Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@@daddyrolleda1 love your content, the history, and seeing you go over these awesome artifacts

@@RuiSaltao Thank you so much for saying that! I really appreciate your support and compliments. Cheers!

Yes, that's a good point - it kind of all came together after about a decade after the game was created and, especially with alignment, hasn't really changed!

Besides a brief detour with 4e, this is a really cool point!

Yup!

BECMI D&D had a different system in regards of planes, sadly it did not see much elaboration further.

@@user-qd8yy9lc4g Yes, I've considered perhaps doing a future follow-up video on that. I also recently discovered that Steve Marsh (who worked on the Expert Set that predated the BECMI one) had planned a different Planar Cosmology for the Companion Set he was going to do, before that got scrapped and replaced with BECMI. But, he's working on publishing it now!

I'm having so much fun reading it now that I have a copy! It's the last of my AD&D Hardback collection that I acquired and now I have a full set! (I don't have all the revised Easley covers, and I don't have an original cover DMG, but "book"-wise, I have them all!). Thank you for watching and commenting!

Yeah, I really think he was just borrowing the terms from the literature that inspired him and using them as a way to differentiate two sides of armies for fantasy battles. At the beginning, while there *were* individual characters, most of the players were just playing extensions of themselves (hence, names like Drawmij for Jim Ward, or Keoghtom for Tom Keogh, etc.), so the thought of playing a PC as "good" or "evil" wasn't something one did, just like when they played wargames, the generals weren't "good' or "evil" but they might align themselves with the Allies or the Axis.

I am doing my best! In the poll I did, about 2/3 of folks wanted more historical videos, so while that's not what I had originally planned on doing when I started my channel, they've been fun to make and folks seem to enjoy them, so I'll keep going. Thank you for watching and commenting! Glad you enjoyed it!

@@daddyrolleda1 You found a niche. One you are good at.

@@leadingauctions8440 Thank you so much! Really glad you enjoy them! I'm going to be making a few videos on how I prep for a campaign and for individual sessions, specific to my daughter's campaign, but the advice will be applicable to anyone regardless of age, AND I'm using the 1981 B/X Rules so I'll be talking about that set of rules from an historical perspective when I do my videos, so hopefully you'll like those as well. Thanks again!

What a cool story! I remember his article on Asgard (the Norse gods article in #90, as that was the first issue I subscribed to) and one day at soccer practice after dinner, it was cloudy and overcast with mountains in the background and I imagined these huge giants and gods fighting each other in the distance. Not quite as evocative as your story, but I still have strong memories of it all these decades later!

I remember that article as well!

That sounds like a really fun and interesting take on the D&D Cosmology (and, maybe if I'm reading it correctly, a little less complicated and easier to understand?).

Totally makes sense. I think the 3-point system works for that as well. The 9-point system is a little more complicated and less "faction-oriented" - at least, to me. Thank you so much for watching and commenting!

@@daddyrolleda1 nine or more works really well for politics however. :)

I feel like nine is when we start getting into personalities and small groups. Because in most cases more than one axis aligning just won't happen in large groups

That is a really nice compliment, and I truly appreciate it. Thank you for saying that. I am working on the "script" for Part 2 as we speak. I tend to speak off the cuff, as you probably noticed (I don't really make a true script) but I do conduct a lot of research to put these together. I'm glad you find them helpful and informative. Cheers!

Thank you so much. I really appreciate that!

Yes, as it came toward the end of the 1E era, I think there were fewer of them sold and therefore they are more rare on the secondary market. I, too, was also glad to finally get a copy! Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thank YOU for watching and commenting! I'm working on Part 2 of this video, during which I'll be going through the Manual of the Planes book in much more detail. Cheers!

@@daddyrolleda1 looking forward to it!

This can be a really good way to approach it, definitely! It can also be something like Civilization vs Wilderness. Neither is necessarily good *or* bad, but they're differently philosophies. But I do think the waters got a bit muddy when Gary associated every creature we would normally think of as being "evil" with "Chaos" in OD&D.

In "Crap Guide to D&D: Alignment", JoCat describes as more of a personal code than the law of the land. To invoke TvTropes, Lawful characters would typically be "The Fettered", while Chaotic characters would more likely be "The Unfettered".

I agree! I think older style games hew a bit closer to the idea of alignment as choosing sides in a cosmic war as opposed to using it to define personality. But, for me, either way is fine. I prefer one over the other, but don't begrudge those who prefer the other way, or those who would prefer to eliminate the concept entirely. I do think, though, before eliminating it, it's important to understand *why* it was included in the first place, and what the repercussions are for removing it. I have a player in a 3.5/Pathfinder1E game I've been running since May 2001 who is a Holy Warrior (from Book of the Righteous). He specifically has issues with one of the organized religions in the world. To him, that religion is "evil" and as an organization, it could be argued that the administration are Lawful Neutral at best, but might have evil tendencies (not from a cosmic standpoint, but for things like executing all arcane magic-users and all non-believers, etc.). So, he has tried to make the case that his PC should be able to use his "Smite Evil" ability on anyone from that faith, since his character firmly believes people of that faith are evil. It's a very interesting philosophical discussion, but that's partially why a lot of folks get tripped up on alignment and think it "doesn't work." Thanks for the fun and engaging discussion!

Yes, exactly! I mention this aspect of the game (that it was players whose characters had individual goals versus a cooperative goal) often in my videos, and sometimes I feel like I'm repeating myself too much. But, I try to get that point across because it's so central to understanding a lot behind why the rules were crafted the way they were.

@@daddyrolleda1 yeah, for sure. I never really “got it” till I started reading these earlier games on their own terms or Jon Peterson’s work like The Elusive Shift. I’d argue that most groups could play without alignment and be better off except its vestigial mechanical effects like who can or can’t use a certain magic weapon.

Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to comment and share your story. When I was a kid, alignment confused me, too! In fact, I still have my old character sheets and while looking at them recently, it's funny to see all the mistakes we made. Quite a few of my characters were elves, dwarves, or half-orcs, but under religion, I put "Protestant" because I didn't know there were fantasy pantheons until I got my Deities & Demigods book!

@@daddyrolleda1 That's awesome!

That's awesome! I hope they enjoy it. Cheers!

Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I really appreciate it! I'm glad you find my videos educational! Cheers!

It's my newest AD&D acquisition that I only got earlier this year. It's the one I needed to complete my set!

I really appreciate that! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, and also for watching!

Thank you so much for remembering to share the updates on your old boxed set! That's amazing! I am sorry your parents are having to move into assisted living (my dad will very soon; my mom passed about 10 years ago) but I do hope there's a silver lining for you in finding some of your RPG treasures. Thanks again!

Thank you! I always appreciate comments like this - it helps me know what people like and/or don't like. Glad to add to your knowledge of the history of the game.

I've been very lucky. In particular, a very kind person on Reddit (which I almost never use because I don't get it) saw me post about my video of the 18 AD&D Hardbacks, and after he watched it and noted that I didn't have the Manual of the Planes, sent me an extra copy he had just because he enjoyed my video and said I seemed like a nice guy! What a super nice treat! I acquired a few of these books far after the fact on Ebay or via other online sellers: Fiend Folio, Monster Manual, Deities & Demigods 2nd Printing with Cthulhu and Melnibonéan), Dragonlance Adventures, and Greyhawk Adventures. All the rest are ones I've owned since I was a kid in the 80's! They've made it through several moves across different states, to my college dorms and back, and multiple apartments until my wife and I moved into our house. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Ha! That's funny - I have heard that Doom was inspired by this cover. I went for years missing four key books from my 1E Collection. I finally got them all post-Pandemic lockdowns (a Cthulhu Deities & Demigods, Dragonlance Adventures, Greyhawk Adventures, and Manual of the Planes). Thanks for watching and commenting!

That sounds really fun! I hope you're able to organize your notes some day! I know it would be a monumental task!

Alignment confused us as kids, as well. That picture in the Moldvay Basic rulebook often caused more confusion than help, as we would argue over which one of the characters was Neutral vs Chaotic. It seems silly now, but back then we had trouble deciphering it. I kind of "lucked" into my OD&D stuff. Greyhawk I first got from a friend in the early 80's. We had a sleepover at his house and he had a copy that he'd tried to punch holes in, but he messed up the holes, so there was only one set of holes that lined up and he had a big "c-ring" on it. The other holes were misaligned and screwed up much of the actual content of the book. But that was my first exposure to anything OD&D. I finally replaced it with the copy you see in the video years later. I also picked up Blackmoor shortly thereafter - my local game store at the time had very clean copy on the shelf for the original price of $5.00. My mom actually got me the White Box I show in the videos. In the late 90's she went to the local game store I was currently shopping at, and the staff there all knew me. She asked them she a good gift would be, and they pointed her to the White Box, which had just come in. It was missing "Monsters & Treasure" but it included the copy of Chainmail you see in the videos. About a year later, then came across a loose "Monsters & Treasure" and gave it to me, so my box is what they call a "Frankenstein" as it includes all the parts but they are from different printings. But it was a great gift because it's something that, at the time, I probably wouldn't have purchased, but now am so happy to have. Thanks as always for watching & commenting!

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for watching and commenting!

For sure! Almost all the changes happened in just the first few years but it's been relatively set since then. Thanks for watching and commenting, as always!

I'm glad you liked it! Part 2 will be coming soon!

Thank you so much! This was a gift from my mom, I'm guessing in 1982 or 1983 and it's the one I've used ever since! The cover still has a shine to it! I try to take really good care of my books - when you see one that looks really worn, that's most likely because I acquired it second-hand or a friend gave it to me.

@@daddyrolleda1 That is extra special that your mom bought it for you. :-) You certainly kept it in amazing condition! Kudos!

I am slowly going through your past videos, so I will get there eventually! You have a ton of content!

@@daddyrolleda1 aww, thanks!

That is indeed a great article! Thanks for reminding me about it! I actually first encountered it in "Best of Dragon, Vol. 2" that I acquired in the early 80's. Just looking at it again, now, and there's so much in there to use in the B/X game I'm currently running for my daughter & her friends! I also remember, years later, the article on Gladsheim in Dragon #90 by Roger Moore, that informed that part of the Outer Planes as detailed in the MotP. Thank you so much for watching and commenting, and for being a fan. I truly appreciate it!

I think that's a very plausible theory. As the world expands and our shared cultural influences cease to gain the traction they use to have, I often wonder about this. As an example, I was explaining to my daughter a few weeks ago how, when I was a kid, Cable TV had very minimal penetration at all. I grew in a household with the three main networks, PBS, and one local independent channel. At least, that's what I remember. On PBS, I watched Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and Electric Company. On the local independent channel, I watched reruns of Gilligan's Island, Batman (Adam West), Leave it to Beaver, the Partridge Family, the Walton's, and other shows like that after school. In PrimeTime on the major networks, we watched stuff like CHIPS, Love Boat, Happy Days, M*A*S*H, and other stuff. And... EVERY OTHER KID my age did the same thing. We all watched the same shows. And part of what we watched was stuff our parents had watched when they were kids, because we watched it in Syndication. So, as a consequence, we had a shared lexicon of pop culture that every kid knew, and also we could talk about it when our parents, because we had seen many of the same shows they had watched as kids. For my daughter... we don't have that. She has an almost infinite amount of stuff she can watch, so for her, she doesn't go to school and talk about "that episode that was on last night" because they're all watching their own self-curated content with far fewer viewers. They can share it, but it's very different. Anyway, that's a very long way of saying... Gary grew up with these stories and many of the folks he was gaming with had a "shared lexicon" of fantasy, science-fiction, and historical war-games as their "language," so yes, I think your point that many of the things we take as "weird" were probably second-nature to early adopters of the game.

Yep! I talk about that at this point: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mJyBeJiQvt_InGQ.htmlsi=hnTxjCozD786PtGj&t=396 But the idea of alignment is more complex than just Gary reading about it in a book and adding it to the game. I really wanted to dive into *why* it was included in D&D in the first place. To me, the ideas from Moorcock, and also Poul Anderson's "Three Hearts & Three Lions" (which I discuss right before Moorcock in the video) are more about implementing *how* to include alignment as opposed to why it's there at all. Thanks for commenting! I hope you enjoyed the video.

Sounds very cool - a fun way to include alignment in a setting. Thanks for sharing, and for watching and commenting!

THANK YOU!

Yeah, it was the last one on my list, as you saw. It was very kind of that person who sent it to me - all he asked was that I pay the shipping!

I'm currently running a B/X game for my daughter and her friends, and trying to wrap up a 3E/3.5/PF1E campaign that began in May 2001. I have played 5E just a few times but I've never run it. What specifically about his video on Alignment & Planes prompted your question about playing 5E?

@@daddyrolleda1 you mentioned something along the lines of 'in 5th edition' Note: I don't hate running 5th but I think it's a little bland, I grew up with 3.5 and 3rd edition shadowrun as staple games so I think 5th is a bit mechanically bland and like to clown on it