Thinking About OD&D

[Philotomy Jurament]

But should Sup I: Greyhawk not also be there as well?

I don't think so; I prefer it in "recommended for inspiration." I think the only I thing I use Supplement I for is monsters, a few spells, and the guidelines for weapon space required. I don't use most of the rules (e.g. Thieves, variable weapon damage, weapon vs. AC, variable HD, multiple attacks and variable damage for monsters, expanded stat bonuses, different XP awards, et cetera). Actually, if a referee is going to use many of the rules from Supplement I, his game is going to be very close to 1E AD&D -- so close that he might consider using AD&D as his starting point. (I see AD&D as being a set of OD&D house-rules based on Gary's Greyhawk campaign.)

 

[JeffB]

Another update, with two new musings:

Essential & Recommended Material
Movement While Exploring

Ahh. Very cool website, and very inspiring As an old brown booker (started with them in '77 or '78-old now cannot remember for sure ), this is a nice site to find!

Don't own my LBBs anymore (sold them along with GH,BM, EW and my OD&D JG material on ebay a coupla years ago), but this makes me wanna purchase the PDFs and run a game again!

 

[Delta]

Infravision only allowed you to distinguish heat sources in 1e, so that dwarves would need light to identify ores while mining.

Well, good point, but to get nitpicky in the picture they're not actually picking out ore, they're just rolling around filled carts. And the 1E DMG is very clear that infravision lets you see open spaces ahead (i.e., where to roll the cart out).

 

[The Red Priest]

Not to get too real-worldly-physics about it, but if infravision is only showing vague gradients of heat, then you wouldn't want to go stumbling around a cavern without a light source. The surrounding rock would all be roughly the same intensity, and you'd be bumping your cart (and probably your head and toes!) on all sorts of outcroppings. Not to mention, you'd never know if that heat splotch up ahead was a fellow dwarf or a goblin spy.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Not to get too real-worldly-physics about it, but if infravision is only showing vague gradients of heat, then you wouldn't want to go stumbling around a cavern without a light source. The surrounding rock would all be roughly the same intensity, and you'd be bumping your cart (and probably your head and toes!) on all sorts of outcroppings. Not to mention, you'd never know if that heat splotch up ahead was a fellow dwarf or a goblin spy.

Yup. That was how infravision was described in 1e, and the way I ran it when I DMed. It was useful to have, but you wouldn't want to rely on it too much.

RC

 

[ghul]

Not to get too real-worldly-physics about it, but if infravision is only showing vague gradients of heat, then you wouldn't want to go stumbling around a cavern without a light source. The surrounding rock would all be roughly the same intensity, and you'd be bumping your cart (and probably your head and toes!) on all sorts of outcroppings. Not to mention, you'd never know if that heat splotch up ahead was a fellow dwarf or a goblin spy.

Hmmm...yes, this is a very good point. I suppose The Predator has forever damaged our outlook on exactly how demi-human infravision functions, and you most aptly put it into perspective with your example.

 

[TerraDave]

... I don't use most of the rules (e.g. Thieves, variable weapon damage, weapon vs. AC, variable HD, multiple attacks and variable damage for monsters, expanded stat bonuses, different XP awards, et cetera). Actually, if a referee is going to use many of the rules from Supplement I, his game is going to be very close to 1E AD&D -- so close that he might consider using AD&D as his starting point. (I see AD&D as being a set of OD&D house-rules based on Gary's Greyhawk campaign.)

Hmm, most of that I see as being very much part of D&D (though the theif can have another name). I would argue that ODD was really a beta, and not finished until later.

As for the "house-rules" int. of ADD, many of the aditions where not originally created by EGG, and he did not use many of them.

But of course, we shouldn't get hung up on the purity of one edition or another, the game is constantly evolving and improving after all .

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Hmm, most of that I see as being very much part of D&D...

Well, that explains why you'd list Supplement I as highly recommended.

I would argue that ODD was really a beta, and not finished until later.

I think the "not finished" nature of OD&D is its greatest strength. It's a game that really inspires "making the game your own." (That's why early campaigns differed so wildly, I think.)

As for the "house-rules" int. of ADD, many of the aditions where not originally created by EGG, and he did not use many of them.

Fair enough. Either way, AD&D and OD&D + Supplements (especially Supplement I) are extremely similar (so much so that it might be easier just to go with AD&D, if that's the "D&D vision" you're after). However, that vision of D&D is just one among many possibilities. I think you gain the most out of OD&D when you start with the three books and run with them. You "make your own supplement," in a sense. (Some referees take that concept more literally than others.)

But of course, we shouldn't get hung up on the purity of one edition or another...

I agree. That's one of the things I love about OD&D, actually -- "by the book" or "purity" doesn't hold much weight.

 

[diaglo]

I agree. That's one of the things I love about OD&D, actually -- "by the book" or "purity" doesn't hold much weight.

i agree.
OD&D(1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

For me I sort of read that block of OD&D text the other way around and got the impression that simple men working as bandits got infravision if they lived in the dungeon!

I was looking for the following reference (that directly supports this interpretation), earlier, but I was looking in Volume 3, and it's in Volume 2:

Special Ability functions are generally as indicated in CHAINMAIL where not contradictory to the information stated herinafter, and it is generally true that any monster or man can see in total darkness as far as the dungeons are concerned except player characters.