How do you approach playing the Arduin Grimoire?

[TKurtBond]

I picked up the first three volumes of the original Arduin Grimoire recently because of the over-the-top energy they exude. How do you approach playing it now? Take the fighter and magic user from OD&D and use the other classes from the Grimoires? Throw whatever classes and stuff that appeals from OD&D and the stuff TSR published for it in their magazines in the blender with the Arduin Grimoire?

I got my start with AD&D, first edition, but I’ve never played OD&D. I have played Swords & Wizardry and Delving Deeper.

Edited: for spelling.

 

[Mannahnin]

Take whatever bits grab you and fire your imagination, I think. I believe it's meant to be a potpourri and grab bag of fun ideas. Definitely throwing it all in a blender is very much in the spirit of Arduin.

 

[Autumnal]

Carefully, checking for traps, and having your bard imitate the sounds of many small animals scuttling along the walls and ceilings.

I mean, duh.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I would suggest the blender approach. The Arduin Grimoire has got a ton of ideas, some great, some not great, all fairly gonzo. Take the things you like and leave the things you don't.

 

[TKurtBond]

That makes sense. I'm going to reread OD&D (when the OD&D booklets came out in PDF I printed them all and stapled them into booklets), then write an adventure and after we've got used to OD&D I'll add Arduin.

 

[Baron Opal II]

Arduin was meant, I believe, to overlay OD&D and bring it full bizarre. The planet was a cluster of planar nexi so anything and everything could happen. Sadly I lost my little three long ago. Fun times!

 

[GamerforHire]

FYI, I think I answered this question one way, briefly, on another forum but I thought of something else, sparked by one of the above posters.

My recollection is that one of the first things we universally adopted from Arduin in our D&D games was the alternative hit point system. We also often used the Arduin tables for attribute generation, with its different die roll combos based on race and gender. I personally adopted the mana system for spellcasting. We all loved Deodanths and used any number of Arduin monsters, but not so much the new spells. I also used the coinage fluff, metals and coin types both, in many campaigns. I do not recall very many of the character classes being used by people, however—that didn’t really come until we started playing The Arcanum rpg in the mid- to late-1980s.

 

[Voadam]

In the 90s while in college I joined an ongoing 1e campaign that had been going on for 20 years. My memory is they used the Arduin xp charts and a flat amount of xp awarded based on success (1,000), in progress (750) or failure (500) for the night's game, with a possible +10 or 20% modifier for very good roleplay and tactics. Over four years of weekly non summer games my magic-user went from 7th to 20th level.