Category: AD&D

AD&D 1st edition

AD&D, D&D, Design, Uncategorized

A look at Armour Class in original D&D and First Edition AD&D

Armour Class is one of the more unusual of Dungeon & Dragons mechanics. As far as I am aware, it is a system first used in naval miniatures games, particularly by Fletcher Pratt and Jane’s Fighting Ships. Dave Arneson designed a naval game himself which used it, and from there it passed into Dungeons & Dragons. You’ll find no actual mention of the numeric Armour … Continue reading A look at Armour Class in original D&D and First Edition AD&D

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AD&D, D&D, Review, Uncategorized

AD&D Review – I2: Tomb of the Lizard King

Looking at I2: Tomb of the Lizard King after having spent quite a bit of time looking at the pre-1982 adventures, I can see a change coming over the AD&D adventure landscape. We’d got a hint of it with U1: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, but Tomb of the Lizard King is particularly noteworthy. It starts with three event-based encounters where the players meet the … Continue reading AD&D Review – I2: Tomb of the Lizard King

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AD&D, D&D, Session Report

AD&D: Enter the City

My AD&D campaign split last week, as I was a bit uncomfortable with running yet another session of 8 players (and with the potential of another two players turning up!) In fact, the level range of the characters – from third to tenth – is somewhat of a problem. Yes, the low-level characters can participate, but they’re often outmatched by the experienced hands. The other … Continue reading AD&D: Enter the City

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AD&D, D&D, Design

Playing an AD&D Druid

I’m not very experienced with playing or running druids in AD&D. I saw them being exploited quite a bit in 3rd edition – thanks, Dave! – but in the wilder, woollier days of AD&D, we were busy with the “standard” classes of cleric, fighter, thief and magic-user. So, having druids in the party now is something of a new experience. Brian’s druid died before it … Continue reading Playing an AD&D Druid

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AD&D, D&D, Session Report

AD&D – Miniatures and Terrain

My latest AD&D session saw six players and one easily-forgotten thief henchmen delving into the Caverns of the Oracle, my own mega-dungeon. Unusually for this campaign, I used my Dwarven Forge dungeon tiles for the session, representing where the characters were standing. The basic trouble with this is that AD&D uses a 1″ on the tabletop represents 3 1/3 feet in the game, so it’s … Continue reading AD&D – Miniatures and Terrain

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AD&D, D&D, Review

AD&D Review: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

This is a reprint of a review I first posted on RPG Geek. Dungeon Module G1: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief was the first adventure module released by TSR for the Dungeons & Dragons game. The scenario debuted at Origins ’78 as part of the D&D tournament there, and was shortly available for purchase by D&D fans. A previous scenario, Temple of the Frog … Continue reading AD&D Review: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief

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AD&D, D&D, Design

AD&D: Marching Order in the Dungeon

We’ve had a lot of dungeon-crawling in my AD&D campaign. This can be attributed to my love of the form, but also to it being the easiest way of entertaining a group of players whose membership changes from week to week. In the dungeon, you don’t need to be so worried about little details like “plot”, you can just enjoy each encounter as it comes. … Continue reading AD&D: Marching Order in the Dungeon

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AD&D, D&D, Design, Initiative

AD&D Initiative

My AD&D campaign, which I run on Saturday evenings, has now been running for 2¼ years with no sign of stopping any time soon. The last session involved me as DM and nine players(!) and the numbers for this week’s session may be similarly challenging. The group has returned to Rappan Athuk, which they’re now tackling with much more experience. In total, we’ve played over … Continue reading AD&D Initiative

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AD&D, D&D, Review

AD&D Review – UK2: The Sentinel

The British contribution to Dungeons & Dragons is quite distinctive. UK2: The Sentinel is the first of a two-part series, which has the party recovering a magical artefact, a glove, designed to protect a keep from being destroyed by its evil counterpart, a gauntlet. Yes, it’s quite an unusual set-up – and on a pretty small scale as well, which fits in with the character … Continue reading AD&D Review – UK2: The Sentinel

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