Arneson Interview from the Internet Archive
Sept 28, 2018 20:09:52 GMT -5
hengest, mormonyoyoman, and 1 more like this
Post by Willy Wort on Sept 28, 2018 20:09:52 GMT -5
An Interview with Dave Arneson
That is most of what pertains to AiF.
Interesting to note that Arneson preferred games with 4-5 players and 12 players as a max.
Pegasus: Why did you develop another Fantasy Role Playing System?
Mr. Arneson: Fantasy Role Playing began to lack the role playing aspects that the original adventurers enjoyed so much in Blackmoor. They enjoyed the role playing instead of hacking and slashing the monsters. They thought up clever tricks and traps instead.
I also wanted to get in something on educating your character ‘so one could learn different skills. I also wanted to get back to using a spell point magic which had been in the original system proposed for D&D;® and I though spell point superior to the system that was used (as well as simpler).
Mr. Arneson: Fantasy Role Playing began to lack the role playing aspects that the original adventurers enjoyed so much in Blackmoor. They enjoyed the role playing instead of hacking and slashing the monsters. They thought up clever tricks and traps instead.
I also wanted to get in something on educating your character ‘so one could learn different skills. I also wanted to get back to using a spell point magic which had been in the original system proposed for D&D;® and I though spell point superior to the system that was used (as well as simpler).
Pegasus: In what ways is Adventures in Fantasy® different from other Fantasy Role Playing Systems?
Mr. Arneson: It’s easier to understand than Chivalry & Sorcery®; it follows a more traditional medieval setting than Runequest®, it uses spell point magic; it didn’t go into a lot of esoteric things in the basic volume that I thought were distracting. I felt that it would be a better system for getting into fantasy games because they would get more into role playing a lot of the other systems like Tunnels and Trolls® don‘t get into the whole playing aspects of fantasy gaming and they don’t have an educational system. Runequest® has an educational system but is heavily involved in its own world.
I wanted to bring these elements together while at the same time being different. I asked myself how I would be different in my interpretations of how to deal with spell point magic and how I would bring that together with an educational system, role playing, and social status. There is probably no single element in Adventures in Fantasy® that can’t be found in some other system, but there is no other system that brings it all together. I worked out my own systems, for example Runequest® has its own educational system: There I go talking about education again but it’s very neglected in most systems.
Mr. Arneson: It’s easier to understand than Chivalry & Sorcery®; it follows a more traditional medieval setting than Runequest®, it uses spell point magic; it didn’t go into a lot of esoteric things in the basic volume that I thought were distracting. I felt that it would be a better system for getting into fantasy games because they would get more into role playing a lot of the other systems like Tunnels and Trolls® don‘t get into the whole playing aspects of fantasy gaming and they don’t have an educational system. Runequest® has an educational system but is heavily involved in its own world.
I wanted to bring these elements together while at the same time being different. I asked myself how I would be different in my interpretations of how to deal with spell point magic and how I would bring that together with an educational system, role playing, and social status. There is probably no single element in Adventures in Fantasy® that can’t be found in some other system, but there is no other system that brings it all together. I worked out my own systems, for example Runequest® has its own educational system: There I go talking about education again but it’s very neglected in most systems.
Pegasus: What are your opinions concerning the inequalities of Magic Users?
Mr. Arneson: What inequalities?
Pegasus: The argument that low level Magic Users are less effective in com-bat and killed more easily than any other character class. Then if they survive to higher levels, they become the most powerful characters.
Mr. Arneson: In a way there is a balance. It’s harder for them to live a long life. You find Wizards in most fantasy books, and in every case the experienced ones are implied to be very old. In Adventures in Fantasy®, of course, there are no character classes so I urge anyone starting out to learn how to use a Sword. There is no reason not to know how to use a Sword even if they are planning on developing magic skills. It’s a good idea to be able to protect yourself, and that is the basic complaint, people feel that low level Magic Users are easily bumped off, and they are correct.
In Adventures in Fantasy®, on the other hand, characters have to take the time to learn how to use a weapon and keep up that training. The system takes up time they could spend on magic, but they usually realize how important the weapon training is be-cause we are dealing with field Magicians, not Wizards that are sitting back studying old books. The Magicians don’t usually develop their warrior skills but the party feels a little more comfortable about having them around if they can wield their own Sword.
Mr. Arneson: What inequalities?
Pegasus: The argument that low level Magic Users are less effective in com-bat and killed more easily than any other character class. Then if they survive to higher levels, they become the most powerful characters.
Mr. Arneson: In a way there is a balance. It’s harder for them to live a long life. You find Wizards in most fantasy books, and in every case the experienced ones are implied to be very old. In Adventures in Fantasy®, of course, there are no character classes so I urge anyone starting out to learn how to use a Sword. There is no reason not to know how to use a Sword even if they are planning on developing magic skills. It’s a good idea to be able to protect yourself, and that is the basic complaint, people feel that low level Magic Users are easily bumped off, and they are correct.
In Adventures in Fantasy®, on the other hand, characters have to take the time to learn how to use a weapon and keep up that training. The system takes up time they could spend on magic, but they usually realize how important the weapon training is be-cause we are dealing with field Magicians, not Wizards that are sitting back studying old books. The Magicians don’t usually develop their warrior skills but the party feels a little more comfortable about having them around if they can wield their own Sword.
That is most of what pertains to AiF.
Interesting to note that Arneson preferred games with 4-5 players and 12 players as a max.
