Quote Originally Posted by Emili View Post
The older versions of the game actually pre-date me... however the first time I played it was called AD&D and my cousin had every book and a subscription to dragon magazine, and an older red-box... world most of which somehow ended up in my possession somehow? After those initial

My view on the game however was that AD&D for as complicated as it was.. and the restrictions on race, class and it's overall design. It played much nicer, cleaner and more attune to general relationship of the lore previously envisioned in our past social ideas. This was the last version really design By Gygax and his team. The experience tables, loot tables and racial abilities, class restrictions made for slower progress however, it balanced all playing... Gygax understood when it came to the game it was all about the role and not the powers of the character... it was about Role and Roll (decision and chance) thus the d20 fit the game very well. I absolutely prefered Thaco and I played a ranger in Greyhawk for a long long time... Later I have played a bard - yes under AD&D , a druid, and rogue before. I also played a ranger into epic levels under 3.5... although the power and flexibility of the system unleashed a versitility - the game became more lacking of it's original intent, and actually lacking some of it's fun...

Very well said. Thats what I felt got lost as well, when you start defining everything you start boxing in your imagination with it. With us it was all about the role playing and fun. The dice was just there to determine the outcome of the battles we are already seeing in our head.