Explaining AD&D1 to new D&D3 players

[Dagger75]

Yes, but since there's nothing for me to do once I get to Free Parking, all I did was move that turn. As I'm sure everybody knows, if all you do is move on a turn, the space that I left--in this case, New York Avenue--does not provoke an AoO.

Also, I moved around a corner to get to Free Parking. Since a corner typically provides half-cover, I'm protected from AoO's, for as the rules state with crystal clarity, you cannot make an AoO against a target with half or more cover (or is that half-concealment?).

Furthermore, I'm playing the doggie, and it's one those little terriers that knows how to flip over backwards. It can tumble 20" (4 spaces) without provoking.

Thats why they are realeasing Monopoly 1.5 later this summer. Your old rule books will still apply these will just clarify the rules.

They new Monopoly 1.5 will give illistrations about AoO when leaving Free Parking.

It will also fix some tokens and places.

Example, The Top Hat got shafted so it will probably be boosted a little bit. Most likely a 10 Gallon Hat.

The Car is way to powerful and will probably be downgraded.

The terrier will remain the same.

Now we all Know Park Place and Boardwalk are broken. You will now get a save when you land on Boardwalk and Park place will not allow you build hotels.

I hope that helps.


DOOOHHHH! Forgot we are making fun of 1stAD&D

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I'd tell them that they will have to remember how to do negative math and to remember a few mechanics. I'd tell them to forget thier mindflayer paladin/monk/rogues who wield a rapier and dress like a swashbuckler. I'd tell them that dragons do sleep a lot, and if one isn't properly magically guarded then it is possible to get the drop on one, but it's nearly impossible. I'd tell them to learn to make a unique character by giving him real character, not by grabbing power-ups. I'd tell them to think of Vance novels instead of Dragonball Z or Diablo when getting in the right frame of mind for the game. I'd tell them that there will be encounters that the party may have to run from as nothing is perfectly tailored to the partys average level in terms of difficulty.


But most of all I'd tell them to have fun.

 

[Felon]

Example, The Top Hat got shafted so it will probably be boosted a little bit. Most likely a 10 Gallon Hat.

Don't make me laugh! Top Hot was pure munchkin! Everybody wanted to play it. You won't see a single game without someone playing a topper. Nerf the hell out of that damn hat. The wheelbarrow and thimble, OTOH, seriously need some love. In fact, if they don't fix the thimble, I've had it with Monopoly. I hope Park Brothers can survive without my money.

The Car is way to powerful and will probably be downgraded.

Yeah, that's the other broken piece. I don't know how many games that I've seen that race car win. Hopefully, after 1.5e comes out, nobody will want to play it and therefore it will be fixed.

[The terrier will remain the same.

Good, good. The terrier is balanced as it is. That's why I always play it.

Now we all Know Park Place and Boardwalk are broken. You will now get a save when you land on Boardwalk and Park place will not allow you build hotels.

From what I've heard, you have to acquire a Community Feat in order to own Boardwalk or Park Place. And they may only be available in Epic Monopoly.

Jail is currently broken. Everybody who goes to jail just pays their $50 and leaves. Bail should be determined based on your piece's level.

DOOOHHHH! Forgot we are making fun of 1stAD&D [/B]

Whoops.

 

[Forrester]

First of all, just to get under P'cat's skin, I must point out that 1E sucked, and sucked hard. After all, goblins and kobolds were thought to be of lower than average intelligence. Okay, they still are, but at least their official stats are '10' in 3E.

Also, ogres did d10 points of damage with their big-ass clubs. Someone with Ogre Strength (18/00) got +3 to hit and +6 to damage, of course -- doing more damage with a simple *punch* than an ogre did with an average swing.

That being said, 1E (and 2E) had something going for it that 3E does not, and I miss it terribly. LOW was good on skill checks, HIGH on saving throws. There was nothing like asking a player to roll a die . . . he'd roll a '1' or a '20' . . . and then look up at you with a mix of hope and abject terror in his eye. For he had either made an INCREDIBLE save/skill check . . . or he had just failed to duck/slipped on an icy patch and fallen to his death/turned to stone, depending on whether it was a '1' (botched save) or '20' (botched skill check).

Ah. Those were the days. It's suckiness aside, I miss 1E more than a bit -- there's something to be said for making up rules on the fly. 3E seems to be a helluva lot more regimented than 1E ever was, and that's a shame.

And Haste was a lot more balanced when it aged you a year .

 

[Henry]

Yes, but since there's nothing for me to do once I get to Free Parking, all I did was move that turn. As I'm sure everybody knows, if all you do is...

(SNIP)

Furthermore, I'm playing the doggie, and it's one those little terriers that knows how to flip over backwards. It can tumble up to 20" (4 spaces) without provoking. I can make the 15DC easily, so I just hope that there are no opponents in my path, or the DC goes up to 25.

I think I just converted to the "3E has too many rules" crowd.

 

[Victim]

But haste was less balanced since you could cast it on something like 7 fighters and doubled each of their attacks.

I can't wait for my wizard to reach 5th level, so he can cast Slow. It has no save!

 

[Henry]

I don't want beleaguer the obvious here, but there are some unflattering connotations to comparing AD&D to Monopoly. Certainly most people had outgrown the latter game by the time they turned 13.

I have to disagree with the latter assessment. I STILL play Monopoly today. It's a classic game that I cannot find a single soul who DOESN'T know how to play. Adults still play monopoly today, in addition to Sorry, Scrabble, Clue, and (depending on how inebriated you are in mixed company) Twister.

Albeit, most of them play with the money on Free Parking rule.

 

[Quasqueton]

taking offense

You will not find anyone who loves/d AD&D1 more than I. I started with BD&D in 1980, then moved up to AD&D within a year or two. I DMed AD&D1 even through the AD&D2 years.

For the record, I did not start this thread to poke fun at or bash AD&D. I have more AD&D1 books than I do D&D3 stuff. I love to pick up one of the old books and read or just look through it for fun and inspiration. I was doing this over the weekend, and I thought of this concept for starting an interesting thread here on ENWorld.

Most folks here responded in the style I started in. Some folks, though, apparently take immediate offense at any "comparison" between D&D3 and AD&D1. That's sad.

What would a modern computer user think if introduced to an old Commodore 64?

What would a Playstation gamer think if sat down in front of an old Atari?

Compare Baldur's Gate to Pitfall.

Would any folks of my generation take offense at these questions? I doubt it -- I think everyone would recognize the nostalgia and humor in the discussion. Then why do some AD&D1 players take offense and get all defensive (and subtly offensive) when someone brings up comparing the older game to the newer version? It's really silly.

"The bard is a prestige class?"

Quasqueton

PS: Oh, the 5,000 xp for barbarian was a typo. I had the UA sitting on my desk when I was making the post.

 

[jasamcarl]

Well, I largely agree with your response. I have to say that I don't find much insight in Lylanthwol's remarks, just an affirmation that many of AD&D's core rules were rather obtuse.

Having said, your reply surprises me. In a past thread, you staunchly defended the anachronistic hit point system, which you once described as "pretty much perfect" despite the fact that it has undergone negligible revisions throughout the years, and thus could be deemed to be just as "arbitrary", "inane", and "crude" as it was back in 1e. Please clarify. Do you feel that it is exempt from your aforementioned assessment of AD&D?

Uh easy. What you are positing is called a "slippery sloap fallacy". You have concluded that because I find some (many) of the mechanics of 1e to be crude, etc. I must find all them so. I never implied that. I like classes and hitpoints because they provide the sweetspot of balance and diversity which is essential to good gameplay.

You then combine that incorrect major assumption with the equally incorrect minor premise that because something is old, it must be arbitrary, inane, and crude. No, as often as not, something persists because it works. Hit points are a case in point.

Many 1e mechanics are not dated because they are old, but because they do a poor job of providing compelling gameplay and for many, fluff, relative to current alternatives, notably 3e.

Any questions?

 

[Thorvald Kviksverd]

I think I just converted to the "3E has too many rules" crowd.

...but the truth is, my "Basic D&D brain" is about to explode

When it comes to arguing the minutiae of AoO, I will concede the field to a 3e master.

At least I "deftly" diverted the discussion somewhat