2nd edition AD&D help

[Taloth]

hi, my friends and i are about to start playing ad&d 2e, but our dm doesn't have his books yet. anyway, i'm having a hard time wrapping my head around some things...

1)since we're using graph paper, how does it work?? i mean, as an elf, i can move 120 feet per round. if each square is 10 feet, thats 12 squares, which is like half of the paper. if 1 square was like 30 feet, then close ranger combat would be, from a roleplaying perspective, practically long range combat, but it would use up less paper-room. can someone explain how moving on grid-paper works?

2)when we travel, long distance, do we appear like half a mile away from our destination for chance of encounters or just right to our destination? and do we go through the dungeon 'with our minds' and save graph paper for encounters, or just move through the whole dungeon on paper whether we encounter ppl or not?

3)it sounds like one heck of a lot of paper. can we use just regular old graph paper or do we need huge, table-sized sheets?

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[billd91]

I guess I would ask "What are you using the graph paper for?" Are you using it just to make a map of the places you've explored or are you planning on making up a battle-mat as a visual reference?
Most of the people I played 2e with didn't use battle mats or miniatures. All of the action was imagined. The only thing we used graph paper for was to map where and what we had explored.

 

[Wik]

hi, my friends and i are about to start playing ad&d 2e, but our dm doesn't have his books yet. anyway, i'm having a hard time wrapping my head around some things...

1)since we're using graph paper, how does it work?? i mean, as an elf, i can move 120 feet per round. if each square is 10 feet, thats 12 squares, which is like half of the paper. if 1 square was like 30 feet, then close ranger combat would be, from a roleplaying perspective, practically long range combat, but it would use up less paper-room. can someone explain how moving on grid-paper works?

2)when we travel, long distance, do we appear like half a mile away from our destination for chance of encounters or just right to our destination? and do we go through the dungeon 'with our minds' and save graph paper for encounters, or just move through the whole dungeon on paper whether we encounter ppl or not?

3)it sounds like one heck of a lot of paper. can we use just regular old graph paper or do we need huge, table-sized sheets?

Thanks so much in advance!

This is a fun question! I really like hearing it - taking me down memory road.

I don't know your Role-Playing background, but it sounds to me like you've played more recent versions of D&D and are "going back" to 2e. I apologize if I am incorrect in assuming this.

Now, to answer your questions:

1) Yes, you can move that rate - but that's your movement in one round of action. Remember that a round in 2e is ONE MINUTE. And if you're not in a combat, I believe that movement rate is per TURN - or ten minutes. The assumption is that you're ducking, poking around, and all that stuff. And remember that in dungeon exploration, you'll be moving the rate of the slowest member.

Also note that most 2e games I've seen played do not really use minis. If they do, it is not in the 3e/4e manner of counting squares and precise movement - the game tends towards the more abstract. There are people that played it differently, but from conversations on these boards and in real life, most people played 2e much more "loosely" than current incarnations of D&D.

What this means is, odds are good that most fights will not use any form of battlemat.

2) Distance of encounters is based on some chart in the DMG. I'm not sure I understand your question fully. As for movement, most people use graph paper purely for exploration, using the sheet to map out the dungeon they explore. During encounters, in my experience, there is no battlemat - it's all in your imagination.

3) Well, you don't "need" anything. I've done 2e with absolutely no paper (beyond character sheets)... and I've also done it with graph paper. Or blank paper. Or, well, whatever. But the need in 2e for those large pads of graph paper (the 1 inch per square pad that can take up a table) is practically nil.

 

[Stormonu]

1) In 1E/2E, you can move up to 1/2 your movement rate and still make an attack, so that will cut down on some moving around. Don't forget that armor and encumbrance can quickly reduce your speed. Most armored characters will be moving 90 ft., for example.

2) Whether you imagine the dungeon "in your mind" or if the DM whips out battlemats and such is really up to how the DM and players want to do things. It can really go either way - I've certainly done both in my time as DM of older editions (though I always enjoyed the chance to actually lay out the dungeon). Same goes for encounter distance: the 2E books have tables for checking distance and frequency, but it's mostly up to the DM to decide how far apart each side will be and where along the journey (start, middle, end) when the encounter will occur.

3) Most 1E/2E dungeons would fit on a single piece of graph paper - per dungeon level, that is.

 

[Diamond Cross]

If you just want graph paper for mspping, then I'd suggest getting the four squares to the inch graph paper. The larger squared paper is for moving miniatures on, not for mapping, and for tactical combat movement.

With which you don't necessarily have to have in your game.

Here's one site for you:

http://www.printablepaper.net/category/graph

But the kind of graph paper is called quadrille paper in stores and you can find it in the notebook section in any store.

 

[Taloth]

ahhh, i think i'm starting to see. the only experience we've had with dnd is a 4e quickstart kit for like 5 bucks. we liked the roleplaying elements of it, but the long drawn out battles and useless 'powers' and stuff really didnt do it for us. also, we think the 2e campaigns and battle system look awesome (and so far we're lovin it) ((we havent actually played though, like i said))

back on topic: we didn't plan on using miniatures. i figured that we would use like a piece of dice or a quarter or something to represent our character. you guys keep saying that its all imagined (we don't plan on using battlemats), but do you put down any markers or anything on a table and imagine distance, or is everything literally in your head? (of course there are many different ways to play, i know, but im asking what the norm/least expensive way of doing things is, lol)

if anyone has any pictures of a 2e game, that would be great. i can't find one (just for reference)

sorry if i'm being a bit slow here

 

[Wik]

ahhh, i think i'm starting to see. the only experience we've had with dnd is a 4e quickstart kit for like 5 bucks. we liked the roleplaying elements of it, but the long drawn out battles and useless 'powers' and stuff really didnt do it for us. also, we think the 2e campaigns and battle system look awesome (and so far we're lovin it) ((we havent actually played though, like i said))

There are some pretty huge bugs in the 2e combat system. The THAC0 system, for example, is pretty confusing... luckily, it's easy to flip the math, and turn it into something similar to 4e's Attack vs. AC system.

But yes, the 2e campaigns and battle systems are pretty cool. It's also a system that really encourages and relies upon house rules. Which are always fun.

back on topic: we didn't plan on using miniatures. i figured that we would use like a piece of dice or a quarter or something to represent our character. you guys keep saying that its all imagined (we don't plan on using battlemats), but do you put down any markers or anything on a table and imagine distance, or is everything literally in your head? (of course there are many different ways to play, i know, but im asking what the norm/least expensive way of doing things is, lol)

The way we always did it, there were no markers, nothing. Just a description of the surroundings, where everyone was in relation to everyone else, and then just roll with it. If something was particularly complex (the PCs are fighting twenty goblins mounted on owlbears!), then we'd break out pennies and other markers to define roughly where people were in relation to everyone else.

I recommend playing with different methods, and going with what feels best for you. Ultimately, this is the GM's job, and he'll find his own preference, and the rest of the group will adapt.

sorry if i'm being a bit slow here

Not at all. It can be a difficult concept to get - older RPGs play a lot differently than the newer ones, in some fundamental ways. 2e is, at least in my experience, less about combat and more about, well, the adventure.

 

[Taloth]

There are some pretty huge bugs in the 2e combat system. The THAC0 system, for example, is pretty confusing... luckily, it's easy to flip the math, and turn it into something similar to 4e's Attack vs. AC system.

But yes, the 2e campaigns and battle systems are pretty cool. It's also a system that really encourages and relies upon house rules. Which are always fun.



The way we always did it, there were no markers, nothing. Just a description of the surroundings, where everyone was in relation to everyone else, and then just roll with it. If something was particularly complex (the PCs are fighting twenty goblins mounted on owlbears!), then we'd break out pennies and other markers to define roughly where people were in relation to everyone else.

I recommend playing with different methods, and going with what feels best for you. Ultimately, this is the GM's job, and he'll find his own preference, and the rest of the group will adapt.



Not at all. It can be a difficult concept to get - older RPGs play a lot differently than the newer ones, in some fundamental ways. 2e is, at least in my experience, less about combat and more about, well, the adventure.

YEA!!!! man, that sounds great. and yea, we're playin AD&D because we care about the adventure and story alot more than the actual combat. thanks so much man

 

[bagger245]

This is a game of imagination..

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Of all the various editions of D&D, 2e is the one that utilizes miniatures the very least. It's honestly one of the better editions if you want to step out of the battlegrid or board or map or (etc etc), and just play purely from word of mouth and imagination.

Players can still make maps, mind you, but they don't need to be rigorous and realistic and count each square on their own. That's honestly what 2e's charm is/was.