Re: edition wars

On Fri, 8 Nov 2024 05:29:36 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:

On 10/22/2024 12:36 AM, David Chmelik wrote:

On Mon, 21 Oct 2024 11:01:29 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

You can't really hold up 1E and then say 2E is worse because of the
system itself.

 
People do because removed assassins, monks, etc... if bards, cavaliers,
druids, rangers, thief-acrobats weren't removed, were significantly
changed... Dungeon Master Guide (DMG) was significantly shortened,
removing much good material.  That's why my AD&D DM retained everything
from AD&D 1e and used what he wanted from 2e.  The point is by removing
relevant material, it basically became a variant--like mostly a subset
(smaller part of original with minor changes).  The fact it was a money-
grab by new CEO (gamers in general hated, because she considered them
beneath her) after they got rid of the original D&D creators, is well-
documented.  That doesn't make it bad to play if one allows older
compatible rules.  Just, on their own, new editions overall got worse.

>
My best campaigns were in 2e.  I too used the 1e DMG to add certain bits
back in though.
>
I have to say the layouts and readability of 2e was better than any
version before or after it.

I'd agree with layouts... maybe. Readability I think I'd give to D&D
Basic (Mentzer).

(and for overall presentation, Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn. It wasn't
as easy to read, but boy did the visuals make me want to wade through
all that minutia!)

But 2nd Edition runs a close second. DMG and PHB both used the same
organizational structure, so topics covered in one book were
referenced in the same chapter in the other. It was extremely useful
when running the game. And the initial PHBR/DMGR guides fit in well
with that structure (the later splat-books less so, as TSR let its
greed overcome the ideas that made those books so welcome)

Even when playing later editions, I _still_ use some of those
guidebooks as helpful references (namely, "DMGR1 Campaign Sourcebook
and Catacomb Guide" which is chock full of good advice for a DM
running a campaign, and "DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide", which is
just a useful (if not historically accurate) visual reference to all
those fantasy weapons in the game.