I'm probably the last participant in the 'Old School Renaissance' to get a copy of Michael Curtis's The Dungeon Alphabet, but better late than never! The praise for this book is entirely warranted. Just flipping through it is a joy. The illustrations are consistently wonderful. (I was especially impressed by the pictures by Jim Roslof.) The descriptions of the different dungeon elements are brief yet inspiring. The charts are delightful, and will almost certainly serve as a catalyst to future creative adventure design. After a quick survey, my favourite chart is the one for 'Books,' with the one for 'Weird' a close second.
Actually, I've not got one yet. I'm saving up for it (the shipping is more than the cost of the book). My birthday's in April.
ReplyDeleteI don't have it yet... but I'm thinking about it. :)
ReplyDeleteThe book is surprisingly cheap for a hardback (9.99 USD). If one were ordering a few books from Amazon (or Noble Knight, or whatever), it would be easy to add. I put off buying it myself until I decided to purchase a few other more substantive books, and included it in the bundle.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so much a participent of the OSR as I am a bandwagon riding freeloader, however, I ordered mine a month ago, but it did not ship until this week. So I'm still waiting.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this book as well -- "Weird" is one of my favorites as well, along with "Zowie" -- and I urge all you folks who haven't picked the DA up yet to seriously consider treating yourself to this book. A hell of a value!
ReplyDeleteI avoided the shipping costs, as my FLGS ordered several copies. Wonderful book, well worth the $10!
ReplyDeleteI don't have it yet either.
ReplyDeleteSeems like you're not the last. I don't have it either. Frankly I don't even know why.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe I do know. I have tons of stuff I haven't looked at too closely since buying. I have started to read Stonehell, though. Damn is that backstory depressing!
Akrasia, I would to contact you. My name is Chris, a fellow Canadian from Dias Ex Machina Games. I read your review of Dungeon Alphabet and I was wondering if you had the chance to look at Amethyst yet. Have you seen any of the previews. Being a philosopher, I would love to get your opinion on it. Email me at ChrisTDias@shaw.ca if you care to discuss it.
ReplyDelete