If WotC decided to revitalize and support AD&D, would you play/buy it?

[Reynard]

So, no, I wouldn't buy a reprint of material I already own and never played strictly as it was written anyway.

Not trying to single our Bullgrit, but I do want to reiterate I am not talking about reprint books with new art or some such thing. I am talking about an "AD&D 3rd Edition" that hews closer to "old school AD&D" than 3.0 did (which i think is still very much a natural successor to AD&D, moreso than 4E).

What would such a thing look like? No idea. Not "Skills and Powers" -- that was proto-d20/3E. Maybe some evolution of the proficiency system (skills) and perhaps a shuffling back in of half orcs, demons and assassins. Not sure.

 

[Reynard]

Also, just as an aside: one of the reasons i thought of this thread was it occurred to me that as difficult as it can be to convince people to play 1E, for example, that difficulty would fall away if 1E was still published and supported by WotC. I am not sure why, but it seems (among many players I know, anyway) that the fact of a game being the most recent edition is more important than its actual merits as a fun game.

i totally appreciate that for some folks AD&D doesn't do it or doesn't do it any more. I would guess that for lots of those people, they left AD&D for other games long before 3E came out.

A related question: given how different 4E is from previous iterations and that 3E still "lives" as Pathfinder, would official support of an AD&D be worthwhile and would it canibalize 4E sales?

 

[Mallus]

I am talking about an "AD&D 3rd Edition" that hews closer to "old school AD&D" than 3.0 did.

In that case, I'd like to change my vote to 'no interest at all'.

I don't miss much about 1E's mechanics (except maybe the lack of hit-point inflation that kinda bugged 3e). Personally, I think the defining characteristics of 'old-school D&D' are unrelated to the actual rules used. It's all about play style, shared expectations, a DIY approach, and a focus on blurring the distinction between player-overcome and character-overcome obstacles.

 

[Bullgrit]

I am not talking about reprint books with new art or some such thing. I am talking about an "AD&D 3rd Edition" that hews closer to "old school AD&D" than 3.0 did

This is a silly concept, to me. You're basically saying "a new edition that is just like the old edition."

First off, "old school" is a slippery concept:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/260389-defining-old-school-vote.html
http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...identifying-old-school-adventure-modules.html

Bullgrit

 

[Henry]

I might buy the core books for a "collector's" aspect, but I can readily get the old-school feel I need with 4e and low-level games of Pathfinder, so I don't know if I'd try to start collecting a group for AD&D exclusively.

 

[Hussar]

I'm surprised at the results of this poll - nearly 57% voted they would neither buy nor play a 'new' AD&D. I wonder what % of those already own the 1E books and have no need to buy them nor inclination to play them. Myself while I wouldn't buy a 'new' 1E I would gladly play it - using my old books.

I can't say I'm all that surprised to be honest. I mean, OSRIC has done quite well, by the standards of a pdf publication, but, it's not even a blip on the radar compared to the big players. Is it really that surprising that there are lots of people who have no interest in playing 1e D&D?

 

[Ourph]

I am talking about an "AD&D 3rd Edition" that hews closer to "old school AD&D" than 3.0 did

In that case, count me as a "Wont' purchase/Won't play" vote. If I play AD&D, it will be the real thing.

[Sean Bean]AD&D has no updates. AD&D needs no updates.[/Sean Bean]

 

[Corathon]

AD&D1 is the game that I'm running now. I have a huge mass of old stuff, and I have also bought a bunch of new OSR stuff. But I'd still buy a new AD&D if one was created. Assuming that I liked the core books I'd buy other stuff, too.

 

[Obryn]

Is it really that hard to convince people to play 1e?

Maybe I just have open-minded players, or maybe they trust my DMing skills, but IME when I mentioned running an AD&D 1e game, I got a ton of interest.

I can understand that it'd be tough to find players for "AD&D + This 200-Page Binder of My Brilliant Houserules" or "AD&D in This Setting I've Been Developing for 30 Years And Which Occupies a Wall of My Basement" or "AD&D in This Ongoing Campaign You'll Never Fit Into Because I've Had the Same Players for Two Decades" or "AD&D Because I Hate Everything Else and Am Not Afraid to Tell You"...

...but 1e itself? Is it really that hard?

-O

 

[Reynard]

Is it really that hard to convince people to play 1e?

Maybe I just have open-minded players, or maybe they trust my DMing skills, but IME when I mentioned running an AD&D 1e game, I got a ton of interest.

I can understand that it'd be tough to find players for "AD&D + This 200-Page Binder of My Brilliant Houserules" or "AD&D in This Setting I've Been Developing for 30 Years And Which Occupies a Wall of My Basement" or "AD&D in This Ongoing Campaign You'll Never Fit Into Because I've Had the Same Players for Two Decades" or "AD&D Because I Hate Everything Else and Am Not Afraid to Tell You"...

...but 1e itself? Is it really that hard?

-O

In a word, yes. But then i live in the north east where gamers are rare and insular.