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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ourph" data-source="post: 2064958" data-attributes="member: 20239">Actually, I think you may have some of that backwards.  For instance, I remember being restricted by the arbitrary nature of the rules, dying from haste and not getting particularly attached to any character because they could die from some random effect.  But I also remember the DM being open to interpretation and running a fairly fast and furious rules-lite game where nobody really got bogged down in rules minutia on the players side.  I like all of that.I think you'll find that people who started off with OD&D or Holmes Basic (before the advent of 1e) are probably more likely to feel comfortable bending and molding the rules to their own preferences (and likely had a much easier time understanding and using the rules due to their former experience).  It's unfortunate that so many people started their gaming career with the 1e books and came away believing they were confusing and restrictive.  I think the single biggest criticism that can be laid at 1e's feet is that the books lacked context for the guidelines, practices and bits of wisdom that had been developed in the hobby when D&D was a much more free-form thing and in many ways assumed that young or inexperienced players would be tutored by someone who had been exposed to the game in those earlier stages and could pass on the context (something that really didn't happen that much IME).  Obviously there were enough absolutes included in the books that many people came away thinking AD&D was a straight-jacket rather than a well-fitted coat (to use the obligatory 'tailor' analogy  <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/paranoid.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":uhoh:" title="Paranoid    :uhoh:" data-shortname=":uhoh:" />  ).</blockquote>

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