The thing I miss most from AD&D is...

[Baron Opal]

Charged Items.

It really bugs me that those were dropped in 4e's power scheme. I got a lot of mileage out of handing out charged items in my AD&D game. I really liked the inventiveness a charged item with several functions encouraged.

 

[Saracenus]

The free time I had to game.

Really that is all I miss of 1e, well and that I learned to Role Play from it and Traveller.

 

[noffham]

Free time to game is probably the biggie for me too.

I found that for my group, using treasure to train for XP (1gp=1xp) up to half needed for the next level kept the loose change down, without making every adventure become a "strip the paneling from the walls" acquisition mission. Limiting training to 50gp/day also made for a more realistic passage of game time. IMHO, YMMV, etc. etc.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

Gary's writing, without a doubt. It was fun to read for it's own sake, even if you weren't going to play the game. I never found the style as difficult to absorb as some claim. (Though growing up reading the King James bible probably helped)

 

[Plane Sailing]

...experience points for treasure gained.

We never used xps for treasure gained, but we *did* give xp for treasure spent. This had the dual functions of pleasure in finding treasure and you only get the xps once you get it -out-. It also meant that wealth was always passing out of the PCs hands. We didn't mind whether you spent it on training or ale and babes, but as long as it was spent, you got the xps!

I miss the "You get a Keep and dudes to run it at 9th level". I like nation building and management of that style, and I haven't seen that thing in 3e or 4e at all yet.

This is the elements which I miss most from AD&D. It gave an entirely different feel to the 'shape' of campaigns in those days.

Cheers

 

[thedungeondelver]

I don't miss any of it. Got it all right here and play it on a regular basis.

(Y'all can too, y'know.)

 

[Mallus]

Aside from missing the youth I was in the full flush of back when I was introduced to AD&D... I miss the gonzo style that I associate with (the wackier) parts of the World of Greyhawk, the harlot table, the odder monsters, and the old tournament modules. There was something lovely and freewheeling about that era's (A)D&D.

But I'm happy to try and replicate that in my 3e and 4e games. There isn't much about the old-school mechanics I miss (well, okay... post 3e I miss some of the spells, but they were trouble, I tell ya'...).

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Ah, the writing, easily. There was nothing like having a book that you could crack open and just read casually.

 

[Ulrick]

XP for treasure is another reason why AD&D is awesome.


I wonder...
would 1/4 all XP from killing monsters and giving 1gp = 1 XP work to making feel like AD&D.

I remember when PCs really didn't like tackling random encounters. Random encounters after had very little XP and very little treasure, but would weaken the party. In 3.5e and 4e, treasure is worth no XP and monster XP is raised. Now there is incentive for killing everything (and I wonder if this contributes to players not running away from tough encounters.) I also understand that minions in 4e can be used as cheap random encounters, but I don't like minions; I really don't--they really cheapen the effort to kill a monster.

Anyway, i've been running West Marches Style campaign...
ars ludi » Grand Experiments: West Marches

And at the end of my last session, one of the players said: "Man, we got a lot of treasure but we didn't really fight anything. Too bad this isn't AD&D..."

 

[drothgery]

.... the people I spent four years of Sunday afternoons gaming with in college, and now live hundreds or thousands of miles from.