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<blockquote data-quote="francisca" data-source="post: 1579983" data-attributes="member: 9734">I can't speak to 2E, as never played it.&nbsp; Same with THAC0.&nbsp; Never understood what was so hard about looking at a freaking chart.&nbsp; But anyway....I personally find that the easiest version to teach is the 1980 Basic set.&nbsp; The manual is 64 pages long, about 20 pages of which is for the player.&nbsp; The rest is monsters, treasure, etc for the DM.&nbsp; Much less complicated than handing somebody the 3.5 PHB.&nbsp; To me, it's not so much an issue of mechanics.&nbsp; The d20 mechanic is indeed simple: roll a d20, add the modifiers.&nbsp; The problem, for new players, is coming up with everything which goes into the modifier.&nbsp; The ability and level-based modifiers (BAB, saves) are easy.&nbsp; Skill modifiers are a bit tougher,&nbsp; as you need to thumb through the PHB and figure out how you want to spend them.&nbsp; Then there are synergies.&nbsp; And feats.&nbsp; And conditional modifiers (seems to me way more than 1E).&nbsp; So while the mechanic is streamlined, the devil is in the details.&nbsp; Then there are AOOs., etc...&nbsp; It's alot for new players, even if you have an experienced player/DM to help out.&nbsp; I imagine it's much worse for brand new, never played RPGs folks with no guidance.&nbsp; It was much easier in the 80's with the Basic set(s).&nbsp; WotC has obviously recognized this. (Witness the new basic set.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="francisca, post: 1579983, member: 9734"] I can't speak to 2E, as never played it. Same with THAC0. Never understood what was so hard about looking at a freaking chart. But anyway.... I personally find that the easiest version to teach is the 1980 Basic set. The manual is 64 pages long, about 20 pages of which is for the player. The rest is monsters, treasure, etc for the DM. Much less complicated than handing somebody the 3.5 PHB. To me, it's not so much an issue of mechanics. The d20 mechanic is indeed simple: roll a d20, add the modifiers. The problem, for new players, is coming up with everything which goes into the modifier. The ability and level-based modifiers (BAB, saves) are easy. Skill modifiers are a bit tougher, as you need to thumb through the PHB and figure out how you want to spend them. Then there are synergies. And feats. And conditional modifiers (seems to me way more than 1E). So while the mechanic is streamlined, the devil is in the details. Then there are AOOs., etc... It's alot for new players, even if you have an experienced player/DM to help out. I imagine it's much worse for brand new, never played RPGs folks with no guidance. It was much easier in the 80's with the Basic set(s). WotC has obviously recognized this. (Witness the new basic set.) [/QUOTE]

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