1. Part One: What Drove Me Away
2. Part Two: Philosophy
3. Part Three: Treasure Experience and Encumbrance
4. Part Four: Combat, but Mostly Initiative

The first thing a 5E player has to know… not just know but really take to heart is that AD&D and 5E are not the same. I know they both have “Dungeon’s and Dragons” in the title. I know they share a lot of the same veneer; money, class names, monster names and etc. But the similarities end there.

These games are mechanically and spiritually completely different. If 5E is “Lord of the Rings” then AD&D is “Conan The Barbarian.” If 5E is the MCU then AD&D is “Daredevil.” These games, their adventures and the approach to playing them are completely different.

Before reading further take a moment to really process that two things can have the same name and be completely different. AD&D was a game developed and released by TSR. 5E is a completely different game developed by a completely different publisher emblazoned with the D&D trademarks.

The Game

This game is unlike chess in that the rules are not cut and dried. In many places they are guidelines and suggested methods only. This is part of the attraction of ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and it is integral to the game. Rules not understood should have appropriate questions directed to the publisher; disputes with the Dungeon Master are another matter entirely. THE REFEREE IS THE FINAL ARBITER OF ALL AFFAIRS OF HIS OR HER CAMPAIGN. Participants in a campaign have no recourse to the publisher, but they do have ultimate recourse—since the most effective protest is withdrawal from the offending campaign. Each campaign is a specially tailored affair. While it is drawn by the referee upon the outlines of the three books which comprise ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, the players add the color and details, so the campaign must ultimately please all participants. It is their unique world. You, the reader, as a member of the campaign community, do not belong if the game seems wrong in any major aspect. Withdraw and begin your own campaign by creating a milieu which suits you and the group which you must form to enjoy the creation. (And perhaps you will find that preparation of your own milieu creates a bit more sympathy for the efforts of the offending referee…)¹

It’s common these days for players to think that rules are above the DM. Perhaps its the “one true way” -ism that creeps into so many fandoms. Or it could be the immediate access to game developers that the internet provides. Perhaps it’s the influence of video games on how we think about games generally. Or it could be the need of the publisher to control how their games are played causing them to gradually diminish the role of the DM.

Whatever the reason R.A.W. is not in the spirit of AD&D. If you’ve ever played a “Draw Two” on another “Draw Two”² or collected the money from “Free Parking”³ then you’ve played (perhaps unwittingly) a house-ruled game.

You should expect this from AD&D and should you have the good fortune to play with different groups you should expect each group to have their own rules.

House rules can be made for several reasons. The DM may make a house rule to customize the game or to clarify some unclear rule. House rules may also be made by groups that have played together for a while, typically to address some quality of life issue or as a result of some long past dispute.

Whatever the case you should banish the expectation of R.A.W. from your mind. If this triggers some competitive streak in your nature just remember, “…the most effective protest is withdrawal from the offending campaign.”¹

One last thought. There aren’t many numbers to optimize in this game. Character abilities are few and not deeply tied to other systems (i.e. initiative) so house rules are more likely to be flavor or quality of life than a diminishment of character ability.

Adventuring

Kicking in the door and fighting will get you killed. If you try that in AD&D you’ll be rolling a new character in short order. It’s true AD&D can be deadly but its deadliness is proportionate to the carelessness of the players. If you’re not cautious or if you don’t scout ahead or gather intelligence or talk to the monsters then your character is likely to die. Your actions determine your fate.

Dungeons were built by people trying to keep you out and the monsters want to win. Don’t expect to encounter monsters in easily defeatable bites. Do expect them to be patrolling, wandering and raising the alarm. Don’t expect to wander a battle-map without a care. Do expect traps, tricks, false doors and gentle gradients leading you deeper into the dungeon. Don’t expect a logically laid out dungeon either. The dungeon is a maze meant to turn you around and get you lost. Dungeoneering is dangerous.

Expect environments instead of stories. Stories are stupid. As often as not when the plot delivers an invitation for the players to participate they stubbornly go another way. Instead of expecting the DM to herd you into a predefined plot the story will develop as you play. Snub the Lord and you won’t be trusted. Save the village and you’ll be hailed as a hero unless of course you abandon it to the depredations of the invading army. You will make both your biggest allies and worst enemies by your own decisions. You shape your experience of the world.

Dungeons, if we can come back to them, are self-contained alien environments. It seems to some the goal of a dungeon is to provide some number of room by room monster fights. But this is a single approach to the environment. Many will have factions that can be joined or turned against one another. Others seek to deliver certain types of experience like the fun-house dungeon. Still others are also meant to be explored in bites as the evolving plot gives the players reasons to return again an again. You determine your approach.

Play is interrogative. The Greatest tool at your disposal is your imagination. Where 5E encourages the player to solve their problems by pumping up skills and abilities and then rolling them as often as possible AD&D has no such skills or abilities. Instead your ability to search a room or determine if an NPC is a liar will often come down to role-play. If you’ve ever looked for your keys or been suspicious of someone not quite a friend then you all ready have these tools at your disposal. If you can describe what you want your character to do they can attempt it.

In the Words of Others

My personal journey back to AD&D was long and there were more than a few influences along the way. These sources may also inspire you.

Matt Finch’s A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming

Principia Apocrypha: Principles of Old School RPGs, or, A New OSR Primer by Ben Milton, Steven Lumpkin, and David Perry.

Foot Notes

1. Gary Gygax, THE GAME: PLAYERS HANDBOOK(Lake Geneva: TSR Games, 1978), 8.
2. Uno
3. Monopoly