In
1987 I had been playing RPGs for less than a year when I met AD&D. At that
time it was just the Dungeon Masters Guide, and though I had to spend the best
part of my savings to have it, I still don’t know what made me do it. I mean: I
had been mostly playing Das Schwarze Auge/The Dark Eye (in its very good
Italian translation) and BECMI (actually just B or maybe BE, since the
remaining boxes had not yet made their appearance on the Italian market, and I
hadn’t yet resolved to get the original English edition), and I considered
AD&D a kind of upgrade of Basic D&D; still, I was a bit awed by the
all-compassing and complicated rules, which fascinated me but, due to my still
lacking knowledge of the English language, were a bit more than I could chew.
So
I kept on playing BECMI (which eventually became BECM, since I never got the Immortal box), left DSA for MERP and
bought both AD&D Players Handbook and Monster Manual; I still had had no
chance to test the game in an actual play but I was more and more resolved to
correct the situation, and when I eventually managed to convince my friends to
have a try, I was already madly in love with the system. In the following years
I played many campaigns and, though AD&D wasn’t the only system I used, I
managed to burn myself out. At that time my AD&D had got mixed with rules
taken from the 2nd edition, and my campaigns were definitely more of the
storytelling than the sandbox sort. I was growing uncomfortable with the system
and my own playing style, and eventually in the late 90s I quitted playing.
My
comeback to the world of roleplaying games is due to D&D 3.0; I played it
quite a bit without ever experiencing the same thrill I had felt for AD&D
1st, but I’m not going to indulge in any edition war: after 3.0 came 3.5, and
after that Pathfinder (not counting a quick dive into D&D 4). My
uneasiness, however, kept growing as the rules became more complicated, and I
found myself yearning for a simpler system, but not just that. I still wasn’t
happy with my own DMing style. I wanted to give my players more freedom, but I couldn’t:
I kept on writing campaigns where the main story had already been decided (by
me), and I got frustrated at my inability to have the players freely choose
their own course of actions. I tried The
Burning Wheel too, and that’s an
astounding game, but the rules are not simple enough for my taste and they
require very committed players. And then I discovered the Old School
Renaissance.
It
was a true eye-opener for me. Reading Grognardia or The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope
(just to name two of the blogs I am currently following) I suddenly understood
what I wanted for my campaigns: old school play. So here I am, back to AD&D
1st, to sandboxes and to players’ freedom, and I’m going to stick to the lesson
I learned. Storytelling is not for me, though I enjoy playing almost every game
system if that means spending an evening with my friends, and whether I’m DMing
AD&D, Rolemaster or Runequest (the two latter possibly in their earlier
editions) I really can’t conceive anymore playing in a style that is not old school.
AD&D
is not by far a perfect system: there are many useful rules and many useless
ones, but I still prefer it to even simpler games like OD&D, D&D Basic,
Labyrinth Lord (even though I’m prepared to adopt any of these if such is the inclination
of my players; and, I must confess, LL does exert a kind of fascination over
me). If none other, the great D&D family has got one big plus side: you can
convert adventures and campaigns (and modules, if you prefer) from one system
to another with relative ease. My Fortress
campaign, written and insofar played with the AD&D 1st rules, could be very
quickly translated for any of the systems above mentioned. This flexibility is
a priceless issue for a DM without players, such as I am at the moment!
In
my next posts I’m going to delve a bit deeper into AD&D 1st rules and to
expose my humble thoughts about their usefulness (or lack thereof).
Until
then, gentle readers, may your steeds be swift and your blades always sharp!
I'm also madly in love with 1st edition... the DMG is wonderful and still a treasure trove of ideas and curiosities. I started reading it in early 1985 :-)
ReplyDeleteHi mate, same here. 1st Edition AD&D is far better than the later editions and they should of stayed with it.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know that I don't stand alone!
ReplyDeleteOSRIC is a proof that you are not alone :)
ReplyDeletejoin the legion!