On Dungeons and Dragons Online

[demiurgent]

So, I downloaded the free 7 day trial of Dungeons and Dragons Online.

To my surprise, it translated the traditional Dungeons and Dragons experience pretty well. The audible Dungeon Master describing the rooms you enter help with this, of course.

It was a truly decent representation of the game -- right down to an interface that seemed clumsy at best, which honestly is about right for D&D. And I can't imagine spending money on this. I don't personally play World of Warcraft but I figure anyone who does wouldn't consider dropping it for D&DO.

The weird thing is... I now have an undeniable urge to run a 2nd Edition AD&D campaign again. A real, honest to God, not-d20 post WotC Family Friendly variation. But actual 2nd Edition.

Or even 1st. Man, that would rule.

So. All I need to do is manage to get Frank, Bankert, Karen, Kevin, Robin and Ernestine into a room (two different groups of friends, mind, but hey, this is fantasy, right?) and start them to smiting shit....

Comments

[wide_worlds_joy]

Hey, if you are doing it via email or online in a forum (although the email interface seems like it would work better), let me know. I want to PLAY an 2nd Ed AD&D, or even first. And coincidentally enough, I have all my stuff here handy.

AIM has a random number generator in it's interface. So doing it via IM would work as well.

Really and truly. Except for Saturday night, that's the night I spend watching Cartoon Network with my daughter till about 1 AM or so.

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

Well you could check the dragonsfoot forums (http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/) for local 1e/2e players, or an online game...

Or there is HackMaster for that 1e/2e feel. I know a few groups, who are close enough to you that attend some of the same cons...

[howardtayler.livejournal.com]

Amen to that.

I've been playing in a Shadowrun campaign and a GURPS fantasy campaign, and what I'm REALLY itching for now is Greyhawk... only maybe twisted through the mind of someone really devious. Snarky, even.

--Howard

[chanlemur.livejournal.com]

Get a sufficiently evil GM to run you through Vecna Lives! It's got an incredibly funky opening that works best with a group of die-hard Greyhawkers. ;)

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

I will admit to having someone find the Shin Bone of Vecna in one of my games, once....

Ooh, that rotten Vecna!

[chanlemur.livejournal.com]

Is there any part of him that isn't naughty?

*has disturbing thought*

Oh, man. My head, you do not want to go there.

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

Nothing beats the Head of Vecna, though.

[mrbankies.livejournal.com]

Just give me a few minutes to find my dice bag. Could we skip the bimonthly retcons, kplzthx!

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

Hey, talk to the rest of the party, man!

[freakfest.livejournal.com]

Oh no, you don't! You have enough distractions in your life already! Burns, don't encourage him, or I'LL be the one smiting!!!

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

You could play toooooooooo....

[chanlemur.livejournal.com]

I have to admit a certain nostalgia for my good old THAC0 tables. I mean, I know the new stuff is all washed clean and elegant and crap, but there's just something so... lawks, I don't know how else to put it, something so badass about having a negative armor class that you just can't capture with 3E's all-positive system. There was just this magical barrier of the zero you could transcend, beyond which you could start saying to yourself, yeah, I'm pretty damn hard, basically.

It's pathetic, I know. Welcome to my childhood.

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

I love THAC0.

Just say it. THAC0.

[zorbathut.livejournal.com]

I never even played D&D and I love saying that.

THAC0.

You've seen Goblins (http://thunt.comicgen.com/), right? (I always feel weird mentioning webcomics to you, but hey, it's appropriate to the conversation and I don't remember you mentioning it.)

[drderanged.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who has also been around for all 3 editions (or 4 depending on how you count)... why would you want to go back in time and do that to yourself??? ;)

[mechaman.livejournal.com]

The same reason I would try yet again to play Romancing SaGa: Minstrel's Song. Because there's just -enough- of things you can recall somewhat fondly that you conveniently forget all the #%@#%@ stupid bits till it's in front of you in all its glory again.

[mrbankies.livejournal.com]

For the same reason I bought an original 8 bit nintendo system off of eBay.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

I'm with you. I understand the power of nostalgia, but I really had a huge hate on for 1st and 2nd edition D&D. I'd play it if it was what was being run, but I was much happier playing other systems in the late '80's and early '90's. Champions, GURPS, Vampire, etc.

3.0/3.5 may be 'family friendly', but it made the system palettable(sp) for me again.

[(Anonymous)]

Man! I do miss those long (long, long, long) nights of smiting shit! I'll have to go looking for my old AD&D characters now. They're around here somewhere...

Robin

[ahniwa.livejournal.com]

Earthdawn was always my favorite system, even though a majority of my table-top gaming life was spent on 2nd Ed. AD&D. I never played 3rd Ed. but I scorn it as someone who spent his childhood (and teenage-hood etc etc), coming to love the foibles of 2nd edition and now wouldn't have it any other way.

My elfin ranger had to walk uphill, in the snow, both ways, just to kill a goblin. You young 3rd edition kids have it easy...

Reading OOTS is really my only exposure to 3rd edition rules, and in that sense they're perfectly bearable. Otherwise, I don't know if I could take them.