General Knowledge & Things You Think You Know

[The Perilous Dreamer]

As I said, this is not a murderhobo world or game and you get no XP's for killing.


We are going back to the original game play style which was exploring the world, seeking fame and fortune, and trying to not get killed. Although you will have your battles, that is an option but not the only option. Running away will be wise at times, game balance is not part of the paradigm. Many things will be out of your league, you are responsible for recognizing that. All facets of diplomacy are on the table. Think out of the box.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Keep these things in mind.

By Victor Jason Raymond

Here is a set of guidelines about "old school" TTRPGs, particularly OD&D, for new players, especially players coming from a D&D 5e context. This is a revision of a list I distributed awhile ago; comments are welcomed!

Original Dungeons & Dragons
First Impressions and Differences from Later Editions

1. You haven’t met your character yet. Characters are randomly generated; that is part of playing the game. Your challenge in the game is to successfully play the character you just rolled up — are you up for that?

2. Your character is not a “hero” - instead you get to act heroically. Characters start off as ordinary people, and as they face challenges, survive, and develop, they could become heroes. But they start as “zeroes” - don’t forget that. Death can still come easily, and non-player-characters are real people — not extras on a movie set.

3. Experience is gained mostly by recovering treasure, not killing monsters. While you can gain experience by killing monsters, it is relatively tiny in comparison to facing risks and recovering treasure.

4. The game is not balanced. Risk is both highly variable, and often initially unknown. It is far better to assume something is dangerous than assuming that every encounter is “balanced” — the best thing to do might be to run.

5. Think smart and work together. No character can do everything so it is important to rely on others. That way, you can cover for any weaknesses you might have. Make a point of talking to one another and working together to figure out the best solution for any problem.

6. Rulings instead of rules. The mechanics of the game focus on combat and dungeon exploration. Most everything else is open to interpretation, including interaction with others. So imagine all the different possibilities you might try, because the answer isn't on your character sheet.

7. Different systems for different situations. Different circumstances warrant different game mechanics, in much the same way there are different approaches to challenges in real life. There is no one “universal mechanic” to use for everything.

8. Exploration is the focus of the game. Exploring dangerous places of mystery is what the game is about. While there are wilderness adventure possibilities, a campaign is likely to start with a challenging underground maze filled with monsters and treasure. Cautious exploration and resource management are vital to survival.

9. The campaign is the focus of the story. What happens in the campaign is what is important, not the player-characters. If they become heroes, that is great — but they might also meet an ignominious end. Either way, the campaign continues onwards.

10. Emergent narrative. The story emerges from game play, rather than from a pre-planned narrative. That means background material is informative, but not directive - the story has yet to be told.

11. The role of the referee is to be an impartial arbiter. The referee is not in an adversarial relationship with the players and their characters. Playing the monsters as cunning and dangerous is providing a challenge for the player-characters to respond to, but the referee is expected to be unbiased and nonpartisan.

12. Creativity and variety are cornerstone elements of the game. “...for everything herein is fantastic, and the best way is to decide how you would like it to be, and then make it just that way!” (OD&D Volume 3, page 36) While these guidelines reflect elements of the original game, they are all discretionary, and referees and players can have fun regardless of whether or not they use them.