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Sorry, but that's basing a pretty weak argument on a matter of semantics. The bottom line is that per attack roll, the wizard and the fighter would have the same chance of success and the same level of accuracy.

I actually saw that option, which is why I specifically used melee combat for my example.

I'm sorry if I didn't make it clear, but my question was meant as to how the fighter pulled ahead specifically in terms of accuracy. Which question you then essentially answered here, in that they don't pull away in this regard. It's that lack of differentiation that feels wrong to me; by...

I did mention the fighter's access to more weapons. This and the extra attacks will increase the overall melee damage output of the fighter over the wizard, but only by the size of the weapon and sheer number of attacks, not by any greater skill. It still means that the wizard can land a hit...

Well, I'm still working my way through the rules as time allows - almost done with the PHB. I still haven't had a chance to try them out in practice, and it looks like it will be a couple more weeks before I get that opportunity. There was something that occurred to me, and I feel like I...

On the question of multiple weapon training, there is some overlap between learning different weapons. For example, I've trained in the use of a 5'-6' staff. If you break that in half to a pair of 3' Escrima sticks, I can apply a lot of the same basic moves and techniques that worked with the...

It's been a long time since I've done AD&D, so my memory may be off, but I don't recall ever needing the other monster ability scores as their effects were baked into the rest of their stats. Still, I can see how having those available would be useful, especially in the current rules system...

I found the bit you were referring to (page 41 in the older DMG), and you are correct. However, it does point out that if you allow the player to choose the spell, that they should roll for the chance to learn it (if chosen randomly or appointed by the DM, no roll was necessary). There does...

I'm not as familiar with 1E. In 2E, only specialist mages automatically gained a new spell each level, and it had to be from their specialist school. It was also stated that the spell may either be left up to player choice or be chosen by the DM. As a DM, I personally would probably not...

All right you young whippersnappers; since no one seems to quite get the meaning of this, I guess I'm going to have to step in. As some have pointed out, "on a tear" is a good thing, but no one else seems to quite understand why. Another meaning of the word "tear" (rhyming with "air", not the...

You are correct of course; this is what happens when I try drawing on my rusty memory. And yes, his dwarves in particular (as well as others) most definitely drew on Norse mythologies. The point remains though that Tolkien's tales were intended as the stories of a people from a very specific...

I was looking at this as well and trying to determine how best to handle it. In older editions, the DM had a bit more control over what spells were available to the players. I'm not all that comfortable with the idea of the players just getting to choose any two spells on level up, either from...

Maybe it's just my perception, but I didn't read Tony's response that way. I took it more as a "if you liked 2E, and handled the mechanical difficulty of 3E, then 5E is a good fit." 2E tends to get a lot of flak, even among old school D&D enthusiasts, so I took the initial comment as a bit of...

Also, gold is quite heavy; even a small amount can be very cumbersome. As I don't see any mounts or wagons with them, that small box may have been all that they could reasonably carry out (presumably with plans to go back for more). Even Bilbo only took home a tiny fraction of his share of...

I came across that one a couple of years ago via the wayback machine: http://web.archive.org/web/20100308010515/http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/duad/20071207 I don't know whether the link still works, as my work computer filters the result. I'll try to remember to check it later...

I was thinking about this, and as I recall the roll-under mechanic was at least partially balanced by the fact that AD&D characters on the whole typically had lower ability scores - especially if you used the recommended 3D6 generation method. Average scores were in the 10-12 range, and it was...

Hear, hear! That is an image that has always stuck with me; something about it just strikes a chord in the imagination.

There were no "ability modifiers" as such in AD&D. Each ability had its own table (AD&D seemed to love making you look things up on tables) which listed the various effects modified at different levels of that ability, such as bonus spells, damage modifiers, defense adjustment, reaction, extra...

Possibly; that's what I'm trying to determine. The way that magic has become more pervasive within some of the classes makes me question it, but the modular nature of the game may make for better support (if more effort on my part to fill in the missing pieces). I don't seem to recall ability...

I've been quiet for a while, but I have been keeping up with the thread. There have been a lot of very useful responses with helpful opinions and information, and I have to thank everyone for all their contributions so far. With some of the discussions, I suppose it might help if I clarified a...