"Side-Topic" Post Week of 02/24/2014

For me it was 4E D&D. We've been playing Dungeon World lately in our game, though, and trying a few different things. But I do still love me some D&D when the opportunity arises.

Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition ~ 1992... hell no. It's old. I'm sticking with D&D 4e.

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st edition back in the mid 80's when I was a teenager. I missed 2nd edition and 3rd edition, but started getting hooked back in when Pathfinder emerged on the scene. Since then I've went back and picked up some 3.0 and 3.5 stuff since it's backward compatible with Pathfinder. I like the way the system evolved into what Pathfinder is today and it suits my play style and what I personally like to get out of a game. I probably wouldn't go back to 1st edition just because I find it's more modern progeny (i.e. Pathfinder and 3.0/3.5) to be a more comprehensive gaming system. I will say that I still have my old hardbacks from the 1st edition days, as well as some adventure modules, and they make awesome reference materials for ideas and inspiration. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson definitely had a gold mine of an idea!

2nd edition D&D for me. I do not miss THAC0 one bit, so I'd have to say I wouldn't really care to revisit those good ol' days. :) I'm pretty happy with pathfinder, though I wouldn't mind trying 4th edition some day.

AD&D1E and I still play it. Why? The quirks of the system... the imperfections. And the level and power capping inherent in the system.

Basic D&D (Holmes blue cover) in 1979. I suppose I would play it if there was a demand within my current group of players. However, we just started a new campaign using the Basic D&D (Moldvay) rules, which are the immediately-following, direct descendant of the Holmes rules and are (I believe) a big improvement. So I don't really see a call to use the Holmes rules anytime soon.

I played a lot of one-off's and homebrews that I can't remember when I was younger. The first tabletop game I distinctly recall was a single session of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game (d6 version). I initially had no idea what I was doing, but after an hour I really fell into my grumpy Twi'lek smuggler character. That was fun, but I just don't see myself running with the system. Not sure if I'm feeling the franchise anymore.

Basic D&D. No, the nostalgia I experience remembering it is not the same as wanting to play a system so antiquated. YAY! We Mods can post as regular users now! :)

LotR, %dice, 1998. I think will never play again this game, not much choice for players, the magic was a horror, system very hard to learn and use, but above of everything losted 4 characters in less than a year, one of them last less than a session: instant dead in the first fight. Oh, and I stopped playing with this group of players(joking).

Mid 80's D&D red box, First module - Keep on the Borderlands. It never goes out of style and I would play it again in a heartbeat.

A big part of it for me is the art... that is why I stay with earlier sets (D&D and AD&D.) They seems to invite more imagination because they are less refined. Might be the same for the rules. illo are you talking MERP by ICE? Everyone dies when you play ICE right after four days of character creation.

Stephen S. said: illo are you talking MERP by ICE? Everyone dies when you play ICE right after four days of character creation. Yes, just this one! So, after all, sixteen years later I'm discovering I was playing the game in the correct way!

Basic D&D Holmes blue cover, first week of January 1979. :-) A group of three university friends came to my room, chucked the book at me, and said "learn how to run that. We're going to the bar." They got back around 11pm and we started playing. The next time I looked at the clock it was 4am and I was hooked for life. I'd certainly play it again now as a one-off. I drifted away from D&D mainly because it got too fiddly and complex without getting more realistic. GURPS became my go-to system, in that it can be as simple as you want, and any complexity that you want to bring in makes great sense. For more fast and furious pulp play, I favour Savage Worlds now, but a little retro D&D would be fun.

The first RPG I saw was "Advanced" Dungeons & Dragons 1st-edition in 1980 or so. Bought some non-acrylic plastic polyhedral dice but didn't bother buying six-sideds since they were common. Those plastic dice wore out quickly along the edges! But since the secrets of game-mastering were locked up in the Dungeon Master's Guide and I only had a Player's Handbook, I bought some games for myself. The STAR FRONTIERS science-fiction RPG was a box that gave away a lot of secrets of play for the beginner, for only US$10. It was sold in regular bookstores, flung far and wide, so it had to have explanations in case the person who bought it would be the only one around running it. That's how I REALLY got my start for the whole RPG deal! It also had a FAST combat system able to handle melee and ranged weapons, vehicle combat and aerial combat all in the same six-second turns, all using percentile rolls (2 d10s included, again the pre-acrylic plastic and a crayon included so that you inked the numbers on the dice yourself!) The current fan-based edition is downloadable, for FREE. Download "Alpha Dawn" (the initial rules set) and much more stuff from this page, as well as the excellent STAR FRONTIERSMAN fan magazine. Also around is the FRONTIER EXPLORER magazine on DriveThruRPGs. <a href="http://www.dwdstudios.com/sfdrdownloads" rel="nofollow">http://www.dwdstudios.com/sfdrdownloads</a>

Man I had forgot about that RPG.

D&D Rules Cyclopedia and then AD&D 2nd edition. Was thinking about picking up the PDF of the Cyclopedia to run it again once I get over my Dungeon World kick.

Star Wars, West End Games, back when it was D6, in the early 90s. I was a big Star Wars fan up until the Phantom Menace came out, and that managed to magically cure my teenaged self of any attachment to the franchise. Only one other time has something in my life gone from 'cool' to 'cheeseball' so shatteringly fast...and that was when the first Matrix sequel was released. I liked the D6 rules better than the D20 iterations that came later. When I first played D&D, it was the Dark Sun version of it. And my first serious RP game (where it was more about the story than dice), was probably Old World of Darkness. Now and then, I still consider getting an old school West End system based game going. But it wouldn't involve Star Wars.

Jonathan S., there is now a wealth of D6 System stuff, in different generic genres, available here (free stuff) and on other D6 mirror sites. <a href="http://www.polgarusgames.com/download-page" rel="nofollow">http://www.polgarusgames.com/download-page</a>

20 years ago give or take, I picked up the core book and one of the sourcebooks for West End Games' Star Wars at a Waldenbooks at the mall. I had no idea what an RPG was or what I was in for, I just liked Star Wars and absolutely loved the in universe advertisements in the books. That led to many, many game sessions from middle school through high school. I really don't see myself playing it ever again although I still have some of the books. Part of it has been the explosion of material in the Expanded Universe, just making it a bit too crowded to want to game in. It also wouldn't be the same without the same group of guys that made up the group in the first place. The system itself is perfectly fine, but isn't anything to write home about without having Star Wars draped around it.

79' D&D Box set complete with 'Caves of Chaos' for 19 dollars. I had no idea what it was, I just bought it. I still have most of the dice, though the 20 sider that came with it was malformed. I had to use model paint to put several of the numbers on it. Would I play it again? Ya... I would. I am not sure I'd play it the same way though. Back then I didn't have a concept of a a story line, or reasons that there were Orcs in them thar hills. We just went from encounter to encounter mashing things.

The first tabletop I played was Star Wars, the WotC RCR edition (the one with Padme and Anakin on the cover). I haven't played it in years, and wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole these days. The system was basically DnD3.0 with a Star Wars skin and it really didn't work great. Combats got incredibly slow past lvl 5 or so, which would be fine for DnD I guess, but it totally killed the mood in Star Wars games. It's one redeeming feature was the Vitality/Wounds double health system, which did a solid job of making heroes vulnerable despite leveling. Saga edition fixed most of the problems and was a great system (probably the pinnacle of d20 still in my experience, even with book bloat) and I played that for five or so years. Now days I stick mostly to FFG's new SW line, though I would pick up Saga again for sure.

Traveller in 1977, and have run it here.

My first proper game was Vampire the Requiem, the basic red and blue core books, after hearing about them on a web show and someone from down the hall bringing it up when I stopped for a chat during one of this many smoke breaks. Honestly he wasn't a very good ST, but I wasn't a good player, and he had a passion that rubbed off on me. That said, I played the board game box of D&D a year or so after it got its 2000s release. That was when my interest started, but as anyone who's touched it will know its really a board game unless you make it something else. I played it again later and had plenty of fun with it. I'd play either in a heartbeat or lack thereof if anyone was into the idea.

3rd Edition D&D. It is far from my favorite system, but I still play it. I know some awesome people who love it (and its descendants). The people are all that really matter, the system is just a trivial perturbation so I still have a great time playing it. Character creation is still way too much work for my taste. Instead, I just read some optimization guide and copy their build verbatim with maybe a few changes in skills and attributes to fit my character concept; let some other sucker do the work for me :).

I believe my first tabletop rpg was Warhammer FRP first edition around 1987. Followed closely by AD&D. The warhammer world and published scenarios (well, mainly the ennemy within campaign) are still some of the best ever for me.

Original D&D Basic set, but I quickly switched over to AD&D quickly as the original hardbacks came out. Would I play either again? No, I saw the limitations of the systems and I've been always interested in more complex games, though both Basic and 1E will always have a fond place in my heart.

Rune quest first edition, way back in 1983 or 84. First role play game i ever played, never got introduced to any D&D. Loved it, and it set my taste for d100 systems for quite some time. Warhammer fantasy roleplay (1st edition) was the first rpg i ran as a GM. Would still play/run them if i got the chance, though runequest has gone through a lot of editions now.

Dungeons and Dragons (3 little brown books in a White Box). I picked up the Collectors edition, may try it again. But with all the tools and miniatures I have today it will be a lot different than &lt;cough&gt; 39 &lt;/cough&gt; years ago.

D&D Boxed Set, including the classic Keep on the Borderlands module, probably around 1980. Totally hooked, tell my wife that D&D is REALLY my first love. Played that module until the pages fell apart, been playing D&D off and on ever since, graduating with every version until 4e, when I switched to Pathfinder. I still have a copy of that module, and have been debating creating a Roll20 campaign around it to play with my grandkids, so yes, I would definitely play it again.

I am becoming convinced.... we are all way too old. "Natural 20!"

Gamestore Owner and I were once discussing what might be happening in the retirement homes in the (fast approaching) future. Time to dig out all the old games and play them (as long as the players can see and hear).

"I SAID, 'YOUR THIEF FAILED HIS DETECT NOISE ROLL, SO YOU DON'T HEAR ANYTHING.' ... oh never mind. "NEW INITIATIVE."

I loved Runequest Noel. My preferred game to run back then. Yep, Stephen S. I know I am too old.

Stephen S. said: "I SAID, 'YOUR THIEF FAILED HIS DETECT NOISE ROLL, SO YOU DON'T HEAR ANYTHING.' ... oh never mind. "NEW INITIATIVE." That's funny. hehe

My first RPG was one a friend and I made in junior high. At the time, I didn't realize what we were doing already had a name. :P I'd totally still play it. In fact, if I only had the time, I'd be running a campaign or some oneshots to test out the latest version.

First RPG was Moldvay Basic D&D in 1981. Quickly moved onto 1st Edition AD&D and never went beyond that. Haven't played a table top (or VTT) RPG in about 20 years. Tried playing Pathfinder recently via PbP....not my style at all. Would LOVE to play 1st Edition again but I am having trouble making the leap to actually participating in a VTT session as I am a major Luddite -- what the heck is a "Skype"?!? ; ) -- in addition to being a Grognard.

Are we discussing older players, hell I'll weigh in, I have had a weekly D&D game going (not the same campaign or same players) since 1977! Granted I live in southern Wisconsin the birth place of FRPG's. You are never too old to Slay a Dragon.....

I, too, am a "started in 4E" fellow. And I like it bunches... and will play it (or the most recent strain of Gamma World, at least), again! New topic is up !