My past in gaming, the TLDR version...

If you read this blog, you can skip the previous three long-winded "Fond Memories of..." entries unless you really want to indulge my blather. The important points are enclosed herein.

The Follies of Youth

I recall little actual play from this time beyond flashes of characters and regular ogling of the artwork in any and all of the D&D material available to me. I drew a lot of monsters. I loved monsters. Monsters and bad guys. I really liked Vampires.

The Palladium Sessions

We were always more improvisational with our play, and didn't rely on much beyond the core info. Some of our adventures got so intense and personal that we'd get quite emotional. It was intoxicating and addicting. I experienced my first death of a beloved character. It was heartbreaking, but it was so well built up and handled by my friend who was DMing that it only made the whole experience richer and more gratifying.

Ravenloft's Creeping Doom

I relished the rollercoaster of dread and fear that I was able to create. It was a whole new way to enjoy the game. The power and wealth and renown we had built up was largely useless and irrelevant. We weren't there to conquer, we were there to survive. It challenged us at every turn and we had a fucking blast. There were a lot of close calls, some tough choices, and some steep prices to pay.

Dark Sun's Bright Glare

We were taking part in something bigger than ourselves. Bigger than a dungeon crawl, or a quest for a reward, or a flight for survival; the face of the world was changing in a big way, and we were there, we helped make it happen.

The Twilight of TSR

The problem was that with every new product TSR put out, for every interesting new story hook or idea they proffered, the grand scope and mystery of the setting diminished and lost its luster.

I didn't want to find out from them how uninteresting or perfectly boring some of the mighty Sorcerer-Kings of Athas were, and I especially didn't want to have the Dragon of Tyr end up so blasé. "His name is Borys? Gee-willickers!" My visions of the enigmatic Nibenay and the fiery Hamanu were vastly more intriguing.

In Ravenloft, the culmination of Hyskosa's Hexad was so disjointed and underwhelming that I don't even remember what it was. My cadre of colorfully spooky NPCs and their schemes resonated much more powerfully, but when I had entwined them in all of this material, my excitement as a DM unraveled with it.

The games became little more than fodder for artwork.

Epilogue/Prologue

Perhaps therein lies my gradual disenfranchisement with Dungeons & Dragons and why the OSR seems so thrilling.