teitan said:
I like that part about anything after the core rules would be optional and then... the rampant use of all those OPTIONAL rules all over the place and in various sourcebooks etc. NWPs were about as optional as THAC0.
LOL
Jason
Well, I guess that's kinda how games evolved. Most people started including the "Optional" rules because they were more player friendly (-10 rule), and they resembled aspects of other games on the market and helped the game be something other than a dedicated combat/dungeon crawl game (NWP's).
I remember, circa late 1998, showing a gamer who had played a few other games (BESM, d6 Star Wars, Alternity) AD&D 2e. Now, our group (like every other one I met) used the "Death's Door" rule, NWP's, specific religions (since clerics of other than "Generic Good" and "Generic Evil" are optional in 2e), even Druids are optional technically under 2e. Showing them "by the book" AD&D 2e was a shock, a look at an earlier era of gaming.
She took a good long look at "core 2e", then the "Optional" rules which everybody used, then the other "Optional" rules we used (Player's Option), then our house rules (some of which were very similar to 3e, somewhat flattering for the next edition to include things we were already doing), and was happy. I was taught 2e under that set of options and house rules, and like her, after looking at "by the book", I didn't look again.