D&D 2E Now I have the hankering to play a 2E game...

[overgeeked]

Minor correction here. MU to a total of 11d4 then +1 hp after 11th lv.

Not according to either version of the PHB.

 

[cbwjm]

I know we didn't bother with % to learn or max spells/level. The maximum spell level able to be used was never much of an issue either since I don't think we ever reached a level to access even 7th level spells as anything other than scrolls so it wasn't really an issue if a wizard had only a 14 intelligence.

Also, since this is a thread about playing 2e, wizards (i.e. magic-users) had 10d4 hit dice at 10th level and then gained +1 hit point from level 11 onwards.

 

[Yardiff]

Not according to either version of the PHB.

View attachment 133974

I must be thinking 1e then.

I played a wizard to 18th lv in 1e so the must be what I'm remembering. Didnt play a spell caster in 2e.

 

[overgeeked]

I must be thinking 1e then.

Yeah. I mix them up a lot. I played AD&D through 2nd and 3rd, so I've had to literally check the book every time I post something.

 

[Stormonu]

Definitely used the % to know after the initial spell set. I remember my witch character botching the roll to pick up Charm Person and was livid about it for a while.

Also, if I remember correctly, only the fighter types got to add their Con bonus to hit points after 9th, didn't they?

 

[Zardnaar]

Definitely used the % to know after the initial spell set. I remember my witch character botching the roll to pick up Charm Person and was livid about it for a while.

Also, if I remember correctly, only the fighter types got to add their Con bonus to hit points after 9th, didn't they?

Nope warrior types got +3 or +4 hp due to high constitution all the others capped at +2.

 

[cbwjm]

Definitely used the % to know after the initial spell set. I remember my witch character botching the roll to pick up Charm Person and was livid about it for a while.

Also, if I remember correctly, only the fighter types got to add their Con bonus to hit points after 9th, didn't they?

Warriors still only added their con bonus to their hit dice, gaining +3 hit points from level 10 onwards, but had the bonus of gaining higher hit point bonuses than other class with constitution scores of 17 or higher.

 

[GreyLord]

I think I might use the energy drain rules for 3e over the 2e penalty, 24 hours to remove a negative level or roll a fortitude (or, I guess, a death save in 2e) to remove each level. Less penalising but still a chance to lose a level.

Another house rule I remember from back when I played 2e was max hit points at level 1. I didn't like it that a fighter could have only a couple of hit points meaning pretty much any hit would kill them.

Well, one of the reasons for Level Drain was to put the DREAD of those monsters into players. Even a High Level Player could dread facing a creature with level drain.

The FEAR of that type of creature remained, even as you may level up to great levels and powers. One hit...and it was trouble.

Wights and Wraiths could be somewhat mitigated in 2e with restoration at high levels, but a 2 level drain hit from a vampire...

There's REASON Dracula rules the night.

 

[Jack Daniel]

OD&D begat Holmes Basic (which was a rewritten and cognizable version of OD&D) begat AD&D (which was previewed in Holmes Basic) begat AD&D Second Edition. This was the "AD&D line."

And B/X begat BECMI begat RC. This was the "Basic line."

The AD&D previews in Holmes Basic were added after the fact by Gary for marketing purposes. This is a fairly well-known fact. OD&D + the Supplements + some scattered Strategic Review and The Dragon material begat AD&D. (And as we know from interviews with Tim Kask, the creation of AD&D was pretty much him and Gary cutting up and reorganizing/recompiling/rewriting what was there. I don't think Holmes Basic had much to do with that. Which makes sense, given that Dr. Holmes wrote the Basic Set on his own, and it and the first AD&D hardcover both came out in 1977.)

There is a clear through-line, meanwhile, from OD&D to Holmes to B/X to BECMI to Classic. There is a reason that B/X clerics are still getting both 3rd and 4th level spells at the same experience level (just like in OD&D), or why BECMI straight up calls itself "the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game!" in its own text.

1974 White Box > 1977 Blue Box > 1981 Pink Box > 1983 Red Box > 1991 Black Box is the D&D lineage.
0e (White Box + Supplements) > 1e > 2e > 3e > 4e > 5e is the Advanced D&D lineage.

I must be thinking 1e then.

I played a wizard to 18th lv in 1e so the must be what I'm remembering. Didnt play a spell caster in 2e.

Magic-users in Greyhawk and 1e got 11d4 from hit dice. Illusionists got 10d4, and in 2nd edition so did all wizards.

 

[overgeeked]

Well, one of the reasons for Level Drain was to put the DREAD of those monsters into players. Even a High Level Player could dread facing a creature with level drain.

The FEAR of that type of creature remained, even as you may level up to great levels and powers. One hit...and it was trouble.

Wights and Wraiths could be somewhat mitigated in 2e with restoration at high levels, but a 2 level drain hit from a vampire...

There's REASON Dracula rules the night.

One of the reasons I'm looking at 2nd Edition so much is because I'm realizing it's so much easier to do horror in 2E than 5E. There's so much from the earlier editions, level drain, slow-as-molasses healing, DM control of spells, low hit points, less damage, etc that make it so much easier to evoke fear with the rules themselves. Unless the new 5E Ravenloft book has heaps of optional rules for cranking these dials, and I can find a group willing to play with those harsher rules, it's a return...well, a fresh start honestly...to 2E for me.