What do you miss about AD&D 1e?

[JRRNeiklot]

In a word: EVERYTHING.

 

[VirgilCaine]

I miss the useful information in the DMG. The Alphabet soup of Appendixes, some of which are useful to me now, in 3.0e.

 

[Teflon Billy]

...But before I take the plunge, let me ask a simple question: What do you folks (those of you who were around back in the day) miss about AD&D 1e? Am I just seeing things through nostalgia-fogged goggles, or was there really something special in AD&D 1e, something that we've perhaps lost?

Newness: I had seen nothing like this before.

Danger: We had been told this was a tool of Satan

 

[Teflon Billy]

Diaglo hasn't posted to this thread yet?

 

[Tav_Behemoth]

Biohazard:
What do you folks (those of you who were around back in the day) miss about AD&D 1e?

Teflon Billy:
Newness: I had seen nothing like this before.
Danger: We had been told this was a tool of Satan

Sense of wonder: D&D showed me & all my friends how to have waking dreams together.

Agony of defeat: There's nothing like the first time your character dies.

Doors of perception: The world of D&D became more real than the world in which Trinette's mom was bringing us Cheetos and root beer.

Scarcity: There were only twenty D&D publications in existence, and all we knew about most of 'em was where they were located in Greyhawk.

Blank canvas: D&D land was still virgin territory, and fantasy literature was so uncommon that Gygax could basically list all of it as an Inspirational Reading list in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

 

[Pbartender]

The illustrations in the 1st edition books (e.g. Emirikol the Chaotic; the illustration of the dwarves and halfling talking to the magic mouth in the PHB; the famous "paladin in hell" picture; etc.) conveyed the soul (sorry Merric) of fantasy adventure far more than most contemporary illustrations.

"It's either a wand of Bigby's Hand spells or a +5 back scratcher."

 

[hong]

Diaglo hasn't posted to this thread yet?

Why would diaglo miss anything about AD&D 1e?

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

I certainly miss the charm. The newer versions of D&D come off as the nice Mercedes some people get when you get older while the older version is like that first car you got - complete with all the eccentricities. I remember the experience playing more than anything. Really there were not a LOT of good games atthe time (Parania, Cthulhu and some supers as well as some D&D knockoffs . . . )

 

[beeber]

I certainly miss the charm. The newer versions of D&D come off as the nice Mercedes some people get when you get older while the older version is like that first car you got - complete with all the eccentricities. I remember the experience playing more than anything. Really there were not a LOT of good games atthe time (Parania, Cthulhu and some supers as well as some D&D knockoffs . . . )

don't forget black box "traveller".

it just seemed easier to wing stuff in 1st ed. now there are so many ways to min/max your character (feats, PrC's, etc.). back then it was simpler. and i totally agree with the experience issue. i think i may have to mod the xp i give my players in the next campaign to slow them down.

 

[Korgan26]

Level Titles
I'm a Pathfinder, sounds so much cooler than being a 7th level Ranger.
I'll also second the newness of it all.

Z