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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6266812" data-attributes="member: 27780">Best of Dragon Magazine 1part 5/6Illusionists: Ah yes, the illusionist. Definitely one addition to AD&D that caused a fair few problems over the years. Part of this was that illusion spells were a pain to adjudicate, and became useless against many higher level monsters. The other was the distinction between illusionists and wizards, and what it really meant when high level wizards could do pretty much anything with the right spells, Really, if they wanted strong niche protection, they should have broken up both fighting and spellcasting classes into more specialised types straight away, so each spellcasting class had a more limited selection of tricks. Oh well, way too late to close that particular barn door. If only they could figure out some way to bring fighters and rogues up in versatility to a similar level instead of nerfing the spellcasters. Illusionist Additions: Following on from the problems raised by the illusionist, we have the problems raised by keeping these two articles in their original formatting, instead of cleaning them up and merging them together. I guess by this point the 1e corebooks were all out, so you could get the updated and revised version of the illusionist (with all these spells and more) in there. So this makes it all the more obvious they're aiming this collection at people who want a bit of nostalgia. Not that I object to that. But it does hit the usability a little. I guess someone would complain whichever way round they did it. Tombs and Crypts: We already have a fairly substantial random treasure table to make finding out what stuff monsters have to take after you kill them quick and easy. Why exactly Jim Ward thought we needed one specifically for crypts specifically I'm not sure. Chalk it up to a classic case of disconnected design processes. It's also very much a Jim Ward production in that it's exceedingly generous with the treasure it grants, so use with caution, especially if you're also using treasure as xp, for it looks like a relatively easy way to gain a few levels here. Gary might have wanted you to painstakingly earn each level over years of play, but he's not going to get his wish with people like this in the company. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" />Halflings, Dwarves, Clerics & Thieves in DUNGEON!: Looks like they've even managed to fit in a bit of old boardgaming stuff here. That's how you really know it's an old school collection. And you know, I've still never played the DUNGEON! boardgame, so I still can't say if these additions are balanced or not. Well, they're easy to understand, anyway, which is always important for a pick up and play game. Once again, it's definitely a relief to see the variety in content after slogging through the 3e years. Statistics Regarding Classes: Bards: Unlike the ranger and illusionist, which were pretty clunky in their original implementations, the bard still looks surprisingly solid as a generalist who can fill in for the fighter, thief or wizard at a pinch, and also has a few tricks of their own on top of that. The charm and lore abilities are actually pretty elegantly implemented, with enemy resistances scaling with level so they don't become unstoppable or useless no matter how powerful they are. It makes Gary's decision to turn them into an exceedingly specific and somewhat clunky multi-class that didn't follow the normal multi or dual classing rules seem all the more baffling. It's a good example that progress doesn't always make things better, especially where creator ego is involved. This time, the original takes it. The Original Ranger Class: The Ranger, on the other hand, suffers in hindsight for being introduced before the Druid, which also added a substantial suite of nature affecting spells that they really could do with as well. It's also notable for having several features that are completely based upon emulating Aragorn in particular, rather than just woodsy sorts in general, such as the alignment restriction and the ability to use magical items related to scrying. Plus the odd restrictions on followers and bonus xp at low levels instead of just rejigging the tables seem pretty odd and arbitrary these days. This is one class that definitely shows the benefit of refinement over subsequent editions. Wizard Research Rules: Ah yes, bankruptcy time. <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    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> The article where they decide to make spell research costs double with each increase in level, rather than the quadratic approach chosen in 3e. Well, I suppose xp costs also doubled with level, and you got most of your XP from treasure back in 1e. Still, it does mean you have to choose between developing a single 9th level spell, or building a decent wizard's tower. Actually, that doesn't seem like such a bad tradeoff after all, since it keeps wizards from getting to the do everything better than you stage so easily. Maybe they should have kept it. Witchcraft supplement for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: All these years, and we still have no idea who originally sent this in, despite three subsequent articles building upon it. It's a strange duck, especially in this original incarnation, where they're treated very much as monsters rather than a class with an experience table and proper advancement. The spells are pretty cool though, and full of flavor, as they're powerful but specific, with no fear of inflicting permanent conditions on the players. You may beat these witches but be left shrunken, aged, polymorphed or cursed, requiring another adventure to fix things. On the plus side, you'll also get more than the usual amount of cool magical items if you beat them too. Fair and balanced encounters? Really? I think not. Stuff like this is far more memorable, and makes for better stories too.</blockquote>

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