Ryan Dunn R.I.P.

I don't know why I even care, but when I heard that Ryan Dunn, one of the stars of MTV's "Jackass" was killed yesterday morning in a fiery car crash I was upset. At first I thought it was a prank (a very bad taste prank, but then this is Jackass) but as the day wore on I realized it wasn't. I've followed these guys through all three movies and the whole series of Jackass. The reality flavor of the show tempered the stupidity. Dunn was one of the more level-headed guys - he knew what they were doing was dangerous and stupid and yet he still participated.

Just because he acted like a Jackass in front of the camera doesn't mean he was in real life - if one can even have a real life spent in front of a camera.... His death saddened me, but not for me. No, I was imagining the impact on his lifelong friend Brandon "BAM" Margera and his parents. They must all be devastated, especially given the manner of death (likely to be a closed casket funeral if they are planning one). Ryan is the first of the Jackass crew to meet an untimely end, and not likely to be the last. It's all fun and games until someone loses a playmate...

I really wonder who his passenger was - no one has even mentioned the person's name yet. I hope this wasn't a tragic DWI accident, but the reality of this all was that Dunn had tweeted a pic of himself and some others drinking mere hours before the accident.

My only hope is that the others wise up. This event is likely to change things for them. The reality of death always stifles that giddiness of stupidity they seemed to always portray. Of all the cast members I identified with Ryan Dunn the most and felt for him as he suffered through the indignities. May he rest in peace. To Bam I say only this: Reconsider the important things in your life, go home and hug your wife and parents and tell them you love them dearly then reflect on the time you had with a good friend. Console those he left behind and then pick yourself up and become a better person for the experience.

When Old School Is Not Enough

I've been having problems lately with the 1st edition AD&D spell selections. In theory the spells work fine, but in practice they are hard to justify as written and tend to slow the game down with details that really should not be a concern. I've been having such a hard time with the wording on some of the spells that I'm seriously considering using the spell descriptions from a later version of the game to replace the Player's Handbook versions! But the question that remains is "which version has the proper spell descriptions?"

Each version of the game seemed to either limit the power of a spell or make it so easy to use that the players started using the spell for uses it was never meant to accomplish. Different versions of the game focus on different aspects of the spells as well. However I find that 2nd edition AD&D was very close in spell notation to 1st edition and could be used wholecloth as a replacement. Many of the spells that were poorly worded in 1st edition were better explained in 2nd edition. However, the level of the spells are somewhat altered as are the descriptions. Some are altered to fit the 2nd edition combat paradigm.

Third edition D&D is a completely different animal. Some of the spell descriptions make no sense when applied to a 1st edition game. 3rd edition adds in level 0 spells (cantrips/orisons) which do not exist in 1st edition and some 1st level spells were demoted to 0-level in this edition. Other spells provide power to the players that I wish to be withheld (i.e. the spell Detect Secret Doors....lazy bastards need to find them for themselves).

I know there were even more drastic changes in 4th edition - changing cast times to reflect that style of combat. Some spells were also made into daily powers, a drastic step away from original D&D. This version of the magic system is not even D&D anymore so I don't think it applies.

This leaves me back at the 2nd edition version of the spells. As written they are the closest in feeling and context to the 1st edition style of gaming. I will have to run this by the players and put it to a vote, but I think they would rather have a more cohesive assemblage of spells to use than what we have in the Player's Handbook and Unearthed Arcana. I'm sure I could incorporate any of the spells that are missing from the 2nd edition lists that the players really want to retain. However I'm certain that using the newer versions of chant, produce fire, color spray, and identify will bring happiness to the party as a whole.