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<blockquote data-quote="ilgatto" data-source="post: 9284800" data-attributes="member: 86051"><p>Well, I guess there's probably as many ways to learn the game as there are people playing it, but I'd say all you're initially gonna need to learn to play are the 1E PHB, DMG, and MM(1).</p><p></p><p>However, IMHO, if there's one thing that should be said about 1E, it would be that the rule books are..., um..., encyclopedic in nature rather than the "just start reading on page 1 and you'll automatically find out how the game works" of post-2E editions - which was a good thing in 3E.</p><p></p><p>Having said that, the next problem may be that, although encyclopedic in nature, there's a sequence to things in these rule books not everybody will see as clearly as EGG obviously did - and which certainly doesn't compare to how things are organized in more modern rulebooks. For example, to this day, I can never find the table that lists what weapons are allowed which character class in haste. Fortunately, I do consider the index in the DMG to be a good one, provided you know what you're looking for.</p><p></p><p>This can make it hard to learn the game from just reading the rule books, which is probably why the "word of mouth" method is often spoken of. Indeed, the majority of the people I know who started playing the game way back when did learn how the game worked by just rolling up characters and then listening to one of the four people in my neck of the woods who had a knack for understanding things wargame and had actually read both the PHB and the DMG. Mistakes were made - and are still made up until this day - but, hey, we had fun and never stopped.</p><p></p><p>Then, there's things you should probably just skip, at least initially. Among these would be the rules for surprise and missile weapons, the rules for unarmed combat, psionics, the rules for calculating how much XP to hand out for what monsters, morale, the weapon vs armor tables, and then some.</p><p>If rules seem convoluted or unclear (and they will), just ignore them or try and get the gist of them and use simplified versions of them.</p><p></p><p>Of course, since you mention that you have a lot of experience with many RPGs, you may find that all of the above doesn't apply at all, in which case I apologize for bringing them up.</p><p></p><p>To continue, I think it would be fair to say that people who started playing the game back in the day started their adventurous careers by finding a dungeon and then going through it room by room until all of them were dead.</p><p>That's not being flippant, it's just what 1E can be and usually is - lethal. And that's another thing you should probably accept as law. There's no such thing as game balance, nothing is tailor-made to the extent that everybody can happily express themselves until they get to level 20 in a couple of weeks. 1E is lethal.</p><p></p><p>Another thing to consider is that 1E was probably the edition that sought to challenge the players as well as their PCs. Some modules (C1, C2 come to mind) are still witness to this.</p><p></p><p>But I digress.</p><p></p><p>My advice would be that a first step could be to gather your players and just start using the PHB to make some PCs together. Roll some dice, read the sections in the PHB and the DMG that apply, get a feel for the book and the..., um..., prose.</p><p></p><p>Then, if you're looking for Swords & Sorcery rather than a Game of Heroic Adventure, my next advice would be that you should probably start with an old-school "hack-and-slash" dungeon to get a feel of how to run the game without the distractions a plot and too many NPCs can provide. Accept that mistakes will be made - and will be made for as long as you play 1E.</p><p></p><p>A good base of operations for such a dungeon may be T1, The Village of Hommlet (although this is a prequel to ToEE), or the village of Restenford in L1, The Secret of Bone Hill, which has ample room for plots and more intricate sequels.</p><p></p><p>Next could be something like U1, The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, although rumor has it that this can end up with less PCs surviving than you'd like - but, hey, welcome to the game!</p><p></p><p>Once your PCs have got some flesh on their bones, which usually doesn't really happen until after, say, level 4, you could try the A-series.</p><p></p><p>Once this is done, there's the famous G, D, and Q series, which should keep you busy for quite some time.</p><p></p><p>For this, since you mentioned Greyhawk and most of the above is in that world, you may want to try out the next rule book, which would be Greyhawk Adventures (1981), or possibly the earlier publications regarding the World of Greyhawk.</p><p></p><p>Although this is probably a matter of taste, I would suggest you use the original versions of all of the above and not the later (often 2E) versions, which have been incorporated in a mega-campaign that sort of combines everything that was published module-wise for early 1E, which I consider silly, IMHO and YMMV and all that.</p><p></p><p>Of course, the real Swords & Sorcery, with all of its pros and cons, lies hidden in the various Judges Guild publications, such as The First Fantasy Campaign by Dave Arneson. However, the majority of these can be..., um..., hard to understand at the best of times.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Welcome to the wonderful world of pulp fantasy and happy gaming.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ilgatto, post: 9284800, member: 86051"] Well, I guess there's probably as many ways to learn the game as there are people playing it, but I'd say all you're initially gonna need to learn to play are the 1E PHB, DMG, and MM(1). However, IMHO, if there's one thing that should be said about 1E, it would be that the rule books are..., um..., encyclopedic in nature rather than the "just start reading on page 1 and you'll automatically find out how the game works" of post-2E editions - which was a good thing in 3E. Having said that, the next problem may be that, although encyclopedic in nature, there's a sequence to things in these rule books not everybody will see as clearly as EGG obviously did - and which certainly doesn't compare to how things are organized in more modern rulebooks. For example, to this day, I can never find the table that lists what weapons are allowed which character class in haste. Fortunately, I do consider the index in the DMG to be a good one, provided you know what you're looking for. This can make it hard to learn the game from just reading the rule books, which is probably why the "word of mouth" method is often spoken of. Indeed, the majority of the people I know who started playing the game way back when did learn how the game worked by just rolling up characters and then listening to one of the four people in my neck of the woods who had a knack for understanding things wargame and had actually read both the PHB and the DMG. Mistakes were made - and are still made up until this day - but, hey, we had fun and never stopped. Then, there's things you should probably just skip, at least initially. Among these would be the rules for surprise and missile weapons, the rules for unarmed combat, psionics, the rules for calculating how much XP to hand out for what monsters, morale, the weapon vs armor tables, and then some. If rules seem convoluted or unclear (and they will), just ignore them or try and get the gist of them and use simplified versions of them. Of course, since you mention that you have a lot of experience with many RPGs, you may find that all of the above doesn't apply at all, in which case I apologize for bringing them up. To continue, I think it would be fair to say that people who started playing the game back in the day started their adventurous careers by finding a dungeon and then going through it room by room until all of them were dead. That's not being flippant, it's just what 1E can be and usually is - lethal. And that's another thing you should probably accept as law. There's no such thing as game balance, nothing is tailor-made to the extent that everybody can happily express themselves until they get to level 20 in a couple of weeks. 1E is lethal. Another thing to consider is that 1E was probably the edition that sought to challenge the players as well as their PCs. Some modules (C1, C2 come to mind) are still witness to this. But I digress. My advice would be that a first step could be to gather your players and just start using the PHB to make some PCs together. Roll some dice, read the sections in the PHB and the DMG that apply, get a feel for the book and the..., um..., prose. Then, if you're looking for Swords & Sorcery rather than a Game of Heroic Adventure, my next advice would be that you should probably start with an old-school "hack-and-slash" dungeon to get a feel of how to run the game without the distractions a plot and too many NPCs can provide. Accept that mistakes will be made - and will be made for as long as you play 1E. A good base of operations for such a dungeon may be T1, The Village of Hommlet (although this is a prequel to ToEE), or the village of Restenford in L1, The Secret of Bone Hill, which has ample room for plots and more intricate sequels. Next could be something like U1, The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, although rumor has it that this can end up with less PCs surviving than you'd like - but, hey, welcome to the game! Once your PCs have got some flesh on their bones, which usually doesn't really happen until after, say, level 4, you could try the A-series. Once this is done, there's the famous G, D, and Q series, which should keep you busy for quite some time. For this, since you mentioned Greyhawk and most of the above is in that world, you may want to try out the next rule book, which would be Greyhawk Adventures (1981), or possibly the earlier publications regarding the World of Greyhawk. Although this is probably a matter of taste, I would suggest you use the original versions of all of the above and not the later (often 2E) versions, which have been incorporated in a mega-campaign that sort of combines everything that was published module-wise for early 1E, which I consider silly, IMHO and YMMV and all that. Of course, the real Swords & Sorcery, with all of its pros and cons, lies hidden in the various Judges Guild publications, such as The First Fantasy Campaign by Dave Arneson. However, the majority of these can be..., um..., hard to understand at the best of times. Welcome to the wonderful world of pulp fantasy and happy gaming. [/QUOTE]
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