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Why people like to play OD&D (1974)
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<blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 2883008" data-attributes="member: 3192"><p>More things from maybe just our game:</p><p></p><p>Magic items in our game are pretty plentiful too. I'd say they are just as common as 1E & 2E, but I know we are advancing faster than our Ref would actually prefer. Magic items are great fun too. Just like spells. Instead of having a very cut & dried "this is what happens" magic, each is effected by the game world's own internal logic. (like say a Fireball filling all the gaps or a lightning bolt bouncing off walls). Learning exactly how magic operates is always a trial & error experience. This makes it often dangerous, but a heck of a lot of fun. Both items and spells are roughly given a description and not statistics. As you experiment you can learn what these descriptions really mean in the world (and thereby learn more about how the world works).</p><p></p><p>Another unique thing that may be specific to our game is religion. I remember rolling up my character Brother Ben and wondering what gods were available. </p><p>Diaglo: "Anything"</p><p>Me: "Anything?"</p><p>Diaglo: (with more emphasis) "Anything"</p><p>Me: "So I can worship Sifl and Olly the sock puppets, righteous saviors of the universe?"</p><p></p><p>Yep. This took me awhile to understand, but it all feeds back into the "anything is possible" flexibility of the game. It was my choice for what god I picked. If it was ludicrous and childish, that was because I picked it not because it wasn't allowed. In the end I chose the default religion I learned was general for most clerics in the world: good. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> But the definition of everything was left up to me. This was the same for everyone else beginning too. What we didn't learn until later was there are a plentiful number of religions/groups/creatures etc. etc. in the world. But it was learning them that was part of the fun. This learning aka exploration is a great big part of our game and brings that fresh-eyes feeling back when playing. </p><p></p><p>This is also why I've become a proponent for character class being more a signifier of player prowess than just an arbitrary number. Learning the rules (rule mastery) is only one part. World exploration also entails a great deal of expertise on the players' parts. It's a throwback opinion to be sure, but I like that learning is a real part of the game. It reminds me a bit of how roleplaying in educational environments works. </p><p></p><p>In order to get this in any game, just keep Player Knowledge==Character Knowledge. All learning as a player means improving the character. And it aids in stopping metagame thinking too, making it easier to stay in character. Pretty much any person old enough to talk could play with a competent referee and play the game. At starting rule knowledge was zero for all of us concerning OD&D, so just learning the basics and then expanding at our own pace from there was easy. </p><p></p><p>Lastly, I mentioned statblocks earlier, but didn't finish the idea. Stats are pretty minimal, but definition gives all the details. I don't referee games, but I would say this makes for a much easier time preparing. The real boatload of work comes from filling in the details. But these can be as much or little as the group wants. All those groups plotting, NPCs spread out across the land, potential conflicts brewiing, evil villians designing unfair fights to kill us. These all take time, but don't require nearly as much numbers work. They're a fun part of creating/running games too, so I can see why refereeing would be enjoyable.</p><p></p><p>EDIT: Philo, thanks for posting that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="howandwhy99, post: 2883008, member: 3192"] More things from maybe just our game: Magic items in our game are pretty plentiful too. I'd say they are just as common as 1E & 2E, but I know we are advancing faster than our Ref would actually prefer. Magic items are great fun too. Just like spells. Instead of having a very cut & dried "this is what happens" magic, each is effected by the game world's own internal logic. (like say a Fireball filling all the gaps or a lightning bolt bouncing off walls). Learning exactly how magic operates is always a trial & error experience. This makes it often dangerous, but a heck of a lot of fun. Both items and spells are roughly given a description and not statistics. As you experiment you can learn what these descriptions really mean in the world (and thereby learn more about how the world works). Another unique thing that may be specific to our game is religion. I remember rolling up my character Brother Ben and wondering what gods were available. Diaglo: "Anything" Me: "Anything?" Diaglo: (with more emphasis) "Anything" Me: "So I can worship Sifl and Olly the sock puppets, righteous saviors of the universe?" Yep. This took me awhile to understand, but it all feeds back into the "anything is possible" flexibility of the game. It was my choice for what god I picked. If it was ludicrous and childish, that was because I picked it not because it wasn't allowed. In the end I chose the default religion I learned was general for most clerics in the world: good. ;) But the definition of everything was left up to me. This was the same for everyone else beginning too. What we didn't learn until later was there are a plentiful number of religions/groups/creatures etc. etc. in the world. But it was learning them that was part of the fun. This learning aka exploration is a great big part of our game and brings that fresh-eyes feeling back when playing. This is also why I've become a proponent for character class being more a signifier of player prowess than just an arbitrary number. Learning the rules (rule mastery) is only one part. World exploration also entails a great deal of expertise on the players' parts. It's a throwback opinion to be sure, but I like that learning is a real part of the game. It reminds me a bit of how roleplaying in educational environments works. In order to get this in any game, just keep Player Knowledge==Character Knowledge. All learning as a player means improving the character. And it aids in stopping metagame thinking too, making it easier to stay in character. Pretty much any person old enough to talk could play with a competent referee and play the game. At starting rule knowledge was zero for all of us concerning OD&D, so just learning the basics and then expanding at our own pace from there was easy. Lastly, I mentioned statblocks earlier, but didn't finish the idea. Stats are pretty minimal, but definition gives all the details. I don't referee games, but I would say this makes for a much easier time preparing. The real boatload of work comes from filling in the details. But these can be as much or little as the group wants. All those groups plotting, NPCs spread out across the land, potential conflicts brewiing, evil villians designing unfair fights to kill us. These all take time, but don't require nearly as much numbers work. They're a fun part of creating/running games too, so I can see why refereeing would be enjoyable. EDIT: Philo, thanks for posting that. [/QUOTE]
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