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Community
General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
On Variability, House Rules, Research, and the 1e/5e Difference
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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7528157" data-attributes="member: 996"><p>There really was no 'typical campaign,' because gaming back in the early 80s took place in comparatively (as you point out, no internet! - barely even BBSs for the hard-core techies of the day) isolated groups and regional communities. The D&D the 'old timers' played at the Dragon's Den in Santa Clara sure sounded different from the D&D we 'new kids' played at The Game Reserve in San Jose just a few years later. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p> It should have stayed 'earthed.' ;P</p><p></p><p> Heh. I was virtually alone in liking that system back in the day. One DM I got to play with fairly often would use it (and everyone else would groan). When I started DMing, I intentionally reduced the impact with a rule that magic weapons ignored negative adjustments, and magic armor ignored positive ones, so once you were wearing magic armor & using a magic weapon, you could just ignore 'em. After 2e, I homebrewed my own, simpler, weapon-vs-armor type rules, but the players were still hot to get magic that'd ignore them. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p> I have to disagree with the latter, but agree with the former (sorta).</p><p>5e may feel simple to folks who remember 1e or 2e or even folks who were just playing 3e/PF, because, well, those versions had incorporated years of messy supplements, while 5e is much more sedate that way, but, mainly, because 5e is so evocative of those earlier editions that knowing them makes if feel familiar, and familiarity is experienced as simplicity. For the newb, 5e is more approachable than 1e's Ponderous Gygaxian Prose, but that's about it. </p><p>But, the experience of 5e does seem to be a lot more consistent, which does also help in adoption. Little about 5e makes it less prone to table-to-table variability than 1e was. It's got the DIY attitude, the open invitations to homebrew in the form of rules that, though voluminous, leave plenty of stuff vague, and the reticence to 'fix' or 'tune' things officially. What makes 5e so much more consistent /is/ the community, the WPN/AL provide continuity of play experience in organized play settings (far more than tournaments ever did, before the RPGA), and the internet creates hobbyist echo chambers that build mass consensus on what D&D is, how it works, what it's all about - and even what it 'always' has been (wrong as that last one is: there was no consensus back in the day). </p><p>So the amount of variability is much less.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 7528157, member: 996"] There really was no 'typical campaign,' because gaming back in the early 80s took place in comparatively (as you point out, no internet! - barely even BBSs for the hard-core techies of the day) isolated groups and regional communities. The D&D the 'old timers' played at the Dragon's Den in Santa Clara sure sounded different from the D&D we 'new kids' played at The Game Reserve in San Jose just a few years later. ;) It should have stayed 'earthed.' ;P Heh. I was virtually alone in liking that system back in the day. One DM I got to play with fairly often would use it (and everyone else would groan). When I started DMing, I intentionally reduced the impact with a rule that magic weapons ignored negative adjustments, and magic armor ignored positive ones, so once you were wearing magic armor & using a magic weapon, you could just ignore 'em. After 2e, I homebrewed my own, simpler, weapon-vs-armor type rules, but the players were still hot to get magic that'd ignore them. ;) I have to disagree with the latter, but agree with the former (sorta). 5e may feel simple to folks who remember 1e or 2e or even folks who were just playing 3e/PF, because, well, those versions had incorporated years of messy supplements, while 5e is much more sedate that way, but, mainly, because 5e is so evocative of those earlier editions that knowing them makes if feel familiar, and familiarity is experienced as simplicity. For the newb, 5e is more approachable than 1e's Ponderous Gygaxian Prose, but that's about it. But, the experience of 5e does seem to be a lot more consistent, which does also help in adoption. Little about 5e makes it less prone to table-to-table variability than 1e was. It's got the DIY attitude, the open invitations to homebrew in the form of rules that, though voluminous, leave plenty of stuff vague, and the reticence to 'fix' or 'tune' things officially. What makes 5e so much more consistent /is/ the community, the WPN/AL provide continuity of play experience in organized play settings (far more than tournaments ever did, before the RPGA), and the internet creates hobbyist echo chambers that build mass consensus on what D&D is, how it works, what it's all about - and even what it 'always' has been (wrong as that last one is: there was no consensus back in the day). So the amount of variability is much less. [/QUOTE]
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