D&D 1E Favorite Obscure Rules from TSR-era D&D

[Riley]

AD&D DMG, p98.

Man, a decent answer was right there… and then they went and created that monstrously unwieldy grappling section anyway.

The recent “When We Were Wizards” podcast has some possibly-relevant recollections of how the DMG was produced.

 

[Starfox]

For me the favorite odd rule was actually in the ability score tables. A score of 8-14 had no modifiers. Rolling 3d6, or even 4d6 drop the lowest, there was a good chance to get no score of 15 or higher. So all that tension rolling scores for no effect at all!

And don't get me started on percentile Strength! Actually one of the fighting classes best abilities was to be allowed to use percentile strength, but you had to start with a Strength of 18 to qualify! And then you had 50% chance to not actually get much at all out of it.

If you rolled poorly and the DM didn't take pity on you, well, it was very easy to die before level 2 even if you did try to survive. Rolling poorly meant you didn't need to try. A lot of level 1 parties got their main loot from fallen comrades.

Edit: I know ability scores were used in ability checks, to roll your core or less on d20 or 3d6. But this was nto in the rules. They also mattered for proficiencies, which were not a thing when the 1E PH came out.

 

[Starfox]

The hoops required to be a Bard in 1st ed are still just so amusing goofy. The height of letting flavour dictate design.

And the 2E bard that actually had more wizard spells per day than a wizard of the same experience points, as well as more hit dice, bigger hit dice, armor, decent weapons, and limited thief abilities.

Use the thieves' xp tables FTW!

Edit: Changed level to experience points, which was the whole point of the argument. At the same level wizards get more spells, but a bard will be higher in level at the same xp.

 

[Starfox]

At least the 2e DMG isn't saying that NPC's will never ever ever share spells with your PC unless you literally save their lives or give them a powerful magic item, and that PC's swapping spells should be hit over the head with a tire iron!*

*This may not be the actual text from the 1e DMG, but then again, the 1e DMG states that any player who dares look upon it's pages deserves a less than noble demise, so...

From memory "a minor magic item like a girdle of giant strength". I wish to inform old Gary that a girdle of giant strength is perhaps the best magic item in all of DnD!

 

[James Gasik]

From memory "a minor magic item like a girdle of giant strength". I wish to inform old Gary that a girdle of giant strength is perhaps the best magic item in all of DnD!

To someone who can use it, yes. But Wizard's cannot make use of it, so to them, it rightly is a "minor magical item".

 

[Milieu]

A 5e player learning about 1e grappling for the first time:

 

[Fortunate Son]

The 2e bard never had more spells than the wizard. At times they had the same amount, but at 1st level they had zero and by mid-to-high levels they fell behind.

The bard was a better character than a mage, mechanically speaking, in low level parties. Can't argue against that.

As far as ability scores, they certainly had effects in the 8-14 range. Mostly they weren't relevant unless your class abilities were based on that stat (except strength and charisma), but when they did they were very relevant. In particular, no one ever played a cleric with a wisdom below 13. At 12 or less, your spells had a chance of failing each time you cast one!

 

[Mannahnin]

AD&D DMG, p98.

The spider on the shoulder thing I always took as an improvisation to resolve the issue of a tiny monster being ON a man-sized PC, or primarily as color, adding a greater sense of visceral danger and plausibility to the threat of the small spider- "IT'S ON ME!" Regular grappling wouldn't even apply due to the large size difference, and there were no other rules for creatures sharing space, so that ruling got them out of that lacuna quickly.

Edit: I know ability scores were used in ability checks, to roll your core or less on d20 or 3d6. But this was nto in the rules. They also mattered for proficiencies, which were not a thing when the 1E PH came out.

Non-weapon proficiencies, you mean. Weapon proficiencies are in there. The 1979 DMG has Secondary Skills, but no rules for making checks with them. NWP don't show up until Oriental Adventures in 1985, followed by the DSG and WSG in '86.

Ability checks didn't make it into a core A/D&D book until 1981 Moldvay Basic, though I suspect they had been around for a while as a house rule in various campaigns.

From memory "a minor magic item like a girdle of giant strength". I wish to inform old Gary that a girdle of giant strength is perhaps the best magic item in all of DnD!

Ring of Invisibility.

Superior players will certainly co-operate; thus, spells will in all probability be exchanged between PC magic-users to some extent. No special sanctions need be taken to prevent such exchange - although this cooperation should never be suggested or otherwise encouraged, either. The DM should leave this interaction strictly alone. This is NOT the case when PCs deal with NPC henchmen or hirelings. Non-player character hirelings or henchmen will ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to co-operate freely with player characters, even their own masters ar mistresses. Again, this matter is dealt with separately under the section pertaining to the DM's role in operating henchmen and hirelings. As a general rule, they will require value plus a bonus when dealing with their liege. If they will deal with other PCs (or NPCs) at all, they will require double value plus a considerable bonus. For example, Thigru Thorkisen, Magician in the hire of Olaf Blue Cheeks, a 10th level Lord, knows the spell, suggestion; and Olaf’s associate, Halfdan the Necromancer, requests that he be allowed to copy this spell into his book of third level spells. If Olof is willing, Halfdan can approach Thigru. If Halfdan has been at least civil to the magician, Thigru will ask nothing more than a third level spell in return,plus another spell, plus some minor magic item such as a set of three potions, a scroll of 3 spells, or perhaps a ring of invisibility. If Halfdan had formerly insulted the magician, then the price would be more dear; but supposing the necromancer had actually saved Thigru's life at one time, the cost would be reduced

 

[Starfox]

Non-player character hirelings or henchmen will ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to co-operate freely with player characters, even their own masters ar mistresses. Again, this matter is dealt with separately under the section pertaining to the DM's role in operating henchmen and hirelings. As a general rule, they will require value plus a bonus when dealing with their liege. If they will deal with other PCs (or NPCs) at all, they will require double value plus a considerable bonus. For example, Thigru Thorkisen, Magician in the hire of Olaf Blue Cheeks, a 10th level Lord, knows the spell, suggestion; and Olaf’s associate, Halfdan the Necromancer, requests that he be allowed to copy this spell into his book of third level spells. If Olof is willing, Halfdan can approach Thigru. If Halfdan has been at least civil to the magician, Thigru will ask nothing more than a third level spell in return,plus another spell, plus some minor magic item such as a set of three potions, a scroll of 3 spells, or perhaps a ring of invisibility. If Halfdan had formerly insulted the magician, then the price would be more dear; but supposing the necromancer had actually saved Thigru's life at one time, the cost would be reduced

At one point, I did a campaign where the player got the role of a henchman of a higher-level NPC. Much hilarity ensues!

 

[Willie the Duck]

The 2e bard never had more spells than the wizard. At times they had the same amount, but at 1st level they had zero and by mid-to-high levels they fell behind.

The bard was a better character than a mage, mechanically speaking, in low level parties. Can't argue against that.

With the exceptions that their ability requirements make is hard for them to have as high an Int as the mage, and that they do no automatically gain any spells as they level. Those two things really hampered the 2e bards I saw in-play bitd.

The other interesting (/favorite obscure) thing was that, although they had armor proficiency, they couldn't cast in (non-elven chain) armor any more than a mage could ("abiding by all the restrictions on memorization and spell use that bind a mage, especially in the prohibition of armor."). Really incentivizes non-combat spells for bards (and 2e fighter-mages, etc.) -- although you could just mage it up until you ran out of spells and then armor up as well.