Hi! Welcome to The Old Ways!

Welcome to my new Blog! I'm Andreas Krauß, from Viernheim, Germany. This is my first Blog, and it will occupy itself mostly with pen & paper Fantasy Role-Playing Games, at least for now. Although, of course, there's always the chance that I'll tackle some Christian topic for a post or two.

Why the name, "The Old Ways" for a Blog? It seems a rather odd name for something that is supposed to be a hobby, no?

Well, there's a simple explanation for that. When I say "Fantasy Role-Playing Games" (or "RPG" for short), I mean really "Dungeons & Dragons". For me, these two words aren't just related-- they're synonyms.

For me, there's only one real RPG, and that's "(A)D&D" from TSR. Every other game system is, to my mind, merely a pretender to the name. D&D is the oldest game system, the most enduring one, and the best. In fact, D&D did not merely create the RPG-- it embodies it, to the point that more and more fantasy novels were inspired or otherwise influenced by it. D&D came to define modern Fantasy.

In other words: Don't gimme "RuneQuest", don't gimme "Das Schwarze Auge/The Dark Eye", don't give me "Rolemaster" or any other trash. I have known too many fools who seemed to get their sexual satisfaction by "simulating" real life, by playing "realistic" games with little or no true Fantasy in their games-- and I found them wanting. Just give me D&D, and all's right in the gaming world.

Okay. Now what exactly has all this to do with my Blog's name? Let me explain...

As should be abundantly clear by now, I consider only D&D a "true" RPG. The rest's all garbage. (Hey, put the rotted tomatoes away, okay?! This is still a world of free speech.)

Unfortunately, D&D doesn't exist anymore, at least not officially. Ever since "D20", the so-called "Third Edition" of D&D, there has been something strange.

This Blog will not touch the Third Edition at all. It will be about earlier versions of the game. In fact, it will be mostly about "Basic D&D" and "AD&D" 1st Edition.


The gaming philosophy of D&D changed markedly between the 1st and 3rd Editions. One of those days, I'll talk about the evolution of D&D, as well as its many editions (there's really much more about it than merely D&D 1st to 4d editions).

But for the nonce, let's just say that I'm a follower of the old gaming philosphy-- something I call "The Old Ways", a time before decadence, customer-consolidation and endless "upgrading" of D&D (that's why there are so many editions, after all) drained all life from what was once Americas favorite non-video game.

And since my Blog is devoted to contemplating the Old Ways of gaming, it only makes sense to call it just that.