Dave Hargrave Day

Today we celebrate the birthday of Dave Hargrave the creator of Arduin. May 25th is our annual celebration of one of the most creative of the early Referees that picked up the Original Dungeons & Dragons and ran with it. In those early days, we were all encouraged to take the game and make it our own, bend it to our own vision and stretch the boundaries of our creativity. Dave Arneson set the standard for that and Dave Hargrave set out to see where he could go and his friends went with him.

Along the way Dave Hargrave gave us some advice for navigating the world of Arduin. This was posted in the Google+ Arduin group in the waning days of G+ by Matrox Lusch on July 27, 2018.

In honor of Dave Hargrave I am reproducing it here.

David Hargrave's Thirteen Rules for Survival
1. Nothing is ever what it seems, so always be alert.
2. The Game Master cannot be out-fought, but he can be out-thought.
3. In all melee, battle, or surprise situations, the prime thing to remember is that you must react. Do something, even if it’s wrong. Take action!
4. The surest way out of any ambush is through the point of maximum resistance. Never ever try to turn around and/or retreat. It’s precisely what they’ve planned for you to try. So hit them hard, fast, and hell bent for blood, because you’ve got nothing to lose anyway!
5. Never fight when you can think instead.
6. Beware mixing the three M’s: melees, missiles, and magik. To do so is to court disaster.
7. Remember that for battle you must have preparation; distance between yourself and the target; sufficient delay time in which to wield your maximum firepower, and enough firepower to ensure the absolute destruction of your intended target.
8. Always expect the worst in any given situation. Always be prepared for the worst, no matter where you may be, and truly, through practice, become “the worst” so that trouble will strive mightily to avoid you!
9. You must have eyes and ears in all directions at all times.
10. A closed mouth means silence, which equates to secrecy, which means safety and a surer way to travel. Don’t advertise your destination.
11. Be careful with your weapons - they cut in two directions, and your friends are often more vulnerable than your foes.
12. Every adventurer should be prepared to fight and/or flee at any time with no more than what he is wearing and carrying. And don’t load yourself down with a lot of junk; be selective.
13. The thirteenth, though last, is the most important of all the rules of survival:
THINK!! THINK!! THINK!!