The TTRPG Kids Are All Right
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1E and D&D 5e can coexist and work together
Our gaming group just returned from a big convention we attend every year, where I decided to see if I could interest D&D 5e players in some Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition (AD&D 1E) action. Turns out, the dozen or so 5e players I had at my tables liked the vibe of 1E. That was music to my ears.
The group offers a wide variety of games at these events, ranging from board games, card games, detective mystery, and tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). Typically, we host six players in a TTRPG game, but we almost all bring eight pre-generated character sheets. We will pull up a couple extra chairs for wait list folks who come by to check for open seats.
What prompted me to run a 1E game for 5e players? The current owners of the D&D game and their questionable advice for game play, that’s what.
Recommendations from Wizards of the Coast these days is for players to build a hyper-detailed background for their characters, for Game Masters (GMs) to build a compelling plot and story which is used to puppet-master players through a series of preset encounters with foregone outcomes, mainly of the combat variety, and don’t forget to fudge any and all dice rolls that don’t comply with the tale that must be told. How dull.
Now, I keep hearing about how 5e is railroady and linear, but that often means the GM doesn’t give the players full autonomy in the game to do what they choose. I can only imagine how this recommended method of play is burning out GMs left and right, and probably boring many players to tears if there isn’t the incessant action of combat. What a time-intensive wringer of fun removal. The GM does all the grunt work and the players prefer to be on their phones unless combat is calling.
But, I didn’t think this was necessarily the fault of the GM or the players. Rather, the bad advice they are getting from WotC and its parent company Hasbro is destroying the verisimilitude the game is designed to create. 5e has its problems, but many of those problems stem from WotC’s directions on how to play.
I decided to show the 5e players at my table a different way to play, and to see if the tales of Millennial and Zoomer imaginations within TTRPGs being “limited” were true.
My intent was to run six AD&D 1E games with six seats, with four of the games being 5th-level 1E adventures and two of the games being 1st-level 1E introductory hands-on training sessions. The expectation was that the majority of players in these games would be 5e types.
Several people on a game site I frequent helped me formulate some compact descriptions of what AD&D 1E “is” and “isn't” to help the players understand overall simulationist and high-autonomy play. I also linked and summarized philosophies and shared a few sites from some smart and capable mentors in the OG TTRPG sphere.
We finished playing the game before I pushed the players into the gaming philosophy links, though I sprinkled some snippets of that content throughout the character creation and game play phases as we went along.
Game Play I: The 5th-level AD&D 1E Games.
Each game hosted five players, ranging from several very experienced 1E players to a number of 5e players who had played 1E once or twice. No pregens were offered, and we spent about 45 minutes filling out character sheets for those who were less familiar with the system. Everyone had a good time with that portion, which was a pleasant surprise. The skilled players enjoyed helping the novices with character creation, and we had two fathers with their daughters in two of the games.
The players were able to complete various areas of each scenario, with one group clearing 2.5 of 3 total mini-scenarios in three hours. Many negotiations, reaction rolls, morale checks, but few combat procedures were deployed by the players. The regular 5e players said they enjoyed the quick and open-ended play, the encounter resolutions via other-than-combative means, and considered looking into 1E in the future. Fun was said to be had by all.
Game Play II: The 1st-level AD&D 1E Teaching/Training Games.
The two introductory games hosted three and five 5e players, respectively. Only one 5e player had any previous experience with 1E, and that was mainly character creation. The games started with character creation, outfitting, explanation of some of the basic principles of AD&D, and where 1E and 5e were markedly different. Players had to use two of the four Dungeon Masters Guide character creation methods to build their character, and a set of backup stats in case of character death. Most popular creation methods from a pool of eight players: Methods II and III.
Players were given two torch-bearer hirelings in leather armor, outfitted with club and dagger, carrying six torches each, with one lantern, and an extra flask of oil. The concepts of hirelings, henchmen, support, and most particularly, "GP as XP" and "PCs create XP" were explained. Some assumptions about henchmen slowing Player Character advancement were dispelled. Players were allowed normal armor of their choice, with many choosing chain mail and shield, except for the paladin with STR 18/96 (!) who wore plate and shield. Only one cleric and druid were rolled--one in each group, and only one magic user appeared in the games. Paladin, Ranger, Fighter, Cleric, Druid, Thief, and Magic User were the classes used by the players.
I used the T1 Village of Homlett module for play, focusing the Moathouse section to better facilitate understanding of general play and get some potential combat, reaction, and loyalty situations for the players to experience. Neither group progressed past the first level of the Moathouse, but this was expected. One of the first things commented upon was what I expected from hearing about the typical 5e game: combat is typically the norm for their games, with non-combat times accelerated through to get to the next combat.
Team 1 reconnoitered very smartly about the exterior walls of the Moathouse that were accessible, then almost immediately went to the Room 7 hideout of the bandits. Recognizing a newly constructed door with low sounds of reveling behind it, the party ranger opened the door and gained 3 segments of surprise, allowing wounding or killing of 4 of the 9 bandits. Combat lasted about 6 rounds with 3 PCs and 6(?) remaining bandits. The leader was eventually killed and the remaining bandits failed morale, then surrendered to the party.
Team 2 chose to reconnoiter the opposite clock direction of Team 1 and came face to face with a HD 4+2 poisonous snake. A fortunate initiative roll gave the druid a 3 segment lead on the snake and she cast Speak with Animals, convincing the snake to take a powder for a day in exchange for half the party's rations.
The party then advanced to Room 7 (bandits), also recognizing the new door. In this case, the Ranger used his steel mirror to spy on the room after successfully opening the door without alerting the reveling bandits. The party chose to wait for several hours, watching the door for bandits entering and exiting, until they had become drunk and potentially fallen asleep. The party advanced to find only two bandits and their leader awake. The druid recommended that the torch bearers light up the paladin from behind with dramatic lighting, as he then kicked open the partially opened door while shouting "Surrender!"
All bandits but the leader were surprised, and after one round of combat where the bandit leader lost 50% of his hit points, all the bandits failed their morale checks and surrendered to the party.
Teaching Games: the Take-Away.
Small sample size observations:
1. 5e players enjoyed the "just tell me what you want to do, and I'll stop you if you need a roll for it". They were exploring and reconnoitering very quickly, and their imaginations were kicking in solidly. Both groups of 5e players asked about reasonable things like "can the thief try to climb the moathouse wall then throw down a knotted rope in 2 rounds", "how far away is the snake if I want to use bow and arrow; I have X range", "what do you all have in your backpacks for equipment". The awareness of gear and its utility was there.
2. Everyone dug the Reaction Rolls, Loyalty, and Morale Checks. Not having to fight to the death every time, and overcoming obstacles with cunning and surprise, was a huge win.
3. Starting at 1st level with newbies is a positive inducement for them to focus on the game. The cleric with 4 hp immediately saw his predicament, and the Fighter and Ranger took steps to protect both him and the torchbearers. The magic user and druid in the other group also received protection from the other party members. This did not dissuade any of the lower hp characters from taking reasonable non-combat risks, and even joined in with vigor in the final battles.
4. Cover and Concealment were huge wins. Reading off the AC bonus table for cover and concealment had both parties considering how to maximize both as they approached and breached the moathouse.
5. Magic items were sparsely distributed, but didn't appear to affect anyone adversely in their perception of the game. There was no demand to get a Monty Haul gift of powerful items.
6. Marching order, order of combat, surprise, and "modified individual initiative" were also getting positive reviews. The idea of all PCs and major NPCs getting an individual initiative roll, while groups of orcs or men-at-arms each having a group roll was picked up fast. [ Yes, this is a modification of 1E initiative, but group initiative blows. ]
Conclusions.
The big take away for me is that 5e players are not a monolithic group in the wild. There might be groups of modern TTRPG players who are unimaginative story game addicts. The players at my tables were not unimaginative. All I did was take the hobbles off their ankles and let them run free. It was good to get that data myself.
That 1E features and methods might be incorporated into most any TTRPG system with a little home-ruling and testing was pointed out several times during the course of play. That a different method of play like this existed was a huge revelation for a couple players. One said he planned to talk to his GM about using it.
For the OG AD&D, OSR, and Traditional Gamers, don’t write off the vast 5e crowd as unwilling to consider the old style of play. Show them how it works. Find the ones who are interested in trying something new. Engage them in the game and the immersive qualities that AD&D and OSR games can foster. Some of them have that imagination—the ones at my tables did—but, WotC certainly isn’t encouraging them to use it.
That’s where the old guard comes in. Help the kids break from WotC brainwashing and rediscover how to use their imaginations, and let’s have fun gaming together.
Cover is almost entirely overlooked in modern RPG systems because they are so far removed from their wargames roots, where no one ever forgets about cover and everyone argues about it all the time.