Favorite AD&D Rulebook
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Poll: Favorite AD&D Rulebook

Deities & Demigods 8%       8%  [ 11 ]
Dungeon Masters Guide 40%       40%  [ 56 ]
Fiend Folio 4%       4%  [ 5 ]
Manual of the Planes 4%       4%  [ 6 ]
Monster Manual 13%       13%  [ 18 ]
Monster Manual II 0%       0%  [ 0 ]
Players Handbook 22%       22%  [ 30 ]
Unearthed Arcana 9%       9%  [ 13 ]
Total votes : 139

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Post Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 12:13 am 
 

Definitely Deities & Demigods, first cover. It was just plain fun to see Gods statted out.

Unlike most, I have lots of love for 2nd edition (first edition I was exposed to), and I don't begrudge most changes made to the game. But changing the name of Deities & Demigods to Legends & Lore...that was very much a step in the wrong direction.


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Post Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:56 pm 
 

punga wrote:Definitely Deities & Demigods, first cover. It was just plain fun to see Gods statted out.

Unlike most, I have lots of love for 2nd edition (first edition I was exposed to), and I don't begrudge most changes made to the game. But changing the name of Deities & Demigods to Legends & Lore...that was very much a step in the wrong direction.


Others are more knowledgable than I ... but that won't stop me from giving my opinion ... :-)

I bet TSR changed the name because AD&D took flak about gods, demons & devils being part of the game.

That really is a wild guess ... but I remember the game getting a lot of bad press back in the day.

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:43 pm 
 

ashmire13 wrote:
You could do worse than read this.

http://www.amazon.com/Meridian-Handbook ... 0452009278

I've an early hardback copy and as a early/mid teen, it was fantastic to read through the details of the myths.


Well, I read the Greek Myths as a child, between 1981 and 1985, and then only in the excellent translation/retelling by Gustav Schwab. After that, I discovered Tolkien, the Prydain Chronicles (wunderful books! And they read very well even if you start to hit 40), the Narnia books (again, wonderful books, especially the first with the White Witch and the final book), and Gaming.

But yes, I should reread the Greek Myths again, after so long a time, especially since I bought an Ipad a month ago and there are free ebooks about the Myths. And certainly the Greek Myths are much more fun to read then the german myths about Odin, Thor etc. And more fun than some fantasy novels, too.

  


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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:48 pm 
 

Say Guys, what gives?

What's all that hatred toward Monster Manual II for? I always thought it was one of the better AD&D books, albeit not in the same class as PH or DDG/LL.

MM II introduced the Demons/Devils war (later to be developed into the Blood War), it fleshed out the "lesser" Lower Planes of Evil, it described Nirvana and gave us the Modrons.

What's not to love about MM II?

  


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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:50 pm 
 

MetamorphosisSigma wrote:
Don't forget the Githyanki and Githzerai, too. Those four creatures alone (all by Charles Stross, I believe, currently a hack scifi writer but back then a great teenage monster creator ;)), along with EGG's contributions, make the book a keeper, IMO.


...And it had the Elemental Princes of Evil. But FF is nonetheless nothing to be proud of.

  

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:55 pm 
 

Ankles wrote:Say Guys, what gives?

What's all that hatred toward Monster Manual II for? ... What's not to love about MM II?



MM II introduced the Demons/Devils war (later to be developed into the Blood War), it fleshed out the "lesser" Lower Planes of Evil, it described Nirvana and gave us the Modrons.

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:01 pm 
 

Falconer wrote:My vote went without hesitation to the Players Handbook. The reason is that I as referee can have any number of manuals and maps and tables and notes on my side of the screen (I tend to use OD&D/JG materials), but what I really need in a published book is an attractive and thorough book aimed solely at presenting the game to players. To me, the PHB has never been outdone in that goal—the players never need to go to another book, and they are never given information they don't need. For the spells and equipment lists alone it is worth the price, but having all the races and classes detailed is handy indeed, not to mention all the adventuring advice. The only thing I wish was added is the excellent "Portentous Runes & Glyphs" section from the 1980 The World of Greyhawk folio. I know this is nebulous, but for me, if a character is 1e PHB-legal then it is a "real" D&D character in my eyes. The PHB is the real thing, everything else is an optional expansion or poor imitation in my eyes.


Well, in some way you are right. The full AD&D consists of PH, MM and DMG (albeit Gygax said you need DDG/LL to complete AD&D).

But if you wanted to pick the single most important AD&D book, it would be the PH. You don't need MM, since you can create your own monsters with the info from the PH, albeit those monsters would be very different from their "official" counterparts.

And you certainly don't need the DMG, since you can run a game without it, using the PH to create the NPCs, govern the situations and create magical items.

Indeed, you can even build your own LEGENDS & LORE using only the PH. But then you better expand the level /atribute tables yourself.

But you need the PH for the races, atributes, levels, spells, item lists.

And indeed, I always said that the PH IS AD&D. The rest are just adornments.

  


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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:05 pm 
 

MetamorphosisSigma wrote:
MM II introduced the Demons/Devils war (later to be developed into the Blood War), it fleshed out the "lesser" Lower Planes of Evil, it described Nirvana and gave us the Modrons.

-------------
(i.e., you've answered your own question :)).


Huh. Sounds to me like a good thing.

But seriously, the Modrons as depicted in MM II were more impressive and interesting than they were in PLANESCAPE. But that's hardly the fault of MM II.  :P

  

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:15 pm 
 

MM

  

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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 5:19 pm 
 

Ankles wrote:
And you certainly don't need the DMG, since you can run a game without it, using the PH to create the NPCs, govern the situations and create magical items.


Page 105 of PHB directs you to the DMG for "To Hit" tables.
Is there a hidden combat matrix somewhere else in the PHB?

The magic items in the old modules are often described in the DMG so I think you'd be missing something without it, but I see your point.



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Post Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:27 pm 
 

i voted for the players handbook.
hated carring loads of books round to a game.
but my favourite book would be the rules cyclopedia(d&d).
one book is all you need,and the gaz series :D

  


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Post Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:35 am 
 

Keith the Thief wrote:
Page 105 of PHB directs you to the DMG for "To Hit" tables.
Is there a hidden combat matrix somewhere else in the PHB?

The magic items in the old modules are often described in the DMG so I think you'd be missing something without it, but I see your point.


Well, certainly the THAC0 tables are in the DMG. But if you think about it, you don't really need them, do you?

I mean, they're just game mechanics, albeit game mechanics that sit at the core of AD&D. But they're just a way to handle fights.

But in the PHB, you find the true essence of AD&D. If you use the DMG alone, you have to come up with the classes, the alignments, the spells, the items, that whole system of concepts that make up AD&D yourself. The DMG (albeit marketed as "essential" to AD&D really is just secondary. Except for the magic items (and maybe the XP tables for the MM's creatures).

And all of those, you can make up yourself, with a little imagination. Just use the items, weapons and spells from the PHB.

Example: Gandalf's Staff would be an +2 Staff of the Istari, being able to cast Light (like the spell) 3 times a day, and if you hit the ground with it, it would explode like a 10 D6 Fireball (like the spell), shatter any ground yet leave the wizard and his allies unhurt (except that the wizard would likely fall into whatever hole he created, unless his spells would keep him aloft).

As for the XP/monster tables, I think everybody has used custom-made XP tables at least once.

To make it short: If you play with the PHB, you play a recognizable AD&D game.

But if you take the DMG in isolation, you have only a generic book of gamemastering for any fantasy RPG. But all the important things (classes, atributes, alignment, spells, planes, even Psionics) are described in the PHB.

Keith the Thief wrote:We've "gotten the band back together", BTW, and my old college group is starting an AD&D campaign using Google+ video chat.
It's pretty damn cool.
I've been collecting for years.  
Now I might actually get to use my D&D stuff!


Now there's a thought... :idea:

Any idea if there's something like a "virtual game table" where you can sit and play with peoples from around the world? You know, with an igrained dice roll engine so the players can't cheat?

  

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:44 am 
 

Ankles wrote:
Now there's a thought... :idea:

Any idea if there's something like a "virtual game table" where you can sit and play with peoples from around the world? You know, with an igrained dice roll engine so the players can't cheat?


Checkout constantcon.blogspot.com. They have a calendar of ongoing online RPG's being played via Google+ hangouts. I think they get up to seven people in a video hangout with a mapping whiteboard in a game. Not sure about the dice rollers.

A complete guide on how they do it is here http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2011/09/ye-olde-newe-constantcon-post-week-9.html?zx=2edb6afa97b2f9b8

  

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:04 pm 
 

A few dice, pencil and paper, the Player's Handbook, and a DM Screen (Any printing from 1st through 10th) (EDIT) and ANY fantasy Adventure Module is all you need to play AD&D.
And you really only need the inside panels of the earlier prints (1st - 6th) of the DM Screen since the outside panels are just artwork and Psionics tables.


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Last edited by Gnat the Beggar on Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
  

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:27 pm 
 

Gnat the Beggar wrote:A few dice, pencil and paper, the Player's Handbook, and a DM Screen (Any printing from 1st through 10th) is all you need to play AD&D.
And you really only need the inside panels of the earlier prints (1st - 6th) of the DM Screen since the outside panels are just artwork and Psionics tables.


This only works if you are using TSR modules. Otherwise, you need a Monster Manual.

But point taken.


And I could've bought these damn modules off the 1$ rack!!!

New modules for your Old School game http://pacesettergames.com/

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 12:50 pm 
 

Yes, post above edited to include module. 8)
And with a Monster Manual, you can create your own adventures.


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Post Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:20 pm 
 

PHB.  8)

  

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Post Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:13 pm 
 

DMG. It has everything.


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