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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sacrosanct" data-source="post: 9767597" data-attributes="member: 15700">OK, I have been in a 1e game for the past 6 months or so where the GM is playing RAW. That is the first and only game I've ever played in or seen that is RAW.  For background, I started playing 1e in 1981 and continued to play it every year since. I thought about going line for line from  your post to give an example.  Quickly decided against it because it would be a prohibitably large post that no one in their right mind would want to read. So let me channel my Inigo Montoya[ATTACH=full]418605[/ATTACH]I'm going to skip over initiative for now, because that's the craziest part.CombatYes, we are using weapon v armor, speed factors, reach, flanking, fighting withdraws, accidentally hitting an ally with a ranged attack, all those things you mentioned.  While bulky, it's doable in play.  Referencing the tables is a slow process, so no wonder why we all just ignored it. But it's doable.Item Saving ThrowWe use them. And boy, was it a shock to some players when half their magic items suddenly got broken or burned away.System ShockWe would totally use it, but it's never come up yet.RangesWe do use those, and while they might not make sense on the surface (especially when the same description seems to switch between inches and yards), it does make sense when you factor in dungeon vs. overland. Just takes a bit of getting used to and to know when to use which measurement.  It's kinda funny. Back in the day when you used inches, you used a literal ruler to see how far you could go. But using a measuring tape and ruler went out of fashion almost right away, but now with 3d printing being widely available, these are back in style <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />[ATTACH=full]418609[/ATTACH]XP and Leveling (and why Bards in 1e suck so bad)This one you'll like. As playing RAW, we are playing where you only acquire XP until you hit the amount needed to level up.  You then are rated (E, P, etc, I don't have the book in front of me) to see how long and how much gold you need to spend to train.  Dual class characters, when dual classing, have to start at level 1 in their new class, not using any ability from the old class until they reach the same level.  So using RAW, you don't level up any faster than any other higher level PC. Sure, you might get enough XP go to from level 1 to level 2 after just one encounter while the rest of your level 6 party doesn't, but as mentioned, you stop getting XP until you go back and train. How many groups are going to stop after 1-2 encounters and wait for a week or two?  None, that's how many. So the bard, which has to triple class, wouldn't even be seen until the high levels of the game. Maybe that's why it was in the back of the book...Ok...deep breath...InitiativeYes, we use it as written.  Yes, it took several sessions and many re-readings of the rules before it kinda sorta is working.  Such a mess. For reasons you gave, so I won't repeat them here. Spell casting is extremely rough when you factor in casting time vs. segments of other actions or weapons.  Although, it is kinda cool to get free attacks in with your speedy dagger against that ogre with a giant club even if your side lost initiative. But man, it shouldn't take so freaking long to resolve a single round of combat, then do it all over again the next round.And you're right about surprise. It's worth it. Totally shifts the focus from just LeeRoy Jenkins-ing the dungeon into a slow and methodical approach (which is supported by other rules as well, like traps and hazards). Initiative by far is the most clunky and confusing part of the game.  There's what? 4-5 pages just around initiative, and you all remember the tiny font used in the DMG, so that's what? 10 pages in a comparable new book?ObservationsSome other observations I've made that don't really exist when you're not playing RAW:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Missile weapons are king. Even for tanky fighters. Why? Because of rate of fire and the fact you can attack on your turn if the enemy is more than a few feet away from you and you go faster than others in turn order. You can't move and attack with a melee weapon in 1e unless you charge (which adds a bonus to your attack roll but penalty to your AC). Charging is only a short distance.  So if you want to engage by spending your move to get to the enemy, you can't also attack in most cases.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fighters are badass. They don't seem to be one of the best classes in the game because most of us ignored the rules that make them so good. But when you use things like spell components, spell failure %s, spell interruptions, and casting time via segments, it's clear casters are very, very limited, which in turn makes the fighter seem a lot better by comparison.  Especially when you combine spell interruptions with casting time. When you say you're casting your spell (remember, you have to declare what you're doing at the start, before it's your turn) that might not go off until the next round, it's really easy to interrupt the caster and waste the spell.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Low level druids are insanely powerful. I forgot that you get access to 2nd level spells at level 2 and 3rd level spells at level 3. Yep, a 3rd level druid can cast call lightning.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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