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The Immortal rules are unwieldy to say the least. I'd be surprised if even 1% of BECMI gamers ever used them. There's a good reason why they were left out of the Rules Cyclopedia and re-written for the Wrath of the Immortals supplement - which was still unwieldy, just less so.

That's a bad analogy. It's more like a classic rock band from the 70s who experimented with keyboards in the 80s, replaced its lead singer in the 90s, lost a few more members and tried a different sound entirely in the 00s, and now is trying to go back to its roots and rediscover its original...

"Some choices then—such as whether a character has a long list of skills and feats; or skills, feats, and powers; or just ability scores, hit points, Armor Class, and an attack bonus—are up to the player." I'd prefer if that read "...an attack bonus—can be left up to the player if the DM...

I'm interested in what they come up with for 5e. I've already given up on 3e & 4e and only play old-school with my group. If 5e is really good, maybe I'll switch. If it isn't, I'll stick with what I've already got. Either way, it's a no-lose proposition.

During combat: Holy Warrior After combat: Healer

It's not about each class being balanced against the others in combat. The important thing is that each class plays an important role in the party as a whole. Traditionally: Fighters (and fighter-ish classes like barbarians and paladins) hold the front line and dish out consistent damage...

Wow. "Much that came before him in the genre pales in comparison." That's an awfully strong statement. I'm curious, how many pre-Tolkien fantasy novels have you read? For starters, check out The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany, The Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt, and The...

I think there's a lot of misconception regarding racial classes in the old editions. They aren't meant to imply that all elves and all dwarves are the same. They are meant to model the most typical elf or dwarf that would go adventuring. Think of the "elf" and "dwarf" classes more like "elf...

Lord Dunsany came long before Tolkien and was clearly an influence on Tolkien. In fact, just about every famous fantasy author of the 20th century, from Tolkien to Lovecraft to Howard to Moorcock etc. was influenced by Lord Dunsany. Lord Dunsany's King of Elfland's Daughter laid down a modern...

I don't see any reason to doubt Gygax's statement that Tolkien wasn't one of the primary influences on D&D. "The entire core of D&D is based on Tolkien" ? Examining OD&D shows otherwise: - The magic is from Vance, with a nod to De Camp & Pratt. - The Law/Chaos alignment system is from Poul...

Do 5e fireballs expand to fill their entire volume if cast in an enclosed space?

4e intentionally killed off a whole herd of sacred cows. The player base was split and now, just 3.5 years after 4e was launched, 5e has been announced. I don't think WotC would kill off 4e and replace it with a new edition so quickly unless in their view it was necessary. It's time for the...

"Don't worry. No one from WotC is going to show up to take your <insert favorite edition> books away. You can keep playing <insert favorite edition> for as long as you like." is the standard advice to fans of older editions. It's time to welcome the 4e crowd to the club. ;)

Yes, technically, The Hobbit was published as a children's book, but the world of Middle-Earth wasn't created for children. If you look at the elements of Middle-Earth that were incorporated into D&D, they really aren't kid-oriented. Besides, per Gygax, Middle-Earth wasn't one of the primary...

Harry Potter was written for little kids. Please keep that as far away from D&D as possible!

Don't worry. No one from WotC is going to show up to take your 4e books away. You can keep playing 4e for as long as you like.

I'd love a reprint of OD&D + Supplements, Chainmail, and Swords & Spells.

That's fine, however, I'd also like a blurb somewhere in character creation that says something like "Not every DM will use every class and race. Check with the DM first to see which classes and races are available in his campaign. The DM has final say on what is or isn't allowed."

If 3 is lumped together with 3.5 and 4 is lumped together with Essentials, then shouldn't B/X be lumped together with BECMI and AD&D 1e be lumped together with AD&D 2e?