#d&d 1e

[twilightofthesandwiches]

Which Edition of D&D had the best design/artwork of an Aarakocra?

First Edition

Second Edition

Third Edition

Fifth Edition

Voting ended onMar 10

[ysengrm]

Various - Quarks & Quests (Off Centaur Productions, 1986)

Various - Time Winds Tavern (Off Centaur Productions, 1985)

Various - Sound OVFF (Wail, 1990)

[universe-in-the-void-in-the-cube]

I remember with D&D character sheets where this easy.

T/MU = Thief/Magic User (Rogue/Wizard)

[zigmenthotep]

so how do druids work on ad&d, I know they are a sub class of cleric, but’s that it

Well, like anything in 1st edition, the answer is a simple yes, and also no.

While they are listed as a subclass of cleric, druids are essentially their own class with their own progression table, spells per day, spell lists, and unique abilities—such as a rudimentary wild shape. As well as a level cap of 14.

However, they are treated as clerics for the purpose of their attacks and saves because in ye olden days everything was covered with big-ass matrices!

So for the purpose of these tables, it makes sense to minimize the number of actual classes. So technically, there are only four classes, requiring only four entries on the attack and save matrices. But then subclasses expand that to 9 without having to expand the matrices for each new class.

And while this may seem stupid in retrospect—which I mean, fair—it's important to remember that original and basic D&D only had those four classes, with others being added as subclasses in supplements. So the entire game up to this point had been built around that four-class concept.

Although in true D&D fashion, they immediately then go against that, because the monk, originally introduced as a cleric subclass, is now a fifth top-level class and just stated to use the cleric attack matrix and thief save matrix.

However, they did evenutally figure it out, and in 2nd edition just did what 1st edition was basically already doing and put all the classes in four groups instead of grouping them under the four originals.

Then third edition realized that all thsoe matrices were stupid and just used attack and save bonuses—a thing that somehow took 25 years and a change of ownership to figure out—while also kinda losing the groups and actually having listings for all individual classes. Then simplified it even further in 3.5 by just spelling it out as good and poor saves, and good, average, and poor attack progressions.

And as long as I'm doing a long-winded thing on early D&D, it's also important to point out that bards were also a class in 1st edition, and were basically a subclass of druid that required taking 5 levels of fighter and 5 levels of thief, as well as having minimum stats of STR 15, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 11, WIS 15, CHA 15. I just like pointing out how absurdly difficult it was to be a bard in 1st edition.

[oldschoolfrp]

The master of the dungeon invites you inside -- Jeff Easley’s cover for the 1e Dungeon Masters Guide, used from 1983-1990 on the “orange spine” printings of the book, replacing David Sutherland’s original cover art.  Often overlooked in the background, the wizard is backed by an army of goblins, some demons or devils, and at least one dragon with what may be a mountain of treasure.

[ask-omegacoder]

My friend's company, Dark Wizard Games, has launched a Kickstarter funding drive for two new D&D adventure modules. These are available for both 1E and 5E -- the cover art above is from the 5E versions. Check it out via THIS LINK.

[mesmer-mara]

my beloved assassin, Viper (aka Ashryn Valdan). She made it all the way to level 7 before getting taken out by a poison trap, but I'm very glad she was able to make it as far as she did. She has a special place in my heart as one of my top favorite characters, and I'll never forget the fun adventures she took part in.

My fighter Brombek carries her sword now, and carries on her legacy as party protector. He will finish what she came to end herself.

[oldehobsmanor]

A Snapshot from 1988

This is a repost from a Facebook page I write for, but I am posting it here because it is related to the theme of this Tumblr. Hello Dragon fans. Sorry for the long abscents, but life, what can we do about it?

I hear, from the bottom of my well, that gaming history is in vogue right now (though taking advice about what is in vogue from a guy who spends his time reading 30+ year old magazines for pleasure probably isn't the keenest of ideas. Come to think of it taking such advice from someone who says keen is probably horrible idea).

But with history in mind I suggest you check out the article "Role-play Review" by Ken Rolston in issue 129 from Jan 1988 (pg. 82).

Here, Rolston discusses early FRPG (Fantasy Role Playing Game) campaign settings and how for many years TSR dropped the ball on then. He goes on to discuss the history of TSR campaigns and point out why they lagged behind competition like Glorantha.

His major complaints about previous TSR offerings were either a lack of support (Greyhawk) or too narrow a focus (Dragonlance).

In the review section he covers two current at the time TSR campaigns, The Principalities of Glantri (GAZ3) and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting box set, and how they broke away from the trend above. (While he has some critique for FRCS, Rolston does not cite the above issues.)

He heaps on praises for the Gazateer series for offering breadth of play through variety, but does point out that it is not a typical AD&D experience. (A whole other article would be necessary to really discuss the nuance differences between D&D and AD&D).

For FR he is especially pleased with how open it is, providing a framework for a DMs own work, while having plenty of details to loot for plot hooks. He does mention how some of it doesn't line up well with AD&D's established rules, and how some details were a touch scant, but overall it is a positive review.

This article is useful to the game historian, because it comes at a pivotal time in the history of D&D. These two supplements are going to be at the launch of TSR going into a heavy campaign setting mode, and getting a snapshot of the game at that time is very informative.