I totally had that same anti-Basic opinion since, like, 1982 — but playing that straight-out-of-the-Rules-Compendium game the other night was an eye-opener. The utter baby-faced simplicity of Basic was a breath of fresh air.

The DVD boxed set comes with stats for all the characters, including Uni and Venger, and they're all fucking outrageous. These are just normal dipshit kids — what the hell are they doing with high stats?

Which one of the Watchmen Babies is your favorite?

Thanks, Jason.
Great essay. I'm really glad to see this outpouring of support, admiration, and nostalgia for Gygax, sometimes (but not this time) from unexpected sources. I've been playing RPGs since 1980 or so, and they're still an important and very enjoyable part of my life. When people talk about growing out of…

Where can I get Supercomputer on DVD?

Okay. It isn't.

It's also "Do she and you," but that's neither here nor there.

Stay, Frosti
I figured Frosti would be an obvious choice, since he unwittingly became a part of Todd's alliance. It would've been Todd's chance to make up for that little accident. But Frosit isn't a bad player, really, so I guess there's no reason not to bring him in and *keep* him in.

Dwight and Phyllis
Actually — not to split hairs, but the note Dwight gave to Phyllis said "YOU HAVE A SON, AND IT'S ME." Which I think is way funnier than "You have a son—It's me!" Something about the all-caps, the conjunction, and the low-key period instead of an exclamation point just make that joke work for me.

He totally was! He was even behind a chain-link fence, just like they use in prison.