Singing the praises of the 2e DMG

 Like most people in the OSR community, I had initially held a dim view of the 2e DMG, especially compared to its predecessor, the 1e DMG, which contains a wealth of content for running a game, building a campaign world, and advice for DMs. The 2e DMG, by contrast, seemed only to contain rules that should have been in the PHB in the first place. And yet, when actually running a session of AD&D 2nd edition, I found that DMG to be a joy to play with as it was easy to reference, logically organized, and most importantly, contained only those rules that I would need to run a game, and nothing more; No long winded passages with the actual rule buried deeply within, no questionable admonitions on how best to punish players, and no extraneous, untested rules best left as magazine articles. Sadly, no tables of random harlots either, so it’s not all perfect. For running the game at the table, I found the 2e DMG to be much more useful than its 1e counterpart, and deserving of a lot more credit than I had initially given it.

 The original 1954 Godzilla is a very cerebral film about Japanese tradition, modern science, post-war politics, and human suffering. It was clearly made for an adult audience, and was released less than 9 years after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. It’s a shame how goofy and childish the subsequent Godzilla movies became, even from the very next movie. It reminds me of the Jurassic Park franchise, where the first movie is an exploration of mathematical theory, and the rest are all schlock about dinosaurs eating people.

 I have long held a fascination with the more exacting technical aspects of the AD&D 1e system, like time segments, and the more granular weight measurement, but after recently attempting to run the game by using those very elements straight, I've found them to be much more trouble than they're worth. Not the least of it is that in the middle of running the game, I simply forget to use those rules, as I have so many more duties as a DM that tracking tiny numbers just slips my mind, and for another I don't want to stop the momentum of the game just to count item weights or graph out player movement in the middle of combat and count out segments of action. The rules as presented in the books are also rife with exceptions, special cases, and obviation that one could feel that they were never really run as written anyway. While I originally viewed AD&D 2e's simplification of these rules with askance, now I've come to accept that what is lost in true simulation is made up for in straightforward use during play.

I'm disappointed that there's so much interest in 1e yet so little in 2e, though from what I've seen most people want to play 1e just out of a morbid curiosity with little true attachment to the game, except of course of the aging baby boomers that never moved on from 1e and claim it like some holy writ.

 I like OSRIC’s character sheet, and even though it’s missing some important fields for AD&D 1e and feels more like a B/X sheet, it’s still familiar enough to OSR players and simple and clear enough for players new to the game.

For players who really want to get into AD&D 1e with all the rules though, nothing is better than TSR’s official Player Character Record “goldenrod” sheets.

UPDATE: I no longer like OSRIC’s character sheet, especially for AD&D games. I figure that if I’m going to run a crunchy game, I need a crunchy character sheet to go with it.

 

I made a post about this on my blog a while back, that I feel like I should expand upon, that most random chance in O/AD&D does not rely on PC stats or abilities. I feel like this is an important thing to write, as this style was very quickly forgotten as early as 1981, when Moldvay’s Basic book put in a paragraph titled “There’s always a chance” where it advised players to roll under a character’s stat to determine probability

This advice is nowhere in AD&D 1e, and in fact the opposite is given where the GM is told to grab a handful of dice and just make up a probability that seems fair.

 

Perception is based on character stats. One character with a high WIS will have a much better chance of succeeding than one with low WIS, and the former might always be helpless against hidden traps.

X-in-6 is standard for all characters, and doesn’t rely on their build 

 

Roll under stat probabilities would become a standard resolution mechanic in AD&D 2e, which evolved into 3e’s skill and save system

 

 I’m considering running fortified towns and settlements as open air dungeons where single-room houses function as traditional dungeon rooms or as treasure lairs.

Prices for magic items

 Shopkeepers use mundane prices, i.e. a magic ring will only be sold for the price of regular ring, a magic sword for the price of a regular sword.