What is the best game to capture that old 1E AD&D feel? - Please state why.

[scourger]

My group is having fun right now playing Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I'm running the setting/module Karak Azgal. It feels very classic, but I've made some changes to make it more fast, furious & fun (i.e., easier for me). See this thread: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=173736

Speaking of fast, furious & fun, I would really recommend Savage Worlds. We had a ball playing it over the past year. I did about 90% less work as compared to d20 because it is so much simpler to bring to the table & run. Yet, it remains granular (read: complicated) enough to keep the players engaged with the characters.

I know little about Castles & Crusades. To me, it seems like it is still "d20 enough" to be a chore to run it. Frnakly, if I'm going to get close to d20, I'd rather just run d20 and capitalize on what mastery I have left of the game. (Incidentally, d20 D&D is still pretty fun if you stick to the core books and run it at low levels.)

Hackmaster is pretty complicated. You can get the PHB, DMG & 8 MMs (that's right, 8!) for buy-one-get-three-free right now, so it is a cheap(er) time to get into it:

http://www.threefreegames.com/roleplaying/roleplaying-products?func=view;pn=3

I've got the HM module Little Keep on the Borderlands gathering dust on my bookshelf if you want to buy it cheap or trade for it. It's very detailed, but I'll never run it. Too many games, so little time; alas.

If you really want 1e feel, then run 1e. You can get those books at titangames.com or download them from rpgnow.com. I bought Slave Pits of the Undercity recently, but again I'll never run it (let me know if you want it). After playing in a 1e game last year, I realized that I can't really go back to it (not with my group, anyway). I did offer to run the old Basic D&D, circa 1980, but they rejected it. It's not complicated enough for the players.

So, I guess my advice is WFRP, SW or 1e, in whatever order suits you.

 

[Breakdaddy]

Aside from the obvious answer, which is to go get the AD&D 1e stuff and play the original game in all its glory, I would go with C&C. It provides much of the feel while giving the game a bit of polish via the D20 core mechanic and the SIEGE engine. As you may know, you can play OAD&D modules directly from the originals with conversions made on the fly, little to no prior conversion will be necessary. You can also strap any of the old AD&D/Basic D&D rules you want onto C&C to give it an even more authentic old school feel if desired, with a minimal of fuss and little likelihood of "breaking" any other parts of the system. I like Hackmaster as well, and own it, but as previously stated, it is not not as easy to pick up as C&C or even OAD&D if you decide to use some or all of the new optional rules. If I were to play Hackmaster again, I would probably drop those rules. But then, I would just be playing AD&D, so why not go that direction more cheaply?

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

While I agree with Crothian 100% (play 1E AD&D), the problem I encountered is nobody in my area wanted to play, so we went with C&C which is a fantastic substitute for AD&D. Either way you go I think you'll find what you're looking for.

 

[Akrasia]

I've found it very easy to use 1e AD&D modules with C&C (just change the ACs; C&C AC = 20- 1e AC). So if that is something that you're interested in, C&C is an excellent option.

Hackmaster has too many rules for my tastes.

 

[trancejeremy]

Just play 1e. You can buy spare copies of the 1e rulebooks for quite cheap.

C&C is a horrible, horrible game. It combines all the bad parts of 1e and 3e. And Hackmaster isn't serious.

 

[grodog]

If you're looking for an AD&D clone system, but don't own the original books, buy them at used bookstores, on eBay, Amazon, etc.

You can also download OSRIC for free, of course: http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

*humbly points to OSRIC*

Edit: Crossposted with Grodog.

 

[Mythmere1]

Play 1e! It captures the 1e feel almost perfectly. Check out OSRIC for bringing that "living game" thing back to 1e.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I'm running C&C, and have been really pleased with it. I'm using 1E, OSRIC, and C&C material together, and it all works fine. I'd be happy to run 1E or Classic D&D, too, but some of the reasons I went with C&C are:

- Gary's Castle Zagyg material
- My players could order the books with no fuss or muss
- Easy compatibility with my old AD&D and Classic D&D stuff

Really, none of those are definitive reasons though, because you could use Castle Zagyg with 1E, the old 1E books aren't that hard to find, and 1E is pretty compatible with old 1E material. <grin>

After playing C&C for a while, I've come to appreciate certain things about the system, though: the SIEGE engine, etc. You can check out the "Why play C&C" page for more details.

Also, if you haven't cruised by Dragonsfoot, you might want to check it out.

 

[dcas]

I agree with mythusmage. LA is the game that best recaptures that 1e "feel," even though it is a very different game. Another good option is to go with C&C but add on the secondary skills found in the Yggsburgh book, which have been republished by TLG in PDF form and can be downloaded here: http://www.trolllord.com/newsite/zagyg/czpdf1.html