Tenkar's Tavern: The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode #46 - Poking Around the AD&D 1e UA

Sunday, July 1, 2018

The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode #46 - Poking Around the AD&D 1e UA - Polearms

It's going to be a hot one today with temperatures knocking on 100 degrees here in NYC. So, its a perfect day to look at polearms ;)

Ah yes, polearms. Often misunderstood and truthfully, rarely used in game, polearms get a special treatment in the AD&D 1e Unearthed Arcana. Why?

Link to Episode #46: https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/episodes/Episode-46---Poking-Around-the-ADD-1e-UA---Polearms-e1o2l3

Link to the blog post on Spontaneous Gaming

2 comments:

SpudeusJuly 1, 2018 at 10:41 AM
Gary was obsessed with *%&#@ polearms, lol! I was using a 16' tree trimmer this morning, and the thing wobbled and was unwieldy in the extreme. I can't name one heroic fantasy character who used one! In the section's defense, I'd guess that was the #1 request in 1e days from players - 'what's the difference between all these frickin' polearms?!' I know we talked about it (before buying longswords).
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Nova Scotia DreamJuly 1, 2018 at 5:55 PM
we used them ten foot poles, only able to bash open potentially trapped treasure boxes, trip traps while keeping 10+ foot distance, etc.
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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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Sunday, July 1, 2018

The Tavern Chat Podcast - Episode #46 - Poking Around the AD&D 1e UA - Polearms

2 comments:

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