A blog for The Urutsk Cycle and Related Subjects,
including the URUTSK: World of Mystery RPG.
Shipwrecked survivors of a galaxy-spanning empire (ruined when the core exploded) settle upon a wetlands world occupied by humans and other species. They then poke through ruins of their Ancient ancestors as they strive to regain space and then, starflight.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Dave Arneson (Updated with Kobold LINK)-
I was always more sympathetic toward Dave than Gary, and now they're both gone from among us.
I was a Gygax kid but I'm an Arneson (and Hargrave, and St. Andre) man.
When I was a kid, I wanted to know what Gygax said "the rules" were so I could follow them. Gygax, at least in his hectoring period, handed down prescriptions for how things should be done. Arneson and Hargrave and St. Andre seem to just give descriptions of how they did things, and guidance on the path to figuring things out yourself.
No disrespect to Gary, but in terms of what I like, OD&D was his watershed moment and most of his output and philosophy after that just does not resonate with me the way the other guys' stuff does.
I had a few interactions with Gary, not all were positive, but we were honest and his son sent me a very nice email after Gary passed on.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see our icons die, but as we get older ourselves it is only natural. Still brings a bit of heaviness to the heart though.
Bat,
ReplyDeleteLiving with aged parents and their loss of friends and relatives is a constant reminder, for me.
Poor Mike Moorcock has lost more than a half-dozen+ friends in just about a year's time. It's sad seeing him lose all of his contemporaries, etc.
We better heap-on the love to Ken St. Andre and Steve Perrin, before they are gone, too
I was a Gygax kid but I'm an Arneson (and Hargrave, and St. Andre) man.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, I wanted to know what Gygax said "the rules" were so I could follow them. Gygax, at least in his hectoring period, handed down prescriptions for how things should be done. Arneson and Hargrave and St. Andre seem to just give descriptions of how they did things, and guidance on the path to figuring things out yourself.
No disrespect to Gary, but in terms of what I like, OD&D was his watershed moment and most of his output and philosophy after that just does not resonate with me the way the other guys' stuff does.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI agree.