OD&D Is OD&D playable RAW?

[Hriston]

I’d recommend picking up a copy of Chainmail, if you haven’t already. I don’t think you can play original D&D RaW without it, although I think many people did play it that way back in the day. The alternative combat system really only replaces the attack roll. You still need Chaimail for movement, initiative, etc.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[imredave]

Just a note on "Wilderness Survival". All that is used is the map. There is no need to track down some dusty board game, as there are several nice reproductions on the web, including the one found at this site

Into the Wilderness

The Dwimmermount campaign resumes this afternoon, after an unexpected hiatus (my wife was down with debilitating migraine last weekend), wit...

grognardia.blogspot.com

P.S. My favorite version is behind a paywall for the "Mamoreal Tomb" Kickstarter, so I have posted a link to my second favorite which is public.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

OD&D is missing a lot of rules by modern standards.

Modern standards have too many rules that won't be missed.

 

[JeffB]

We did. and filled in the gaps. We as DMs had sometimes wildly varying styles because of it and we as a groupenjoyed the variation , respected each other's filling in of the gaps. IMO , It was a far more creative time than now where everything is more cookie cutter and rigid. Nowadays you are better off finding a different game if you want a different experience.

 

[Mistwell]

I asked Diaglo to take a look at this thread

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

It's playable, but there are parts that you'd have no choice but to use a DM ruling/customization on. I know that when I ran an OD&D game, there were things that would've been inscrutable to me without the decades of RPG experience I had. I imagine it's why word-of-mouth was so important back then - you almost needed someone that had already muscled through it to figure stuff out.

 

[Yaarel]

Is OD&D playable RAW?

No!

OD&D and 1e are an oral tradition − not a textual tradition.

At best, the written texts are like cheat sheets to remind you about certain complex or optional details concerning what is happening in the actual game.

In its day, the game was learned orally from players who learned it orally from other players.

 

[Zardnaar]

Is OD&D playable RAW?

No!

OD&D and 1e are an oral tradition − not a textual tradition.

At best, the written texts are like cheat sheets to remind you about certain complex or optional details concerning what is happening in the actual game.

In its day, the game was learned orally from players who learned it orally from other players.

1E has rules.

There's a lot missing in the 1st 3 D&D books

Ability score tables.

It's also formatted badly.

A lot of the creatures are not started out properly unlike 1E.

I quite liked the domain rules. 10gp per person of tax per year no tables to work out population etc.

Clergy gets half price buildings and 20gp per person per year.

Spells are more similar the B/X rates than AD&D. High level spells don't exist yet.

 

[5atbu]

Look up Braunstein, I think you need to have that to fully understand the roots of the hobby.