rogueattorney
Adventurer
A few points on playing BD&D as a grown up:
It's amazing what you can do with that rule set when you approach it as an adult playing with other adults. Things that we would have screwed up when we were 12 can be handled much easier now. For example, customization. I prefer to label the starting 7 classes as "a good start." It's quite easy, when a player has a character concept that doesn't fit within the main 7 to do a little ad hoc-ing with the main 7 as a template to put together something that works.
It helps when viewing classes as very broad archetypes that encompass all sorts of characters, rather than as the professions themselves. No one, for example, calls themself a "fighter" rather they'd be a soldier, pirate, brigand, mercenary, or whatever. Clerics are scholars, bureaucrats, hermits and so on. Magic-users are any type of person who might use magic, etc. "Elves" don't have to all be of the Tolkien-esque variety, but can be any of various fey creatures of all shapes and sizes. (The original elf illustration in OD&D looks like someone you'd be more likely to find in Santa's workshop than Rivendale.)
Also, look at the spell research rules. A lot of people's problems with the "Vancian" system can be gotten around with creative use of spell research. Custom spells researched for narrowly focused purposes can be used to get around a lot of issues that aren't covered by the rules in a way similar to the ritual system in 4e.
On a related note, when pcs are stuck, instead of resorting to an attribute roll as a quick go around, encourage them to roll play it out. Encourage them to consult npcs, especially sages and the like. Encourage npc interaction in general and have your players read up on charisma, retainers, and hirelings.
And finally, don't sweat the small stuff. Don't like "backwards" AC? Change it. 9 through 2 are essentially column labels on a chart anyway. They could have just as easily have been 1 through 8 or A through H or whatever. Rename them, turn them into the target number, whatever.
It's amazing what you can do with that rule set when you approach it as an adult playing with other adults. Things that we would have screwed up when we were 12 can be handled much easier now. For example, customization. I prefer to label the starting 7 classes as "a good start." It's quite easy, when a player has a character concept that doesn't fit within the main 7 to do a little ad hoc-ing with the main 7 as a template to put together something that works.
It helps when viewing classes as very broad archetypes that encompass all sorts of characters, rather than as the professions themselves. No one, for example, calls themself a "fighter" rather they'd be a soldier, pirate, brigand, mercenary, or whatever. Clerics are scholars, bureaucrats, hermits and so on. Magic-users are any type of person who might use magic, etc. "Elves" don't have to all be of the Tolkien-esque variety, but can be any of various fey creatures of all shapes and sizes. (The original elf illustration in OD&D looks like someone you'd be more likely to find in Santa's workshop than Rivendale.)
Also, look at the spell research rules. A lot of people's problems with the "Vancian" system can be gotten around with creative use of spell research. Custom spells researched for narrowly focused purposes can be used to get around a lot of issues that aren't covered by the rules in a way similar to the ritual system in 4e.
On a related note, when pcs are stuck, instead of resorting to an attribute roll as a quick go around, encourage them to roll play it out. Encourage them to consult npcs, especially sages and the like. Encourage npc interaction in general and have your players read up on charisma, retainers, and hirelings.
And finally, don't sweat the small stuff. Don't like "backwards" AC? Change it. 9 through 2 are essentially column labels on a chart anyway. They could have just as easily have been 1 through 8 or A through H or whatever. Rename them, turn them into the target number, whatever.
