I really don’t know if anyone will ever do a deep analysis of Death Knight. After all, the game wasn’t made for that – it was made to play! But I’m laying out my feelings here while structuring it, as well as the metaphors and semiotics chosen, which culminated in the game. You might notice that I may contradict myself throughout the text, but the creative process is like that: chaotic.

Nostalgia!

It’s a nice feeling, isn’t it? It warms the heart, brings back memories of childhood... or maybe it’s just crap!

DnD One and nostalgia

When the cover of the edition that many call the "definitive" one came out, nostalgic elements jumped out: the golden dragon from OD&D, Warduke, and the Avenger from the animated series in the GM’s Book, among other "canonical" characters. But hold on, you might say: "Relax, it’s just an elf game." Yes, I know, but something about it bothered me... left a bitter taste. And that’s when I decided to go further – both by creating the game and reflecting on it.

This year, in an early release (I think at GenCon), we saw the "glorious version" of D&D, the definitive one, the one that will "save RPGs." The "Bible"! The one Ring! I know this is a typical nerd fanboy vision, which I honestly feel repulsed by these days. But still, something seems deeper – a political and aesthetic problem.

To me, this edition is a perfect – even simplistic – illustration of a complex problem. And yes, I would sum it up in one word: nostalgia. The plague of nostalgia! I’ll explain it better later, but this all has to do with what the United States and the global north are going through. There’s a malaise, an apocalyptic premonition. If we leave the world of TTRPGs, we’ll see that nostalgia is everywhere: movies, animations, series – almost nothing original.

Here, I leave another topic hanging: dystopias and apocalypses in RPGs, especially with the popular games this year, along with movies and series.

What is nostalgia? And why is it an aesthetic and political problem?

Obviously, there’s a nostalgia market, and the hype is usually related to a search for the past, which makes us anxious. Mark this word: anxiety. Moreover, modern D&D sells itself as a children's game for adults – think: massacres and violence everywhere, but no sex.

And, crowning this, we have GenCon – the ultimate TTRPG event. In my opinion, it’s an event where you wait in lines to buy and find out about things you could discover online. I won’t delve into the system of the new edition, but I’ve long let go of Hasbro’s D&D.

And what does this have to do with Death Knight?

Aside from the nostalgic elements of the new edition, something that struck me was the adventure of the Lich Vecna. Here, the reference and metaphor are clear. One phrase got me: "The novelty is what we see in the rearview mirror." This feeling, especially in adventures, isn’t just in Hasbro’s D&D – we also see this in Goodman Games with re-releases of classic adventures. There’s a constant appeal to return to the "golden days" of RPGs. Why is this profitable? I’ll try to answer.

Not everything in RPGs is nostalgic, of course. The indie market, for example, is a breath of originality. And many of these RPGs – as well as some remakes – are dystopian or apocalyptic. Death Knight follows this line.

What does dystopia have to do with nostalgia?

The answer lies in late capitalism. In the global north, especially the U.S., there’s a feeling of the "end of the world." This generates an excess of the past, as no future is seen. It’s a symbolic "end of the world," not a literal one. We can draw an analogy with the end of the world for indigenous peoples during colonization.

Capitalism in the U.S. is dissolving, and the country is no longer as prosperous... but was it ever? Or is this prosperity a myth? Even mythically, this was still valid up to the 20th century. With the shift of the cultural production pole, new generations are consuming Asian, Japanese RPGs from the global south. And this extends to all cultural production: anime, manga, cinema.

In this context, Death Knight talks about the ruin of traditional TTRPGs – the artistic ruin and the originality of this industry. But wait... doesn’t Death Knight have a nostalgic theme? Yes, it does. And here is where we get into the nuances of nostalgia.

Nostalgia?

Etymologically, "nóstos" means "return home" and "algia" means "pain." The term was coined by physician Johannes Hofer to describe a pathology associated with soldiers who missed their homeland. Over time, nostalgia became an appeal to nationalism, even becoming the central theme of romantic nationalism.

The theorist Svetlana Boym points out that nostalgia can be linked to conspiracy theories – as a way to justify the belief that "everything was better before." Nostalgia refers to an imaginary "homeland," whether it’s a country, your childhood, or your first TTRPG character. And we often create false memories by romanticizing the past. Believing that this idyllic homeland really existed is delusional!

But not all nostalgia is bad.

The same theorist, Svetlana Boym, suggests two types of nostalgia: restorative and reflective.

Restorative is tied to the idea of returning to the "homeland" and the feeling that the present is terrible, with conspiracy theories trying to justify the belief that the past was glorious. 

Reflective, on the other hand, explores yearning in a less reactionary and perhaps even revolutionary way. This is where Death Knight comes in. The future is destroyed, and it needs to be rebuilt. The past doesn’t matter that much. There’s no return "home." The feeling is that we need to destroy the "home" and rebuild it again.

To conclude, I’m in the global south. Here, there was never a glorious past or a myth about it. This is a dilemma of the global north, intrinsic to late capitalism. That’s why the appeal for us is for original and disruptive games – although nostalgic products sell more.

To sum it up: fuck D&D, fuck Hasbro, fuck most traditional RPGs.

And finally, consider buying Death Knight. It’s on itch funding, and I’ve put a lot of energy into it. If you can, please contribute.