I love AD&D

[The Shaman]

While I appreciate this, neither of these explanations makes the names less hilarious.

I'd much rather play with Beek Gwenders of Croodle than Bob the Fighter or Icetongue Shadowbadfinger.

Thank you both for the explanations, though. That's one more question that's wracked my brain for two decades that I can cross off my lists!

 

[Obryn]

That's actually very true. On the other hand, this was partially countered by the fact that most folks "graduated" to AD&D coming from some version of the basic game... all the rules that I didn't fully understand in AD&D, I substituted with those from BD&D and I think that it was a rather common thing to do.

I think it's safe to say I've only learned the actual AD&D combat rules this past year, in preparation for my ToEE game.

This is despite playing it for basically the entire 80's. I used it alongside B/X at first, and then used it alongside B/X/CMI later on. (Yeah, we had the first two in the three-hole-punched variety, and Companion and on in the box sets.)

-O

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

It doesn't make them any less silly.

While I appreciate this, neither of these explanations makes the names less hilarious.

Just so; I think the fact they actually mean something makes them even more amusing. (Gary told me I should have chosen one of the more amusing ones for my screen-name, instead of PJ.)

 

[ExploderWizard]

Just so; I think the fact they actually mean something makes them even more amusing. (Gary told me I should have chosen one of the more amusing ones for my screen-name, instead of PJ.)

I think Faffle Dweomercraeft especially rocks!

 

[Henry]

Fonkin Hoddypeak - King of audacious names!

I'll be honest -- all those names that are crazy to modern ears have really good company -- Ethelred the Unready ("wise counsel the uncounselled"), for instance, and I'm sure I'm forgetting more, but after a quick internet search, modern names like Rose Bush, Carrie Oakey, Stan Still, and others are all-too-unfortunately real.

 

[thedungeondelver]

AD&D is my game of choice. I've been running it for over 25 years, with the few interruptions.

That's awesome. I mean, as in, it literally inspires a sense of awe in me. Twenty five years. Man. I wish I'd been able to kick it off back in '81 and keep going...! I'll have to settle for...huh! Ten years this autumn now.

 

[Lanefan]

That's awesome. I mean, as in, it literally inspires a sense of awe in me. Twenty five years. Man. I wish I'd been able to kick it off back in '81 and keep going...! I'll have to settle for...huh! Ten years this autumn now.

Corathon is not alone. Admittedly mine hasn't been the same campaign the whole time, but the same rule-set and in a few cases the same players since 1984.

Ten years, eh? Puppy.

Lanefan

 

[Derulbaskul]

(snip) Vault of the Drow was much more than an adventure. It was a campaign setting, filled with the seeds for scores of adventures. The merchant and noble clan rivalries, the unholy war, the denizens of Erelhei-Cinlu - just fantastic stuff.

You're right, I really should have called it a campaign setting. I am still astonished at how much information was compressed into such a short product. Gary's writing talents were spotlit with faerie fire in D3.

 

[rounser]

I'll be honest -- all those names that are crazy to modern ears have really good company -- Ethelred the Unready ("wise counsel the uncounselled"), for instance, and I'm sure I'm forgetting more, but after a quick internet search, modern names like Rose Bush, Carrie Oakey, Stan Still, and others are all-too-unfortunately real.

I quite like Hotspur. Straight out of history, and what a name for a knight.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Rules reference. Hmmm.

Yes. As much as I loved AD&D, the rules were slapdash at best. The example that sticks in my mind involved a player pulling an animal fom his bag of tricks and getting a boar. I cracked open the Monster Manual to boar so we could continue. The party was in the jungle and currently fighting snakes. The boar got bit by one of the smaller snakes and I asked the player to roll the boar's saving throw against the snake's poison. He tells me that the boar doesn't have to make the save. I scan the MM entry to make sure I didn't miss something and tell the lpayer to make the save again. No, the DMG p.XXX says the boar doesn't need to make the save. Sure enough, on the page the player quoted from memory, there was a random parargraph with its own heading buried amongst other non-related topics about animals with tough hides (the paragraph uses the boar as its example) not having to make saves against poison bite attacks. Why wasn't this in the MM entry for the boar?