D&D 2E [COMPLETE] Looking back at the leatherette series: PHBR, DMGR, HR and more!

[Mannahnin]

I have a vague memory of stumbling onto that much later. I got my start with BECMI-era Basic D&D, and then made the jump to AD&D Second Edition; it took quite a few years before I went back and started collecting AD&D 1E products.

The drow two weapon fighting was a 1e drow racial thing mentioned in the drow monster entries in modules, the Fiend Folio, and the 1e Unearthed Arcana when you could play them as an official player race.

Yup.

Though it was a racial ability for him in 1st ed (which was of course the current edition when The Crystal Shard was published), I always credited Drizz't's popularity as being the reason Rangers got two-weapon fighting as an ability starting in 2nd Ed.

But it took until the Complete Fighter's Handbook for TSR to give us the ability to spend prof slots to use two full-length weapons, instead of two short weapons, or a long one and a short one.

 

[Weiley31]

Despite never playing 2E before,I always found these books cool simply for the fluff. I particularly like using the Complete Druid and Complete Necromancer when it comes to having lore for them in my 5E games. I also dig the whole White/Grey/Black aspect of how to view Necromancy.

They actually had a 2E setting/sourcebook for Charlemagne/his Paladins and one for the Crusades? Interesting.

 

[wingsandsword]

They actually had a 2E setting/sourcebook for Charlemagne/his Paladins and one for the Crusades? Interesting.

They made a whole series of them in the early 1990's.

The green-covered "Historic Reference" series, each of which covered a different historic era/setting, some of which overlapped to create a larger setting if you wanted to cross them over.

A Mighty Fortress (1500 AD to 1650 AD) 16th and early/mid 17th century Europe. The French Wars of Religion, The Thirty Years War, The English Civil War

Crusades (1096 AD to 1291 AD) - Crusades, particularly the First Crusade through the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem when Acre was captured. The book only covers the Crusades in the Levant against the Caliphate and leaves out the Northern Crusades, Cathar Crusade and other Crusades that were strictly within Europe.

Vikings (800 AD to 1100 AD) - Vikings
Charlemagne's Paladins (714 AD to 987 AD) Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire

Celts (600 BC to AD 537) - The Celtic world
Glory of Rome (753 BC to AD 476) - The Roman Republic and Roman Empire
Age of Heroes (2200 BC to 279 BC) - Ancient Greece.

They each had rules for running it as a "realistic" very-low magic game with no PC spellcasters and very few monsters or NPC spellcasters. . .as a low-magic game where spellcasters and monsters, existed but were rare, and a fantasy history version that was basically a slightly lower magic than usual D&D world with fewer monsters and demihumans, re-skinned as a historic setting.

 

[Voadam]

Despite never playing 2E before,I always found these books cool simply for the fluff. I particularly like using the Complete Druid and Complete Necromancer when it comes to having lore for them in my 5E games. I also dig the whole White/Grey/Black aspect of how to view Necromancy.

They actually had a 2E setting/sourcebook for Charlemagne/his Paladins and one for the Crusades? Interesting.

You can find the seven-book set here.

 

[Stormonu]

The Complete Barbarian's Handbook was essentially re-importing the 1e Barbarian back into 2e. Updated somewhat and not just a reprint, but it was the one place I know of in 2e that had the Barbarian presented as a separate class and not just being a kit for a Fighter.

Sadly, their attempt to bring back the Monk into 2E (I think in the Complete Priest) was woefully inadequate. I think eventually some Greyhawk supplement (focusing on the Scarlett Brotherhood) brought back a better version.

There was also, of course the Complete Ninja...

I was always disappointed that the Complete Necromancer was a blue DMG book instead of a brown PHB series. Frankly, the TSR code of conduct policy really made that book toothless, especially for players interested in getting something out of it.

As for the green books, Charlemange's Paladins (Charlemange!), Vikings (Vikings & Trolls!) and A Mighty Fortress (Guns!) were the three I liked best, but I do also have a bias when it comes to Charlemange anyway...

 

[el-remmen]

You can find the seven-book set here.

If those were a POD bundle instead of just PDFs I'd get them. I am old and more likely to read/browse (heck, remember I even own!) a print book than a PDF.

 

[wingsandsword]

Sadly, their attempt to bring back the Monk into 2E (I think in the Complete Priest) was woefully inadequate. I think eventually some Greyhawk supplement (focusing on the Scarlett Brotherhood) brought back a better version.

The 2e Monk I'm more familiar with was the weird one they introduced in Spells and Magic, and also reprinted for Forgotten Realms in Faiths and Avatars (and Powers and Pantheons and Demihuman Deities).

That was a priest character that was essentially a cleric, but trading in their armor for martial arts rules, got mostly a "monk" weapons selection, and instead of the Cleric spell list they got a different group of priest spells that included some odd and quirky spell spheres like Numbers. I only saw that class played once, it was like a cleric but less so. I think the concept of a spellcasting monk class that was more a priest with some martial arts had potential, but 2e really didn't have a good framework for it. Maybe a 3e prestige class that gave monks continued flurry of blows progression and some similar monk abilities as they levelled up, but also had spell progression in exchange for most of the miscellaneous monk abilities.

 

[Alzrius]

You can find the seven-book set here.

That remains one of the only bundles WotC has for any of the leatherettes, despite how they naturally fall into groups. As of right now, the only other one is the Core Races bundle (affiliate link), which collects the books on elves, dwarves, and gnomes and halflings.

 

[Alzrius]

Sadly, their attempt to bring back the Monk into 2E (I think in the Complete Priest) was woefully inadequate. I think eventually some Greyhawk supplement (focusing on the Scarlett Brotherhood) brought back a better version.

A Greyhawk sourcebook that focused on the Scarlet Brotherhood? Hmm...

Maybe The Scarlet Brotherhood? Just a guess...

(I kid, of course. In fact, this is the one that released the revised 2E monk, in what was a very clear antecedent of the 3E monk class.)

Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

 

[el-remmen]

A Greyhawk sourcebook that focused on the Scarlet Brotherhood? Hmm...

Maybe The Scarlet Brotherhood? Just a guess...


Please note my use of affiliate links in this post.

Is this book any good fluff-wise? Not as interested in 2E crunch - but I am running a non-Greyhawk campaign using Ghosts of Saltmarsh, which include the Scarlet Brotherhood, who I've adapted into my game.