Diaglo: What's so great about OD&D?

[howandwhy99]

I want to add my own two-cents to this discussion too, but it has been exceptionally busy for me and I haven't had time to collect my thoughts. I'd rather skip it altogether if this is just another episode of Edition Wars™ though.

Maybe we can simply relate what's so great about OD%D?

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

Can we get an issue # for this? I really want to read it now.

offensive comments removed. Be civil or don't post - Plane Sailing

 

[Plane Sailing]

I've just deleted a bunch of posts in this thread which were, in one way or another, moving this thread into edition wars.

We don't need that guys. Check out the topic "What's so great about OD&D?". Please stick to the topic. If you feel tempted to talk here about 1e or 3e or whatever, please start another thread to talk about that.

Regards,

 

[Plane Sailing]

BTW, I didn't bother going back into page 1 or 2 to clean up; that doesn't mean I've not noticed them, but that it is getting late and I don't want to remove half the thread.

But on topic from now on please.

 

[tetsujin28]

You could play a balrog. That was pretty cool.

 

[FireLance]

You're making a whole lot of assumptions based on 1e and other post OD&D rules.

...

You're perfectly free to dislike OD&D. I know it's not to everybody's taste. But you should really crack the book open before you start dissing it.

R.A.

Sorry, my fault. I somehow missed the point that the issue was OD&D restrictions only (in a thread discussing OD&D - go figure).

 

[Johnnie Freedom!]

That's a good analogy . I get nostalgic when I think of a Beetle, because it was my old family's first car. But I certainly don't want to drive one nowadays, because it's too much of a hassle. Of course, if your friend is a good auto mechanic and keeps the thing rolling, I might come along for a ride. I just don't want to have one myself .

Uh, huh. Right. Let me give you another analogy:

3.0/3.5 is like a huge, lumbering Porsche 928. It's a big, solid, heavy car, enormously complex under the hood, and, frankly, FAAAAAR more than any person really needs to get from Point A to Point B. Granted, it's nice to look at, and seems really impressive on the outside. But it's actually very demanding on the driver, and is rather unreliable.

AD&D 1e (and OD&D) are like a zippy new Toyota Corolla. Not nearly as big, flashy, or cumbersome. But FAAAAAR more reliable. And, in its own way, just as beautiful, if not more.

You youngsters don't seem to realize that nostalgia *isn't* the reason we oldtimers play OD&D/AD&D. We never *stopped* playing the older games. We *still* play them because nothing better has come out. And Magic: the Gathering 3.0/3.5 just ain't the same experience.

BTW, read the quote in my .sig. Those words are gold, friends.

 

[Herobizkit]

Given the simplicity of the system, could one make a comparison to OD&D vs. True20?

I don't really remember anything overtly great about OD&D except for the Immortality rules and the "Known World" campaign expansions. To be fair, though, I never played a full-length OD&D campaign.

Plus, elves needed 4000 xp to level, and you only got XP for things you killed. And, if you hit 0 HP, you died... mkaing 1st level nearly impossible to survive compared to nowadays.

Of course, all of this could be handwaved and brought "up to date".

But a combat MATRIX for each class? Come on...

 

[Plane Sailing]

Uh, huh. Right. Let me give you another analogy:

Johnny Freedom, it is always nice to hear from someone who posts infrequently, but since you've been registered for over a year I hope you should know that when a moderator has asked that people steer away from edition comparisons, we really would like you to do that.

Now, would you like to edit your post, before anyone else decides to take offense at the way their favourite system is characterised?

Regards

 

[MonsterMash]

Point of clarification

OD&D = three books in a box not edited by Moldvay or Holmes and the box is not red or blue it is either white or woodgrain. If it is in a red, blue or magenta box it is Basic D&D (BD&D), if you're not sure please look at these links to the Acaeum.

OD&D

BD&D

To be fair BD&D is the closest edition to OD&D, but its not the same beast and people confusing them annoys me.

Back on topic, Diaglo please can you elaborate some more on how you actually run the game (actually the describe a room thread is a good one for getting an idea of what you are thinking of).

MM the pedantic