Wait, so 7/8/9th level spells weren't in OD&D?

[Ry]

So in my next game I'm restricting development to level 12, largely to keep 7th, 8th, and 9th level spells out of the game.

Then I'm reading the Greyhawk article on Wikipedia and it talks about how those spell levels were "expansions" when they put out the original Greyhawk book?

Is this true??

 

[diaglo]

Is this true??

yes.

edit: cleric spells went to lvl 5. magic user spells went to level 6.

of course, Supplement I and on ... changed things a bit.

but OD&D(1974) didn't have spells above lvl 6

 

[Ry]

Diaglo, is this the version you play, or do you use the supplements? I'm super curious now.

 

[Melan]

Yup. As an encouraging note, I have also removed all spells above 5th level from my campaigns (except a select few which I demoted to 5th), and it works like a charm. After all, with 5th level magic, you can, raise the dead, kill someone by pointing a finger, travel to any point of the campaign with relatively little risk and more - what else would you want? D&D is perfectly functional without high level spells. Or rather: 5th level spells are high level.

 

[diaglo]

Diaglo, is this the version you play, or do you use the supplements? I'm super curious now.

yes, this is the version i prefer.

however, the game i currently referee includes the supplements.

 

[Ry]

Neat. Is that version available anywhere as a pdf?

 

[Remathilis]

there used to be, try googling it.

 

[diaglo]

Neat. Is that version available anywhere as a pdf?

not legally.

Supplement II Blackmoor is available legal like.

edit: http://www.jovianclouds.com/blackmoor/bmc.html

 

[Ry]

Hmm... what is the difference between this and Rules Cyclopedia D&D? Does the Rules Cyclopedia include 7th-9th level spells?

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Hmm... what is the difference between this and Rules Cyclopedia D&D?

Three editions and at least ten years of game development.

Does the Rules Cyclopedia include 7th-9th level spells?

Yes.

"Classic D&D" progression:

1. OD&D (1974) -- Spells up to 5th/6th level. Later expanded.
2. Holmes D&D (1978) -- Only covered character levels 1-3. Included 1st level cleric spells and 1st-2nd level mage spells, plus guidelines for a few sample spells one level higher in each case.
3. Moldvay/Cook D&D (1981) -- Covered character levels 1-3 in first book, 4-14 in second. Included spells up to 5th/6th level. Later expanded by Mentzer up to character level 36, then Immortal play beyond.
4. RC (late -- I think 1985? could be wrong there) -- Covered character levels 1-36, included spells up to 9th level.