A Brief Introduction to Pete’s AD&D game
My game is first edition AD&D, with some additions and changes that I believe improve the game. This game began about 1979, and has run pretty much continuously since that time. Some of the people playing in it now have been playing the same character for a decade or more. Despite the fact that I am not particularly generous with experience points, their characters have reached levels in the range of 10-14. Because of this, I start new characters at level seven, with a large quantity of gold, which gives them the chance to survive a high level game and to possibly buy some magic items from other players.
I have added a lot of spells, especially Cleric spells, including one special spell per level from each deity. This gives clerics a lot more interest for playing. Clerics also have a special power, granted by their deity, that makes them more distinct from other clerics. I allow all of the character classes from the books, with the following significant changes: the Monk is altered to use the Monk from an old Dragon magazine article, and all thieves gain the Thief-Acrobat powers.
There are some other changes, listed on a document in a folder called the Players’ Folder, which has all of the maps, pictures, and so on that have accumulated over the years. One of the big changes is something I added called ‘Character Improvement Points,’ which are a separate kind of point you earn that you can spend to tailor your character to make it more distinct, interesting, and powerful – you can ‘buy’ points on your ratings (Strength, intelligence, and so on), improve your spell abilities, increase your combat skills, add languages or proficiencies, and so on.
When you show up the first time, I will provide you with a blank character sheet, which includes all the rules for generating a new character. I’ll have one or more of the experienced players in my game help you with this process, as it can seem to be complicated, but they can help you with all of the questions you may have.
My game is set in a country that is predominately Norse, with quite a bit of other religions thrown in. However, many of the deities from the Deities and Demigods book have been killed off in inter-religious wars over the years, and there are only about 5 deities left of each of the alignments, or a total of about 45 deities. These still leaves plenty of room for choice, without having such a long list that it’s difficult to choose.
My games tend to run about half-and-half role-playing and combat. Story arcs in my game generally take three or more gaming sessions to complete. It isn’t required that you attend every game in order to play, but the more games you come to, the better you will understand what’s going on, of course.
My games start around two, and go until around ten or so. We typically break for dinner, sometimes going out to eat or picking up, sometimes cooking. I often provide snacks and drinks, but feel free to contribute some of your own.
In order to help me keep up with your character’s actions, I need you to write up a note during play, describing any major actions your character takes, and especially any using up of magic items (potions and such) or other transactions that would affect the lists of items on your character sheet. I will update your sheet before each game, and email you a PDF if you can accept such; else I will print it on paper and give it to you when you arrive. Writing up a good note is important, as that helps with the amount of experience points and character improvement points you receive after a game.