D&D 2E AD&D 2e - Player's Options ?

[atanakar]

Did you buy and use these alternate rules and character options?

Wiki
« Player's Option
In 1995, TSR re-released the core rulebooks for 2nd Edition with new covers, art, and page layouts. These releases were followed shortly by a series of volumes labelled Player's Option, allowing for alternate rules systems and character options, as well as a Dungeon Master Option for high-level campaigns. They consisted of:

• Player's Option: Combat & Tactics
• Player's Option: Skills & Powers
• Player's Option: Spells & Magic
• Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns

Some of the optional rules included the introduction of a point-based system to allow players to pick and choose parts of classes to make their own class, and a more tactical combat system including attacks of opportunity.»

For my part I tried to get a campaign started Skills & Powers but we never finished character creation. The players did like all the added complexity.

 

[toucanbuzz]

Yikes, memory lane. I recall using Combats & Tactics somewhat, adopting the grid (in the days before battle mats), initiative rules, and a handful of the combat rules. There's still only so many numbers I can cram in my head.

Used the high level campaign to make mage duels, but not much else. Overall, AD&D was already math heavy, and there wasn't a great deal of enthusiasm adding more to the mix.

 

[Sacrosanct]

One of my favorite PCs was made using those rules. But generally we did not use them, as they tended to turn the game into an optimization exercise.

 

[billd91]

I picked up a copy of Skills and Powers. I was terribly disappointed. We tried using a little of it and gave it up shortly thereafter.

I did use Spells and Magic as a reference in late 2e, but the experience with S&P soured me on the whole line.

 

[TwoSix]

Yep, those were our go-to rules from ‘95 to ‘99. I have trouble thinking of 2e play without them.

 

[DwarfHammer]

Yep, those were our go-to rules from ‘95 to ‘99. I have trouble thinking of 2e play without them.

We bought the books tried them and went back to normal 2E. I don’t know anyone that personally liked or use them. Personally I would rather recommend the rules in the DMG for creating your own class. I thought that worked better.

 

[DammitVictor]

I didn't use all of those books, but I used the hell out of the parts I used.

They're a key part of any AD&D game I run now... because I use Spells & Magic to replace all of the Mage and Priest classes.

 

[TwoSix]

I don’t know anyone that personally liked or use them.

You do now.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Can't say I ever used them or purchased those books. But by that time I had lapsed from gaming (the period covered roughly 1994 - 2000). For a summer in 1997 or so, I ran a 2e campaign, but that was just using the books I already had and didn't pick anything new up.

 

[mrpopstar]

I used them! They were solid cherry-picking fare.