Kickin' it old school -- are you game?

[Quasqueton]

In my 3.5 game, if the player would mutter "I'll make a diplomacy check", I would make him (gasp) role-play, and interpret the attempt at role-playing as bonuses or penalties to the role. This is an age-old argument, but there is nothing about having a skill system that prevents role play.

Quoted for truth.

1E/2E/OD&D - Kickin' it old school -- are you game?

Been there, done that. I could humor a one-shot game in an old edition, for nostalgia's sake. But for a full campaign, the current edition is my preference.

Quasqueton

 

[MerricB]

I ran an AD&D session earlier this year. I was rather strict about following the rules... we had a druid with 1 hp!

Strange experience. You really need players that prefer the older editions.

Cheers!

 

[Frostmarrow]

4. You mention "role playing", but how does that help pepople who don't necessarily like to role play and are there for the game? Well, it doesn't. At least with a skill section, they can make a skill roll and move on to the better things.

Is this really a problem? If you don't like role-playing I'd recommend Descent. Or perhaps 3.5E.

 

[Sebastian Francis]

4. You mention "role playing", but how does that help pepople who don't necessarily like to role play and are there for the game? Well, it doesn't. At least with a skill section, they can make a skill roll and move on to the better things.

Uh . . . do these people who don't like to role play realize that they are playing a role-playing game?

<scratches head>

 

[Psion]

Uh . . . do these people who don't like to role play realize that they are playing a role-playing game?

Surely you realize there is not one "right way" to play an RPG.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Sounds like a fun time!

If someone asked me to play or DM a game of OD&D or 1e, I'd definitely do so.

 

[Gutboy Barrelhouse]

All I can say is, "Cool!" It was a blast.
My question: do any of you play AD&D 1e and/or OD&D (ie Diaglo-edition )? If not, would you be open to it? Just curious.

Yes, I run a 1e campaign from time to time. My group is all veteran grognards, and even those who like 3.x have fun when we play Ye Olde Edition.

Regards,
GBBH

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Uh . . . do these people who don't like to role play realize that they are playing a role-playing game?

<scratches head>

They're there for the "game" part of roleplaying game. Which is cool.

 

[JoeGKushner]

They're there for the "game" part of roleplaying game. Which is cool.

Indeed. Many of the older games didn't involve a lot of 'role' playing until adventuers started to go "beyond the dungeon", which necessarily isn't a very popular element as many adventuers, especially those from Goodman for example, have a "back to the dungeon' feel, along with o thers like World's Largest Dungeon and to a point, Shackled City.

Some people enjoy the combat aspects.

Some people enjoy the human social elements as opposed to trying to pretend to be a 1,000 year old elf.

Other people like to tinker with the mechanics.

Role playing is but one aspect of the game and should not be held as the holy grail of it.

 

[billd91]

One funny thing: in 3/3.5 whenever our group interacts with NPCs we simply shrug and say, "I'll make a Diplomacy check." In AD&D 1e the DM is making us (gasp) role-play. It's been cool, very cool.

This is what I call "Lazy Player Syndrome" and it can happen in any game. This is not the fault of the game system. It's taking the easy way out. If it's the typical style of play and reasonably expected and everyone's satisfied with it, then it's fine. But if you'd prefer more, then it's the players being lazy and nothing more.

By the way, did you realize that 1E has a similar mechanic under the Charisma table? Everyone has a reaction modifier and it's used in much the same way. But very few 1E DMs actually used them because they were on the cumbersome side. This highlights one of the strengths of the 3E structure: the mechanics are more tightly built with principles that are simple to apply and more consistency.