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<blockquote data-quote="Verdande" data-source="post: 5284476" data-attributes="member: 69093"><p>I would like to recommend Labyrinth Lord. Screw all that other stuff. Why play diluted, over-complicated D&D when you can get the goodness straight from the source? 3.5 is a horrible mess of rules with no flavor or soul, and 4e is worse. </p><p></p><p>Anyways, the key when playing old-school games is that since there aren't any rules to hold your hand, you have to keep on your toes. If your players want to interrogate a guy, you don't have them roll their Interrogate + Charisma Bonus or whatever, you ask them what they're doing and make them punch the guy in the gut. That's roleplaying, and that's fun.</p><p></p><p>Encounter levels? Who needs em? Get a pre-published adventure and see how they roll, or make something up and see how it goes. Start with a group of three goblins, and if that's not tough enough, make it tougher. Add some dart traps while they're fighting, make them fight in the dark, have some goblins run and go get the entire goblin horde, and then you're party's fighting for their life instead of getting experience and loot handed to them at a slow, easily attainable drip.</p><p></p><p>"Modern" D&D is all about the inexorable march to success. You will win, because you're always fighting "balanced encounters" and the right number of "fights per day" to ensure that everybody gets equal kills or some crap. Don't fall for it. Games are meant to be <em>won</em>. If your players want to win, make them earn it. Don't be a callous douchebag, but make it challenging. Nobody's going to remember the time they had a string of easy victories, but everybody's going to remember the time that a troll effin' jumped out from the ground and critically smashed the elf's skull into three pieces before anybody else could even draw a sword.</p><p></p><p>Long story short: It depends on the players more than the characters. I've had some players that are master tacticians and can take a fighter with 3 health and kill their Strength score in orcs (14, in this case.) And I've seen a magic user that can't kill a single goblin, due to rampant idiocy. Start off slow and work your way tougher. Your players won't regret it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Verdande, post: 5284476, member: 69093"] I would like to recommend Labyrinth Lord. Screw all that other stuff. Why play diluted, over-complicated D&D when you can get the goodness straight from the source? 3.5 is a horrible mess of rules with no flavor or soul, and 4e is worse. Anyways, the key when playing old-school games is that since there aren't any rules to hold your hand, you have to keep on your toes. If your players want to interrogate a guy, you don't have them roll their Interrogate + Charisma Bonus or whatever, you ask them what they're doing and make them punch the guy in the gut. That's roleplaying, and that's fun. Encounter levels? Who needs em? Get a pre-published adventure and see how they roll, or make something up and see how it goes. Start with a group of three goblins, and if that's not tough enough, make it tougher. Add some dart traps while they're fighting, make them fight in the dark, have some goblins run and go get the entire goblin horde, and then you're party's fighting for their life instead of getting experience and loot handed to them at a slow, easily attainable drip. "Modern" D&D is all about the inexorable march to success. You will win, because you're always fighting "balanced encounters" and the right number of "fights per day" to ensure that everybody gets equal kills or some crap. Don't fall for it. Games are meant to be [i]won[/i]. If your players want to win, make them earn it. Don't be a callous douchebag, but make it challenging. Nobody's going to remember the time they had a string of easy victories, but everybody's going to remember the time that a troll effin' jumped out from the ground and critically smashed the elf's skull into three pieces before anybody else could even draw a sword. Long story short: It depends on the players more than the characters. I've had some players that are master tacticians and can take a fighter with 3 health and kill their Strength score in orcs (14, in this case.) And I've seen a magic user that can't kill a single goblin, due to rampant idiocy. Start off slow and work your way tougher. Your players won't regret it. [/QUOTE]
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