Robert J Kuntz 3rd Column Post at EN World

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Here is a link to Gary’s Immersion in Castle El Raja Key: The Four-Way Footsteps wherein he discusses what he (Rob) and Gary learned about immersion from Dave Arneson and then gives an example of how you do it.

(Very early 1973, 1st level of my Castle El Raja Key) -- In November of 1972 four stalwarts of the LGTSA (Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association; of which I was then its current president)--namely Gary Gygax, myself, Ernie Gygax and my brother Terry Kuntz--experienced our first, and also comprehensive, RPG adventure via Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor setting. During it we also experienced the various levels of DM interactive strategies that Arneson could and did wield.

Rob mentions Alfred Hitchcock:

Both Gary and I were big Alfred Hitchcock fans and Hitchcock was the master of suspense and, due to that, of anxiety.

I watched a ton of Hitchcock movies growing up and they have always influenced how I ran my games from day one. I also am a big Edgar Allan Poe fan. I discovered Poe about 5th grade and a few of my favorites are:



The Cask of Amontillado

A Descent Into The Maelstrom

The Fall of the House of Usher

The Gold Bug

The Masque of the Red Death

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

The Pit and the Pendulum

The Premature Burial

The Tell-Tale Heart



You can read these and more at PoeStories.com.

[hengest]

Fantastic essay by RJK, says so much that he hints at elsewhere. In my opinion everyone should read this, even if you are already a super ref, read this just for the simplicity of the example he gives early on.

Further, regarding Poe (The Perilous Dreamer), I also quite like Poe and on reflection I see why you brought him up here. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym is a somewhat longer work and it is truly gonzo and off the wall while alao being totally a work by a master who is in control of his powers. I would revisit this work and see what use could be made of it for this forum.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

May 8, 2021 18:02:21 GMT -5 hengest said:

Fantastic essay by RJK, says so much that he hints at elsewhere. In my opinion everyone should read this, even if you are already a super ref, read this just for the simplicity of the example he gives early on.

Further, regarding Poe (The Perilous Dreamer ), I also quite like Poe and on reflection I see why you brought him up here. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym is a somewhat longer work and it is truly gonzo and off the wall while alao being totally a work by a master who is in control of his powers. I would revisit this work and see what use could be made of it for this forum.

I am one of those who wish Poe had written a different ending to The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, because I wanted multiple sequels to it. Knowing that Poe was intrigued with Hollow Earth theories was why this cried out for sequels.