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

[Pants]

Can't we all just go out, buy copies of Castle and Crusades, and be done with it?

Naw.

*goes and buys another set of 3.5 and a the WHFRP 2.0 book*

 

[diaglo]

Did that balrog somehow advance in level during the campaign? How strong was it compared to other classes at the beginning?

i never had one. so i couldn't say.


you'd have to work it out for the campaign and the group fit.

 

[John Desmarais]

So what does the "Very old school" gang Think of the Rules Cyclopedia?

Some of the funnest D&D games I've ever played in used these rules. In fact, after 2nd Edition AD&D came out we were actually more likely to use the Rules Cyclopedia than we were to play AD&D.

John D

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Can't we all just go out, buy copies of Castle and Crusades, and be done with it?

I did. Everyone else should too.

 

[ForceUser]

I did. Everyone else should too.

I'm actually curious about Blue Rose. I like the look of it; the simplicity of the rules reminds me of the first 3E campaign I ran, back before the PHB came out. I relied upon some 2E rules, Eric Noah's original D&D 3E hint site, and my own creativity. It was pretty basic but everyone loved that campaign.

 

[rogueattorney]

So what does the "Very old school" gang Think of the Rules Cyclopedia?

I like it very much as a supplemental rules source. I use its Mystic in place of the Blackmoor Monk, for example, and I often refer to it for its larger spell lists and slightly more detailed spell descriptions. And there are a number of other little things in there that I like to take into my games - the dominion rules, the monster spell-caster rules, the suggestions on building other class types, and so on.

I dislike many of the optional rules in it, General Skills and Weapon Mastery, in particular and I dislike its focus on the very high levels of adventurers. Some of the items from the Companion and Master rules could have been integrated into the game better - Demi-human "Attack Ranks", for example - why not just turn these into class levels? The RC's combat section is an editing disaster. And there are just a lot of little things that I just like better from the older rule sets - magical research, for example, is much more easily done at lower levels in the previous rulesets.

All in all, it's a book I wouldn't want to be without, but not my first choice for my "core" ruleset.

R.A.

 

[Odhanan]

So what does the "Very old school" gang Think of the Rules Cyclopedia?

If you are interested by Old School Gaming and would like an all-in-one package (it's the compilation of all D&D rules boxed sets but Immortals), that's the book for you. I have it and would love to play with it again.

I think it serves its purpose well. It's an encyclopedia of D&D rules. It's very sober in tone and organization, but effective. The book is sturdy and can stand the test of time, so to speak. Overall, really good book to go play your D&D campaign without having to bring all your boxes and volumes in your backpack.

 

[Frostmarrow]

...

 

[harmyn]

Some of the funnest D&D games I've ever played in used these rules. In fact, after 2nd Edition AD&D came out we were actually more likely to use the Rules Cyclopedia than we were to play AD&D.

John D

My group was like this too. After playing with some of the "expanded options" in 2nd edition I went back to running games in the Rules Cyclopedia. It was just more fun all around for me and my group. When 3rd ed came out we went over to it, but the more I run the newer version I find myself drawn back to the Rules Cyclopedia. It struck the balance I liked and you could tinker all day without worry of the implied illusion of balance we now have.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

And baseball has had its rules changed numerous times. You would not recognize 19th century baseball, and several changes have been made in the last few decades.

19th century baseball had almost the same rules we have today.

Here is a list of a few rules from way back when:

http://www.gcv.org/attractions/baseball/rules.shtml

A bit different, but still basicly the same game.

Now back to your regularly scheduled topic.