In discussing DAH’s source inspirations for Arduin, I find it convenient to group them into three categories: literary, historical, & personal. The literary category covers fiction—whether written or visual media—and is the subject of this part. The historical taxon and personal influences appear in part two of this article.
I recommend that you check this out and I eagerly await Part Two.
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| David Allen Hargrave |
This was posted in the Arduin Grimoire community on the defunct Google+ platform by Matrox Lusch a number of years ago.
From the old group, original source is unknown.
David Hargrave's Thirteen Rules for Survival
1. Nothing is ever what it seems, so always be alert.
Forget this rule at your peril, never assume. Some monsters hide in plain sight, the obvious trap may distract from the real trap.
2. The Game Master cannot be out-fought, be he can be out-thought.
The best defense the players can muster is to work together and pool their knowledge and talents.
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!
The Decision Challenged die! A vital old school ability is to be ready and be decisive, indecision kills.
He who hesitates is lost. "Swift and resolute action leads to success; self-doubt is a prelude to disaster. The proverb goes back to 'Cato' by English essayist and poet Joseph Addison.
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!
Again, he who hesitates is lost.
5. Never fight when you can think instead.
In real old school games, murder hobo's die quickly. Those who can think and decisively act with wisdom survive. Fighting everything is suicide. Trying to kill everything is stupid. If you think fighting is always the only option, you are dead before you begin.
6. Beware mixing the three M’s: melees, missiles, and magik. To do so is to court disaster.
Enough said, no need to belabor the obvious.
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.
Fight if you must and if you must, fight to win.
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.
Are you focused? Or are you talking about non-game things during the game? Are you focused? Or do people have to remind you of what is going on and what they just asked you to do? If so, you are highly subject to being surprised.
10. A closed mouth means silence, which equates to secrecy, which means safety and a surer way to travel. Don’t advertise your destination.
Amazing the loose chatter that comes out of players when they are in taverns or other public venues where who knows who or what is listening. Amazing the things that players volunteer to NPCs without any reason to have done so.
11. Be careful with your weapons - they cut in two directions, and your friends are often more vulnerable than your foes.
More than one PC has fallen from "friendly fire."
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.
Your kit should contain nothing trivial, every item should have a purpose and be the things that you need the most.
13. The thirteenth, though last, is the most important of all the rules of survival:
THINK!! THINK!! THINK!!
Old school players are masters of the art of thinking. They are focused, thoughtful and they develop good memories of things that can save their lives. But beyond this, successful adventurers are creative and can come up with ideas at the drop of a hat. For every obstacle there are solutions. Thinkers mine for solutions all the time.
Today I want to take a look at a blog by the name of UbiquitousRat.net, he has written several essays about Dave Hargrave and about Arduin. Let's look at Hargrave’s Old School:
Reflecting on my re-reading of David Hargrave’s Arduin material, I realise that the “Old School” was never as homogeneous as many in the community would have us believe today. Hargrave was, perhaps, an outlying force in the hobby – contentious and loathed by some – but he was also a force for creativity and variety.
“But Dave was not satisfied with the trilogy, or the five supplements that followed it… For ten years he play-tested and wrote new rules almost continuously, trying to make the FRP experience easier and more accessible for the players…” (Compleat Arduin, Book 1, page iii)
Today I want to highlight a post by DM David (blog) titled Once subversive, the Arduin Grimoire’s influence reaches today’s games.
He says,
Dave Hargrave’s campaign world of Arduin was not built; it was piled. To create Arduin, Hargrave took every fantastic element he dreamed up or fancied and piled them into one work of love. If Tekumal is a museum, with treasures for contemplation, then Arduin is a dragon’s horde, with everything shiny heaped to the walls.
Dragon's Horde is an apt description, as Arduin is filled with riches and to the discerning reader there are still things to be found in Arduin that is found no where else. Gygax commercialized Arneson's creation, but Hargrave fully understood Arneson's creation and built on what Arneson wrought in the same spirit in which Arneson wrought. No disrespect to Gygax, but for me when I sit down at the table, I want to do what Arneson did, what Hargrave did and that is put fun and immersion ahead of all rules. Some people say that "fun" is vague and meaningless to use to describe the game. I say that "fun" is shorthand for several hours of monologue about the game. (I am trying to remember who said that and where I read it.) All I can say is if you don't understand "fun," then you need to play a truly old school game and find out what it is.
In a look back on the trilogy, Ryk Spoor called Arduin “one of the most absolutely concentrated essences of the fun of roleplaying games ever made.”
And
To us, Hargrave preached bigger imaginary playgrounds. “The very essence of fantasy gaming is its total lack of limitation on the scope of play, both in its content and in its appeal to people of all ages, races, occupations or whatever,” Hargrave wrote. “So don’t limit the game by excluding aliens or any other type of character or monster. If they don’t fit what you feel is what the game is all about, don’t just say ‘NO!,’ whittle on them a bit until they do fit.” (Vol. II, p.99)
I found this image over at Lizard's Gaming Blog. He has 51 Arduin posts that are well worth reading.
He also posted this
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| Dave Hargrave’s Gaming Philosophy. Also, Mine. Also, ‘eleven’, ’embarce’, etc. are as in original. I didn’t want to muck it up with ‘sics’. |
Arduin fans are familiar with the term Arduin, Bloody Arduin.
I ran across this essay by Sarah Newton back in 2017. The really unique thing is that she started her RPG gaming with Arduin. For those that don't know, women have been playing Arduin and D&D from the beginning. I have previously noted that my 1975 OD&D group was 50/50 male/female.
Arduin, Bloody Arduin – Thinking About How It Could Be Done
If you haven't read this essay I recommend that you do so.
As some of you may know, I’m a big fan of The Arduin Grimoire – the original gonzo fantasy fest RPG which followed hot on the heels of White Box D&D back in the 70s. I was actually an Arduin player before I was a D&D player; back in 1980/81, I got the very first Arduin Grimoire Volume 1 (the one with the Erol Otus Tunch on the front – you remember!), and for the best part of a year I played the game just with that book, before getting hold of White Box and the other 2 Arduin volumes. Yes, Virginia, you can play an entire game with just the first volume of The Arduin Grimoire. You have to wing it a fair bit in places (mostly in how many experience points to award), but it can be done.
Here is her take on how she would write it:
Well, one of the big hurdles the original Arduin Grimoire faced was that it wasn’t allowed to be a complete RPG using the D&D system. There was all kinds of litiginous stuff flying around in the day, and Dave Hargrave tippexed out all mentions of the game in subsequent printings. That left Arduin in the weird situation of not being quite a game, not being quite a supplement, which was always a bit of a shame.
That’s no longer the case. With the open gaming license, the d20SRD, and the whole Old School Renaissance movement, the d20 game system which underpinned Arduin is now available for use — and still wildly popular! So that’s where I’d start.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and it I enjoyed it on the re-read today.
Arduin Grimoire Trilogy (although not in the boxed set as shown above)
The Black Grimoire aka Compleat Arduin Book 3 (unofficial)
