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Player fiat, really. As DM I don't dictate what class complement the players choose to have. Personally I wouldn't want to be in a game where the DM says 'No, you have to play <insert class> because the group needs it' or 'No, you can't play <insert class> because another player is already...

For 1st Ed, I award xp at the end of each adventure, however many sessions that takes. I track the monster XP as we go and keep a running tally for the group. If some characters handle monsters on their own and others are absent, I'll divide that xp up for those players, but either way nothing...

1st Ed Ranger, bar none for me. My 1st ed game has always had a Ranger, and even moreso than a cleric, the players view the Ranger as highly valued. Most of them hope to stat for a Ranger if their current characters die - one other is even bringing in a Ranger/Cleric on the next go. (1e...

This is pretty much the one thing I do - rather than allow specialization at 1st level it doesn't become an option until 4th level, and even then you must find a mentor who can teach you. Bow specialists must spread it out over to two proficiency acquisition slots, so basically 7th level is the...

You actually have to wait until your Intelligence score changed, not when you gain a level, so rerolling for spells you fail to learn is far less common. (BTB at least) As for the 2nd paragraph, that's what the minimum and maximum spells known # with INT is for - you make the list of spells you...

90%+ of my rolls are in the open, but will roll behind the screen for details players should not know. Things like stealth, searching for or disabling traps, reaction rolls etc. Combat, monster saving throws, all of that is done where everyone can see.

They have them posted on their site - The Rules Much of it doesn't seem to me to be like D&D anymore...

Interesting idea. How about this (combining some ideas put forth upthread): A caster may concentrate on a number of spells equal to their Proficiency bonus. If they keep it at one spell at a time, it's simply btb. But for every concentration spell beyond the first, they must make a DC 10 +...

Here's the link to his site - A continually-run D&D campaign, since 1982.

He's in London as far as I remember. I read about him a few years back when browsing the web for somewhat local stuff. (I'm in Toronto myself)

My core house rule is that before each session, my players must ritually sacrifice some 5th ed material to the great Gygax so that he will bless our 1st Ed table. It has proven bountiful and our table has benefited from his boon. Well, except our last game where someone forgot to honour the...

Yay! I get to be the contrarian here! I say keep descending values and THAC0, it's a far superior system to the ascending ACs, and less work overall for DMs.

I'm sorry, but I just cannot get on board with this philosophy and always advise the exact opposite. Fudging anything is a fast track to players simply not trusting you as DM. Bar none. The story is partly generated by the dice, and attempting to control that diminishes the experience. Further...

It has really only happened once where a player reached the cap and stopped playing the character. He was running a single classed elven fighter, and made 5th level. The level cap didn't phase him but he wasn't having fun with a squishy archer and wanted a burly melee fighter so retired him and...

That's some mighty fine number crunching. I hadn't gotten further than the theory of it, since the likelihood of running a full fledged 5e campaign isn't high right now... but will definitely think more if I do. I use most of the fiddly elements of 1st ed, for many of the reasons stated above...

The lack of restrictions in later editions certainly created a shift. Wizards in 5e literally do not have to earn anything. They merely level and take what they want. I love the 1st ed restrictions because it also has the effect of not making any two wizards alike in what they can and cannot...

My 1st Ed campaign came back from a 6 month COVID induced hiatus for a single session to finish off a lingering arc. I had spent months seeding and setting up a False Hydra storyline, which culminated in the group confronting the beast and its thralls - the last remnants of the townsfolk and a...

Like countless teens in the 80s, I started with the BECMI red box. That was where I cut my teeth and learned the basics. Our group played the various Palladium games for a couple of years as well (TMNT and RIFTS were big with us) Then 2nd Ed AD&D, which we jumped in and out of between an...

I have been gaming for 34 years, half of that time was devoted to a single 2nd Ed campaign. Have since further gone retro and have been running a 1st Ed campaign that's entering its 8th year. Needless to say I don't know many DMs who run those editions (I personally know only two decent 1st Ed...

There are people who still argue this point even though it's clearly incorrect. One guy on another site even argues that you increase AoE to outdoor scale and to 'prove' his position he cites a blog link that discusses it, written by HIM, wherein he states everyone else is wrong and he is right...