First Edition Feel: Why Is This a Good Thing?

[Zak S]

1. We like a challenge. Hard stuff is fun for people like that.

2. D&D art in 1st ed was weird and sometimes amateurish--but it was definitely its own thing--nothing else looks like early D&D art. There's a lot of great new D&D art but it looks more like other fantasy things (book covers, concept art, movies)

 

[Wicht]

I always felt like cleverness was apt to be rewarded when I played the original games. I still like that element in my RPGs.

 

[Zak S]

I always felt like cleverness was apt to be rewarded when I played the original games. I still like that element in my RPGs.

Cleverness is rewarded in all the editions or can be.

The thing about 1e was that it introduced the concept of a game where you could, y'know, flood the dungeon if you got sick of it--so it was less "it includes cleverness and your fav doesn't" as much as the writing in the early books and magazines was clearly--tonally--excited about the outside-the-box stuff and assuming GMs were always doing it.

What you can do with the game hasn't changed much--and maybe even the culture around it is still very DIY--but the early editions had a responsibility to explain that over and over to an audience who'd never heard of it.

 

[Wicht]

Cleverness is rewarded in all the editions or can be.

Of course it can be. Which is why a 1st edition feel is still possible with other editions.

I was just explaining what 1st edition feel meant to me (in part).

 

[gamerprinter]

Well to me, the 1e feel, is "very lethal", I can only remember a handful of PCs that ever got above 9th level. I've had more 1e PCs die between 1st and 7th level. Also 1e felt cumbersome, especially without the benefits of mechanics to cover most things - house ruling was the rule of 1e, because of the lack of rules to cover the endless corner issues that came up in game. I have no misbegotten nostalgia for 1e, and in many ways was hopeful with the release of 2e to fix 1e problems, which it didn't really do. 3x was a complete departure from much of 1e-2e, in many ways far less lethal, but eventually all too fiddly.

Basically, I don't miss 1e at all, and have no nostalgia for it - I don't ever want to see anything emulating 1e again... so a "sales pitch" offering the 1e feel is telling me, don't buy this product.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Cleverness is rewarded in all the editions or can be.

In 1E, you can roll a huge boulder down a corridor to instantly kill all of the goblins. Cleverness was rewarded by giving you easy access to loot (and experience) without needing to fight.

In 4E, the guidelines on page 42 want you to make an attack roll against Reflex in order to inflict level-appropriate damage, virtually guaranteeing that none of the goblins will be killed (unless they were specially-designated as easy-to-kill). Cleverness was discouraged to the point where it was a waste of time. You could accomplish the same task, more quickly, by using your defined powers.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

To me, the feel of 1E is that there's an extremely straightforward and obvious way to represent any given thing, and if it's not there then it doesn't exist. It's not a world where you can fit seventeen kinds of arcane spellcaster, and they all do their thing in different ways, and it all works. It's a world where wizards exist, and wizardry works like this, and if your concept doesn't fit into that mold then too bad.

I just want to sit down and play my character. I don't want to dig through a million options on how to best represent that character.

 

[delericho]

Basically, I don't miss 1e at all, and have no nostalgia for it - I don't ever want to see anything emulating 1e again... so a "sales pitch" offering the 1e feel is telling me, don't buy this product.

And that's fine.

I don't like fish. If I see fish on a menu, that's them saying "don't order this meal". Does that mean that no restaurant anywhere should include fish on their menus? Indeed, does it mean that restaurants specializing in fish shouldn't exist?

The answer, of course, is "no", and for a very simple reason: some other (possibly mad) people like fish.

 

[gamerprinter]

There are all kinds of flavors and all kinds of tastes, I'm just judging from my point of view with my own taste and experience.

 

[SirAntoine]

There is a thread gathering feedback from fans of Necromancer Games in the D&D 5th Edition forum, and I learned there what they mean by "1st edition feel". It has to do with how adventures are written, and what kinds of challenges are there. More surprise and room for clever, or devious role-playing is provided, the stories are a little more dark than what the fans are used to now, and there is less emphasis on balance or on using your powers and abilities as written. Creativity is encouraged.