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I feel like despite what you say about AD&D, and even the creators own intentions, that even in AD&D a player chatacter isn't always just *some guy*. In a low fantasy game especially a magic user or a cleric by the very nature of being magic users, is already an order of magnitude more unique and special than the average person. Paladins especially, *as a paladin* you are by definition a knight of some kind of order from the start, you're not just some guy who picked up a sword. This idea only really seems to hold up with thieves and fighters.

I'm not so sure about the social skills part. In my opinion it at least helps players who aren't as charismatic as the character they're meant to play. If I'm playing a 16 charisma bard but idk I'm a 7 charisma loser, it feels weird to say that my character wouldn't be able to put things more eloquently than I, in the same way my real strength doesn't affect my fighters ability to push heavy stuff. I understand your actual ability to persuade being a factor but j think being able to fall back on "my chatacter understands this more than me" isn't an issue.

I'm so glad to hear you put a name to "domain level play". It's something that seems very innate to me that I never thought of as weird, yet alot of DMs I play with seem confused or even frustrated when a king gives us an open ended reward and lets us tell him what we want within reason and I say I want a claim of land, or I start asking about hirelings.

Man, ive been missing out, just smashed past a few videos of yours and i have to say they've all been home runs so far. Great work, and congrats on getting this close to 1.5k subscribers over all this time. Happy to be here, hope you're doing well Ken, and have a good day. Great video.

I'm a 5e newbie and was introduced to DnD 3ish years ago. The hours long combats, lack of downtime, and lack of timekeeping left me wanting more - so I began researching OSE and Dolmenwood, and wow! What great products! What immersion! When reading through the 5e rules now, I realize the writers have left a lot of the "old school" rules in, like getting lost, wilderness travel, 6-mile spaces (hexcrawls), and downtime rules, but the system is completely incongruent with these things. And as a result, new players see these things as fluff or worthless (ex: PHB Ranger - it could be actually interesting to use if old-school hexcrawls were a thing)

How are you doing?

Yeah, I think I generally agree. I'm a newer player compared to you (, I started playing 3.5 at like 8). Many people say that D&D 5e has everyone being gods. But I somewhat disagree. Because characters are very powerful, but only in specific contexts. It leads to people not acting in specific scenarios, because they don't have a high persuasion score. Because every decision has been deferred to your states. It's why charisma is so powerful in 5e if your DM rolls for everything. People say that older editions of D&D are broken mechanically, and that's a bit true. But 5th edition is also broken. It's so easy to make a character that's very broken, IF you know all the rules. Which leads to experienced players having their characters out class everyone else. So experienced players always become DMs, which leads to a DM who knows so much about the game than the players. And because balance is so abstract in 5e, the DM always needs to low ball the strength of enemies because the DM is a better at the game. So combat will be uninteresting for the DM and too complex for the player. All D&D games are somewhat broken. In older versions it's more obvious, but in 5e only people that know a lot will experience it. Instant death does exist in 5e, but only low level characters will experience it. I do dislike 5e's death system, but it's really hard to change about the game because the power level is baked into the game. Once you're past 5th level it's really hard to die, incredibly so. And it takes away from the drama of combat. Something I really like that 5e does is the part of character creation that has ideals, bonds, and flaws. It's really good for new player. The older system of good, neutral, evil, ect. is not very helpful for defining how your character acts. A lot of 5e advancers feel like they're not in a world. It's your characters and their stories. But in older addition it's about the world, and how your characters react to it. It's why I don't like inns in D&D. Inns and hotels, historically, only existed in large cites. If you are traveling, you needing to convince the local noble or commoner to stay with them, or you sleep in the streets. And the reason inns exist in modern D&D 5e is because, the world is meant to accommodate the characters, rather than the players existing and being effected by the world. Players should become familiar this whatever city, but so many players go from place to place. And everything blurs together. You pointed it about and it's something I never noticed because of how baked in it is the 5e. That spells are so focused being either combat or social. You pointed out that Hold Person only targets people, why. Why can't it target objects. And I've gotten so used to seeing spells as either for combat or social situations that I never thought to question the function of the spell system. Why isn't the spell just Hold, that's much more fun. While I do like having a character I create with some story line I want to playout. I do wish the character stories were more relaxed, with more players having half a sheet description characters. It makes D&D about playing out your character rather than playing with your friends. And I hate that, it leads to people paying for a DM. Which is crazy, that would be like paying strangers to play Monopoly. I always thought of old school players as bein stuck up old people, who refuse to change. But over the last 3 years I've realized I have more in common with the old grognards. I do like modern D&D DMing philosophy, where player's characters have more story to them. But I don't like how D&D 5e makes it seem like that is the core of the game. This video has given me points to reflect on, from the experience of someone much older than me. Thank you very much.

can this be done using neverwinter nights 2?

19:39: "The Bard is gone..." I was always confused on why the Bard was such a difficult class for which to qualify, and its loss isn't great. However, do you house rule a Bard class that's more a peer of other classes? I think it's a good concept, but the 1st ed rules seem a bit prohibitive with the required minimums.

Great short video,.

For his time? Yes.

dont know if you remember that in the movie E.T the kid in the movie was playing D&D whith mintures but it happened before they found the E.T ceature in the movie.

Scourge of Worlds was set in Greyhawk I believe.

No. Sorry now I'll watch the video. EDIT: Heh Gary clearly got the last laugh with those idiots! That made me feel much happier!

This has changed my perception of Ad&d from a curiosity to something i might actually want to play.

I've been playing D&D since AD&D 2nd edition came out and have played (and DM'd) all the major release versions of all D&D editions since then. I'm behind every single word you have said in this video and it's really sad to see the newer generation of players and content creators (especially the ones started D&D with 5e) missing out that an actual TTRPG can be. I don't see myself qualified to complain about the "good old days" but you literally expressed my own thoughts about everything wrong with D&D right now. All I can say is thank you!

100% in agreement, man.

YES! Virtue signaling dickheads is absolutely correct. Great episode, brother.

Personally prefer the early 80's Basic/Expert sets but us old school fans gotta stick together, right? Those have more in common with 1e than not. Same core system and same campaign style.

Thanks for the wisdom, I feel better knowing 2e all the way back is compatible.

9 times out of 10, what may look like gatekeeping is really self-selection. As an anecdotal example, I ran a one-shot play test for a Cypher System game I'm working on, and the whole playgroup was invited. One guy, however, opted out after discovering that all the pre-generated characters were plain old humans (except for a valkyrie, but that was for in-universe reasons that I shant spoil yet).

58:54 -59:02 No, no, I'm with the theater kids on this once. After all, you can "not" be Hellboy in _any_ game. And for all today's snowflakery, there is value in discerning when to say no versus when to find a way to say yes.

Tbh, I think 5e's main problem is that it refuses to pick a lane. It wants to tell you that Goku and Superman would crawl through a dungeon, wants the benefits of a non-Vancian magic system without commitment required to make it work, Aaron wants to bring advantage and disadvantage to the Church of the Almighty +1.

LOL I never give exp for treasure either. To quote my cousin who passed 5 years ago. "Treasure is it's own reward!"

May I ask how you mean you have used spell slots in your AD&D games? Have you allowed casters to not need to memorise spells, but instead prepare a select number per day and then more spontaneously use their number of spells to cast them.

Exactly, WotC just kept reinventing AD&D and it stopped being D&D, I left basically after 3e and just started doing other systems. I stuck with Palladium/Rifts megaverse mainly. I have 5e AD&D but seldom play it , I go very old school, with like basic fantasy and other old school type games. OSRIC is an awesome system too.

Great vídeo. cheers from Brazil

"It's Castles and Crusades" Based. I pretty much just import AD&D content into Castles and Crusades game system so players don't have to whinge about THAC0 and descending AC and the like. It maintains the old school feel while benefitting from the *technical* innovations the hobby developed with time.

Is that an M&P Shield box behind you? NEW SUB!

I was lucky enough to have AD&D be my first exposure to D&D instead of 5E thanks to old 1e books in my dad's attic. I've been running a lot with those old books and it's a blast! I love the sheer creative freedom you get as both a player and a DM in this edition. No annoying stat checks and the world is basically a sandbox for players to do whatever they want, if they survive that is. I also enjoy that the power level is much more grounded in this edition, you're encouraged to solve problems in ways other than "I cast fireball" and monsters feel actually threatening.

you can also get swords and wizardry at cost from seattle hill games - they wrote a reogranization of the SaS rules called Whitebox: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game.

Have you tried Cepheus Deluxe by Stellagama?

Ways to spot an AD&D player. 1. they will be over 50, 2. bearded if not female, 3 likely overweight. (I don't have a beard :) ). I don't hate 5th, I just don't feel like buying books that offer nothing other than a means to spend my cash. Nothing of real worth has happened for 'the game' since 1st AD&D. Not including settings.

Spot on with so many points. When domain level play was brought up, I regret that I only had one like to give, I would have left 1000 good sir.

It's always great to see a NWN video on youtube :D

70's/80's D&Ders were the ultimate outsiders "different" i dont care who i play with, if you want to have fun and lets not talk politics...im game...

Problem with being a true TRRPG is A) most are playing 5e, and finding a in person NON 5e RPG is darn near impossible in my locale....i can find online games.. I can find wargames...

"If you haven't read the 1e DMG, you are not a Dungeon Master." Hurtful? Maybe to some people, but I'd say that's fair enough. The "Master" part of the title implies an understanding of the game and mastery of how to conduct a campaign. As of yet, I have none of these qualities. I am however, a gaming history enthusiast. The first RPG book I ever got really into was Dungeon Crawl Classics. Something about it spoke to me in a way that modern D&D never did. Now, I'm enthralled with both White Box and Blueholme, and I hope to one day run a campaign using a combination of these systems, with some aspects of Chainmail mixed in. Unfortunately, I don't have much experience running a game for a group. A majority of my experience comes from running a solo game, so I have a decent understanding of the mechanics. I just haven't yet gotten my flow with presenting the world to my players yet. I'm very interested in learning how an old grognard runs an old-school game.

"THAC0 is just subtraction" From a newer OSR player/GM, THANK YOU! I have been told that THAC0 is too confusing, and even had a player refuse to play if it was used. My reaction is pretty much the same as yours. Both methods accomplish the same thing, just in different ways. I get that it might feel cumbersome to some, but to me THAC0 just adds to the older games' personality. Despite using the exact same resolution method, it quite literally hits different.

"D&D is not the tide. It's just another boat." Pure poetry.

I'm a Brazilian teacher, 30 yo, radical leftie (union/an-com), and you are one of the very few TTRPG channels that really speaks to me. All the RPGs you mentioned I also own and have played most of them (BattleTech, Mechnoir, Traveller, obviously love me some retroclones or OSR-styled too, S&W, LL, OSE, OSRIC, Hyperborea, all that). I could never have guessed you would define yourself as a radical centrist. But this is an enlightening experience as to table composition, and who we play with. Once more, thank you for the wisdom pellets you provide every now and then.

Lol Yes WotC does a lot of stupid things. Ya I do not want to pjay electronicallyfor sure. Pencil and paper all the way

TTRPG's will only die if we stop getting together to play games. I just attended Conquest 2024 (Melbourne, Australia) and there was so much stuff being played, I even got in a game of classic Traveller. There are so many good older systems plus a swath of new games that are great. There will be a bit of a skirmish as D&D departs the scene and we see what players gravitate towards. I see Matt Finch is going to do an updated version of OSRIC. I wonder if it will be based on the 5e Creative Commons or the OGL. PS: Is that Yoda on the shelf using the force to stop the fall of your empire of books?

Good to see you making a video again.

I went to garycon this year and I feel like the golden age will survive, especially if people are interested in playing new games like I tried this year! I played classic Traveller, Gamma World and Chainmail for the first time. My friends and I haven't played a new edition of DnD since 3e. I've introduced my young cousins who just got into ttrpgs with BECMI, Castle and Crusades and DCC! They love it, and its been great that I've been their first exposure to ttrpgs. They had no idea what critical role is and I thank god for that.

Still cookin’ with my 1e homebrew bullshit. I don’t need no stinkin’ Hasbros. Never did, never will.

Meh....I honestly couldn't care less what "those folks" are doing. I do my gaming my way, just like I have for the past 40 something years.

Any idea why they couldn't have held off that idiotic OGL debacle until the start of THIS year? Without that the d&d movie wouldn't have failed that badly and they wouldn't have really crap PR right through today. Lord when are they going to start publicising their new edition and what setting they're going to use as I doubt anyone will be interested if they think the D&D beyond site alone will draw them sufficient subscribers?

Doesn't bother me in any way. I can always play D&D, no matter what happens to any company. I think the golden age was the 80s, but that's just me 🙂