Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Ariosto" data-source="post: 4961244" data-attributes="member: 80487">I don't know where you got that, but consider the 1st ed. AD&amp;D DMG, page 35: &quot;Human and half-orc characters suitable for level advancement are found at a ratio of 1 in 100. Other races have an incidence of 1 in 50.&quot;The basic assumptions have been changed, eh? One can point to changes in what the concepts of character class and level mean, but those are just byproducts of more fundamental alterations.The starting point -- the environment to which other assumptions have adapted -- is more DM control. I'm currently a player in a game that uses 1e/2e books, but in the sort of constrained scenario that has long predominated. This DM has a number of house rules and conventions adjusting the game to that. There's a &quot;social contract&quot; that we go on &quot;the adventure&quot; the DM has plotted out. That means that we really do encounter only what and when the DM chooses -- in magic items as in all else.When we get back to town, magic seems pretty readily available -- but mostly at AD&amp;D DMG prices, so mostly too rich for our purses. (Our characters are presently 3rd level.) That so far has not been a big deal to us, because (a) the DM is pretty lavish (even Monty Haul-ish) with findings in adventures; and (b) we are all old-timers to whom getting precisely what we want to fit a &quot;character concept&quot; is simply not a priority.This is a novel experience in D&amp;D to me, but one stemming from practical considerations I can appreciate. I can see further that, having given up the strategic potential of choosing where to go and what to do, players might well be glad of the chance to plot their courses in picking magic items (and feats and so on) out of books.There's a similar effect creeping up on me regarding fights. When the big decision is whether to go man-to-monster in the first place, I delight in the speedy abstraction of the basic combat system in old D&amp;D. Contemplating a session that is in any case going to be one battle after another, I see a motive for elaborate rules. If it's all the same in terms of time consumption, then fewer but more complex &quot;encounters&quot; might well be preferable.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ariosto, post: 4961244, member: 80487"] I don't know where you got that, but consider the 1st ed. AD&D DMG, page 35: "Human and half-orc characters suitable for level advancement are found at a ratio of 1 in 100. Other races have an incidence of 1 in 50." The basic assumptions have been changed, eh? One can point to changes in what the concepts of character class and level mean, but those are just byproducts of more fundamental alterations. The [I]starting point[/I] -- the environment to which other assumptions have adapted -- is more DM control. I'm currently a player in a game that uses 1e/2e books, but in the sort of constrained scenario that has long predominated. This DM has a number of house rules and conventions adjusting the game to that. There's a "social contract" that we go on "the adventure" the DM has plotted out. That means that we really do encounter only what and when the DM chooses -- in magic items as in all else. When we get back to town, magic seems pretty readily available -- but mostly at AD&D DMG prices, so mostly too rich for our purses. (Our characters are presently 3rd level.) That so far has not been a big deal to us, because (a) the DM is pretty lavish (even Monty Haul-ish) with findings in adventures; and (b) we are all old-timers to whom getting precisely what we want to fit a "character concept" is simply not a priority. This is a novel experience in D&D to me, but one stemming from practical considerations I can appreciate. I can see further that, having given up the strategic potential of choosing where to go and what to do, players might well be glad of the chance to plot their courses in picking magic items (and feats and so on) out of books. There's a similar effect creeping up on me regarding fights. When the big decision is [I]whether[/I] to go man-to-monster in the first place, I delight in the speedy abstraction of the basic combat system in old D&D. Contemplating a session that is in any case going to be one battle after another, I see a motive for elaborate rules. If it's all the same in terms of time consumption, then fewer but more complex "encounters" might well be preferable. [/QUOTE]

Verification