OD&D 4 me (April Fools)

[diaglo]

This thread is a beautiful piece of art.

that's b/c as you know firsthand from Gen Con it is all about OD&D(1974)

or at least it was in the first post.

 

[hafrogman]

Uhhh... what is the topic anymore?

Peace, tolerance and understanding.

 

[hafrogman]

that's b/c as you know firsthand from Gen Con it is all about OD&D(1974)

or at least it was in the first post.

Didn't you get banned? Or did that die with the cat? Or was it just for the other screenname?

 

[I'm A Banana]

This looks like tacit admission of poor db code to me. A real db admin would have put together a robust system by now that could handle even drunk and angry admins, no matter how faced they get.

You haven't noticed how slow and buggy the forums are recently? Especially after the 4e announcement, when new posters from all over the globe have flooded the server? This thing's held together by bubble gum, duct tape, and the idealistic dreams of little children. Spoony's a hero for keeping it up this long.

...come to think of it, wasn't OD&D held together by bubble gum, duct tape, and dreams?

Damn my circular thinking.

 

[Sashi]

We're playing a game of OD&D right now, and all of the warts are showing.

The classes are all either over or underpowered, all task resolution systems are inconsistent. The house rule file is expanding at an exponential rate as we try to do anything other than whack the opponent with a stick. There's almost no way for one fighter to differentiate himself from another in combat.

There's a huge difference between "simple" and "easy".

If you really want a "simple" game, just roll a d20 and say if it was good enough to pass whatever test was put in front of the party.

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

Imp, Vacation

Improved Vacation? Man, I want that feat!

Improved Vacation [General]
Prerequisite: a job with benefits
Your powers of vacationing are superior to those of normal people.
Benefit: When you take a vacation you experience double the amount of fun that a normal vacation would grant.
Normal: When on vacation you experience a level of fun directly related to the amount of time, cash and alcohol expended/consumed while on vacation.
Special: If you are an ENWorld moderator you can (apparently) impose this feat on any non-moderator ENWorld users.

 

[Baumi]

This 1.st April will be awesome

 

[Dinkeldog]

Was duct tape even patented when OD&D was around?

 

[Thulcondar]

 

[Korgoth]

I really like OD&D. Even just with the 3 LBBs you can play endlessly. It gives you "rules as tools" and bascially expects you to put together your own game.

Each supplement, like Greyhawk or FFC/Blackmoor (or Arduin, etc.) is really the house rules of whichever DM we are discussing (Gygax, Arneson, etc.). Each DM essentially makes his own supplement when he decides how he will adjudicate things.

Everything is simple. Monsters are simple: in statting a dungeon recently, all I put down were AC x, HD x, Move x". That's all the statblock you need: 3 numbers.

Mike Mearls actually had an excellent observation about the rules-lightness: that it encourages players to treat encounters not in terms of game effects, but in terms of literary devices.

It isn't for everyone. It does not even run "right out of the box". But if you want to take a basic set of guidelines and make your own rules light fantasy game out of it (be it LOTR, Conan, Thundarr the Barbarian, Carter of Mars, etc.) it's a gem.

I don't want or need skills, feats, powers, maneuvers, etc. I can rule all that on the fly, or use the very simple rules provided (want to grapple? roll your hit dice versus his hit dice, higher score wins, etc.).

So, Rel, if you're still listening, I hope you enjoy OD&D. I know I will. Come by Finarvyn's board some time and hang out with the gang.