Loved Those Tables!
Weapon speed factors and "to hit" adjustments were an excellent addition to AD&D as they encouraged players to pick from a wider variety of weapons. The high-damage weapons were slower to utilize and the lighter ones had inherently less success when used against heavier armor types. That was as it should be and was a touch of realism I thoroughly enjoyed instead of the-- *yawn* --great axe / great sword monotony one often encounters in 3.X. I also liked the greater variety of damage they'd do--again, choices!
This, very much. And I would disagree about the 'mildly pompous', too. He is VERY pompous, as a rule.
And considering the fact that he himself produced several rule-systems that got frequently house-ruled out because they were too cumbersome in attempting 'realism' (notably weapon speed factors), quite possibly he should be less ready to throw stones.
Weapon speed factors and "to hit" adjustments were an excellent addition to AD&D as they encouraged players to pick from a wider variety of weapons. The high-damage weapons were slower to utilize and the lighter ones had inherently less success when used against heavier armor types. That was as it should be and was a touch of realism I thoroughly enjoyed instead of the-- *yawn* --great axe / great sword monotony one often encounters in 3.X. I also liked the greater variety of damage they'd do--again, choices!