This response is just dripping with abdead privilege... Of course a blood drinking night hunting predator like "Lord Ravenloft" ... Strahd von Zarovich himself even has the wealth (and cursed twilight existence) to avoid morally uncompromised cuisine...

That was the same era as the Monsterous Compedium... A strange time.

The effort to make game books more usable ... and also this level of detail/simulation that seems so painful now. Not sure what to make of it. It's around when I stopped playing.

I think you point to another great use for obstacles - cozier or more fairytale like adventures.

Spiderwebs and quicksand seem very much a part of these stories and RPGs (especially D&D) don't generally have many rules for them - but they can be included and work well.

Which gang are these bikers part of?

Me to man, me to. I'd really like to do the last 80 hours of work on a couple of things for publication.

I'm never anywhere lately.

Those books had a lot of cool monsters - the Huntsmen, those scary birds, Cauldron Born. All of them seemed properly scary and dangerous. Also super Welsh.

I suspect the lair is deadly is it's not treated as a "dungeon zoo" where the monsters stay in their rooms and don't respond to noise etc? Or was it just too rough even room by room? I did not love that adventure.

Also in - I should also get the TMNT beat 'em up remake... though the sprite size makes this looks less Double Dragon and more Final Fight... and at that scale nothing will ever look better then Red Earth.

Was the Ultimate Warrior guy better? Though "Ultimate Warrior Rule" just sounds like a book written by some guy who wants to sell protein shakes and eugenics so... Macho Man Randy Savage? Jake the Snake (likely not him...)?

Goblins are best when they aren't "goblins" but instead something else with a goblinesque ethos and aesthetic. Weird creepy lil' guys doing weird creepy lil' guy things.

It's weird to see bad originalism go back to medieval times and even weirder that they've decided that history used a GP standard for trade...

One Person Who Writes Sometimes, LLC

Fandom... it's a hell of drug.

More seriously, I think it takes a fair bit of courage to put a manifesto or theory out about your preferred mode of game design and even if we don't agree with Jay, we should cheer them for this. If one doesn't like what Jay is saying - write your own manifesto.

Thanks Brian, I appreciate it, though I've never thought of you as one of the people who were making trouble for me back then. So no need to feel any weight then or now.

Glad you've enjoyed my game stuff as well. Keep on making interesting things!

Let me know when you get to Mordor's scenic resort town.