First Edition
Compared to the First Edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, the current gaming scene is incredibly easy and forgiving.
To create a character, one would have to:
Roll their stats. There is no nice pre-set grid or point-buy system; you roll dice. There are ways to reduce the impact of bad rolls, but a bad roll can still cripple you.
Pick their race and class. This comes AFTER rolling stats, because the classes had (in some cases very tight) restrictions on what stats they needed.
Roll HP. I created a character with 1d6+2 HP. I rolled a two. For reference, this means he would have a 1-in-two chance of surviving a ten foot fall. This is not your pleasant, comfortable, “lots of ways to not be dead” 4th edition. If you hit zero hit points, you are not unconcious, wounded, injured, or tired. You’re just dead. No saving throw.
Oh, and being resurrected causes a permanent reduction in constitution… and when it hits zero, it won’t work at all.
Oh, and even the attempt is not certain.
Yet, with all this… I really, really want to play a first edition campaign.
I remember us playing 3.5 with rolling stats and HD. On fifth level our rogue still had below 15hp, while our mage was rocking more than 20
Oh, that were good times…
Can’t believe I hadn’t posted this.
The 4th Edition is just catering to all those damn casuals; they’re ruining our game.
Stop, the good thing with D&D is that us hardcores don’t have to update to the newest patch and still be able to play