Would you dare to explore a tenth-level subterranean dungeon armed only with a dagger and with no armor?
Probably not.A sudden thought came to me yesterday, despite the fact that i wouldn't write. I imagined someone equipped with a vast and thorough knowledge of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and i seriously wondered what he can do with that. I truly imagined someone deeply conversant with AD&D, i could even say that maybe i was thinking about Gygax himself.
What he is really capable to do with all this knowledge? Does it suffice, for the purposes of not being confounded by anything similar to this fantasy game? Cannot he be thrown into perplexity by anything, now that he is so acquainted with AD&D, the big father of all fantasy rpg's?
AD&D is a parochial viewpoint, because with all the good will one could have, it is simply not always possible to master and even comprehend other fantasy rpg's (more complex than AD&D), although you have the deepest possible knowledge of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
The Voynich manuscript cannot be translated by anyone, by any linguist or grammarian, no matter how many languages he is proficient in. Something similar, albeit to a lesser extent, happens with the examples above related to AD&D knowledge.
The fact is that AD&D Dungeon masters are often baffled and puzzled by the complexities (sometimes deemed insurmountable) of other fantasy rpg's that were published in the history of the hobby.But we don't need to go back in time to have proof of this, even the recent and vituperated "Realm of Atlantasia" is a proof of this.
Well, why this is a problem, someone may ask? After all, i may be purposedly avoiding complex games.
Well, think about a scholar in philosophy who has the deepest possible knowledge of Plato and Aristotle and at the same time worships them, but he never heard about Kant nor he intends to ever study it. Does he have a degree in philosophy? Is he entitled to a degree in this field of study? Nay, does he really know something about philosophy in general if he willingly shuns Kant's works?
To me, this means - put simply- that AD&D is not enough, and this is a pity, it disappoints if you think about it.
It is a pity because i would expect that the old big father of all fantasy rpg's could provide me with a long sword instead of a dagger, a long sword and a plate mail armor, with which i could boldly adventure in the most perilous recesses of the dungeon of experience, without fear of the denizens encountered therein.
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