Quote from: Nicephorus;247959For me 1) just feels too vanilla and 2) and 3) are present enough for in Moldvay Basic.

Not sure what 'present enough' means, but 1) [d6 weapon damage] is in Moldvay Basic as well.

The magnificent artwork.

Quote from: GrimJesta;248413I had to sig that.

-=Grim=-

w00t!

Quote from: FASERIP;248581Not sure what 'present enough' means, but 1) [d6 weapon damage] is in Moldvay Basic as well.

Present enough means that the rules are simple enough to allow for quick judgements and addons. There are thief skills but no other skills in early basic so it was common to do things like "my character would know how to do that"  then the DM would ask for a description of what they want to do and eitehr allow it, disallow it, or ask for a die roll.
 
D6 weapon damage was optional in Moldvay, the weapon lists presented different damages for weapons. The monsters also have a variety of damage dice.

Quote from: Age of Fable;248586The magnificent artwork.

So, a 60's stoner with tie on horns is the terror of the Elemental Plane of Fire?

When my brother saw that efreet picture, he said it looked like me ca. 2004.

No comment.

Quote from: Nicephorus;248607D6 weapon damage was optional in Moldvay, the weapon lists presented different damages for weapons. The monsters also have a variety of damage dice.

Actually, it was the other way around.  Variable weapon damage was optional.

Not that I ever knew anyone who did d6 weapon damage, but still...

These days I'm more open to trying straight d6 damage along with to-hit modifiers for armor and such ala AD&D or the old Greyhawk book, but it seemed really stupid when I was a kid.

Editor to illustrator:  "EFREET!  I said EF-REET, not effete!!"

Illustrator: "oh....what's an efreet?"

Editor, looks at deadline on calendar "oh...just put some horns on it"


*I'm not the first to make that joke, but it's still freaking funny, and I very much believe that could have been exactly what happened.  I think most campaigns would benefit from more monsters wearing turtlenecks.

Quote from: Melan;248610When my brother saw that efreet picture, he said it looked like me ca. 2004.

No comment.

His only attack is a verbal spell:

Woman!  Wo-MAN!
Wo-wo-wo-MAN!

I play OD&D because it serves as the fundamental baseline for traditional-style D&D while offering me a lot of freedom to make it "my D&D."  It suits my style of play and my preferred approach.  If you start with the three brown books,  you're starting fresh, without any of the later buildup that took D&D in one direction or another (e.g. no skills, etc).  I enjoy examining how the game developed, and maybe taking it a different direction.  Lastly, there are quite a few distinctives in OD&D, like the all d6 hit dice, or the way magic swords work, or the bare bones spell descriptions, or the way magical protection doesn't affect AC, et cetera.  It's been fun and interesting finding those and experimenting with them.

I don't think OD&D is an ideal system for someone learning the game.  However, if you've been playing for years, and you like traditional D&D and its style of play, then OD&D is a great system; you can bring all that experience to the table and exercise it in a fun way, making the game your own while still remaining firmly grounded in D&D traditions.  (Indeed, your greatest difficulty will be to shed your preconceptions about D&D and its rules, because OD&D is often subtly different.)  I see OD&D as a fantastic "do-it-yourself hobbyist D&Der" system.

See the link in my sig for more of my thoughts on OD&D.

OD&D doesn't have skills, correct? How does that work?

Quote from: Engine;248698OD&D doesn't have skills, correct? How does that work?

Player: My fighty guy grew up in the woods.  Can I track the orc band?

DM: Sure.  Umm...they marched through this area a day ago and there's some snow on the ground.  [Choose from these three or make up your own: I'll give you an 80% chance/Roll WIS or less on 3d6/You did it.]

Okay, so what if you've two characters who both grew up in the woods: they both know how to track, fine, but they both have an 80 percent chance to succeed/both have the same chance to succeed if they've the same wisdom/both succeed? What about individual variation? What about someone who grew up in the woods but didn't learn to track?

I guess it's just odd to me, handwaving or fiating what the character knows how to do, because I cut my teeth on Shadowrun, where "what you know how to do" is something that profoundly effects the differences between you and some other dude.

Quote from: KenHR;248699Player: My fighty guy grew up in the woods. Can I track the orc band?
 
DM: Sure. Umm...they marched through this area a day ago and there's some snow on the ground. [Choose from these three or make up your own: I'll give you an 80% chance/Roll WIS or less on 3d6/You did it.]

I Think that's how most groups handled things until the late 80's in all versions of D&D to that point; basic and 1e (until addon books) didn't have skills either. DMs made judgements based on class, background, ability scores and how well the player could describe their plan. It works well if you're used to it and it fits your style. It makes things less on character build and more on trying to think as if you're in your character's shoes.

Quote from: Engine;248701What about individual variation? What about someone who grew up in the woods but didn't learn to track?
 
I guess it's just odd to me, handwaving or fiating what the character knows how to do, because I cut my teeth on Shadowrun, where "what you know how to do" is something that profoundly effects the differences between you and some other dude.

The details of how it's handled are hard to describe as it was handled differently by every DM. No two early D&D tables were exactly alike in their interpretations of rules and sets of house rules.
 
Aspects of 3e can be seen as listening to those who didn't like the lack of clarity; rules are provided for almost everything. DMs don't judge how hard it is to cut a rope, they look up it's hardness and hp. It's more consistent and makes it easier on new DMs and gives players a degree of protection from bad DMs. But it also makes it more of a standard game and less of a game of imagination. It depends on what someone is into.
 
But some aspects of what you know how to do have always been hardwired into D&D through classes- who can use what armor and weapons, who knows about what kind of magic, etc.  If you don't have classes, you need something else to set baseline assumptions.