Saturday, October 3, 2009

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love D&D (Again)

So last time I got touchy-feely and let the whole damned world (or my two-reader simulacrum of it) know that D&D had been the signpost on the highway to a dark, bleak two or so months wherein- yes, gentle readers- I found no room for D&D in my heart or my mind.

What terror such a thought is! There are two kinds of people in this world: I don't know what they are, exactly, but one type loves D&D and, by God, once that bug bites you the poison is for good, Martha. There is no cure for loving D&D- the phases come and the urges wax and wane, but there is a breed of person- regardless of his professed edition identity- that feels the blood flow down at the thought of such arcane phrases as "armor class" and "saving throw."

So I've gotten over myself, finally, and noticing a real dearth of D&D in the lives of those around me and have decided, in my Infinite Wisdom, to Do Something About It. Namely: to stop dicking around with a million versions of D&D and just nail one down, Damn It, and play by hook or by crook.

And may the heavens strike me down, but I think we're just about to do just that. I've been having my friends/players roll up new characters based on AD&D 1e by way of OSRIC, but not really because we're going to play "AD&D 1e", as it were, but because we're going to play Dungeons and Dragons and I figured I'd let my players choose a race AND a class. I have no real intention to even try to play AD&D "By the Book," for not only would it offend my Discordian sensibilities to cleve so tightly to any established (written) ruleset but because the AD&D rules are far more complex than what I intend to do (which is, again, to play Dungeons and Dragons).

We're going to use the Rules I Like, which will look something like AD&D except where I can't be bothered with it. One example is combat: I'm going to handle it the way that comes naturally, which I think will end up being more like Classic/Basic D&D- I'm not sure how deeply I'm going to worry about segments, for instance, except as a sort of interesting mental guideline for my own narrative purposes. A really long spell will take a long time to cast, for purposes of Losing Said Spell Because of Massive Axe Trauma, but that's about as far as I'll probably want to worry about it.

Because, damn it, I'm the DM, and that's how I'm Gonna Do It.

My players will have access to all those nice long spell lists, I will have that AMAZING 1st edition Monster Manual of options, but no body is going to have to worry, really, about weapon speed. Purists would hate it, which means I'll love it. Talk to me until you're blue in the face about how much better it is when you use everything as a cohesive (!) whole, I'll be over there, rolling dice and heaping the best kind of misery on my players. Keep them on their toes.

So, yes, the cure for my personal Editionity Crisis may very well be to forget the edition, and just get to the dice-chucking. Hell, I haven't even nailed down character creation yet- and two of my players already have characters made. Their characters might not have been made the same way any future characters are made. So be it! Whatever works to the end of getting around the table.

And that's that! A campaign is under way again. Hot damn! All I know about it so far is the following:

  • It will be rooted around, but not entirely dependent upon, a megadungeon
  • Two of the characters will be an Elven Fighter/Magic-User and a Human Illusionist
  • It's going to start Very Soon, by God
The next time I post I hope to have a great Session Report to, ah, report. By then I guess I'll need a campaign name.