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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
2e, the most lethal edition?
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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7636818" data-attributes="member: 996"><p>Yeah, that's a given. 4e DMing was phone-it-in easy. I felt like I'd almost forgotten how to run after a few years. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p>But it's like falling off a bicycle. (something else it turns out I'm good at)</p><p></p><p>And armed ones using iterative attacks, that got brutal, too. </p><p></p><p>Published adventures varied quite a lot.</p><p></p><p>With modern eds, you can compare how PCs stack up to the encounter guidelines. But, all you really find out is that some guidelines are more consistent than others.</p><p></p><p>But, I still think it's plausible to compare characters, in general, to monsters (and other dangers) in general, and make a broad, general, not-quite-meaningless statement about 'lethality.'</p><p></p><p>And, really, I kinda agree with Sacrosanct: 2e had some uniquely lethal qualities going. PCs didn't jump dramatically in power or durability - but monsters /did/ take quite a jump in both. Later ed monsters did keep getting tougher, but 3e PCs got a /lot/ tougher, too (in everything but saves, WotC-era hates for PCs to make saving throws at high level, for some reasons), 4e more durable at low level, and 5e did pull back from that. </p><p></p><p>So just on the PC v Monster Dynamic 2e > other TSR eds seems plausible. So does 3e > 5e > 4e. Comparisons between the two eras are trickier, though. Should 2e slot in before or after 3e, for instance? Hard to say for sure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 7636818, member: 996"] Yeah, that's a given. 4e DMing was phone-it-in easy. I felt like I'd almost forgotten how to run after a few years. ;) But it's like falling off a bicycle. (something else it turns out I'm good at) And armed ones using iterative attacks, that got brutal, too. Published adventures varied quite a lot. With modern eds, you can compare how PCs stack up to the encounter guidelines. But, all you really find out is that some guidelines are more consistent than others. But, I still think it's plausible to compare characters, in general, to monsters (and other dangers) in general, and make a broad, general, not-quite-meaningless statement about 'lethality.' And, really, I kinda agree with Sacrosanct: 2e had some uniquely lethal qualities going. PCs didn't jump dramatically in power or durability - but monsters /did/ take quite a jump in both. Later ed monsters did keep getting tougher, but 3e PCs got a /lot/ tougher, too (in everything but saves, WotC-era hates for PCs to make saving throws at high level, for some reasons), 4e more durable at low level, and 5e did pull back from that. So just on the PC v Monster Dynamic 2e > other TSR eds seems plausible. So does 3e > 5e > 4e. Comparisons between the two eras are trickier, though. Should 2e slot in before or after 3e, for instance? Hard to say for sure. [/QUOTE]
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