Every D&D Edition: The Good, Bad, and Ugly - Part 1

Comments · 78

• JO

  @josephbeckett2330 · 2 years ago

  THAC0 wasn't really that complicated, but an great innovation.

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• AZ

  @AZombie48 · 2 years ago

  Very nice summary of these editions! Ive been picking over my Dad&apos;s original copies to try and capture some of the magic I feel when he tells me about thise old games. So, I love hearing what other people have picked up from them!<br><br>I think the real failure of Descending Armor Class through these older editions was that that rules seem to suggest that the AC was the number you needed to hit: but it&apos;s more useful to think of AC as a modifier.<br><br>Roll your d20, add the ability modifier, bonus from magic weapons (if you have one), and add the AC of the target. If the total equals or exceeds your THAC0, you hit.<br><br>A system like that is no more mathematically intense than the modern system of adding a proficiency bonus instead. And you&apos;re always adding to your roll and trying to get it higher.<br><br>That said, I havent gotten a chance to play any of these. Plus, ascending armor class still probably makes more sense because higher ACs representing more armor makes more intuitive sense. So I cant be sure that would be a helpful way to think of it. But my hunch is that THAC0 wouldn&apos;t have such a bad rap if that was how the rule was presented.

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• WA

  @wardukeathome · 2 years ago

  These two videos are great! Any intention to do a video talking about Basic D&amp;D? Holmes, B/X, BECMI/RC?

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• TH

  @thatswinelord9155 · 2 years ago

  I and my brother play adnd with my dad and when ever we have to play 5th we just want to rip are hair out bc of how unenjoyable it is too play

• GO

  @goblinrat6119 · 2 years ago

  Drivethrurpg actually has print-on-demand versions of the AD&amp;D core books as well, so it is actually fairly easy to get physical copies for a reasonable price. The Player&apos;s Handbook is &lt;20$ and so on.

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• CH

  @chrislundgren182 · 2 years ago

  I loved the video and had mentioned that those wanting to play AD&amp;D First Edition should look into OSRIC. <br>Old School Reference and Index Compilation (OSRIC) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) system. It&apos;s a remake of the first edition of Advanced Dungeons &amp; Dragons (AD&amp;D) and is intended to reproduce the rules of the late 1970s to early 1980s.

• TR

  @trevorholman3119 · 2 years ago

  Gygaxian Prose... it&apos;s endearing.

• NE

  @Nexusofgeek · 2 years ago (edited)

  actually I didn&apos;t find 1E to be as complex or rules heavy, yes it was didactic in the text and there were some confusing rules but as 13 year olds we figured it out and played it just fine. We just house ruled some of it. Also, BECMI ran concurrently with AD&amp;D and that is actually the version of the old editions I like best, even though AD&amp;D makes me the most nostalgic as I started with those reprinted core books in the early and mid 80s. The original red box stuff is just fantastic stuff and some of the modules were really fun.

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• KY

  @kylegraywolf · 2 years ago

  Hope you do one for B/X as well as BECMI. A lot of love for the “basic” line. 🤙

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• DE

  @destroso · 2 years ago

  Descending armor class is the best. It keeps all values within a d20 unless there’s magic involved.

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• GE

  @geofftottenperthcoys9944 · 2 years ago

  I still play a hybrid 1st/2nd edition with some home rules, like I use some spells from the Original Net Handbooks that were around at the time. They also had some good Planescape Netbooks as well.

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• AN

  @andrewhaldenby4949 · 2 years ago

  Excellent summary ty! OD&amp;D is just so interesting, everything else comes from it