Before I start going into details: I want to congratulate you. You're the first person who ever said he prefered AD&D 2e over D&D 3e, and who isn't one of the "Old Veterans" of the other game who are too set in the ways to ever get friends with the fact that they can have a paladin of a race other than human.
Johnnie Freedom! said:
Absolutely. It's a simple case of overload, which quickly spirals into burnout. For instance, with AD&D 2e, we're all determined to avoid all of the "Handbook" supplements (both for race and class) and just use the basics. For cryin' out loud, we have imaginations, don't we? Why do we need a friggin' new supplement every week?
Hm... what about simply using the D&D 3.5 core rules and nothing else? You'd have a lot less feats to choose from. Then using the simple method of taking x+int skills (where x is the amount of skill points the class gets) and maxing them out.
The supplement thing was in 2e as well, after all (though back then it mainly lifted restrictions)
Beyond that, I'll join the "death before 2nd edition" crowd here. Having separate XP-tables for all the classes (or at least several different ones), one table for each ability score (with some additional benefits for certain classes), a big large table for the 5 different saving throws, a separate thieves skill system and all doesn't exactly spell out "simple" for me. Besides all the restrictions were a real pain, the saves made less sense than, and there was no difference whether you sneaked past a blind oaf or an eagle-ey, or wheter you had to save against the magic missile of an apprentice, or vecna's wail of the banshee (at least difficulty-wise) - and a clumsy rogue had the same chance to evade a fireball than a nimble one, and a lot of other thigns, don't sit well with me.
yipwyg said:
I also thought kits, eventhough most were unbalanced, were better than Prestige Classes. In 2nd edtion you started out as a fledgling character based on your concept. If you wanted to be a ninja you began as a fledgling ninja.
In 3.0/3.5 you create a character who dreams of one day joining a ninja clan. I do not know off hand how many start-stop games I have had were I never got to the level to even get the prestige class my character was after.
Ah, the old "I can't now be a ninja from 1st-level on" problem. Or, to stay within western concepts, an assassin. Sure, you have to wait till level 6 or so before you can take a level in the DMG's Assassin PrC. But ask yourself. Do you need "Assassin" written on your character sheet in order to be an assassin? If you say yes, just go ahead and write it onto your sheet. Sure, you can't be an Assassin before level 6, but you sure can be an assassin from the beginning. Take the right skills, and then go and get yourself hired to kill a bloke. BAM! You're an assassin. The PrC just gives you a specialized set of abilities that help you in your job.
Don't get tangled up in terminology.
And in 3e, it is actually easier to make an assassin than in 2e. In 3e, you just have to choose the right skills. In 2e, you have to take a kit (which isn't in the core rules, either). In 3e, you don't have to be a rogue in order to be an assassin. Be a fighter with the right skills. In 2e, fighters can't take "thieve abilities"...