The actual difference between Basic and Advanced
In short: Basic favors direct application of role-playing over tactical density, Advanced favors tactical density over direct role-playing. A hot take: 2e is not an advanced game, simply because the tactical density was severely reduced as compared to 1e. Perhaps neither of these are shocking discoveries, but I haven't seen this point made anywhere else. A longer explanation: I have often thought of why AD&D is called Advanced. The first, and most obvious, answer is that it is more complex, and while, yes, AD&D is more complex, this doesn't fully fit what AD&D (1e) is exactly. Because, one should think, needless complexity would tend to ruin a game. For a long while, I was stuck, specifically I was stuck on one element of AD&D which seemed to be relatively needless: the weapon vs. armor table. This table: It just didn't click. Why was this necessary? Until I realized something: Despite the complexity involved, I want to add this to my game....