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<blockquote data-quote="ProfessorCirno" data-source="post: 4908998" data-attributes="member: 65637">I miss the archtypes of 2e and earlier.&nbsp; Paladins weren't just &quot;religious fighters,&quot; they were built to fit a very specific niche and archtype.&nbsp; Not one of mechanics either.&nbsp; The classes (before the kits came along, at least) weren't meant to be small nuggets of mechanics like they were in 3e and 4e, but romantic fantasy archtypes, and each one had accompanying examples of real life of fictional characters.&nbsp; The fighter was the weapons master and man-at-arms, becoming a lord of his land, leading soldiers to battle.&nbsp; The cleric was a warrior of his god, dedicated to a singly ethos that guided his behavior.&nbsp; Paladins were ordained champions, dedicating a portion of all their gold and treasure to their church (I'd LOVE to see someone try to pull that in a modern D&amp;D game! <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing&nbsp; &nbsp; :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />), .&nbsp; Thieves were called thieves, and they didn't sneak attack while flanking, they'd have to take an enemy completely by surprise and backstab them - and in doing so, usually did enough damage to drop them, which was the whole point.&nbsp; It wasn't supposed to be used in the thick of combat.&nbsp; It was a sneak up and murder ability.Did it always work out mechanically?&nbsp; Well, no, not really.&nbsp; But the feel and flavor of it all, that's something that hasn't been repeated.&nbsp; I loved the fact that each class had examples for you to look at, and that the book suggested you visit a library to read up on fantasy books and mythology.&nbsp; Take the opening paragraph for the paladin in the AD&amp;D PHB:How could that fail to get you pumped up and ready to play a paladin?&nbsp; Or lets look at thief:That one paragraph tells you so much about what it means to be a thief.&nbsp; You have your archtype, your historical and fictional references, your style of gameplay.&nbsp; And if you don't recognize the name, what did you do?&nbsp; You went to a bloody library and read about it!I wish more games encouraged kids to read :&lt;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ProfessorCirno, post: 4908998, member: 65637"] I miss the archtypes of 2e and earlier. Paladins weren't just "religious fighters," they were built to fit a very specific niche and archtype. Not one of mechanics either. The classes (before the kits came along, at least) weren't meant to be small nuggets of mechanics like they were in 3e and 4e, but romantic fantasy archtypes, and each one had accompanying examples of real life of fictional characters. The fighter was the weapons master and man-at-arms, becoming a lord of his land, leading soldiers to battle. The cleric was a warrior of his god, dedicated to a singly ethos that guided his behavior. Paladins were ordained champions, dedicating a portion of all their gold and treasure to their church (I'd LOVE to see someone try to pull that in a modern D&D game! :lol:), . Thieves were called [I]thieves[/I], and they didn't sneak attack while flanking, they'd have to take an enemy completely by surprise and backstab them - and in doing so, usually did enough damage to drop them, which was the whole point. It wasn't supposed to be used in the thick of combat. It was a sneak up and murder ability. Did it always work out mechanically? [I]Well, no, not really[/I]. But the feel and flavor of it all, that's something that hasn't been repeated. I loved the fact that each class had examples for you to look at, and that the book suggested you [I]visit a library[/I] to read up on fantasy books and mythology. Take the opening paragraph for the paladin in the AD&D PHB: How could that [I]fail[/I] to get you pumped up and ready to play a paladin? Or lets look at thief: That one paragraph tells you [I]so much[/I] about what it means to be a thief. You have your archtype, your historical and fictional references, your style of gameplay. And if you don't recognize the name, what did you do? [I]You went to a bloody library and read about it![/I] I wish more games encouraged kids to read :< [/QUOTE]

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