Classic D&D...

[Remathilis]

Cyclopedia D&D, it makes me yearn for some simpler times...

I know no player who would play it for longer than a game. I'm not sure I could do it for long myself. I like skills and feats. Moreso, I'd like more variety (a bard class, a ranger class, a gnome class) and I would kinda miss race-class combos. However, I DO love the simpler, easier game the RC gives us, and I do occasionally look at it for inspiration...

Whats so funny is how much 3.X is similar to the RC than to 2e in some parts...

 

[an_idol_mind]

Whats so funny is how much 3.X is similar to the RC than to 2e in some parts...

Not to start an edition war or anything, but that's because the Cyclopedia was better than a lot of 2nd edition products. For such a simple system, it did a heck of a lot without the rules expansions that 2nd edition AD&D had.

 

[RFisher]

Dang it! You guys are going to make me want to toss the thief if you keep this up.

(Although we haven't actually had anyone make a thief PC since starting the current classic campaign, so it might not be a noticable change anyhow.)

P.S. Delta, I love your OD&D-blog and included a link to it at The Knights & Knaves Alehouse which has generated some very positive responses.

Yeah. I found your (Delta's) blog after you replied to one of my posts recently. Good stuff, Delta.

Cyclopedia D&D, it makes me yearn for some simpler times...

I know no player who would play it for longer than a game. I'm not sure I could do it for long myself. I like skills and feats. Moreso, I'd like more variety (a bard class, a ranger class, a gnome class) and I would kinda miss race-class combos. However, I DO love the simpler, easier game the RC gives us, and I do occasionally look at it for inspiration...

Whats so funny is how much 3.X is similar to the RC than to 2e in some parts...

Every once in a while I toy with the idea of taking the 2e PHB RTF file from the Core Rules CD-ROM & building a stripped down 2e. Drop almost all the optional rules. Maybe keep the Bard. Maybe use one of the options for eliminating racial level limits from the DMG. Perhaps use the classic D&D ability score modifiers. Perhaps import the 1e Illusionist &/or Druid.

Once you drop all the optional rules from both, the RC & 2e aren't all that far apart.

 

[Baumi]

Dang it! You guys are going to make me want to toss the thief if you keep this up.

(Although we haven't actually had anyone make a thief PC since starting the current classic campaign, so it might not be a noticable change anyhow.)

Me too. Not using a Thief at all and instead rely on Key's, Bashing and finding out how things work (traps and things like that) sounds VERY interesting!

Dropping Thief Skills (open lock, disarm traps, find traps) could make finding keys and searching/disabling Traps interesting again (normally the Rogue is in front of the party and just make checks) and it would eliminate a class that no one (in my group) want to take anyway, but is too essential to have none in the group.

 

[krunchyfrogg]

Man, I so have an itching for playing a game like this now too!

I don't even care about the ruleset, I just want to play with players who want to keep it simple and fun.

 

[Remathilis]

Not to start an edition war or anything, but that's because the Cyclopedia was better than a lot of 2nd edition products. For such a simple system, it did a heck of a lot without the rules expansions that 2nd edition AD&D had.

better is debatable. COMPLETE is correct. That tome had rules for magic item creation, reasonably scaling ability scores, general skills and weapon mastery, its own optional rules for removing the levelcaps (rather than wagging its finger at you), D&D/AD&D conversion, still the best dominion/mass combat system TSR ever put out, and a complete (if brief) campaign setting in the back (along with character forms, a rarity in those days). The only thing that book would have benefited from is more on Immortals (perhaps even a LIST of them)

 

[mmadsen]

Every once in a while I toy with the idea of taking the 2e PHB RTF file from the Core Rules CD-ROM & building a stripped down 2e.

I prefer the notion of a stripped down d20. Each class has things it's good at and things it's decent at; it gets +level at things it's good at and +level/2 at things it's decent at.