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Original D&D, along with its peers and immediate successors, was designed with prominent random factors and player inputs that can easily blow away any "plot line". The pioneering campaigns were massively multi-player affairs, in which the DM's role was much more that of a referee of...

It's not necessary for me to know precisely what my character is capable of "mechanically". First things first: the thing being modeled comes prior to the model. If we are on the same page as to the nature of the situation in the imagined world, then the odds of this or that event need only be...

I like puzzle games. I regard (old) D&D as one at least as much as it's a tactical wargame -- although a good scenario mixes opportunities for both of those with opportunities to talk with NPCs and just to fool around with stuff and explore a fantastic world. "Searching long hallways inch by...

"Blackmoor" in the thread title might attract helpful people who would otherwise pass it up! I think I saw somewhere a map placing Blackmoor in relation to the JG campaign maps, but I don't think it was part of a JG product unless it was an issue of Pegasus or the like. A Blackmoor site...

That's pretty much the bottom line! Some players will find more of their good time coming from manipulating the "mechanics", while others will quickly find that a distraction from what really interests them.

WHERE THE "REAL GAME" IS Different players find different decisions important. Having the opportunity to make them is key to an engaging game. I have found a fairly strong correspondence between liking to have a lot of stats on a character sheet -- and a lot of control over what those are --...

THE PLAYER'S EXPERIENCE Someone who greatly enjoys the experience of actually discovering things for himself might not be satisfied by making a dice roll to be told that "his character" knows something or has figured out a solution to a problem. It may be even more disappointing if he has...

A MATTER OF TIME Interest in process tends to go along with importance placed on consequences. However, there is a basic division among players in how inherently interesting they find different activities. This is less of a problem the more variety there is in an hour of play. If combat...

REALLY PUZZLING Traps basically fall into two classes. Some are simply hazards one either notices in time or not. The typical dungeon inconvenience triggered by a pressure plate or tripwire might be revealed either by something like a "spot traps" roll or by taking appropriate precautions...

As a rule of thumb, I would lean toward making the ratio of dice rolls to real decision points lower rather than higher. How much do gamers really enjoy being spectators while a game system plays itself? TOWARD A COMPROMISE? Here's a way to make character skill ratings useful while leaving...

I remember the impression RuneQuest made on me as the first really systematic RPG I had seen, and then Champions with its points and 'builds'. The latter brought to the fore the kind of game-economy issues that figure prominently in WotC's versions of D&D. When you've got such a prominent game...

Length of a round: That was carried over from the Chainmail battle rules. The basic idea is that the game is focused on the big picture -- the adventure -- rather than on fine details of footwork or blade-beating. "Zoom in" when there's some stratagem to warrant it, but why bother getting...

My preferred solution is not to plan campaigns for my players. Let them plan their campaigns, and there's nothing to "break"! For a plotted scenario, what I find works best is - only 1 to 3 players, each with but one character - a plot that relates directly to the interests of those...

With 2e, the range of material pretty much runs the gamut from near-1st edition to near-3rd. So, how "2e" plays depends, I think, on which 2e you're playing. My regular group was playing nominally 2e AD&D -- really just "D&D", the same old DM-personalized shindig since 0e. Most of the players...

There is no quota for advancement in AD&D. You can get three characters in a row killed without gaining a level. You can get in on a big haul and go up a level from one adventure. You can get in on a big haul and find that the DM reduces the x.p. value (DMG p. 84). You can get in on a big haul...

Mr. Gygax not only would but did declare his focus. In particular -- and notable in light of modern emphasis -- he decried prolonged combat resolution methods. His bluntest statement in that regard may have been in White Dwarf, but there are others in the Introduction to the 1st ed. DMG, in...

Do I recall correctly that there is no standard range increment for a generic "ranged touch attack", that any "RTA" with a range penalty will have its own special case listing of range increment?

Magic items can be similar. Use 'em up now, and what do you get in return now? If the only way to get them is by facing perils, the only way to "replenish the resource" is by getting on with adventure, then waste is very poor strategy. We have 12 magic items. We can "supernova", using them all...

Using up SAN in CoC is like using up HP -- if you basically got only so many Hit Points ever, a one-time allotment. (There are chances to regain points before hitting zero: mission accomplished, defeating monsters, getting a skill to 90%, and psychoanalysis. These are all uncertain, with risk...

I have often used monsters from the Arduin Grimoire and All the Worlds' Monsters volumes. Those were written up with OD&D in mind, but far fewer people have encountered them at all than are familiar with the Monster Manual roster. Empire of the Petal Throne is another good source (The Ssu...