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Rooted at the intersection of wargames and The Lord of the Rings,* early #ttrpg often had an interesting tension between the desire to be about wandering heroes exploring a world of wonder/peril and the urge to be about heroes commanding mighty armies in a massive/fantastic battle.

The wanderers obviously won out, but a door was often left open for the commanders.

* And the rest of Appendix N, whatever; but have you read Appendix O, a far more insightful dive into the core influences to D&D?