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<blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 4922086" data-attributes="member: 32740">Except that one of the commonly held principles of &quot;Old School&quot; is that when you don't like something - change it, if it's missing something - make it up yourself.&nbsp; The wider implications of that principle are that it doesn't matter what version of the game you're playing.&nbsp;Dragonsfoot is dedicated to versions of D&amp;D PRIOR TO 3rd Edition.&nbsp; Yes, they can get downright rude if you express any interest or admiration for later versions but that's because that community was formed around those who DESPISE 3E (and 3.5 &amp; 4E) and wanted to specifically exclude it.&nbsp; It's heavily centered around 1E AD&amp;D.&nbsp; It thus shouldn't matter what they call players of other editions - they clearly don't want them discussed there so there's little excuse to take offense at the reactions they have.&nbsp;Anyone who expounds that Old School is the only way to play is no more correct than anyone who expounds that 4E is the only version anyone should be playing.&nbsp; I've said it before - NO VERSION OF D&amp;D HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE.&nbsp; Also, as it says in the sig - old school has much less to do with what version you play than HOW you play it.&nbsp; But there is still no single Gary-approved way to play even the Old School style.&nbsp; Back in the day the hobby was RIFE with varying approaches to the game.&nbsp; I firmly believe that the &quot;Old School&quot; movement is simply a natural reaction to the continued mistaken suggestion that the current version (whatever it may be) is the version everyone should be playing, that it can be (and is) all things to all players and therefore there's no excuse for preferring other versions, and above all WotC's continued championing of a Rules Above All approach.&nbsp;Speaking ill of the man would be something along the lines of &quot;He was a jerk,&quot; or, &quot;He was an idiot.&quot;&nbsp; Simply saying, &quot;Gary got it dead-flat-out-wrong,&quot; is not an insult to him - just be prepared to support your opinion.&nbsp;One of the frequently recurring topics on Dragonsfoot is 1st Edition AD&amp;D initiative.&nbsp; It is not surprising that it should keep coming up because that system is (IMO) needlessly complex, frequently vague and ill-explained, and has its details spread EVERYWHERE.&nbsp; After years of debate there are still points of it that simply have to be decided by personal interpretation.&nbsp; And yet Gary himself had stated that he didn't even use it himself.&nbsp; He used a much simpler system.&nbsp; So which is the Old School way - to use the simpler/simplistic approach that Gary himself used, or to fanatically adhere as closely as possible to the system as presented (poorly) in 1st Edition.&nbsp; The answer is that both are legitimately &quot;Old School&quot; as is making up your own system or borrowing/combining from other sources.&nbsp;This is what stands in marked contrast to 3E and 4E where on such an issue there seem to be only two possiblities - the correct answer as determined by WotC Rules Specialists, or the &quot;incorrect&quot; answer that you decide to use in defiance of what you are told is correct.&nbsp;Gary would almost certainly have approved of ANY style or choice that YOU decided was what was the most fun for you, and disapproved of the idea that there was only one worthy version of the game and only one way to play.&nbsp; Just because he personally didn't care for WotC's versions doesn't mean that honoring the mans memory means you should only play AD&amp;D forever.&nbsp;You SHOULD, but...<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Man in the Funny Hat, post: 4922086, member: 32740"] Except that one of the commonly held principles of "Old School" is that when you don't like something - change it, if it's missing something - make it up yourself. The wider implications of that principle are that it doesn't matter what version of the game you're playing. Dragonsfoot is dedicated to versions of D&D PRIOR TO 3rd Edition. Yes, they can get downright rude if you express any interest or admiration for later versions but that's because that community was formed around those who DESPISE 3E (and 3.5 & 4E) and wanted to [I]specifically exclude it[/I]. It's heavily centered around 1E AD&D. It thus shouldn't matter what they call players of other editions - they clearly don't want them discussed there so there's little excuse to take offense at the reactions they have. Anyone who expounds that Old School is the only way to play is no more correct than anyone who expounds that 4E is the only version anyone should be playing. I've said it before - NO VERSION OF D&D HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE. Also, as it says in the sig - old school has much less to do with what version you play than HOW you play it. But there is still no single Gary-approved way to play even the Old School style. Back in the day the hobby was RIFE with varying approaches to the game. I firmly believe that the "Old School" movement is simply a natural reaction to the continued mistaken suggestion that the current version (whatever it may be) is the version everyone should be playing, that it can be (and is) all things to all players and therefore there's no excuse for preferring other versions, and above all WotC's continued championing of a Rules Above All approach. Speaking ill of the man would be something along the lines of "He was a jerk," or, "He was an idiot." Simply saying, "Gary got it dead-flat-out-wrong," is not an insult to him - just be prepared to support your opinion. One of the frequently recurring topics on Dragonsfoot is 1st Edition AD&D initiative. It is not surprising that it should keep coming up because that system is (IMO) needlessly complex, frequently vague and ill-explained, and has its details spread EVERYWHERE. After years of debate there are still points of it that simply have to be decided by personal interpretation. And yet Gary himself had stated that he didn't even use it himself. He used a much simpler system. So which is the Old School way - to use the simpler/simplistic approach that Gary himself used, or to fanatically adhere as closely as possible to the system as presented (poorly) in 1st Edition. The answer is that both are legitimately "Old School" as is making up your own system or borrowing/combining from other sources. This is what stands in marked contrast to 3E and 4E where on such an issue there seem to be only two possiblities - the correct answer as determined by WotC Rules Specialists, or the "incorrect" answer that you decide to use in [I]defiance[/I] of what you are told is correct. Gary would almost certainly have approved of ANY style or choice that YOU decided was what was the most fun for you, and disapproved of the idea that there was only one worthy version of the game and only one way to play. Just because he personally didn't care for WotC's versions doesn't mean that honoring the mans memory means you should only play AD&D forever. You SHOULD, but... :) [/QUOTE]

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