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Personally, I think it sucks even more than the grandparent poster makes it out. The problem is definitely the action economy, and that you have to target one specific caster on your turn for counterspelling. Thus, by the RAW, counterspelling fails in any of the following cases: (1) You don't...

Well, we'd be comparing apples to oranges because the Mulligan/Patrovsky book is talking about full-blown "presistent world" games (2-3 years development, $7+ million). Nonetheless, Gleemax seems to have come and gone unusually quickly (1 year start to finish). Personally, I'm counting the...

Sure. But I'm not hoping for Red Box -- it seems like Blue Box (Holmes) is the no-brainer. Levels 1-3 with a limited set of race/class selections. Hints dropped all over about the cool additions available in AD&D. A few lines about higher-level spells unavailable in this set, but available in...

Look, business-wise they're pursuing MMORPGs. I read a great book by Mulligan/Patrovsky called "Developing Online Games: An Insider Guide". In their introduction they point out that once a company sets its sights on the revenue stream from a successful MMORPG (WOW), they cannot be dissuaded...

You just described exactly how all my friends got hooked on Blue Box Basic, and made them want to play more, and do better. For 30 years.

Yes, by the rules it's allowed (even encouraged). I can see how some DMs may not (a) realize this, (b) like this, (c) like being surprised by this for the first time.

Yep, that's what I disagree with.

Your guys' lingo has reached a point where I don't understand what you're saying anymore.

I totally, completely agree.

IMO your second point undercuts your first point. My impression is that 1E AD&D players were specifically "brought back" to the game with 3E having a similar tone and philosophy. I know that was true for my friends. My 1E play was not all slippery-slidey, I put a great deal of effort into...

Well stated. The compounded thing that astounds me is, (a) it's so obvious, (b) they refuse to present the "core product" of the game, (c) that's what all their other product lines are centered around (powering-up PCs), (d) they have a direct counterexample in the ~1980s boom with those Basic...

Well, you've got Quasqueton's (in)famous analysis done by adding up all the monsters & treasures in classic modules (linked below). There is of course some good debate around it -- Q's trying to bolster a thesis that levelling times are fundamentally the same between 1E and 3E. Quasqueton...

I've said it before and I'll say it again: D&D play is about ownership and role-playing your own unique character. "Basic" sets that leave that out are missing the whole point, the hook to new players of D&D. I just do not understand it.

So you concur with my objection to Scribble's assertion that "This has been a similar case throughout the game's history." Good, that's all I wanted to point out. I'm not going to get into an edition war with you about which of the differing philosophies is better. I like Classic D&D best...

This situation reminds me a bit of a scene from my last full-time games programming job: Me: "I think it would really help the company if we did X. Can I get time to do X?" Boss: "Absolutely! Feel free to come in on any Saturdays and work on X." Me: "???" Needless to say, X did not get done.

It's almost as if this wasn't dealt with in the 1E DMG now 30 years ago:

Follow-up anecdote: Early in my D&D playing years (5th grade, probably -- Basic set), I'm introducing my friends one-by-one to the game. One of my better but loopier friends, John, rolls up a fighter and goes into some caves. At some point he encounters an overwhelming number of goblins. I make...

IMO that is not a good point. That shouldn't have any effect on how the rules get adjudicated. I have said precisely that in the past. It's one of the reasons I'm in favor of a lighter PC-creation than by-the-book 3E; so there's an understanding that PCs may be lost as soon as the game...

I'll object to that. To my eye, the whole "flavor text vs. rule text" is both recent and unwelcome. In Classic D&D the whole work was just "rules". There may have been parts easier to change and parts harder to change, but there was no "fence" between them, and any description had potential...

I keep thinking that this thread is asking "How do I convert the 'Quickdeath' monster from the Star Frontiers game to D&D?". But it's not.