The Elves of Alfheim, D&D Gazetteer. Two Shelves of Gaming - Episode 8

It's been a while! I've been absent from the podwaves on account of the weather being so nice - with the beach being but a ten minute bike ride away I've been catching up on my body boarding or honing my SUP skills. Also I was a bit of a loss about what I talk about next. Having quite a few games to choose from gave me a case of what I gather is now called 'choice paralysis'. However, fear not. Due to the fluke of nature, I decided upon the D&D Gazetteer, The Elves of Alfheim for this episode. While I wanted to do something other than D&D, picking up the book suddenly game me a rush of nostalgia and emotions from those crazy days back in the early 90s when I'd just started University in London and bought the book in Oxford Street's Virgin music store. A bit earlier I'd joined a gaming group and it re-invigorated my RPGing to the point I decided to actually make a purchase with my hard earned student grant (them were the days, eh?) In either case the Elves of Alfheim made me realise that this whole D&D thing was a huge world with endless possibilities. It illustrated how Dungeons and Dragons wasn't some random collection of non-related dungeon bashes, but rather a rich world to explore and get lost within. Heady stuff! I'd paid lax attention to the Mystara map in the Expert Rule Book. Only considering it dull background waffle you could ignore on your way to the Isle of Dread. Ah, the folly of youth. If only I'd paid more attention and hadn't been so focused on 'hack and slay' I'd have seen earlier that there's - literally - a whole world out there. Anyway, only a short one today. Enjoy.