D&D General 1e feel for 5E

[GrimCo]

No max hp at level 1. Roll for HP at every level, 1st included. D4 for Sorc/Wizard. D6 for Bard/Rogue/Warlock. If you play Wiz/Sorc, don't bother naming character till level 3-4 and no matter what you play, don't bother with backstory. Paladin gets it's RP and alignment restrictions back. Chances are high that you will lose at least character or two before you reach lv 5 ( or more if you play D4/D6 class).

 

[bloodtide]

I run a very 1E feel game, so I would recommend some beyond the rules type things:

1.Toss out the rules. As DM just make up whatever. Should a player complain about the rules....toss the rule book away. Use some of the rules some of the time...and toss the rest away on a whim.

2.Make random rules. This is very 1E: mostly as games did not have a choice. If a player wanted to have a character do nearly anything other then combat....well...there simply no rules to use.

3.Have senseless character death on a whim. Any character can die any time.

4.No information. Don't ever use the official names of anything. Don't use any rule that allows the players to "roll to know things". The players can learn by role play, and that is it.

5.Aggressive world, aggressive monsters. Most of the world is out to kill the characters. A lich does not attack with chill touch...it attacks with necromatic wave that kills at leas tone character.

The best example is a classic (not 5E) beholder: it uses it's auto kill/get rid of character eyes. So, like round 1 "well Dave your character got turned to stone". Round two "Bill your character got disintegrated". Not the "oh the eye does 5 points of damage".

 

[Davinshe]

I think one of the best things you can do to give a game a 1st edition feel is remove the knowledge gaining skills. Perception, investigation, insight, arcana, religion, and nature should all go. The result is an exploration tier that consists more in a diceless back and forth between DM and players. This is almost never mentioned, but I believe it's absolutely essential to creating the appropriate experience for certain old school dungeon crawls like Tomb of Horror.

 

[Clint_L]

No max hp at level 1.

We did that in 1e - that was a pretty common practice.

If you're really going to make it like 1e, the party has to have a ton of hirelings. Basically, minions you can hire for cheap that will do anything you ask without question. That's how so many of our 1e characters survived to have long careers.

That and lots of 10' poles.

 

[Clint_L]

1e's Method I was 4d6, drop low, arrange as desired.

1e recommended FOUR methods:

Character generation, then, is a serious matter, and it is recommended that the following systems be used. Four alternatives are offered for player characters:
Method I: All scores are recorded and arranged in the order The player desires. 4d6 □re rolled, and the lowest die (or one of the lower) is discorded.
Method II: All scores are recorded and arranged as in Method 1. 3d6 ore rolled 12 times and Ihe highest 6 scares are retained.
Method III: Scores rolled ore according to each ability category, in order, STRENGTH, INTELLIGENCE, WISDOM, DEXTERITY, CONSTITUTION, CHARISMA. 3d6 are rolled 6 times for each ability, and the highest score in each category is retained for that category.
Method IV: 3d6 are rolled sufficient limes to generate the 6 ability scores, in order, for 12 characters. The player then selects the single set of scares which he or she finds most desirable and these scares are noied on the character record sheet.

My group sometimes used method I, and more often method III.

 

[Yaarel]

When people make these suggestions, slow hp recovery is always top of list (I get why). But an even bigger feel to me is the difference in magic. In 1e, magic items were frequent, but the PCs themselves had limited (or none in some classes) magic. The level of magic in the world was managed easily by the DM. In 5e, everyone is magic, which is much hard to manage as a DM.

It is probably balanced in 5e if low-tier magic items are ubiquitous. A character can only carry so many +1 swords, spears, bows. So the "christmas tree" feel of being covered in magical ornaments is probably doable in 5e

Also, it is probably doable to use a feat and flavor it as a powerful magic item. In this case, it is effectively like being able to swap feats during an encounter by swapping magic items.

 

[Lanefan]

I run a very 1E feel game, so I would recommend some beyond the rules type things:

1.Toss out the rules. [...]

This passage made me laugh.

As DM just make up whatever. Should a player complain about the rules....toss the rule book away. Use some of the rules some of the time...and toss the rest away on a whim.

2.Make random rules. This is very 1E: mostly as games did not have a choice. If a player wanted to have a character do nearly anything other then combat....well...there simply no rules to use.

Disagree. Sure you've got to make rulings now and then but I think it's vitally important that the rules - whatever they are - be and remain consistent once put in place. In other words, shore the rulebook up rather than tossing it out.

Ruling that something works one way now and then next session ruling the opposite when the exact same thing arises is IMO poor DMing.

3.Have senseless character death on a whim. Any character can die any time.

To a point. Unless they're in a true madhouse-dungeon-style adventure there should always be some sense behind what happens, including character death, even if said sense consists of no more than (in the case of death) bad luck.

4.No information. Don't ever use the official names of anything. Don't use any rule that allows the players to "roll to know things". The players can learn by role play, and that is it.

I get this, but also know from having tried it that renaming everything puts a real burden on the DM.

5.Aggressive world, aggressive monsters. Most of the world is out to kill the characters. A lich does not attack with chill touch...it attacks with necromatic wave that kills at leas tone character.

The best example is a classic (not 5E) beholder: it uses it's auto kill/get rid of character eyes. So, like round 1 "well Dave your character got turned to stone". Round two "Bill your character got disintegrated". Not the "oh the eye does 5 points of damage".

One would think Dave's and Bill's characters would at least get saving throws, hm?

 

[Lanefan]

I think one of the best things you can do to give a game a 1st edition feel is remove the knowledge gaining skills. Perception, investigation, insight, arcana, religion, and nature should all go. The result is an exploration tier that consists more in a diceless back and forth between DM and players. This is almost never mentioned, but I believe it's absolutely essential to creating the appropriate experience for certain old school dungeon crawls like Tomb of Horror.

Other than perception, which is worth keeping informally as a roll-under "do you notice this" mechanic, this is good advice.

 

[Lanefan]

1e recommended FOUR methods:

My group sometimes used method I, and more often method III.

I tried Method III once and I seem to recall getting all 14s or something equally useful-yet-bland.

 

[Yaarel]

I play 1e and 3e occasionally. Their lack of cantrips is the most painful part. Cantrips are a main reason why I prefer 5e. The reason is flavor.

When I play a Wizard concept (Magic-User), I dont want to waste my time with the wrong flavor, spending most of the game campaign throwing daggers. If I want to throw daggers I will play a Rogue concept (Thief).

For me as a player, cantrips are nonnegotiable. Their flavor needs to be present in some form, albeit how can be negotiable.

Cantrips fit fine within 1e because of the setting context of Spell Research. Magic is innovative and often famous for a specific person inventing some magical feature. Cantrips might not be common, but players that do can have them within the setting.


I want players to more easily swap features, out or in. So a Fighter who dabbled in magic, or a Wizard who picked up a sword, is doable. This welcomes any player to swap out cantrips for nonmagical benefits instead.

3 points
All martial weapons
1 martial weapon + 1 combat cantrip
1 "powerful" cantrip (approximately) (Eldritch Blast or Guidance)

2 points
1 combat cantrip (approximately)
light armor
shield
Perception skill

1½ points
1 "good" skill (Arcana, Athletics, Persuasion, Stealth, or Survival)

1 point
all simple weapons
1 martial weapon
1 "standard" skill
1 tool
1 vehicle type
1 mount species
1 utility cantrip (approximately)