From time to time, when I discuss my - dare I say obsession? - with First Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons with friends or fellow gamers, the subject comes up and I'm asked why it is that I enjoy playing such a "weird" (to use one of my player's terms) version of the game.

"Didn't Second Edition clarify lots of rule questions, and add skills for doing things?"

As I've mentioned in the FAQ, Second Edition was - and this is from Mr. Gygax himself - largely a project aimed at removing the Gygaxian influence from the Dungeons and Dragons rule sets. It shows, as well. I can recall times when things that made sense in 1st Edition were changed for no readily apparent reason in 2nd Edition. Those changes only made sense if one considered how well laid out the original rules were by...Gary Gygax.

The inexorable drive for quantity over quality rendered 2nd Edition unusable junk. Too many rules spread over a slew of low-quality (printing, editing, art and content-wise) "option" guides towards the end, and the microscopically fragmented campaign worlds made what had been a game that originally could be played with three books (the Dungeon Master's Guide, the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual) a mess of mediocrity where one literally had to spend, spend, spend to get the resources together to have a complete reference set available.

Am I suggesting that it was wrong for TSR, Inc., to be motivated by the desire to make money? Certainly not. TSR, despite it's ups and downs, made money initially with Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, as well as with other simple yet equally elegant game products from board games to other RPGs. Yet the excesses of those in charge in the post Gygax era at TSR, Inc. left a gaping hole that apparently could only be filled by monies made by churning out middling product for years on end.

This is, ultimately, what brings me back to my dislike of 2nd Edition. All that's there, despite how slick the soon-to-fall-apart glossy "Players Options" books were may have looked, is an empty desperate attempt to make money. Not to entertain, not to continue the work that had been laid down by Gygax, Arenson, and others.

Some may find this a slap in the face to those who labored at TSR towards the end (Dungeons and Dragons may live on, dear reader, but TSR is as dead as the first Kobold slain by my first character in 1982!). I do not intend it to be. But the fact that they were put - by management - in a situation where things had to be produced instead of could be produced doesn't make the bad taste go away. If anything it leaves me with a feeling of pity for those whom Ryan Dancey observed as laboring on projects for weeks without pay, trying to fight the good fight inside a company that was run by lawyers who allowed as much creativity as a contract drawn up by lawyers usually does. Which is to say, none. And if you don't believe me, poke around on the web for the TSR Standards and Practices that had to be adhered to towards the end.

Now we turn to the question of 3rd Edition. What's not to like? Clean, streamlined rules, no "roll high this time, roll low next time" confusion, an easy to figure skill system - 3rd Edition (which is just another "d20" license product) seems to have it all. So rather than go off on some emotional jog down memory lane as I did above, I'll address this one point by point. I'd also like to mention that my dislike of 3rd Edition is no where near as strong as how I feel about 2nd Edition. That said...

Every good Role Playing system needs a skill system, right? I mean, so we can figure out who can ride a horse or sharpen a sword or tell if someone's lying or cook a meal, correct? I heartily disagree. Dungeons and Dragons is about the character, and a character is how they are played, not as defined by a bundle of rules. I would imagine that if I were living on Oerth (ah to go there!), and decided to make my way through the wilder places, that I'd at least know how to ride a horse, shoe it, trap food when necessary and learn how to barter shrewdly to make my hard-won gold last. These are things that can be resolved quickly and easily without the need for a skill system that hangs off of character stats. Some skill-based games work well. I've never felt the need for them in Dungeons and Dragons, the ultra-specialized "skills" of Thieves and Assassins aside.

Finally, it should be noted that saving throws, as well as "d20 versus characteristic" type resolutions for dicey non-combat situations were suggested in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons from the start.

The lifting of any sane restrictions on what does or does not go just boggles my mind. Once upon a time, knights in glittering armor were accompanied by nimble-fingered Halfling rogues, ancient sage like Elven mages and stout dwarven fighters and they hewed a path through many a deep dungeon.

But no longer. Thanks to the "freedom" (I call it total entropy) introduced by the removal of any sensible restrictions on classes, races and levels, we're confronted with Chaotic Good half-Half-Orc/ Githyanki toy salesmen dual-classed as Magic Users - excuse me, d20 fans, Wizards - /Paladins equipped with "Dire axes".

The admonition, is of course, for the Dungeon Master of a 3rd Edition game to simply place restrictions on this open-ended chaos and admonish his or her players as to what they can and cannot play. If I, as a Dungeon Master, must bring a house-rule template in immediately that was there in 1st Edition, what is the incentive to play 3rd Edition?

Despite what folks wearing fixed rose-colored glasses may think, Combat in 3rd edition has not become an easier affair. What's your Dex modifier? Now armor modifier. Wait, did you have a shield? Do you have a to-hit modifying Feat working this round? Is anyone using any spells? Add those together, roll a d20, add the original score, compare it to your opponent's armor - upon which are piled several other incidental modifiers which may change in the coming round...This is the white nose of 3rd edition combat.

For those of us familiar with 1st Edition, combat is a simple affair. Consult the table, cross reference level with target's armor class, roll a d20 and add modifiers for weapon type or magic bonuses. Period. A Chant or Prayer might be in effect, but not so many as to halt game play while columns of modifiers are added or subtracted. Yes, the two combat systems are similar, but I find 1st Edition combat is a much quicker affair all in all simply because the modifiers are few and far between.

I suspect that I do get a lot of hidden chuckles directed at me because I refuse to acknowledge the greatness of 3rd edition or get over my dislike of post-Gygax 2nd Edition, but ultimately, it's about the system you love. If I want a skill heavy system with a Labyrinthine system of cross classes and so forth, I'll dust off ICE's Rolemaster.

When I want Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, that's precisely what I'll play.

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