Post by tetramorph on Jul 6, 2015 17:05:01 GMT -6
Every year the in-laws rent a house on the beach and fly out their entire family. Not bad.
Last year I got my nephews into D&D for the first time.
So this year I brought my stuff and showed up and the very first night while they were all on screens playing video games I said "Hey guys, ready to play some D&D?" They all dropped the screens to come help me set up! That was pretty cool. Over a week long vacation we played about 5 times.
My oldest nephew is a teenager now and I coached him through building a "lair" (one level dungeon, just to get started and keep it simple) and he ran it and I delved it with my character and I coached him from the side but he had paid attention and he knew what to do. It was pretty cool.
Now the vacation is over and I may not see him or any of these guys for another year. Such is modern, scattered families. He wants to keep playing and he has asked what he needs to buy.
I told him the honest to goodness and perhaps (for him) sad truth of it: nephew, I have introduced you to my own house-ruled version of the original edition of this game that is now over 40 years old. It has had two major streams of editions and several editions in each of those streams since then. The original company doesn't even exist anymore. There is a free PDF out there of the current version of the game, and folks say it is cool, but it is a lot more complicated than what I have been playing with you. (When I said more complicated his eyes widened and he said: more complicated than this? I confirmed, yes.)
Well, how do I get the original version he asks me. Well, more sad truth: it is still copyrighted but no longer made available by the folks who own the copyright. They recently put out a deluxe edition for the 40th anniversary, but it was limited and now costs over $200. The original copies are still around but they are considered collectors items now and so they run about the same price. Furthermore, the original edition rules were written by a bunch of grown men to a bunch of grown men whom they assumed were all already familiar with wargaming in general and "Chainmail," in particular. So the rules as is would be a might confusing to you without a research project and logging hours at a sand table. I told him, not to worry, folks have made a dozen "retro-clones," and I would help him find the materials he needed to keep going.
Well, needless to say, he was a bit discouraged. But he is expecting me to deliver on this promise. I've been using a mishmash of my own house rules and austinjimm's Planet Eris house rules, together with the LBBs. Of course I can share my document and Jimm's, but both of those are of the "retro-supplement" variety and need the LBBs to be a complete game. He doesn't need the back compatibility with Chainmail that Delving Deeper offers, although that still may be the best thing to offer him. The house ruling I use has a single ST with some class or ability based mods. Should I go with Swords and Wizardry White Box?
I can't let this kid down. For the sake of the furtherance of our own hobby, help me help this great guy out!
Last year I got my nephews into D&D for the first time.
So this year I brought my stuff and showed up and the very first night while they were all on screens playing video games I said "Hey guys, ready to play some D&D?" They all dropped the screens to come help me set up! That was pretty cool. Over a week long vacation we played about 5 times.
My oldest nephew is a teenager now and I coached him through building a "lair" (one level dungeon, just to get started and keep it simple) and he ran it and I delved it with my character and I coached him from the side but he had paid attention and he knew what to do. It was pretty cool.
Now the vacation is over and I may not see him or any of these guys for another year. Such is modern, scattered families. He wants to keep playing and he has asked what he needs to buy.
I told him the honest to goodness and perhaps (for him) sad truth of it: nephew, I have introduced you to my own house-ruled version of the original edition of this game that is now over 40 years old. It has had two major streams of editions and several editions in each of those streams since then. The original company doesn't even exist anymore. There is a free PDF out there of the current version of the game, and folks say it is cool, but it is a lot more complicated than what I have been playing with you. (When I said more complicated his eyes widened and he said: more complicated than this? I confirmed, yes.)
Well, how do I get the original version he asks me. Well, more sad truth: it is still copyrighted but no longer made available by the folks who own the copyright. They recently put out a deluxe edition for the 40th anniversary, but it was limited and now costs over $200. The original copies are still around but they are considered collectors items now and so they run about the same price. Furthermore, the original edition rules were written by a bunch of grown men to a bunch of grown men whom they assumed were all already familiar with wargaming in general and "Chainmail," in particular. So the rules as is would be a might confusing to you without a research project and logging hours at a sand table. I told him, not to worry, folks have made a dozen "retro-clones," and I would help him find the materials he needed to keep going.
Well, needless to say, he was a bit discouraged. But he is expecting me to deliver on this promise. I've been using a mishmash of my own house rules and austinjimm's Planet Eris house rules, together with the LBBs. Of course I can share my document and Jimm's, but both of those are of the "retro-supplement" variety and need the LBBs to be a complete game. He doesn't need the back compatibility with Chainmail that Delving Deeper offers, although that still may be the best thing to offer him. The house ruling I use has a single ST with some class or ability based mods. Should I go with Swords and Wizardry White Box?
I can't let this kid down. For the sake of the furtherance of our own hobby, help me help this great guy out!
