I think the 1e DMG is more fun to read through and mine for ideas. As an actual gamebook it's poorly organized, unfortunately. Which makes sense--the game was in its infancy and Gygax was more trying to put stuff scattered through various issues of Dragon in one place. He assumed people would know what they were looking for.

A lot of my fondest memories are reading through the lengthy descriptions of magic items, puzzling over why a monster would have a 5% chance of showing up in the hills but a 3% chance in the forest. And, of course, the lengthy list of ladies of the evening.

Quote from: dkabq on April 25, 2021, 08:26:51 AM
The Dungeon Crawl Classics rulebook.   

Yes.  Another wellspring of inspiration.

Quote from: Null42 on April 25, 2021, 08:11:21 PM
A lot of my fondest memories are reading through the lengthy descriptions of magic items, puzzling over why a monster would have a 5% chance of showing up in the hills but a 3% chance in the forest. And, of course, the lengthy list of ladies of the evening.

The story goes that he did a lot of hookers and blow during the hey days of D&D.

Quote from: thomden on April 26, 2021, 03:33:38 AM
The story goes that he did a lot of hookers and blow during the hey days of D&D.

While he was in Hollywood (after 1980 I think) - after publication of the 1e DMG (1979). I guess he might have been gearing up!

First, absolutely agree on the impact and usefulness of the 1e DMG.

One of my favorite GM tools to come out of the OSR is the Random Esoteric Creature Generator by LotFP/Raggi. If I ever need to come up with some random seeds for the campaign, I just roll up 4-5 monsters. They are super fun to create, and easy to insert into the campaign.

OD&D. Go back to the start. Maybe even run a session, or a short campaign, using those three little brown books, and no other.

Even if you don't like that initial iteration of the rules, you will learn from the experience.

Quote from: RandyB on April 26, 2021, 03:04:39 PM
OD&D. Go back to the start. Maybe even run a session, or a short campaign, using those three little brown books, and no other.

Even if you don't like that initial iteration of the rules, you will learn from the experience.

That's what I've been running for nearly a decade now.

Quote from: Arkansan on April 26, 2021, 06:05:33 PM

Quote from: RandyB on April 26, 2021, 03:04:39 PM
OD&D. Go back to the start. Maybe even run a session, or a short campaign, using those three little brown books, and no other.

Even if you don't like that initial iteration of the rules, you will learn from the experience.

That's what I've been running for nearly a decade now.

That's the other possibility.

I started with Moldvay red/blue box and then moved on to AD&D in the early 80s.  Is the Rules Cyclopedia as good as the red/blue Moldvay stuff?  I never picked it up.

Quote from: Brigman on April 27, 2021, 07:05:45 PM
I started with Moldvay red/blue box and then moved on to AD&D in the early 80s.  Is the Rules Cyclopedia as good as the red/blue Moldvay stuff?  I never picked it up.

It's as fun and evocative to read as Keurig setup and use instructions.  Possibly less so.  Yeah, yeah, blah blah "It's everything in one book," blah blah Mystara.  Never saw the appeal of that set of rules.  I just don't.  It lacks everything that gives D&D its flavor and character, and don't say "bUt ThE pLaYeRs PrOvIdE tHaT!" - D&D itself has been a good yarn from the get-go with OD&D's little in-jokes, suggestions for players who want to play androids or dragons, etc.

The Rules Cyclopedia is washed, bleached, rinsed, hung out to dry, then the whole process is repeated again.  A good RPG needs to be engaging with its players and help inspire some fun, not just sit there and be a book full of tables and definitions.  I can buy a used accounting textbook at the local college bookstore if that's all I want.

Quote from: Brigman on April 27, 2021, 07:05:45 PM
I started with Moldvay red/blue box and then moved on to AD&D in the early 80s.  Is the Rules Cyclopedia as good as the red/blue Moldvay stuff?  I never picked it up.

It's a dry and encyclopedic restatement of rules from the BECM boxes, some expansion on Known World content, and a few optional rules like skills.  It's cheap enough for reprints but there are far better uses of money for a DM that is not actively running Mystara content.

Sounds like it's a pass, then.  Thanks for the tips!

The RC does have a ton of good stuff, but if you have BX already I'd suggest your best bet is just getting the Companion Set https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17165/DD-Companion-Set-BECMI-Ed-Basic - that gives you the domain rulership and (very good, abstract) mass combat rules, AIR it even has the large & huge dragon stats. It extends the game to 25th level but you don't need to do that to use most of the material.

I also like Elmore's Companion Set art a lot & dislike the RC art a lot. YMMV. I'm certainly happy to have a copy of the RC I picked up cheap before the OSR made the old print books super expensive. But I find it lacks the magic feel of either the BX or BECMI box sets. And RC presents a bunch of cruft like the Mystic class and Weapon Mastery as core - this is late-BECMI stuff (mostly Masters Set I think) that needs to be treated very carefully, preferably with a 10' pole.

Yeah, I really like the RC because it is a slim reference book.  YMMV.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell on April 28, 2021, 08:09:09 AM
Yeah, I really like the RC because it is a slim reference book.  YMMV.

The whole point of Rules Cyclopedia is a reference for BECMI. I wouldn't consider it a replacement at all, more like a single reference the DM can use. The players don't have much need for a rulebook during play, anyway, so its usefulness as something entertaining to read seems suspect. Use it as a manual, not a novel.