D&D 2E Returning to 2nd Edition

cbwjm · May 30, 2019

LordEntrails said:
Well, I will say that over on Fantasy Grounds their is actually a growing 2E community. I'm sure it's growth is limited, but since they introduced an official 2E AD&D ruleset and the core books to go with it a couple months ago, their is a bit of a revival over there. No idea how long it will last or how big it will grow, but if you want to play 2E, you can do it anywhere in the world.

I thought that was pretty cool that they decided to support 2e on fantasy grounds.

Reynard · May 30, 2019

I'm not really interested in trying to make 5e feel like 2e. I was just saying it doesn't so if I want that 2e experience, 5e isn't going to provide it.

As to aesthetic: I want something that feels like LotR and GoT had an angry child on a battlefield.

DND_Reborn · May 30, 2019

Enevhar Aldarion said:
Depends on your table. In my old days of playing 1st and 2nd edition, we were already using the houserule of not dead til at -10 HP. Been so long that I do not remember if that ever became an official rule before 3rd edition or not.

Going to -10 wasn't a house-rule in 1E. It is on page 82 in the 1E DMG.

Zardnaar · May 30, 2019

We used -20 in BECMI in 1994. IDK if it was official or the DM got it from 1E.

Giltonio_Santos · May 30, 2019

I wish I was still running 2e, but my group wants to play a modern game with official support. It was easier to challenge that when the available options were Pathfinder and 4e, two games that play nothing like AD&D. I wish 5e was more like AD&D, but it's close enough to create a fair compromise between what I want to run and that desire for official support and modern sensibilities.

Sacrosanct · May 30, 2019

Azzy said:
And 2e didn't have a good psionic system, so I'd call that a wash.

I actually liked 2e's psionics. Way better than 1e.

Nebulous · May 30, 2019

The 2e monster stat blocks are still my favorite of all the editions. So much info was packed in there, and i guess they were just more fun to actually *read* as opposed to a purely gamist reference.

SkidAce · May 30, 2019

We used negative con as death.

Aridon · May 30, 2019

Azzy said:
And 2e didn't have a good psionic system, so I'd call that a wash.

Bingo, Psionics in 2E were way overpowered. In fact, they broke the game at my groups table.

pogre · May 30, 2019

I skipped 2e. I went from AD&D to WFRP to 3e.

However, I do enjoy playing once a week in an OSR campaign and running my 5e campaign on a different day. The OSR game is a very different experience and quite fun. Some of our OSR players came from my 5e group.

So, my reason for posting in a 2e game thread - if lack of players is a concern for a 2e fan, maybe run a 5e campaign and a 2e campaign and funnel some of your interested 5e players into the 2e game. Something similar has happened naturally in our campaigns, but not by "design."

Honestly though, IME if a DM has great enthusiasm for a system - finding players is not really a problem.