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May 19, 2013, 6:48pm

Original D&D Discussion :: Other :: Other Editions and Simulacrum Games :: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?

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Topic: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition? (Read 563 times)

Malcadon
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #15 on Jan 27, 2012, 9:26am »

With all the supplements, source books and periodicals, it can get really confusing. A lot of iconic elements from OD&D can be found in the supplements (Greyhawk and Blackmoor), while Unearthed Arcana was 1st ed, but it never made an impact, and 2ed ed had campaign settings with differing ways to play (eg: Birthright had "bloodlines", and Masque of the Red Death had a SAN system). Dont even get me started with all the "splat books" from the newer games.

Jan 18, 2012, 1:46pm, mushgnome wrote:

At the risk of ruining my old-skool cred... I actually quite like the 3E system of fortitute/reflex/will saving throws.

I totally agree. A number of the saves are redundant scores. The Staff & Wand score is like Spells, but weaker. Keeping the saving throws in three simple (and widely encompassing) categories make things a lot easier to work with...

But that was the original point of making the 3rd edition: to make the game easy to learn and easier to play - even encouraging house-rules - but the game end-up getting more complicated then need be, while the v3.5 game made it outright systematic and rigid. The point of old-school games is that they are simple, abstract and open-ended. There is nothing wrong with using newer rules, if it makes your games easier to work with - THAC0s or not.

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llenlleawg
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #16 on Jan 27, 2012, 10:53am »

I think this is why the oft-used terms in forums for newer iterations of the game, viz. RAW (rules as written) and RAI (rules as intended), both fail to capture older ways of playing the game. After all, as I understand it, the rules Gary Gygax played at his table never, as such, saw it to print, but it would be perverse to suggest he was playing anything other than real, authentic D&D. Another way to say it is that, in my experience, there was for a very long time neither so much RAW or RAI (although the lack of clarity in writing or just plain typographical errors or inadvertent omissions, e.g. hobbits in the Raise Dead spell led many people justifiably to seek clarifications of the rules, beyond merely seeking the referee's ruling) as there was simply GAP (i.e. game as played). Most people kept up somewhat with the magazines (Strategic Review and Dragon) and so the game at one table or another was more or less the same. One learned to play Dungeons & Dragons, after all, not a given rule set, and one was used to having different add-ons.

« Last Edit: Jan 27, 2012, 10:55am by llenlleawg »

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jjarvis
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #17 on Feb 5, 2012, 3:00pm »

Jan 18, 2012, 10:29am, llenlleawg wrote:

THAC0 actually has to wait until 2e. AD&D used charts (with repeating 20s before needing a 21, so it was not a THAC0 system)..

THACO was most certainly in AD&D. It was in the back of the DMG, of course there it was spelled out as "To Hit A.C. 0" in the Alphabetic Recapitulation of Monsters chart. THACO made appearance in fan/third party products before that as did the less useful THAC9 (I believe that was in the monsters and treasures assortment).

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jjarvis
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #18 on Feb 5, 2012, 3:12pm »

Holmes:brought the Parry rule, Magic-Users of any level scribing scrolls.

BECMI: Dominion Management rules, Demihuman clan artifacts, weapon mastery, a wrestling score.

AD&D: brought us Gnomes, the little used helmet rule, rules for naval combat. aerial maneuverability classes (or had i missed this earlier)

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Cameron DuBeers
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #19 on Feb 5, 2012, 3:28pm »

Feb 5, 2012, 3:12pm, jjarvis wrote:

AD&D: brought us Gnomes, the little used helmet rule, rules for naval combat. aerial maneuverability classes (or had i missed this earlier)

OD&D had gnomes, though it is vague as to whether or not they were intended as PCs. They are listed as "Slightly smaller than Dwarves, and with longer beards, these creatures usually inhabit the hills and lowland burrows as opposed to the mountainous homes which Dwarves choose. They are more reclusive than their cousins, but in all other respects resemble Dwarves." (emphasis mine)

OD&D Volume II had an implied rule for helmet-less characters in combat, but it was buried in the description for one of the magical helms: "Helm of Reading Magic and Languages: Wearing this helm allows the person to read any language or magical writing. It does not protect in the same way as Magic Armor, so if it is worn in combat any hit upon its wearer should be given a 10% of striking the helm and smashing it."

OD&D Volume III contained rules for naval warfare.

The same volume also had the vague beginnings of maneuverability class for aerial combat but nothing set in stone.

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jjarvis
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #20 on Feb 5, 2012, 3:59pm »

Feb 5, 2012, 3:28pm, Cameron DuBeers wrote:

OD&D had gnomes, though it is vague as to whether or not they were intended as PCs.

They were monster-types getting no more attention as PCs than balrogs and dragons did.

Quote:

OD&D Volume II had an implied rule for helmet-less characters in combat, but it was buried in the description for one of the magical helms:

now that's buried.

Quote:

OD&D Volume III contained rules for naval warfare.

I always forget those were there.

Quote:

The same volume also had the vague beginnings of maneuverability class for aerial combat but nothing set in stone.

It does have some air-to-air combat rules, with critical hits, but nothing picky like AD&Ds maneuverability is present.

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themattjon
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #21 on Feb 5, 2012, 7:29pm »

Jan 18, 2012, 10:49am, Azafuse wrote:

Snipped for brevity:
AD&D: more race/class combinations, Racial Stat Bonuses, 9 Alignments, Rules for Multiclass/Dualclass Characters (at least more clear than in OD&D), Prestige Class Prototype (Bard).
2E: NWP, WP, Spheres for Druid/Cleric, Specialist Wizards,

There are Weapon Proficiencies in AD&D. In the Player's Handbook, equipment section.

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Cameron DuBeers
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Re: What are the Key Add-ons of each Edition?
« Reply #22 on Feb 5, 2012, 7:51pm »

Feb 5, 2012, 3:59pm, jjarvis wrote:

They were monster-types getting no more attention as PCs than balrogs and dragons did.

What you say may be true, but since the discussion is asking whether the rules allowed for it, I think a reasonable argument could be made OD&D allowed gnome PCs without house-ruling (which, of course, is always an option with any edition).

Quote:

now that's buried.

Yeah, there is all sorts of things like that in there. The magic spear entry has a nice bit about damage for being "set against charge".

Quote:

It does have some air-to-air combat rules, with critical hits, but nothing picky like AD&Ds maneuverability is present.

True. When I read the AD&D rules for aerial combat, I noticed how similar they were to OD&D's; though more structured.

One thing I appreciated about OD&D was the restriction of "critical hits" to a situation in which they made sense. Bust the wing of a flying creature and down he goes! It is one of the few situations critical hits make sense in an abstracted combat system.

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