Cheers, and I hope this thread isnt completely dead.
First, let me start out with the predictable : Thanks for creating the RPG as we know it. Im sure some people played make-believe before D&D, but the guilt of all our skipped classes, loss of sleep, collection of obscure books and aching feet from stepping on dice or toy soldiers, must rest squarely on your shoulders
I do however have a few questions, that I hope you may be of assistance with.
Im curious as to, in the early D&D games, how much character and personality did the players put into the PC's ? How much did they differ in personality, or was the PC mainly a mechanical way to interact with hte game ?
How much involvement did you have with the creation of the Moldway/Cook or Mentzer D&D rules ? Im personally a big fan of Mentzer's D&D, and still play it from time to time. My players tend to be fans of a bit more character detail though, so its mostly AD&D 1 (with some elements of 2nd edition)
In AD&D, I wonder about the bard's connection to druids. Where did the inspiration for this come from ?
Likewise the Rangers use of magic user spells, as opposed to more nature based magic. Was the ranger originally intended as something else than the foresting, robin hood type ?
Do you have a webpage or similar, where the changes you have made to oD&D could be found ? Im sure there's a lot of people who would love to have a shot at "gygaxian" D&D
Did you ever have players who wanted to play their character as a different class than what they had picked ? How did you handle such situations ?
Do you ever use alternate means of earning XP, such as story or objective goals (i.e. party earns 1000 xp for reaching the heart of the dungeon, where the artifact lies or some such) or rewards for good roleplaying ? How much of the earned XP do you recommend coming from such sources, as opposed to killing and looting XP (traditionally the main source of experience points)
Cheers and best of wishes from a Dane in Oregon