, es decir, siempre pasarás por los mismos problemas pero de formas distintas y siempre en secuencia creciente nunca decreciente..  el problema sgte. sera peor que el anterior, y de la misma forma los logros o placeres, siempre la sgte. sera Mejor que el Anterior si lo sabes superar, o será Peor que el Anterior si no haz aprendido a confrontarlo .

En fin, veo todo extinguirse en el mundo, porque los malos son realmente mas malos, y los buenos que se hacen mas buenos son mas débiles en ser victimado por los malos...

Soy un relativista del bien y el mal, pero realmente estamos en una epoca donde ya la gente si se enmarca en el MAL o en el BIEN... demonios... los extremos son innecesarios por ello estan destruyendose...

Me doy cuenta que necesito alinearme de nuevo para evitar mi propia extinción..

Reflexiono mucho, porque no importa que tan seguro este de cada decisión o acción que tome, siempre existe algo o alguien que resulta dañado por mi causa, y nunca tuve la intención de hacerlo.. 

Creo que debería tener alguna postura dentro de los Alineamientos de Conducta, y de esa forma disciplinarme..

No se.. a veces reflexiono demasiado y me pierdo en mi mismo..

Written By : Jano 

Y se preguntarán: que son Alineamientos?

Los Alineamientos de conducta son parte de una clasificación muy exacta que encontre en un manual de los juegos de rol de Calabozos y Dragones, y realmente es perfecto para entender las actitudes y conductas de los roles de cada sujeto que existe en esta sociedad.

La combinación de estos elementos proporciona una matriz bidimensional en la que los elementos éticos (Ley, Neutralidad y Caos) conforman un eje en tanto los elementos morales (el Bien y el Mal) conforman otro eje. Los extremos de estas combinaciones arrojan personajes «buenos» o «malvados» (desde el punto de vista moral) o «legales» o «caóticos» desde el punto de vista ético. En medio de estos extremos están las posturas neutrales. Esto arroja nueve posibles alineamientos combinando todos los elementos:

Legal bueno - Neutral bueno  - Caótico bueno
Legal neutral - Neutral Caótico  - Neutral
Legal malvado - Neutral malvado - Caótico malvado

El creador del juego, Gary Gygax, se basó en la cosmología creada por el autor de fantasía y ciencia ficción Michael Moorcock para establecer el sistema de alineamientos.

En esencia, los que tengan el Bien intentan proteger la vida de los inocentes. Los que tengan el Mal intentan destruir la vida de los inocentes, bien sea por diversión, bien sea por beneficio propio.

El Bien implica altruismo, respeto por la vida y preocupación por la dignidad de los seres sensibles. Los personajes del Bien suelen hacer sacrificios para ayudar a los demás.

El Mal implica despreocupación por la suerte de los demás, y en casos extremos implica herir, oprimir o matar a otros seres. Algunos personajes del Mal no tienen compasión por los demás y matan sin remordimientos si lo consideran necesario o para conseguir sus objetivos. Algunos personajes del Mal se pueden calificar de auténticamente malignos, ya que matan por deporte o a las órdenes de alguien, alguna deidad o maestro.

La Neutralidad respecto al Bien y al Mal implica que el personaje no se sentirá inclinado a matar inocentes, pero no tendrá la compulsión de sacrificarse por los demás. Los personajes neutrales suelen sentirse obligados hacia los demás a través de relaciones personales, en lugar de guiarse por un sentido de la obligación moral.

Ser bueno o malo, en este sentido, puede ser una decisión consciente del personaje, particularmente para personas o entidades que reconozcan la existencia objetiva del alineamiento en la cosmología de D&D. Sin embargo, para la mayoría de la gente ser bueno o malo es una actitud que uno reconoce pero no escoge.

Ser neutral en cuanto a la dicotomía Bien/Mal implica no decantarse por un lado o por el otro de la balanza, pero para algunas clases de personaje representa un compromiso positivo de cara a mantener el equilibrio entre ambos extremos. Los seguidores de la Neutralidad reconocen que el Bien y el Mal son estados objetivos y no meras opiniones, pero mantienen que el equilibrio entre ambos es el estado ideal, si no para todo el mundo, al menos para ellos mismos.

Los animales y criaturas no sensibles no tienen alineamiento moral; ni tan siquiera los devoradores de hombres o los animales entrenados para matar personas. Estos seres son neutrales por naturaleza ya que carecen de la capacidad para distinguir entre comportamientos moralmente aceptables o no. La mayoría  se refiere a este estado como «neutral hambriento», en el caso de bestias salvajes.

Los personajes de la Ley dicen la verdad, mantienen su palabra, respetan la autoridad, honran la tradición y juzgan a aquellos que incumplen sus responsabilidades.

Los personajes del Caos siguen sus conciencias, se desdicen si lo consideran necesario, prefieren las nuevas ideas a los pensamientos dogmáticos y cumplen lo prometido solo si les complace.

La Ley implica honor, confianza, obediencia a la autoridad y confiabilidad. Por otro lado como características negativas tenemos cabezonería (en el peor sentido de la palabra), adhesión reaccionaria a la tradición, tendencia a juzgar a los demás y falta de adaptabilidad. Aquellos que escogen de forma consciente la legalidad afirman que solo los comportamientos legales son capaces de crear una sociedad en la que las personas puedan depender las unas de las otras y tomar decisiones correctas en el convencimiento de que los demás harán también lo correcto.

El Caos implica libertad, adaptabilidad y flexibilidad. Como contrapartida implica imprudencia, resentimiento ante la autoridad legalmente establecida, acciones arbitrarias e irresponsabilidad. Aquellos que promulgan el comportamiento caótico dicen que únicamente a través de la libertad personal sin trabas puede la gente expresarse completamente, lo que permite a la sociedad beneficiarse del potencial que contienen estos individuos.

La Neutralidad con respecto a la Ley y el Caos siente un respeto normal por la autoridad pero no tiene las compulsiones propias de un seguidor estricto de cualquiera de sus extremos (obediencia ciega o rebeldía total). Un seguidor de la Neutralidad es básicamente honesto, pero en un momento dado podrá mentir o traicionar a los demás.

La devoción hacia la Ley o el Caos puede ser fruto de una decisión consciente, pero con más frecuencia se debe a un rasgo de carácter reconocido, antes que escogido. La Neutralidad con respecto al eje Ley/Caos representa simplemente un estado intermedio que no se decanta por ninguno de los dos extremos. Sin embargo, los seguidores de la Neutralidad consideran este estado como superior a la Ley y al Caos, debido a los defectos y limitaciones de ambos extremos.

Los animales y otras criaturas no sensibles son éticamente neutrales. A pesar de que, por ejemplo, los perros son obedientes y los gatos más libres por naturaleza, ello no implica una elección consciente basada en una capacidad ética.

Por tanto los nueve alineamientos son así:

Legal bueno 

Arquetipo: el Cruzado.

Un personaje legal bueno combina el honor y la compasión por los inocentes. Este tipo de personajes apoya fervientemente la sociedad y sus leyes, en el convencimiento de que han sido creadas por el bien de todos.

El personaje legal bueno es honesto y benevolente. Actuará dentro del sistema para intentar mejorarlo y se esfuerzan por llevar el orden allí a donde van. Combinan su compromiso a combatir el mal con una férrea disciplina, viviendo según un estricto código de honor o según las reglas marcadas por la deidad del Bien a la que sirven. Estos personajes llegarán a actuar con desprecio total de su propia vida por seguir estos códigos.

En cualquier caso hay que tener en cuenta que la obediencia ciega a las leyes no es un atributo obligado para los personajes legales buenos. Por ejemplo, un paladín no infringe su alineamiento si decide tomar las armas contra un usurpador en nombre del rey destronado al que sirve, incluso si ello atenta contra las normas sobre sedición que pueda haber establecido el usurpador. Es decir, en general el personaje legal bueno prefiere una vida estructurada según un compendio de reglas que pueda seguir.

Son ejemplos de personajes legales buenos el policía incorruptible, el político o gobernante que actúa a favor de su gente o el soldado que actúa de forma heroica obedeciendo de forma estricta las reglas de batalla. 

 Neutral bueno 

Arquetipo: el Benefactor.

Los personajes bajo este alineamiento son buenas personas a las que les gusta ayudar a los demás, pero no tienen especial predilección o rechazo por el orden.

Un personaje neutral bueno no se siente particularmente obligado a hacer el bien debido a leyes o restricciones, sino que realizar el bien por sí mismo. Generalmente se plegará a la ley, pero no dudará en quebrantarla si con ello considera que está haciendo un bien mayor. No se siente atado a ningún sistema u orden social, y su necesidad de ayudar a los demás puede ser más fuerte que cualquier otra consideración.

Los personajes neutrales buenos generalmente son aquellos que actúan de forma desprendida, como los miembros de la Cruz Roja o los miembros de Médicos sin Fronteras, que hacen el bien sin considerar cuál es el bando de aquellas personas a las que asisten.

En la literatura de fantasía podemos considerar que Gandalf (El Señor de los Anillos) es neutral bueno: no duda en saltarse las leyes para hacer el bien, y no se siente obligado por constricciones legales o morales. O en Harry Potter pondriamos a Dumbledore en esta posicion, ya que hace el bien, aunque para ello tenga que saltarse algunas reglas o ponerse gente en contra.

Caótico bueno 

Arquetipo: el Rebelde.

Un personaje caótico bueno actúa según los dictados de su conciencia sin tener en cuenta lo que los demás puedan pensar de él. Es generoso y benevolente, combinando un buen corazón con un espíritu libre. Es muy individualista y reniega de leyes, regulaciones o de cualquier orden social. Odia a la gente que se dedica a intimidar y a practicar el despotismo con los demás.

Sus acciones suelen ir encaminadas a luchar contra gobernantes y organizaciones injustas, intentando liberar a los oprimidos. Evitan en la medida de lo posible sociedades organizadas, lo que les lleva en muchos casos a llevar vidas de nómadas o eremitas.

Este perfil encaja con líderes rebeldes de la nobleza en lucha contra regímenes corruptos, mercenarios que solo trabajan para gente con buenos fines y, en general, todo aquel «que robe al rico para entregárselo al pobre». Robin Hood, El Zorro, el Equipo-A  son ejemplos típicos de personajes caóticos buenos.

Legal neutral 

Arquetipo: el Juez.

Un personaje legal neutral se basa en el imperio de la ley, la tradición o el código personal. El orden, en contraposición al caos, es su brújula moral. Normalmente viven según sus códigos personales o bien apoyan gobiernos fuertes y organizados que imponen una fuerte visión de orden para todos sus súbditos.

Este alineamiento combina confiabilidad y honor sin decantarse por ningún aspecto moral. Esto no quiere decir que un personaje legal neutral sea inmoral o amoral, pero los aspectos morales del mundo (el Bien y el Mal) adquieren un papel secundario frente al código, la tradición y los dictados de la lógica.

Los personajes legales neutrales suelen ser funcionarios, soldados que obedecen ciegamente sus órdenes o jueces que se ciñen rígidamente a las reglas establecidas. Un buen ejemplo de personaje legal neutral es Gill Grissom, de la serie de televisión CSI. Para Grissom lo importante son las pruebas, sin importar que incriminen o exculpen al sospechoso. Otro buen ejemplo es R. Daneel Olivaw, de la saga Fundación de Isaac Asimov, para quien el bienestar de la Humanidad se podía conseguir a través del orden.

Neutral 

Arquetipo: el Indeciso.

El alineamiento neutral (tanto en el aspecto ético como en el moral) carece de prejuicios o compulsiones hacia cualquier extremo de la balanza. Un personaje bajo este alineamiento hará en cada momento lo que considere más apropiado sin preferencias por el Bien o el Mal, o por el Orden y el Caos.

En general considerará que el Bien es mejor que el Mal, por puro pragmatismo, pero eso no hará que propugne el Bien considerándolo en abstracto, o de forma universal.

Este es el alineamiento natural de la mayoría de los seres sensibles, como el ser humano. Los animales y criaturas de escasa inteligencia también tienen este alineamiento de forma natural. Sin embargo, este alineamiento puede presentar arquetipos diferenciados.

Neutral puro 

Arquetipo: el Fiel de la Balanza.

Un personaje neutral puro ve cualquier extremo ético o moral como extremadamente peligroso. Cree firmemente en el punto medio como la mejor opción y es defensor a ultranza del equilibrio. Su posición es claramente neutral ante cualquier conflicto, lo cual no quiere decir que esté cambiando constantemente de perspectiva moral, lo cual lo convertiría en un personaje muy poco de fiar.

Los personajes neutrales puros suelen propugnar el equilibrio en el mundo e intentan evitar que cualquier facción (sobre el Bien o el Mal, o sobre el Orden y el Caos) cobre preponderancia sobre cualquier otra facción. Lucharán contra la facción que consideren más poderosa en un momento dado.

Normalmente lucharán del lado de los desamparados, según las circunstancias. Dado lo equilibrado de su postura evitan cuidadosamente hacer juicios de valor.

Neutral druídico 

Arquetipo: el Druida.

En Advanced Dungeons & Dragons todos los druidas son neutrales. Este alineamiento constituye el eje central de la filosofía de todo druida.

El principal objetivo de un druida es proteger la Naturaleza en todas sus formas (plantas, animales, ecología a gran escala, etc.), elementos todos sin alineamiento ético o moral. Un druida hará lo que sea preciso para protegerlos.

Las órdenes druídicas actúan para mantener el equilibrio entre los diversos alineamientos del mundo. No obstante, son conscientes de que cualquier acto, inclusive los propios, afecta al Equilibrio, pero consideran que estas fricciones entre alineamientos como la fuerza motriz del mundo.

Cuando un druida se ve enfrentado a una decisión difícil de índole ética o moral suele escoger la solución que sirve mejor a la naturaleza a largo plazo.

Un buen ejemplo de personaje neutral druídico es Barbol, el ent que aparece en El Señor de los Anillos, ya que su prioridad es el cuidado de los árboles del bosque de Fangorn.

Caótico neutral 

Arquetipo: el Espíritu Libre.

Un personaje caótico neutral se considera libre de las restricciones de la sociedad y no se ve impelido a practicar el Bien.

Los personajes caóticos neutrales siguen sus impulsos y son fuertemente individualistas. Valoran la propia libertad por encima de todo, pero no se esforzarán por conseguir la libertad de otros. Evitan la autoridad, odian las restricciones y desafían la tradición.

A pesar de esto, este tipo de personajes no actúa de forma activa, al menos intencionadamente, para trastornar organizaciones de forma anárquica, ya que para ello tendría que tener algún tipo de motivación moral: el Bien para liberar a otros o el Mal para hacer sufrir a otros.

El personaje caótico neutral suele ser impredecible en su comportamiento con respecto al resto de la gente, aunque es seguro que preservará su propia vida.

Un contrabandista que realice pequeños robos y alquile sus servicios es el ejemplo perfecto de este alineamiento. Han Solo (antes de unirse a la Alianza Rebelde, en Star Wars) o el asesino Hugh "La Mano" es un buen ejemplo.

Legal malvado 

Arquetipo: el Déspota.

El personaje legal malvado es devoto de forma intencionada y metódica de los sistemas despóticos, organizados y crueles. Suelen tomar todo aquello que desean con los límites marcados por su código de conducta personal, sin que les importe a quién puedan dañar en el proceso. Les importa la tradición, la lealtad y el orden, pero no les importa la libertad, la dignidad o la vida. Juega con las reglas establecidas, pero no tiene piedad o compasión. Se siente a gusto en una jerarquía fuertemente establecida, deseando ascender en ella para gobernar, nunca para obedecer. No les gusta romper su palabra, por lo que suelen ser muy cautos a la hora de empeñar su palabra, cosa que solo harán si perciben un claro beneficio a su favor.

Esta reluctancia a empeñar la palabra tiene un doble origen: por un lado se debe a su naturaleza, y por otro lado se debe a su dependencia del orden establecido para protegerse de aquellos que se oponen a él en el terreno de lo moral. Algunos personajes con este alineamiento presentan tabúes como no matar ellos mismos a sangre fría, aunque pueden valerse de sicarios para hacerlo, o no dejar que los niños se metan en problemas, si pueden evitarlo. Normalmente consideran que estos preceptos morales los sitúan por encima del resto de villanos.

En ocasiones los personajes legales malvados pueden dedicarse celosamente a la causa del Mal con el mismo celo que un paladín se dedica a la causa del Bien. Más allá de su inclinación natural a causar daño para conseguir sus propios objetivos, se complacen en el Mal como fin en sí mismo. También suelen causar el Mal como parte de los objetivos de una deidad o maestro.

Los personajes legales malvados suelen considerarse diabólicos puesto que los diablos son la personificación de este alineamiento. Un tirano que redacta leyes para su conveniencia, un abogado corrupto, un juez que utiliza la ley para enmascarar sus actos reprobables o miembros despiadados del crimen organizado son buenas muestras de este alineamiento.

En la literatura tenemos ejemplos como Randall Flagg, personaje de la novela Apocalipsis de Stephen King son también un buen ejemplo de personajes legales malvados.

Neutral malvado 

Arquetipo: el Criminal.

El personaje neutral malvado es puro pragmatismo sin honor y sin variaciones en su brújula moral. Se ciñe a la máxima «supervivencia de los más dotados».

Este tipo de personajes siempre harán lo que sea para salir impunes. Solo se preocupan por sí mismos. No les tiembla el pulso a la hora de matar, ya sea por beneficio, deporte o conveniencia. No siente inclinación por el orden y no respeta las leyes, tradiciones o códigos que lo harían más noble en algún sentido. Por otro lado no se sienten particularmente inclinados hacia el conflicto o la guerra.

Algunos personajes neutrales malvados tienen el Mal como ideal, realizando actos malvados para extender el Mal, como fin en sí mismo. Normalmente suelen pertenecer a sociedades o deidades del Mal.

Un personaje neutral malvado es el Mal en estado puro, un criminal sin honor y más allá de toda redención. Saruman, en El Señor de los Anillos, es un buen ejemplo de personaje neutral malvado.

Caótico malvado 

Arquetipo: el Destructor.

El personaje caótico malvado representa el poder sin control, el egoísmo absoluto sin cadenas, totalmente al margen de la ley.

Este tipo de personajes solo se guían por sus ansias de poder, odio y sed de destrucción. Es violento, cruel, agresivo, impredecible, despiadado y brutal. Por fortuna sus planes son muy desordenados, y todo grupo al que se una estará pobremente organizado.

Normalmente colaboran solo a través de la fuerza, y como líderes se mantienen en la cúspide únicamente mientras no sean asesinados. Los demonios son el paradigma de seres caóticos malvados. Los asesinos en serie, por ejemplo, son personajes caóticos malvados. En la literatura podemos considerar a Melkor, que aparece en el Silmarillion, como ejemplo perfecto de ser caótico malvado.

Gary Gygax, who died earlier this month, is said to be rolling d20's in heaven. I'm sure he'd hate it if he is.

Who is Gary Gygax and what am I talking about? Glad you asked.

Dear readers, Gary Gygax was the creator of the world...well, a world (Greyhawk)...and the rules to live by. As creator of the system that became Dungeons and Dragons and co-founder of TSR he influenced all gaming systems especially digital RPG gaming. Ideas such as HP (Hit or Health Points) many spell names and results, armour and weapon rankings, turn based gaming all stem from the pen and paper D&D format Gary created.

When D&D was first thought up in the late 60's Gary looked for a way to bring a true random element into the game while at the same time providing some control into what outcomes could be achieved. This resulted in the use of mutisided dice which have from 4 (d4) to 20 (d20) sides each.

A d20 is used for most major actions. If you were striking with a sword or other weapon you'd roll a d20 to see if you were sucessful in hitting your target. If you were trying to defend yourself against an attack, especially magical in nature you would roll a d20 to make a saving throw. To roll a 1 or a critical miss is very bad and can result in all sort of nasty things happening. Conversly, to roll a 20 (critical hit) on the dice is very good and often means that your weapon can work at ultimate efficiency (vorpal weapons are always fun on a critical hit).

So, in memory of the late Gary Gygax, I suggest that from now on, whenever a 20 is rolled naturally without modifier in a D&D game that it be called a Gygax. It seems only fitting that we remember the creator of D&D with its most powerful weapon.

I am also sad to note the passing of Gary Gygax last week.  Gary Gygax was best known as the creator of the Dungeons & Dragons game, and an inspiration to players and dungeon masters everywhere.  He will be sorely missed by us all.

I am currently awaiting the release of the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, scheduled for this May.  I have been playing 3rd edition since it's release, and am anxious to see the new game.  I am curious as to how well it will fare in the market.  I hope that wizards has done a good job with this new edition, and achieves there goal of attracting a new generation of players without alienating there core fan base, and ruining the game.  I will post a review of each 4th edition core rule book shortly after they are released.

More than a sniff of Freemasonary and hey! Slayer's first full album Show No Mercy. Often derided as 'immature' and even 'laughable' I have a massive soft spot for this album, I own it on cassette and as far as I'm concerned it's all killer and no filler, in fact I've just realised it's the only cassette I still play. I even like Metal Storm/Face The Slayer.

"You see me lift the axe and it plunges through your shield..."

and my favourite line...

"Now, I can freeze your burning eyes!"

The song, about a warrior who is trapped in some sort of twilight world, locked in combat with a demonic being that prowls through a mist-filled maze, reminded me of Role-Playing Games.

Bear with me here, this is only a slight digression from cycling as you'll see in a minute. I wish to salute the late Gary Gygax. Gygax was the co-inventor of Dungeons and Dragons - if that interests you at all, then read this brilliant article about his passing from the NY Times that futurist and publisher Betageek sent me. I'm not going to write an obit or anything, partially because I didn't get on with D&D, I was strictly Warhammer and Call of Cthulhu, but I acknowledge that he pretty much created the fantasy roleplaying game and as such is worthy of great praise from me. RPGs had a huge effect on my life, but in order to play them with any regularlity I had to get from Hilmarton to Calne, where our gamesmaster lived.

At the age of fourteen, hammering down the Swindon Road was pretty much out of the question, there were regular accidents on that fast and in places narrow main road. So the way to get to Calne by bike was via Compton Bassett. The rider would have a pleasant pedal through gentle country lanes, finally to be spat out onto the Marlborough road just as it hit Calne at the start of the 30 mph zone, relative safety, but it did make the journey about five miles instead of three, and put in a pretty serious hill to the equation. As I got bolder, and my player character (a psychotic dwarf called Mad Morgan Khazias) entered deeper and deeper into the fiendish campaign poured out from the mind of our gamesmaster (Mark Johnson), I began taking my life in my hands along the main road. Many's the time an artic lorry would scream past me having just emerged from behind a bend, so close that I could have reached out and run my hands down its side. I had no helmet, the only protection my head had was provided by a cushioning of imaginings; orcs, elves, dragons, daemons so that I cycled along blissfully and didn't consider the perils of the road. The too fast traffic, the blind corners, the massive, clanking lorries that seemed almost out of control as they hurtled along.

The way back was the old route via Compton, a slow meander home, time to think on the day's adventuring. The rattle of D10s across Mark's mum's kitchen table, the acidic taste of cheap lemonade, banter with friends, battles won and lost, fat purses of gold pieces. My mum wasn't too keen on the RPGs, there were numerous scare stories in the media about kids commiting suicide or murder as a result of playing them. So my mum thought they were dangerous. Ironically she thought I was going for three to four hour rides on my own on Sunday afternoons, an activity much more dangerous to a 14 year old (pre mobile phone) than sitting down with my mates in Mark's kitchen, battling through a fantasy world using the power of our collective imagination, a rulebook and some many-sided dice.

Me: I draw my sword and point it to the heavens, I lean back and shout to the sky "Gary Gygax I salute you!"

GM: [rolls two d10, consults rulebook and notes] hmmm, the tiny readership of your blog has no idea what you're talking about.