Games That Might Have Been

What If...
I love this book and its companion volumes (Bestiary and GM's Toolkit). Adventures Dark & Deep is my favorite OSR iteration of the Advanced Game and its successors. If you are not familiar with Adventures Dark & Deep it is a work of interpretation which starts with 1st ed Advanced and takes it where the author, Joseph Bloch, thinks Gary Gygax might have gone had Mr. Gygax gotten the chance to do a 2nd edition. For inspiration, Mr. Bloch says he consulted as much written by Mr. Gygax as he could find that is pertinent to the subject. Mr. Gygax of course didn't come right out and say, "I would have done it this way" regarding a 2nd edition, but he did write many articles, subsequent games and internet postings that were consulted by Mr. Bloch in designing Adventures Dark & Deep.
The reason this is my favorite is that Mr. Bloch keeps what I like, omits what I find troublesome and doesn't go where I would rather the game didn't go. In other words, Adventures Dark & Deep is something I agree with...whole heartedly and that doesn't often happen, my friends. Rule systems are an important element of play for me and although I am a big fan of DIY adventure gaming, there is something really sweet about reading rules that I am in agreement with, touching on all the right spots. This is a game I can take to the table and tell my players we are playing this game "by the book" - "rules as written".
Playable races in Adventures Dark & Deep are the classic ones and half-orcs are described as "ugly vicious people". The monk is gone, the assassin is relegated to the Appendix as an option along with the weapons verses armor class adjustments. Mr. Bloch keeps weapon speed and weapon length in the main table for use in certain combat initiative circumstances. PC classes include Bard, Jester, Cavalier, Paladin, Cleric, Druid, Mystic, Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger, Mage, Illusionist, Savant, Thief, Acrobat and Mountebank, enough to cover all the bases and give players plenty of variety from which to choose. The rules for multi-class characters makes sense (I don't often say that about multi-classing) and there is the option to change class, once, if the PC qualifies and the referee agrees. The rules for secondary skills are acceptable, don't seem to get in the way and may even add something positive to the game depending how they are used at the table. Armor class, saving throws and spell magic is in keeping with 1st ed. with casting time given in seconds which is more intuitive and easier to handle at the table than segments. There are welcome additions including rules for social class (optional, but realistic) and family that seem to lend a bit more depth to the PC and a more realistic feel to the implied setting. New tables for handling surprise and shooting-into-melee add a further degree of realism. Critical hits and fumbles are optional mechanics (as they should be).
A word about Alignment: Alignment in Adventures Dark and Deep is essentially the same as in the Advanced Game Gary Gygax wrote. It is both a moral compass for characters and a way to divide up the forces competing for dominance in the milieu. For me, it isn't D&D without alignments. Alignment is an important part of setting up the sides or teams players will be a part of and the ones they will compete against. (In Greyhawk cities and countries have alignments - representing the team/side they support and the moral standards one can expect the population to abide by). The alignment concept supports a certain world view that has been common in fantasy literature, that of "good verses evil", clearly defined and in conflict for control. It isn't the only way to write fantasy and it isn't the only way to play a fantasy RPG, but it is the way I like my D&D.
Even if Adventures Dark & Deep didn't set so well with my personal game sensibilities, I would probably find it an interesting read as I have many other speculative treatments of role-playing games that might have been. Elf Lair Publishing's Spellcraft & Swordplay by Jason Vey is an interpretation of the classic Original RPG if its authors had stuck with the Fantasy Supplement from Chainmail rules rather than the "alternative system" which became d20. Spellcraft & Swordplay is an interesting game that uses only the common six -sided dice which were available everywhere in the '70's. The game advances the basic ideas as found in Chainmail to a fully fleshed out vision of what Mr. Gygax might have written. I find it interesting reading to say the least, although I have never taken Spellcraft & Swordplay to the table.

Champions of ZED by Dan Boggs is another interpretation of what the world's most popular fantasy RPG might have looked like under different design circumstances. Champions of Z(ero)-ED(ition) includes some interesting differences both from what authors Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson eventually published as the World's First RPG and from Spellcraft & Swordplay. Mr. Boggs, who also authored Dragons At Dawn - a study of how Dave Arneson's original Blackmoor campaign was perhaps played - and has researched extensively the early, pre-published versions of the game, how they were played and what the discussions of the day can reveal about what might have been. Champions of ZED, like Adventures Dark & Deep and Spellcraft & Swordplay are works of historical research as well as speculation.
The "what if" game is fun to talk about and to play as evidenced by the number of hobbyists who spend hours doing just that. Adventures Dark & Deep, like the TSR Advanced Game, is complex and "crunchy". There are a lot of rules. What makes it stand out for me is the choices the author makes with regard to rules and his interpretations which I agree with to some degree. While I generally prefer rules that leave more room for a DIY approach, Adventures Dark & Deep has become one of my favorite game systems.