Recent content by fuindordm

Gary was kind of obsessed with using the weapon proficiency system to enforce archetypes, while famously not bothering to use the weapons vs AC table (the main source of distinction between weapons). The cavalier is even worse in this regard. Did this appear before or after he introduced weapon...

https://www.campustech.fr/le-monde-du-jeu-de-role-est-en-deuil-apres-la-disparition-de-francois-marcela-froideval/ The article is in French, but no doubt English homages are soon to follow. Apart from his work writing Oriental Adventures, and translating and editing core AD&D books, he founded...

Also, mentioning "Initiative" and "AD&D" in the same thread is like rubbing a magic lamp of grognard summoning. Use with caution!

My understanding and praxis is that any movement during a round costs time in segments. Most PCs move at 9" or 12" so assuming that a round can last anywhere from 6 to 10 segments, I divide by 10 and round to say most PCs move at a rate of 10' per segment. So if my side goes on segment 2, and I...

Regarding henchmen and hirelings - when I played D&D as a teenager we didn't use them as players, but we usually had large parties and didn't think much about logistics or "realism" when playing. Henchmen would be a drain on treasure and XP and I didn't have the DM chops to cultivate those kinds...

XP for treasure gives the PCs a clear incentive to go on adventures, avoid unnecessary combat, and adds a risk/reward tradeoff to every decision the party makes. The only other system I would use is milestone XP: give everyone a flat 30 000 for finishing an adventure for example. But that feels...

My own interpretation was that all the races thought they could cast spells but since none of them were maia the spells never worked.

Strongly agree on all counts! If you're interested, here's my take on the single-class bard for AD&D:

Being more lenient with thieves comes with age... I was harsher when I was young and my friends would try to convince me that their character could climb a wall, move silently, and backstab Tiamat simultaneously. Today I just think that if the rules discourage a player from using their...

I just had a conversation with one of my players about the feel of combat in 1st-2nd edition vs 3rd & 5th edition. For context, the party is playing Village of Hommelet and just finished the boss battle in the moathouse. He was struck by two differences: First, there is a lot more missing but...

Druids are one of the most unique classes in the game. What other class gets 3rd level spells so early? They level up lightning fast until the duels start... The implementation is not perfect, same as for every other D&D class, but it is a noble effort to create an option that feels very...

Hmm... Pure 1e (without Unearthed Arcana or later books) is still a petty tight system for short adventures and long-term campaigns. Without adding anything from 2e, it holds together well--but you need to take it for what it is, and not try to make it what it isn't. For example: What about...

In theory a player can certainly role-play a pure fighter as a leader and strategist, sure. In practice, in my 40+ years of gaming, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a player lean into that archetype. Why? 1. Survivability trumps role-play -- players would rather...

Add to those unsafe spells: In AD&D when the fly spell ends you fall, it doesn't change into feather fall. Haste is very powerful but can age the target and force a system shock roll. Contact other plane can drive you insane. Most spells are safe but enough of them aren't that magic feels like...

I think one of the big mood shifts, that happened sometime between 3rd and 4th, is the stripping away of consequences from player choices and actions. You can be any race, any class, put your ability scores anywhere you want, specialize in any type of magic, and still be competent at everything...