Introductions

[Deleted]

Thanks for the welcome Tgamemaster1975. I'll let you know about the dungeon, but I figure I'll need a few spare days to create it and that just hasn't happened yet because I'm too busy at the moment. Then I'll recruit some players to explore it.

[crimhthanthegreat]

Welcome to everyone who has posted (and to those who have not ).

[ant]

G'day! My name's Anthony and I live down in sunny (except not today) Queensland in Australia. I've been gaming since I was about 12 so that makes it around '83 or so (making me a whippersnapper in these parts, so it seems. :-) )

I cut my teeth on the BECMI sets (I still remember looking at the Elmore art with a sense of wonderment), moved on to AD&D then 2nd edition (where I picked up the DMing mantle). I then made the shift to the 3.x edition very happily as it contained a lot of things I loved.

Recently, however, I've found myself yearning for simpler days. Maybe it was the annoucement of 4th edition or maybe not. Either way, I really had a desire to get back to the roots of D&D. A little sniffing around the ENWorld boards and a quick visit to RPGNow and well, here I am.

[Falconer]

Interesting. I began playing late in the 2e era, so AD&D 2e that was my first experience. When 3e came out, I gave it a look, but it was quite clearly a completely different game, and I didn't want to change. So my initial reaction was "Let's stay with 2e forever!" But 3e kept on trumpeting the great things from 1e that it was bringing back. That prompted me to examine 1e, and sure enough, it had everything that I loved from 2e, yet it was in fact cooler. For example, in the 1e find familiar spell, there was a possibility that you could get a quasit, pseudo-dragon, brownie, or imp as your familiar. But in 2e, it could only be a small animal. I also found 2e's Nonweapon Proficiencies system to be very annoying, and I was intrigued by the possibility of just tossing it out. But it was really when I got a hold of Gygax's DMG and Greyhawk (Supplement I) that I found worlds of fantastical adventure opening up, as well as the joys of the continuous campaign. It quickly became apparent that Gygax had a put together a well-thought-out game, and that 2e understood it imperfectly and made inconsistent changes that didn't quite work.

I think most people interested in OAD&D are also interested in OD&D. OAD&D's most obvious flaws are 1) it IS to some degree unnecessary complexity, which isn't so in OD&D, even if all Greyhawk rules are used. 2) OD&D is based on fantasy literature, but OAD&D is a level detached from that--you may say OAD&D is based on OD&D. "AD&D is a world," the Players Handbook states. Whereas OD&D is a collection of ideas, breathless with excitement, that you can use to recreate your favorite fantasy worlds.

About me. I'm 27 years old. I have a bachelor's degree in music performance--I sing opera and operetta, my favorites right now being Mozart and Gilbert & Sullivan. I am a minor cleric in the Russian Orthodox Church. I own a books/games store in a small town right next to Lake Geneva, WI, specializing in fantasy, classics, and Orthodoxy. I enjoy sailing and swimming--as a teenager I earned Quartermaster rank in the Sea Scouts (equivalent of Eagle in Boy Scouts but more difficult), and later I was a Skipper for three years. My wife is hot. :-) Regards.

[crimhthanthegreat]

Welcome to Ant and Falconer! Cheers to you both. Falconer that sounds like a book store that would be a lot of fun to visit.

[mordrene]

Hello all.

My name is Scott, I live in indiana and I have been a gamer since I discovered the Moldvay basic set in 1983 when i was the ripe old age of 11 (ant I got your back). I have played a number of games and systems but i still break out the becmi stuff. cnc is close, as is LA buti still enjoy the "old" stuff.

Rhuven shot me an invite when I ask some odd chainmail questions on the trolllords forum and now i'm here.

[Rhuvein]

Hey Scott. Glad you made it here. Loads of great discussions and everyone here is very knowledgeable about OD&D, I'm learning a lot!!

[Deleted]

Hi, folks!

Thought I'd follow suit and ring in here first, though many of you will know me from DF or K&K, or half a hundred other sites around the web.

Name is Brent, born in '74, played first game of AD&D in December '81 with a very patient older cousin and was forever hooked. Played sporadically through the eighties and began running my own games c. '88. My second AD&D campaign lasted from '89 to '04, with several Player rotations but always including at least one or two old hands from the earliest days.

Finally got my hands on my first OD&D booklets in the fall of '04 and began a new campaign that December, which has persisted unto the present and is still going strong. Very much enjoy the freeform style and loose mechanics of the original game, and can't much be bothered to play anything else anymore.

Other leisure interests include stuff written by pulp-era writers (esp. horror and swords/sorcery, but also detective stories and historical fiction), movies in a similar vein, creative writing, and CRPGs.

Vocationally, I'm willingly impressed at the family's fishing/hunting camp in Northern Ontario for five months of the year, and spend the off-season looking after my two daughters (age 5 and 8 mo.) I was a reservist from 1991--94, and have a Honours degree in History, but was sufficiently put off by academic culture to bother going further, even though I would've liked to. I'm married to a beautiful (and very tall) woman who's all too indulgent of my peculiarities (and so happens also to be an exceptional D&D'er in her own right).

Presently I live in the community of Acton, in Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada.

[jdrakeh]

I was introduced to Holmes D&D via the Gifted Education program at my grade school, though I didn't pursue role play as a hobby endeavor until 1995 (and, at that time, it was via AD&D 1e). Since that time, I've played, play tested, and reviewed a vast number of role playing games, ranging from 'old school' (e.g., Adventures in High Fantasy) to 'new school' (i.e., The Shadow of Yesterday).

Today, I largely prefer 'old school' games (though D&D of any edition still makes me warm and fuzzy inside), though I make exceptions for The Window and the occasional small-press game that catches my fancy. Currently, I'm on an OD&D + Chainmail kick (though that is rapidly being replaced by a growing 'Chainmail man to man as proto-RPG' fascination).

Philotomy Jurament directed me here. You can blame him for me presence

[philotomy]

jdrakeh said:

Philotomy Jurament directed me here. You can blame him for me presence

Uh oh; I'm in trouble now...

[Pierce Inverarity]

jdrakeh said:

(though that is rapidly being replaced by a growing 'Chainmail man to man as proto-RPG' fascination).

How about that, now... let us know how it goes, ya hear--am always interested in what you're up to, and as it happens for the first time in 20 years I'm getting interested in wargames again.

[Rhuvein]

Howdy James. Good to see ya over here!

[crimhthanthegreat]

Welcome to all the new members since the last time I checked in.

[Zulgyan]

Ok, I'm new to the boards and new to OD&D. It seems like my search for the perfect game has taken me to the origins of D&D.

Since I started gaming my path through editions has been the following:

B/X Menzter -> AD&D 2e -> 3.5 D&D -> C&C -> AD&D 1e -> and now I'm looking at OD&D with marvel and intrige.

Ok, I'll hang out here at the boards to share my thought, read your cool stuff and so that you can help me out with the edition born before I was born.

Cheers!

[stonetoflesh]

Count me as another newbie to OD&D. I started with B/X back in 1983 and quickly moved to AD&D1e, which I played for many years. In the past few years I've run games of 1e, B/X, and (currently) C&C. My interest in OD&D has been gradually kindled over the past few years to the point of now wanting to run a campaign using the OD&D books; the primary impetuses (impeti?) have been the more freewheeling spirit of early Dragon mags, the original Arduin Grimoire trilogy, 1st edition Gamma World, and classic Judges Guild products.

I look forward to learning more about this great game and contributing what I can...

[ant]

Welcome aboard, nightlamp. My very first OD&D game would not have been the same without this place (thanks, philotomy, for showing me the way!)

[tgamemaster1975]

Welcome all! I am happy to see our little community thriving and growing.

[Wm. Earle Wheeler]

Howdy,

I joined the site last night.

I'm gearing up to (hopefully) run my first ever OD&D campaign. I started playing in 1982 with the Moldvay/Cook Sets and then moved on to AD&D, so I've never played (or even read) OD&D!

I just got back from Staples a few minutes ago. I had my OD&D .pdfs (purchased online) printed out.

I am greatly interested in all pre-1990 products, especially the period between 1971 and 1983 (right before the hardbacks were re-released with orange spines).

[greentongue]

I slipped in while people were looking the other way when some of the topics caught my eye.
Hopefully I can add some something of value by being here.
=

[tgamemaster1975]

Welcome all and thanks for posting.

[makofan]

My name is John Hitchens. I was introduced to Holmes D&D in 1978 (Grade 9) and absolutely loved it. Shortly, though, we switched to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I always thought there was something wrong with me because I preferred the more free-form simple game. Now I realize I was correct after all!

I don't play OD&D, but I enjoy reading about the game and its history and incorporating its ideas into Holmes extended (thanks Meepo!)

Maybe one day I will pick up all the books!

[crimhthanthegreat]

Welcome all and thank you for posting. Hope to see everyone post here even if this is the only post you ever make.

[vladtolenkov]

I just recently joined the board after experiencing an intense re-interest in D&D and wanting to get back to the fundamentals of what made the game so compelling to me when I was younger. And what better way to do that than with OD&D! I recently downloaded the PDFs from RPGNow, and I'd like to try things out old school. To date I've yet to play the brown book edition, but I'll keep you posted!

I got into D&D after I'd seen kids play at school, and I remember making up my own "Dungeon Game" without really knowing anything about how to actually play. Having seen some of the maps, I thought the squares in the dungeons were like tiles in a board game and consequently I had people roll a 6-side die to move their character through the dungeon. I started playing "real" D&D when I was ten years old after I got the Moldvay basic set for Christmas.

From there I ended up playing AD&D 1E quite a bit (without really knowing what I was doing). Since then I've played a variety of games including: Top Secret, Gamma World, AD&D 2E, Paranoia, Traveler, Call of Cthulhu, Cyberpunk, Mekton, Vampire the Masquerade, Amber, Marvel Super Heroes, Basic Roleplaying (the Chaosium system), D&D 3E, and recently I've been running a Pendragon campaign.

I'm also interested in rpg game design, design theory, and the ways in which this hobby of ours can help promote creative and intellectual growth. A lot of the games coming out of the Indie Rpg movement have been particularly inspiring to me of late.

That's All For Me

Nick

[jdrakeh]

Welcome, Nick! Good to have you aboard!

[Deleted]

I second that welcome! Looking forward to reading your posts.

[korgoth]

It seems I neglected to actually post on the introductions thread! (Unless I'm blind... I'm presently frazzled from eventually-successful household maintenance).

My name is Aaron. I am 34 and I started playing D&D with Moldvay Basic back in 81 or 82 (81 I think). I played a lot of AD&D 1e and 2e and Mentzer back in the day. I also played that other edition before coming to my senses.

I have yet to play OD&D. I own the OCE box as well as Sup 1 and Sup 3. Back when I played AD&D 1e and Mentzer, much of that play was informed by a DM who had OD&D experience and took a very rules lite, freewheeling approach.

I am currently working on a campaign and megadungeon which will use either OD&D or Moldvay. I waffle back and forth on the rules choice. Both would work pretty well. The campaign will be set in last age of human habitation of the Earth, when the planet is scorched by increasing solar proximity. Some ancient ruined areas are archaic in nature, others contain remnants of high tech civilizations from times past. It will be mostly D&D with a splash of Gamma World (1e).

[Thorulfr]

It seems that makofan and I are contemporaries. My name is Rod Basler, was born in '63, and was introduced to wargaming about 6th grade (Avalon Hill's Kriegspiel - hey, we were kids.) I saved up my dimes to buy games like Feudal, Go, and Richtoven's War, or Napoleonic wargames (was painting 54mm military miniatures by then, too.) One of my absolute favorites was Wooden Ships and Iron Men (1976) - my friends and I played that game to death.
In early 1978 (9th grade), I was waffling back and forth between SPI's War of the Ring, and this completely unknown game called Dungeons and Dragons (Holmes). I took a chance, bought D&D, and took it home. For some reason, the game really 'clicked', once I read the script for the 'typical game', everything made sense, and I roped my little brother into playing later that afternoon. I used the Dungeon Geomorphs that came with the set, and picked something likely from the 'Monster and Treasure Assortment, levels 1-3' (this was before B1 was published.) We were hooked. I introduced my wargaming friends to the game, and it spread from there.
I got the AD&D Players Handbook and Monster Manual for Christmas that year, but there was a gap of a couple of years before the DMG was finally published, so we used a strange mix of OD&D (white box and the supplements), Judges Guild supplements, The Dragon articles, and in my case, just about anything that wouldn't run away fast enough (C&S, Arduin, Runequest...)
I sort of fell away from AD&D in the late 80s, focusing more on Morrow Project, Traveller, and Call of Cthulhu(*), but I've been slowly returning to my roots, so to speak.

So, in my 'copious spare time', I'm trying to recreate (well, completely re-do, really: some of the original concepts were pretty lame) one of the first dungeons I made...and, of course, I have to improve it...and give it a backstory...which requires that I work out the backstory of the surrounding region...which requires that... Honest, I'll cease that chain of logic long before I make a globe of hexpaper and start drawing out the tectonic plates so I know where to put the major mountain ranges (been there, done that...I wonder where that globe went?)


(* I'm even crazy enough to have written a monograph for Chaosium for Gaslight Cthulhu...they keep bugging me to do another, but I'm down to about 4 hours of sleep a night and I'm not sure from where the extra time will come ;o)

[makofan]

That's cool, thorulfr. My friend and I played a LOT of Wooden Ships & Iron Men. I picked up the OD&D books and they are pretty neat. I'm even running an online game in it now. Hope to see you around the forums

[coffee]

Hey, thorulfr, you and I are contemporaries as well. I was born in '63 also.

[Finarvyn]

Yikes! I'm a 1963 guy, myself.

Also, it's neat to see thorulfr mention Kingmaker, which is one of my all-time most favorite games of all time. Maybe we need a KM forum!