While the Mentzer Red box (Basic Dungeons & Dragons) was my introduction to tabletop RPGs (preceded by the Choose Your Own Adventure series and similar gamebooks), I fairly quickly moved onward to 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. This seemed like the obvious thing to do (it was "advanced"!). While I have since gained a new appreciation for the Basic lines (B/X, BECMI), AD&D1 still remains my personal favorite iteration of Ye Olde Fantasy Game.
1st Edition is the game I've spent the most time with over the years and it was where I really cut my teeth as a role-player. I still remember spending hours memorizing the THAC0 tables.
Moreover, aside from obvious nostalgia, I think the biggest reason First Edition remains my personal favorite is the flavor: the purple Gygaxian prose, the particular blend of crunch and fluff, the cool weird bits scatter throughout the books, the Old School artwork (which might not have been great per se but it fired up your imagination), such as:
Rather than spell everything out to the nth degree, Messr Gygax presented a broad framework where one could do and play whatever you wanted and extolled you (in an avuncular tone) to play! The sense of wonder and adventure that was only limited by what you could imagine.
And while AD&D1 certainly had mechanical issues (*cough*level limits*cough*), that's what house ruling is for:
Unfortunately, teh interwebs have a dearth of good videos about AD&D1. So, this week, I wanted to give a shout out the series of vlogs on 1st Edition by Robert from Black Belt Gaming:
These vlogs are really well done and informative, full of heart and humor. Robert shares plenty of fun stories that evidence a clear love of 1st Edition.
So, if you are fan of AD&D1, you really should take a gander. I've already been through the series twice.
1st Edition is the game I've spent the most time with over the years and it was where I really cut my teeth as a role-player. I still remember spending hours memorizing the THAC0 tables.
Moreover, aside from obvious nostalgia, I think the biggest reason First Edition remains my personal favorite is the flavor: the purple Gygaxian prose, the particular blend of crunch and fluff, the cool weird bits scatter throughout the books, the Old School artwork (which might not have been great per se but it fired up your imagination), such as:
Rather than spell everything out to the nth degree, Messr Gygax presented a broad framework where one could do and play whatever you wanted and extolled you (in an avuncular tone) to play! The sense of wonder and adventure that was only limited by what you could imagine.
And while AD&D1 certainly had mechanical issues (*cough*level limits*cough*), that's what house ruling is for:
"As the creator and ultimate authority in your respective game, this work is written as one Dungeon Master equal to another. Pronouncements there may be, but they are not from "on high" as respects your game. Dictums are given for the sake of the game only, for if ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is to survive and grow, it must have some degree of uniformity, a familiarity of method and procedure from campaign to campaign within the whole."
Unfortunately, teh interwebs have a dearth of good videos about AD&D1. So, this week, I wanted to give a shout out the series of vlogs on 1st Edition by Robert from Black Belt Gaming:
These vlogs are really well done and informative, full of heart and humor. Robert shares plenty of fun stories that evidence a clear love of 1st Edition.
So, if you are fan of AD&D1, you really should take a gander. I've already been through the series twice.
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