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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Inquiry: How do fans of AD&D (aka 1E) feel about the Unearthed Arcana supplement?
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<blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 8434227" data-attributes="member: 45197"><p>Hiya!</p><p></p><p>I like it. I use it. I modify it to suit my needs and desires. So...yes. Good book and useful. Not perfect, but more positives than negatives for me.</p><p></p><p></p><p>A fair number of 1e'ers are right there with you. A few are complete fanboi's, but I think most fall somewhere in the range of "Don't particularily care for it, but some stuff is cool" to "I like it mostly, but some stuff I don't". Or, in other words... typical 1e AD&D DM's/Player's. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Love Barbarians! I played one for a little over a year. "Grod the Barbarian". He was 5th level (with 88hp!) when he 'died' and became a Greater Mummy (and no, I didn't keep playing him...he was a mummy, so, NPC; effectively 'dead'). They were one of those Classes that had to sort of get "group buy-in" to play; if someone in the group was a MU, then nobody played a Barbarian and vice versa. The Barbarians got XP from destroying magic items, so that was an incentive. Especially considering their HUGE XP per level table! But...this worked. As I said, I was 5th level...everyone else in the group was about 8th or 9th and I could STILL hold my own...easily. Grod was an amazing character that was a TON of fun to play...and the other Players enjoyed it as well. Several of his insane antics are still talked about to this day (like the time he saved EVERYONE and pretty much and entire town by grabbing the spell-powering gem of the evil wizard and then jumping off the top of the 70' tower down onto some jagged rocks at the edge of the underground lake, smashing the gem into a million pieces, exploding it into a huge magical fireball which then threw him a hundred feet out into the depths of the water, and then being attacked by a giant underground lake squid that he BARELY managed to kill...and dragged himself up onto shore with 2hp left... "Got 'em!". <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> ).</p><p></p><p>Pretty freaking heroic! All because of the Barbarians HP's and Save bonuses. No DM fudging needed. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Cavaliers are just heroic and/or honour driven Fighters ("Knights"). They come with a HUGE host of societal drawback and obligations that make the a helluva lot of fun to RP! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> Their stat increase thing did always throw us off as being...strange. It was one special "rule change" that only they got, and that rule change went against everything that AD&D had established before hand. Easy enough to fix "Oh, and no. Cavaliers and Cavalier/Paladins can not increase their stats"), but a very out of place addition. As for being "useless"...not in my experience. They were spectacular when in their element (outdoors and social), but were still a lot of fun to play in a dungeon, or ruins environment. I DM'ed some great Cavaliers in my day (and one or two bad ones, but hey, dems da breaks, right?).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Acrobat... GREAT for urban situations. Less so for dungeons/caves, but when a situation came up where they could use all their goodies...man. Talk about impressive! Never had many people play them (stats were killer), but they were nice to see in action.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I agree! I also hated the inclusion of the Drow and the Svirfneblin. I mean the deep gnomes ability to summon freaking Earth Elementals was just... I mean... WTF were they thinking?!? I allowed them in my game, but I REALLY played up the distrust and hatred of these "other" sub-races. My players were informed before hand, so no surprises for them, and they also agreed with my assessment and we just kinda went with it. I think a Drow was played maybe two times in 30+ years. Deep Gnome...once I think. Duegar (grey dwarf)...none?</p><p></p><p>But yeah...didn't like. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>What I DID really like was the inclusion of Cantrips, New Spells, and the Classes (overall), and the new, more detailed "Level Limits" and MC'ing choices. Oh, and the magic items were cool too. The descriptions and illustrations of the Pole-Arms was also a nice touch.</p><p></p><p>I'd say that I use about 75% of UA in my games, maybe 80%. Of the stuff I use, some of it is "home brew adjusted" for my particular play style (re: playing up how unusual and 'hated' the Drow and Duegar are, and how 'strange and frightening' the Svirfneblin are, for example).</p><p></p><p>Oh, and Comeliness. Thought it was a nice addition. I do 'modify' it on a NPC to NPC basis though. I roll d6 and d4; if they are the same number, no Com adjustment. If they are not, then the d6 determines a - or + modifier to Com for THAT SPECIFIC NPC (odd number is -, even number is +), with the d4 being the amount (e.g., d6 is a 3 and the d4 is a 2, then that particular NPC sees the PC's Comeliness score as being -2 points lower; if it was a 4 and a 4, then it's +4 points higher). I then just make a note on that NPC's sheet (e.g., "Sir Redgar; Com+1"). You know..."Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and all that).</p><p></p><p>Unearthed Arcana: 8/10 for me.</p><p></p><p>^_^</p><p></p><p>Paul L. Ming</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pming, post: 8434227, member: 45197"] Hiya! I like it. I use it. I modify it to suit my needs and desires. So...yes. Good book and useful. Not perfect, but more positives than negatives for me. A fair number of 1e'ers are right there with you. A few are complete fanboi's, but I think most fall somewhere in the range of "Don't particularily care for it, but some stuff is cool" to "I like it mostly, but some stuff I don't". Or, in other words... typical 1e AD&D DM's/Player's. :) Love Barbarians! I played one for a little over a year. "Grod the Barbarian". He was 5th level (with 88hp!) when he 'died' and became a Greater Mummy (and no, I didn't keep playing him...he was a mummy, so, NPC; effectively 'dead'). They were one of those Classes that had to sort of get "group buy-in" to play; if someone in the group was a MU, then nobody played a Barbarian and vice versa. The Barbarians got XP from destroying magic items, so that was an incentive. Especially considering their HUGE XP per level table! But...this worked. As I said, I was 5th level...everyone else in the group was about 8th or 9th and I could STILL hold my own...easily. Grod was an amazing character that was a TON of fun to play...and the other Players enjoyed it as well. Several of his insane antics are still talked about to this day (like the time he saved EVERYONE and pretty much and entire town by grabbing the spell-powering gem of the evil wizard and then jumping off the top of the 70' tower down onto some jagged rocks at the edge of the underground lake, smashing the gem into a million pieces, exploding it into a huge magical fireball which then threw him a hundred feet out into the depths of the water, and then being attacked by a giant underground lake squid that he BARELY managed to kill...and dragged himself up onto shore with 2hp left... "Got 'em!". :D ). Pretty freaking heroic! All because of the Barbarians HP's and Save bonuses. No DM fudging needed. :) Cavaliers are just heroic and/or honour driven Fighters ("Knights"). They come with a HUGE host of societal drawback and obligations that make the a helluva lot of fun to RP! :) Their stat increase thing did always throw us off as being...strange. It was one special "rule change" that only they got, and that rule change went against everything that AD&D had established before hand. Easy enough to fix "Oh, and no. Cavaliers and Cavalier/Paladins can not increase their stats"), but a very out of place addition. As for being "useless"...not in my experience. They were spectacular when in their element (outdoors and social), but were still a lot of fun to play in a dungeon, or ruins environment. I DM'ed some great Cavaliers in my day (and one or two bad ones, but hey, dems da breaks, right?). The Acrobat... GREAT for urban situations. Less so for dungeons/caves, but when a situation came up where they could use all their goodies...man. Talk about impressive! Never had many people play them (stats were killer), but they were nice to see in action. I agree! I also hated the inclusion of the Drow and the Svirfneblin. I mean the deep gnomes ability to summon freaking Earth Elementals was just... I mean... WTF were they thinking?!? I allowed them in my game, but I REALLY played up the distrust and hatred of these "other" sub-races. My players were informed before hand, so no surprises for them, and they also agreed with my assessment and we just kinda went with it. I think a Drow was played maybe two times in 30+ years. Deep Gnome...once I think. Duegar (grey dwarf)...none? But yeah...didn't like. :( What I DID really like was the inclusion of Cantrips, New Spells, and the Classes (overall), and the new, more detailed "Level Limits" and MC'ing choices. Oh, and the magic items were cool too. The descriptions and illustrations of the Pole-Arms was also a nice touch. I'd say that I use about 75% of UA in my games, maybe 80%. Of the stuff I use, some of it is "home brew adjusted" for my particular play style (re: playing up how unusual and 'hated' the Drow and Duegar are, and how 'strange and frightening' the Svirfneblin are, for example). Oh, and Comeliness. Thought it was a nice addition. I do 'modify' it on a NPC to NPC basis though. I roll d6 and d4; if they are the same number, no Com adjustment. If they are not, then the d6 determines a - or + modifier to Com for THAT SPECIFIC NPC (odd number is -, even number is +), with the d4 being the amount (e.g., d6 is a 3 and the d4 is a 2, then that particular NPC sees the PC's Comeliness score as being -2 points lower; if it was a 4 and a 4, then it's +4 points higher). I then just make a note on that NPC's sheet (e.g., "Sir Redgar; Com+1"). You know..."Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and all that). Unearthed Arcana: 8/10 for me. ^_^ Paul L. Ming [/QUOTE]
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Inquiry: How do fans of AD&D (aka 1E) feel about the Unearthed Arcana supplement?
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