More AD&D?

My players and I played two sessions of AD&D.

Some of the players asked me, when making their characters, if this was going to grow into anything larger. I said no - which allowed min/maxing for a one-shot, like CN fighters alongside a LG paladin (a no-no, but if it serves a greater good for one mission, the paladin can do it) and sub-optimal stat choices like a low INT score for a wizard because CON and DEX would be more useful right now.

And I'm sticking to that. This post isn't reversing that decision.

But it did get me thinking, will we do this again? And what about a campaign?

That's two trains of thought to work out.

Another Module Playthrough?

Yes. Unhesitatingly yes. This was a lot of fun. I'd be willing to run either a pre- or post-Unearthed Arcana module with pregens (if it comes with them) or self-generated PCs (if not). There are a few on my short list that I might do that with - WG5 I've run in GURPS but was fun in AD&D as well. WG6, perhaps would be fun with AD&D instead of GURPS, A4, the Mud Sorcerer's Tomb from Dungeon Magazine #37 . . . that might be it. Too many have read S1 to make it playable as a real challenge and S4 suffers from the same issue plus re-used setpieces in my games.

S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks would be better in GURPS than in AD&D. That would make a great DF small side campaign.

But yes, I'd do it, especially if the players have an itch to scratch and it's not something already plundered for my GURPS gaming or memorized by too many of my players. Something that benefits from a rush of nostalgia or is just structured in a way that the GURPS skill system and magic system won't short-circuit.

A campaign?

Much less likely, but possible.

It would have the advantage of players getting used to AD&D, not getting thrown off the deep end of a mid-level high-challenge adventure that demands you know your spells, the monsters, and the rules well to survive. It would also just be fun, because AD&D is a different sort of entertainment and challenge than GURPS.

It would have the disadvantage of grabbing us by the back of the head and grinding our faces in the nitty-gritty weirdness of AD&D. Tracking XP. 10 gp to the pound (and if you make it 100 to the pound, you really need to drop XP value to 10% to keep the challenge:reward the same). XP divided by level. To use training costs or not. Magic item identification issues. The agony of rolling 1 HP on your level up twice in a row (funny in a one-shot, painful otherwise). The dizzying madness of Resist Fire, Potions of Fire Resistance, and Rings of Fire Resistance all having different mechanics from each other. THAC0 with breakdowns thanks to repeating 20s.

In other words, I'd have to house rule the hell out of it. Do that enough and I'm the path of making a retro-clone to add to the massive slurry of them out there right now. Pick a retro-clone and then ask myself why I'm not just playing another game from the choice pool.

It's doable, of course, and it can be fun. But it's not as simple as it sounds. It would also mean doing that instead of other things, like Gamma Terra and Dungeon Fantasy. It's possible we will do it but it would be more involved than a one-shot.

But I can see more AD&D in our future. It was a fun trip down memory lane, and it makes me appreciate what I have and why I chose to have it.