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I love that there is a movement to make DnD unashamedly synonymous with a style of RPG gaming. I also love that I can take any D&D book, official or not, and use it in my home campaign if I wanted to, and use it on the fly. Even if I'm not playing "D&D
".
btw, this is Taz.
".btw, this is Taz.
He looks like a puppy, but he's actually really old. But he's a good boy. One of these days I'll talk more about "D&D", my favorite non-living thing.
The only contemporary metaphor I have for #dnd is #Quake, but even that's old and not everyone would get it. #joeskytax
We rescued Taz this summer. He was in bad shape.
if you want more Taz.
RT if you want more D&D.
We rescued Taz this summer. He was in bad shape.
if you want more Taz.RT if you want more D&D.
He was hit by a car "a few weeks" before we found him. long story. Left front arm was mangled, and he had a huge laceration down its whole length. Likely broken in several places. never treated. lots of misc infections. we thought he was maybe unhoused, or owner was.
Taz (magical beast): Init -5; HD 10 (87 hp); AC 4 [15]; Att claw +5 (1d10+5), bite +10 (2d10+10), and tail +5 (1d4+5); ML 10; SV as Fighter 10; SP bark as fear, fart as choking cloud, distracted by balls; MV 20' (slow); AL Lawful Good boy.
![Taz (magical beast): Init -5; HD 10 (87 hp); AC 4 [15]; Att claw +5 (1d10+5), bite +10 (2d10+10), and tail +5 (1d4+5); ML 10; SV as Fighter 10; SP bark as fear, fart as choking cloud, distracted by balls; MV 20' (slow); AL Lawful Good boy.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eg4R4MOUwAEV_n6.jpg "Taz (magical beast): Init -5; HD 10 (87 hp); AC 4 [15]; Att claw +5 (1d10+5), bite +10 (2d10+10), and tail +5 (1d4+5); ML 10; SV as Fighter 10; SP bark as fear, fart as choking cloud, distracted by balls; MV 20' (slow); AL Lawful Good boy.")
These are generic stats that anyone versed in any edition of D&D, official or otherwise, would understand. This is one of the strengths of this game. Whether playing D&D, DCC, Pathfinder, Basic D&D, or even AD&D, Taz, a very good guardian, now exists in it.
, DCC, Pathfinder, Basic D&D, or even AD&D, Taz, a very good guardian, now exists in it.
Quake was released late 1996, its code became open source around 1999. While D&D was released in 1974! After a few editions, its "code" became "open source" in 2000. This marked the beginning of D&D being free. Hasbro ironically set D&D free, and "ruined" it at the same.
(Taz D&D stats cont) Taz is an old dedicated guardian. His mobility is limited due to injuries sustained during war. But as a guardian, he doesn't have to move far. His first instinct is to bark at strangers, this bark causes fear (as spell).
(stats cont. 2) If anyone approaches he'll get up, and release a fart that will fill the area (as choking cloud). If anyone gets too close, his bite and claw attacks are fast and deadly. He's easily distracted by balls, vigorous petting and scritches.
Quake, 24-years later, has mods, total conversions, and expansions, that far exceed the original content found in the 1996 release. D&D is the same way, the amount of modules, settings, expansions, far exceeds what TSR or WotC has ever produced. Thank the open source movement!
Ok, so _that_ is simple enough. They're both easy to expand. BUT, get this... by opening the code people have been able to change the ENGINE. Quake has Winquake, GLquake, Darkplaces, ezQuake, and my favorite - vulkan Quake. Most mods and conversions work regardless of "engine".
D&D is, for the part, the same. You can change the engine. And most of the supplements and modules made over the past 46 years work fairly easily with any edition of D&D AND its derivatives and clones, eg DCC, The Black Hat, OSE, OSRIC, S&W, etc. There's nothing like it.
I never thought about why I loved these particular games so much, and this pandemic gave me a lot of time to think about it. Taz is the first time I've fostered a dog, and an old dying one. He has a failing heart and we've had a few scary moments. But he's still squeaking!
Taz passed away this morning. Here's a final pic for this thread. I chose a funny one because he was a funny guy.
