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It's nice to see a handful of Old School folks on here! I just picked up the WoTC reprints of the 1st edition PHB, DMG, MMI & UA. Lovely, lovely books! Couldn't have asked for better (although the original rough paper had more of a "feel" to it if you know what I mean.) I'm glad part of the proceeds go to a worthy cause in building Gary Gygax a much-deserved memorial. It was well worth the expense! (Thanks to my beautiful wife for letting me purchase these along with a used 1st edition DMG with the original cover art.) I will say this so there is no ambiguity, I DO NOT like ANYTHING about D&D after 2nd edition except for the revised crossbow damage which always seemed a bit wimpy considering the lethality of the weapon. (I use revised crossbow damage in my 1st edition games.) The only thing I have found enjoyable though is watching Chris Perkins run some D&D games with a few choice celebrities. The AI group is particularly funny albeit not really "gaming" per say IMHO. However, wha they are doing is having fun & hamming it up for the audience which is the express reason these games were organized in the first place. Good times & marketing never hurt anybody. I cringe when I hear the words "healing surge" and WoW expressions like "tank" which seems to try and turn D&D into a video game rather than a challenging RPG which makes one think, utilize what feeble resources are available to the character & still come out on top. (Unless you're rolling crap that night which can happen to anybody.) It was with some reluctance that I signed up for this site considering my loathing for all the new D&D stuff (Including Pathfinder which I DO play because one of our younger group members likes the system & I respect anyone who puts time, money & effort into a game so I will play just about anything.) However, my heart rests with 1st edition AD&D and OD&D and it always will. You can be sure that we have our own critical hit/fumble table like we had AGES ago when we wanted that 20 or that 1 to actually mean something, and we have our "house rules" but that's what Gary intended long ago when he first came up with it. Why so many people had to change this & tweak that makes no sense to me at all considering if you find something you don't like, (Psionic & unarmed combat rules in 1st Ed. AD&D are abysmal & even Gary knew it.), you simply make the changes & keep playing! RIght now, I am about to run a group through the Temple of Elemental Evil starting with that quaint old town full of unexplainably rich peasants, Hommlet. If the party survives the ruins of the moathouse it will be onward to seedy little Nulb & then a conquest of the Temple itself with a few side treks for those not fully prepared to face the Temple's incredible dangers. Once this is done, the band will face the Slave Lords and all their evil infamy & hopefully enough of them will be left to begin the conquest of Lolth, starting that monumental task by going up Against the Giants. Cliche? Yes. Good stuff? You bet! You jealous? Well....if you live close by and are a good "old school" gamer....who knows? Have fun!