The Dungeon Alphabet – by Michael Curtis – Goodman Games - $10

For a long time now, I’ve been reminiscing about gaming “back in the day” and how all these new editions of D&D or any other game of my adolescent years lost their soul. And, when I say “soul”, I really mean they got all kinds of technical and stat based. However, even these statements are wholly false. I started gaming at the rise of AD&D 2^nd Edition, RIFTS 3^rd Edition, etc. Go back and read those rulebooks. Those versions have so many rules that even an Epic Bag of Holding starts to tear at the seams. Then what gives? If the RPGs of my youth were just as confusing and stat-based as modern games (arguably more so), then why can’t I get over them and just try the new stuff? Simple, I’ve turned into the gaming equivalent of Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. Standing at my gaming table, shaking a mechanical pencil with fervor and proclaiming “get off my graph paper!” Gaming in my youth was all fun, with the rules taking a back seat (or even stuffed in the trunk, Buffalo Bill style). Sure, I prepped for my games as any good DM does, but PCs have a knack for taking the game right off the rail and transform chaos into glory! Still, as the industry evolves and grows, it feels like all the “fluff” books go the way of the Dodo.

What? Fluff? Oh, right, sorry… Here, this will help:

Fluff [fluhf] – noun – A gaming book that has little in terms of system specific statistics and rules. Used primarily as inspiration for player and/or game master. See also Crunch.

Crunch [kruhnch] – noun – A gaming supplement for use with one rules system alone. Has multiple pages dedicated to new and/or optional rules. Often contains a large amounts of statistics, graphs, and number blocks. See also Fluff.

That help?

Okay, good.

This was all just a massive intro to say that finding a gaming book that acknowledges our rose-colored memories of youth and promptly plows ahead is few and far between.

The Dungeon Alphabet is such a gaming book.

Friday - February 12 - Bagdad Theater - 11pm

Clocking in at 48 pages (including the back advertising page), The Dungeon Alphabet might seem a bit pricey at $10; even as a hardback. The “classic” D&D art will probably put even more gamers off. Put aside your concerns my fellow gamers. If you’re willing to drop 15 bucks on a Player Race Pamphlet that does nothing but collect information already spread out between 3 books; you can spend the 10 bones on this wonderful book. The Dungeon Alphabet is everything you remember about gaming. All the random treasure. All the books that mean nothing but players will spend hours obsessing over (to the GMs delight). All the fantasy physics. All the “screw it, this happens because of magic” moments. The Dungeon Alphabet has all that and more.

As the title suggests. It starts at “A is for Alters” and ends at “Z is for Zowie!” Each letter of the alphabet gives the readers random elements to stuff into their game. Didn’t prep your pending adventure? Screw it, just crack open the Dungeon Alphabet and let the inspiration hit you. This is a near perfect gaming supplement. Strike that. This is a perfect gaming supplement. Each page takes you back to the “golden age” of gaming. The age when pastors were preaching fire and brimstone about the devils’ game. Cops and school counselors were pulling students aside and asking them if they gamed. Each and every sad teenage death blamed on Ozzy Osborne and TSR (which TOTALLY stood for To Satan’s Realm, honest). Back when tossing poly-sided dice were the closest the geeks and nerds could get to rebelling. The Dungeon Alphabet is a true Tardis to gaming back in the day.

It doesn’t matter if your first exposure to table-top RPGs is Dungeons & Dragons 4^th Edition, or if you still have your mimeographed copy of Chainmail, The Dungeon Alphabet is a must own. As time passes and games rise and fall, the Dungeon Alphabet will stay on your friendly neighborhood Geek’s gaming shelf till the end of time… And beyond!