Are the original D&D rules from 1974 playable?
David Hartlage over at DMDavid has started a series exploring the history and differences between Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
His latest post mentioned how audiences of the 1970s struggled to understand the 1974 rules.
I, myself, have been tempted to run original D&D for years. And with the original rules now available in a legitimate pdf format the temptation is ever more present…
…until I actually start reading through the rules.
Then the reality of the game sets in: original Dungeons & Dragons is not a complete game. It’s recommended that you have Chainmail to help run the game.
Indeed, Chainmail is referenced throughout:
“[Elves] gain the advantages noted in the CHAINMAIL rules.”
“[HOBBITS] have deadly accuracy with missiles as noted in CHAINMAIL.”
And this is just the beginning:
That trusty old d20 combat system players have come to know and love is listed as an “Alternative Combat System” in the “Men & Magic” booklet. Chainmail uses its own combat table and you roll 2d6.
Turn Undead uses 2d6 as well. Spells have brief and often vague descriptions.For example: Detect Magic has”a limited range and short duration” (what does that mean, because no specific range is given?)
I’ve read and received advice that I should trying running the game “as is.” But I think this just isn’t possible. The rules aren’t organized. Monster descriptions and abilities span both D&D and Chainmail, as to certain spell descriptions like Fireball.
It’s no wonder why gaming groups came up with their own house rules, and why games like Tunnels & Trolls got published: people loved the idea, but the farther away from Gygax’s gaming table one got, the harder it was to understand the rules.
And yet herein lies the paradox:
The rules themselves are so basic. And only the game master really needs to understand them. You learn it as you go, step-by-step.
If you’re a player, all you really need is a character sheet.
The system is also fast and loose, and subject to GM judgement. Some players will hate this. They’ll want to have a concrete rule for everything.
Yet that’s just not going to happen with the original rules.
Which leads back to the question: Are the original D&D rules playable?
My answer: yes.
People still play the game and swear by it.
The referee, however, before running a campaign, has some important decisions to make concerning the rules themselves…
If you had the opportunity to run the original D&D rules, how would you do it? What rules would you include?
Well, I’d probably end up using something like Sword & Wizardry. I would try [try being the keyword here] to use the Chainmail rules for Initiative, though. I always liked that thing about almost simultaneous rounds and having to write your actions in a paper beforehand.
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I tried really hard to run simultaneous rounds using weapon speeds recently, and it ended up being a huge mess… We ultimately went back to individual initiative
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I’ve tried simultaneous initiative and weapon speed with AD&D 2e once–it didn’t work well then either.
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Swords & Wizardry works great, though the Complete version compiles and clarifies the rules from all of the LBBs.
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I’ve been tempted to give oD&D a shot. I wouldn’t be using the original LBBs as my reference, though; if you can find Greyharp’s “D&D Single Volume Edition”, it compiles all three original booklets into one letter-sized PDF, and replaces all of the references to Chainmail with the actual rules from Chainmail (so less flipping through different books).
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I just downloaded that “D&D Single Volume Edition” and skimmed it. It, indeed, looks a lot easier to reference.
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I spent the summer of 1987 playing a “rules as written” OD&D game. It was a blast.
One of the reasons I grabbed on to “Spellcraft & Swordplay” becuase it was much more like OD&D than Swords & Wizardry was.
It can be played, but you do need Chainmail.
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How many players were there and what levels did your characters reach?
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Let me see. Five players and I think we got to level 4-5. It was 30 years ago.
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Thanks.
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