Peterson - Playing at the world : a history of simulating wars, people and fantastic adventures, from chess to role-playing games

Unreason Press, Box 90656, San Diego, CA 92109 2012 by Unreason Press LLC All rights reserved. Published 2012. Printed in the United States of America 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 ISBN: 978-0615642048 (cloth)

Figure 8 appears by permission of Don Perrin. Figure 15 appears courtesy of Robert E. Howard Properties. Figure 23 appears by special permission of the City of Bayeux. Figure 25 is The Trustees of the British Museum. Figure 26 appears courtesy of the Houghton Library of Harvard University. Figure 37 appears by permission of John Curry. Figure 38 appears by permission of Getty Images, Time & Life Pictures, Leonard McCombe. Figure 42 appears by permission of Mike Mornard. Figure 49 appears by permission of the Gygax

Estate. Figure 52 appears by permission of the Philip A. Harrington Estate. Figure 54 appears courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. Figure 57 appears by permission of Caliver Books. Figure 64 appears by permission of Flying Buffalo; Tunnels & Trolls is a

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Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of Wizards LLC, a division of the Hasbro Corporation. Unreason Press gratefully acknowledges the generosity of Wizards LLC for its nonobjection to the use of many figures.

Figures ............................................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... xxi Chapter One: A Prelude to Adventure (1964 1974).................................................................... 1

1.1 The Rise of Wargaming Clubs............................................................................................... 5
1.2 Miniature Wargaming ........................................................................................................... 14
1.3 The Medieval Setting ............................................................................................................ 20
1.4 The Castle & Crusade Society ............................................................................................. 27
1.5 Amateur Attempts and Guidon Games............................................................................. 34
1.6 Chainmail and Fantasy Wargaming...................................................................................... 41 .................................................................................... 47
1.8 The Fall of the IFW .............................................................................................................. 53
1.9 The Return of the Referee ................................................................................................... 58
1.10 Blackmoor ............................................................................................................................ 64
1.11 The Fantasy Game .............................................................................................................. 72
1.12 Startled by the New............................................................................................................. 79 Chapter Two: Setting The Medieval Fantasy Genre ............................................................... 81
2.1 The Evolution of Fantasy .................................................................................................... 83 2.1.1 Fantasy as Popular Adventure Fiction ....................................................................... 84 ......................................................................... 90 2.1.3 Fantasy after the Pulps................................................................................................100
2.2 War and its Opponents ......................................................................................................109
2.3 The Influence of Tolkien ...................................................................................................116
2.4 The Visitation Theme .........................................................................................................121
2.5 On Dungeons and On Dragons .......................................................................................128 2.5.1 Mazes with Monsters ..................................................................................................129 2.5.2 Draco HorribilIs ..............................................................................................................134
2.6 Fantastic People and Creatures .........................................................................................140
2.7 Classes ...................................................................................................................................157 2.7.1 Fighting-men ................................................................................................................158 2.7.2 Magic-users ...................................................................................................................162 2.7.3 Clerics ............................................................................................................................172

2.8 Alignment and Parties ........................................................................................................ 179 2.9 Economics and Equipment............................................................................................... 187 2.9.1 Conventional Equipment........................................................................................... 192 2.9.2 Magic Items.................................................................................................................. 194 2.10 Beyond Dungeons and Beyond Dragons ..................................................................... 200 Chapter Three: System The Rules of the Game.................................................................... 203 3.1 A History of Wargames ..................................................................................................... 204 3.1.1 Games of War Before 1780....................................................................................... 205 3.1.2 The Brunswick Gamers (1780 1811) ...................................................................... 212 3.1.3 Reiswitz, Father and Son (1811 1824) .................................................................... 221 3.1.4 The Kriegsspiel Vogue (1824 1881)........................................................................ 237 3.1.5 Toy Soldiery (1881 1914) .......................................................................................... 251 3.1.6 Wargaming and the World Wars (1914 1945) ....................................................... 270 3.1.7 The Civilian Revolution (1945 1968) ...................................................................... 283 3.2 System in Dungeons & Dragons ........................................................................................... 303 3.2.1 The Instruments of Play............................................................................................. 304 3.2.2 Avoiding Death: Hit Points, Armor Class and Saving Throws ........................... 320 3.2.3 Stratified Progression.................................................................................................. 341 3.2.4. Individuation, Personality and Requisites .............................................................. 359 Chapter Four: Character Roles and Immersion .................................................................... 373 4.1 Coalitions at RAND and in Diplomacy ............................................................................. 376 .................................................................................. 386 ................................................................................................................... 387 4.2.2 The Mariposan Empire .............................................................................................. 391 4.3 Personalities by Post........................................................................................................... 400 4.4 Improvisation and Anachronism...................................................................................... 413 4.5 Hyboria and the Campaign as Story ................................................................................ 425 4.5.1 Dramatizing Games .................................................................................................... 427 4.5.2 Characters Run Amok ................................................................................................ 433 4.6 The Midgard Phenomenon ............................................................................................... 441 4.6.1 Midgard in the United Kingdom .............................................................................. 445 4.6.2 Midgard II and Beyond .............................................................................................. 449 4.7 Characters and Role-Playing ............................................................................................. 455 Chapter Five: The Dawn of Role-Playing (1974 1977) .......................................................... 459