Hello Gary,
I was just browsing the forums, and spotted this thread. Thanks for stopping by!
Just to echo some thoughts expressed earlier...
I started gaming in 1977 with the Blue Book (I was 10, damn those dice would wear out fast). BTW, who were the characters on the cover? (I dimly remember an archer and a mage, and the red dragon of course, we still have the book somewhere...)
D&D has definitely changed my life. Asked to explain what it was, I usually said something like "a mix of theater, improv and imagination". I truly do believe that children playing an RPG will develop superior creativity and social skills. I'm a computer engineer currently, but I've always kept that intuitive/creative side and person skills, and I thank RPGs for that.
The other major impact the game has had is that I'm still in touch with the original group after 25 years. After career moves, families, etc, we still manage to play every two weeks.
Some of us are in different cities. No problem, we hook up the webcam and fire up NetMeeting. Some people will balk at this, but when you play with people that have 25 years of experience, you really feel as if they're right next to you.
We're playing 3E now, and yes we use archetypes. Although I did see some signs of corruption... Mage such and such takes a level of fighter to boost his hp or get a feat...
But generally, even if you are the min/maxer type (which didn't exist in OD&D), sticking with an archetype usually yields to a better character. The rules appear to promote power via multi-classing, but my experience has not shown this. I usually play the "pure" fighter or mage, and funnily enough, I end up saving the party more times than not... Specialists will always beat generalists in their specialty (if that makes sense)
I do agree that the current rules do not guide new players towards good role playing. After all, when you use archetypes, you worry less about mechanics, and more about how you are going to play. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I felt that the D&D Basic Set vs AD&D tried to provide simpler rules for beginners so they learn what role playing is about before moving on to a more complex system? If so, it should become so again...
Anyway, sorry for the pell mell comments and questions. It's just nice to have you here. Brings back memories of the old Dragon magazine, the other RPGs I used to play (Gamma World, Cthulu, Boot Hill) and even my first wargames (Blitzkrieg, Tobruk, Panzer Leader, original Squad Leader).
Keep up the good work, and if you need testers for your MMPOROPG (whatever that is LOL) or any GreyHawk stuff (we played that setting for a few years), just give a shout!
Andargor