The recent discussions that touched on 1st Edition and implied setting made me want to crack open my 1st Edition books. Then I was suddenly reminded about what a game changer UA was when it came out.

Do you consider UA as a required part to 1st Edition? Or is UA simply some afterthought of options that unbalanced 1st Edition?

I'm in the "afterthought of options" camp, not even for the balance issues.  UA just changed the tone and character of the game so much.

I don't really see anything essential in the book.  There are some neat spells and magic items, and the alternate unarmed combat systems aren't bad, plus there's the infamous pole arms essay (which I like), but I'm perfectly happy sticking to the core rules.

Required? Definitely not. It's as secondary to me now as when I first purchased it in the 80s. I don't remember using any of it with my gaming group back in the day; it was more an idle curiosity.

Hell, I don't consider weapons vs. armour type modifiers and psionics to be essential to 1E and they're in the core books.

UA is all optional material.

Heck, anything in any book is optional material.

No, it's just a secondary, optional book.

I use everything in Unearthed Arcana in the game at my table.  I consider this the only option, and my players do as well.  

This book is on the table and is referenced as much by my players as the PHB.

Of course, the DSG, WSG, OA and some other Greyhawk related material are called to the table as needed, with everything within them being 100% in the game as well.

It's really not a big deal.  It is considered required at my table because it adds a lot to the game, actually bringing it up to a "basic" complexity whereas my players are used to a much higher degree of rule complexity and implementation.

Completely optional.  Some cool things, like thief/acrobat, and some spells, but the new method for rolling attributes was right out and not allowed.

I certainly remember one local group whose GM refused point blank to allow any of it in his games

I'd have to go and dig out my book as well as it has been about 10 years probably since I looked at it. From memory, the Thief Acrobat was a good idea, although given some of the discussion in the 'Thief' thread, perhaps the abilities they got should have either been available as standard to all thieves without taking the sub-class, or made more general use. I can't think I ever saw anyone play a Barbarian - all I remember is a whole tribe of the buggers chasing us round Isle of the Ape! The one that does stick in my mind though was the Cavalier (and Paladin), along with the introduction of heavier armours. Being able to bump their stats seemed just...wrong... and the new armour did start something or an arms race amongst some PCs.

Aside from the classes, I'm struggling to think of much of the other content TBH...

EDIT: shit, how could I forget about the new stat rolling!? Was it 'Method 5' that might as well have said 'write down 18 in your prime stat and some other high numbers wherever you want'?

Absolutely not. Very little in the book adds to AD&D, and a lot detracts from it.

I have always been interested by how much D&D changes when you move beyond the core books and add supplements into the picture. So much edition war discussion is wasted because people aren't talking apples to apples.

OD&D with just the three little books is completely different from OD&D plus Greyhawk.

I think 1e is a very different, and much more twinkie game, with Unearthed Arcana. I find that the new spells are generally pretty good, the new classes generally don't add much, but the new races . . . I hate 'em.

Similarly, I think the core 2e system is actually very good. Other than the loss of demons and devils (and maybe half-orcs), I don't miss anything that was removed from 1e (good riddance, assassins and monks) and generally like what was added (wizard specialization, bards as core class). But when you add in the splatbooks and badly-designed kits, the system quickly gets unbalanced and unwieldy.

No.  I cherry pick stuff from UA, but I think a lot of the material is something to be avoided rather than embraced.

I'd use new spells, equipment, and magic items, all on a case-by-case basis.  The rules for combat in darkness are okay.  So are the new rules for weaponless and non-lethal combat.  I've no objection to the pole arm porn.  I'm not a big fan of the rest of the stuff, with a few exceptions for things like additions to "giant class" creatures and maybe some of the expanded weapons allowed to some classes, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting.

As an aside, the latest AD&D game I've been running allows weapon specialization.  Not going to do that, next time.

Quote from: Garnfellow;618318I have always been interested by how much D&D changes when you move beyond the core books and add supplements into the picture. So much edition war discussion is wasted because people aren't talking apples to apples.

OD&D with just the three little books is completely different from OD&D plus Greyhawk.

One of the things I have learned from the discussions on here is that the discontinuities between the editions seem somewhat smaller if you take the major supplements for each edition into account. OD&D plus supplements gets you something which ends up looking a lot like 1E. 1E plus UA, DSG and WSG ends up looking like 2E. 2E plus Player's Option doesn't get you to 3E, but at the same time 3E is fairly clearly an attempt to make the ideas from Player's Option work. 4E is 3.5E plus Book of Nine Swords with the miniatures-and-game-balance dials cranked up to 11.

Another thing I've learned is that I almost always prefer the core-book expressions of a particular edition (plus a few of the better supplements) to the supplement-bloated cocoon from which the new edition hatches. 2E is much less unwieldy than 1E+UA+WSG+DSG, for example, and that's not just because you're juggling less books - plenty of fat has been trimmed and a lot of bad ideas have gone in the bin.

Items from UA that I consider essential:

• The expanded level limits for demi-human races.
• The Racial Preferences Table.
• The expanded Armor and Weapons Permitted per class.
• Weapon Specialization rules.
• The expanded tracking rules for the Ranger class.
• The expanded 'giant class' list for Rangers.
• The expanded effects of armor rules for the Thief class.
• The expanded Armor Class Table.
• The new spell content (with a few exceptions).
• Cantrips for the Magic-User and Illusionist classes.
• Method V for Ability Score generation.
• The Starting Hit Points for Player Characters rule.
• A few of the new weapons listed (i.e., hand-crossbow, staff sling, caltrop and sap clarifications).
• Acquisition of cantrips rules (M-U and Illusionist).
• The information and clarification on spell books.
• Acquisition of new spells for 1st level Illusionists.
• The clarification of the Permanency and Serten’s Spell Immunity spells.
  
• The Underwater Spell Use clarifications.
• The clarification of the effects of darkness on combat.
• The Social Class and Rank rules.
• New magic items (with a handful of exceptions).
• Expanded random treasure tables.
• The expansion and addition of Non-Human Deities.

Unearthed Arcana isn't Old School.