An opportunity

[Giltonio_Santos]

Get 2E and never look back!

 

[Teulisch]

1e has many things that are missing from 2e, such as henchmen/hirelings and artifacts. the 1e DMG also has all of the XP charts for the monster mannual 1, as well as a random dungeon generator in an appendix. it is also a smaller total number of books in the edition. non-weapon proficiencies are in two different books, and expanded rules in unearthed arcana. the format is a bit confusing at times, and i never understood the psionics rules.

2e by comparison, has a lot of its value in the expanded library of books, beyond the core. however the core books will cover everything you need for a simple game. it also has a lot more supplements.

i would suggest 1e, as i have run a game in 1e in the past, and everything works fine once you make yourself a GM cheatsheet.

 

[MoonSong]

I Voted 2e, but I second the opinion buy'em all while they're there.

 

[MerricB]

AD&D first edition!

The campaign I run in my FLGS is 2-1/2 years old at this point, and the game still works fine. There are good things about 2E, but most of them come from the supplemental books, IMO.

Cheers!

 

[Henry]

The 1st ed DMG has a tabular listing of all the stats for the MM1 creatures in the back, so you'd have that at least -- i'd say get the 1st edition stuff, and supplement with free retroclone stuff, most of which is compatible with 1e anyway.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

If you want to get a feel for what D&D is all about, get the AD&D books. Nothing beats Gary's writing. These are also the books to get if you're just going to read the books rather than play.

If you want old-school D&D without getting too complicated with the rules, get the 2E books. This is my preferred rule set to play with.

 

[the Jester]

There's no question in my mind that the 2e DMG is utterly useless. It's crap; it's tripe; it's worthless drivel. (All IMHO, but the 2e DMG is one of the very few D&D books that I keep on my Shelf of Shame, and I almost never used it during 2e, swapping the 1e DMG in instead.)

The 1e DMG, on the other hand, is amazing.

The 1e MM2 lacks a lot of classic monsters, though many others came from it. I'd get the 2e MM over it, though- it's just so... damn... complete! It has an incredible array of monsters.

As for the PH, the 2e PH is far less flavorful. The 1e version wins for Gygaxian prose, but the 2e version has the best specialty priest rules D&D has ever had- if the DM is willing to spend the effort for his campaign.

I'd go 1e PH, 1e DMG and 2e MM.

 

[pemerton]

I'm another one who suggested option 3 - get the 1st ed AD&D PHB and DMG, but the 2nd ed MM, which you can use without problems in an AD&D game.

 

[MoonSong]

I'm of the opinion that the 2e phb is more usable than the 1e one. Yes, the prose on the original is umatched, but if you are planning on actually playing the game, the second one is better organized and has more usable stuff.