Dungeons & Dragons 30th Anniversary, Day Five
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The real attraction of the game, though was its storyline. For all the graphic splashes, many of the most memorable moments in the game were displayed in incredibly long stretches of text that was so well written it was a joy, rather than a chore to read. The Nameless One's quest for self-knowledge attracts an incredibly bizarre, yet oddly compelling cast of characters to journey at his side. They included a succubus who had given up sex, an animated suit of armor, a man on fire, a living cube, and of course, the aforementioned talking skull. As you discovered more about yourself, your companions too, played out their own stories. Unlike most RPGs, though, your party isn't just a bunch of pack mules, in some cases their storylines were more interesting than the hero's - although they do end up tying together at the end.
In fact, the Nameless One's story may very well be the best story ever put down in an RPG. While there was plenty of monster bashing, questing to do and puzzles to solve, the real challenge of the game was self discovery. In the course of his adventure, the Nameless One learns powerful lessons and love, hate, anger, betrayal, pride, hubris, self-deception, self-sacrifice and much, much more. There's enough deep philosophy in the one game to keep a freshman class at Princeton occupied for an entire semester.
