I've never played AD&D1

[Quasqueton]

I got a wild idea, this weekend, to run a sample combat for a group of AD&D1 characters (the base four: cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief) against some AD&D1 monsters using strictly *all* the AD&D1 rules, as written, by-the-book. I knew there were some rules that I never used when running an AD&D1 combat, such as weapon speed factors and the weapon vs. AC chart, so I wanted to see how they actually worked in actual game play. But when I started rereading the AD&D1 books (PHB and DMG), with an eye toward running a combat with all the AD&D1 rules, I found that there are a ton of AD&D1 rules I had never used – some I never even knew about (or just don’t remember).

Quite honestly, I am astonished by how much of the AD&D1 rules I've never used, or never used completely or correctly. It turns out, in truth, I've never really run a fully AD&D1 game. My games could better be described as Basic/Expert D&D with Advanced D&D flavor. I used the AD&D1 ability scores, races, classes, and spells, but the actual game mechanics I used, it seems, were more Basic than Advanced.

I probably shouldn't be so surprised; after all, I started my D&D ‘career’ with Basic and Expert D&D. I moved up to Advanced D&D after a year or two. So my base understanding of the game mechanics was from B/XD&D. I guess I never actually read the DMG completely when I was running my ‘AD&D1’ campaign -- I must have skimmed or skipped the info I assumed I already knew. (Or maybe I did read all the rules and choose to ignore the more complicated stuff. I don’t really remember from 10-25 years ago.)

For instance:

-- I thought surprise was simply “roll a d6: a 1 or 2 means surprised for a round” (with just a couple exceptions, such as the ranger class, or a group of elves in the forest). The actual rules for surprise are much, much more complicated.

-- I thought segments were just used to tell how quickly a spellcaster could get off his spell in comparison/opposition to another spellcaster. The actual rules require some pretty detailed segment tracking for almost all actions, not just spell casting. (Including a 2-5 segment delay for a potion to take effect after being drunk.)

And the biggest surprise I discovered in the AD&D1 rules:

Players must declare their PCs’ actions “precisely and without delay” prior to rolling initiative.

Seeing this rule absolutely floored me. I’ve seen this rule in Marvel Superheroes (and I house ruled it out), and I’m currently playing with this rule in a Star Wars d6 game (and I hate it). I had no idea that this rule originated in AD&D1.


How did AD&D1 convention/tournament games handle all these rules? Did such official games use *all* the AD&D1 rules? How long did ‘full-rules’ AD&D1 combat take?

Quasqueton

 

[Agamon]

That's cool. But completely by the RAW? Are you sure you want to do that?

 

[Grymar]

Thinking back, I had the exact same experience as you. Moving from Basic/Expert to AD&D for me meant skipping weapon speeds and the other odd rules you mentioned. I opened my old AD&D DMG a few months back and was stunned to see many charts that I had no memory of which was shocking considering how much time I spent in that book. I just used the to hit, experience, and a few other charts.

 

[WayneLigon]

I can't ever remember playing with all the rules. They were just complication for complication's sake. Not as much as some other systems that were out at the time, though.

We basically ignored segments, weapon speed, initiative and surprise, and several other fiddly bits. A lot of campaigns ignored demihuman level limits and class limits as well.

 

[Agamon]

I played AD&D the same way. B/ED&D with some AD&D rules added in. In fact, more rules were made up on the spot than not. We were kids, a lot of the rules and language in the AD&D books went over our heads. But it was still fun.

 

[dcas]

Weapon speed only comes into play when initiative is a tie.

I would ignore weapon vs. armor class unless it seems really ridiculous (a bo stick against someone wearing full plate, for example).

And the biggest surprise I discovered in the AD&D1 rules:

Players must declare their PCs’ actions “precisely and without delay” prior to rolling initiative.

Really? What is surprising about that?

 

[Grymar]

I played AD&D the same way. B/ED&D with some AD&D rules added in. In fact, more rules were made up on the spot than not. We were kids, a lot of the rules and language in the AD&D books went over our heads. But it was still fun.

And I guess that was the key...we still had fun. For the longest time we were very confused about their being two versions {This module talks about a halfling? What's that?).

But in time we melded it into our own game and that was enough to get me through.

 

[Raven Crowking]

If all of these "Edition Wars" threads have proved nothing else, they have proved to me that I've never played 1e "by the book" either. It's amazing how much what I remember and what the rules say differ from each other.

RC

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

All of those things are the things that I never really used much either. I did something similar to you long ago - I went through the combat chapter and noted all the things that I didn't use or realize I was forgetting. I had maybe 4 years D&D experience at that time, and I wa surprised by how much I was doing differently. A lot of those things I ended up changing for my own game....

 

[Quasqueton]

Really? What is surprising about that?

1- This is a very major rule, yet I’ve never, ever, anytime, anywhere, played, seen, or even heard about it. I’ve never read a reference to it on a message board. I’ve never had anyone mention I was skipping it in my AD&D1 campaigns. I’ve never had a DM use it in their AD&D1 campaign.

2- It is a rule I have always thought extremely annoying and bothersome in those game systems I have seen it in (MSH, SWd6). (I am currently playing a SWd6 game, and I hate this rule.)

How could I miss such a major rule for a game system I played for 15 years, with a couple dozen people in 3 or 4 distinctly different groups. This isn’t a one-line, throw-away rule – it has a couple paragraphs dedicated to it, with firm rules for how a DM is to handle it (including enforcing delays in the game combat for decision delays at the table).

Quasqueton