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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shades of Green" data-source="post: 4461623" data-attributes="member: 3297">I've played 2E and various OD&D stuff before 3E came out. Some of the prominent features of OD&D and 1E/2E in comparison to 3E were IMHO:Different complexity levels between different classes. Fighters had very little rule material and relatively simple mechanics while mages and clerics had almost half the PHB in spells between them. I don't recall anyone complaining much back then about fighters being "boring" - fighters (with less rules to memorize) were great for beginners and casual players, while experienced players interested in clever tricks and complex rules played the spellcasters (and the mage was considered as more complex than the cleric IIRC). Character generation was very fast for fighters (just roll the attributes, record the THAC0 and saving throws, choose a few weapon and non-weapon proficiencies and buy the best armor and weapons your starting money could buy) while mages' players spent much time choosing spells. game balance wasn't that importance - catering to different players' tastes probably was.Abstract combat. Rounds were a minute long and the character was supposed to make a number of jabs, feints, attack attempts and so on and do the maneuvering "on his own" - the attack rolls represented the sum of these attempts rather than just one attack. Combat was typically played map-less, with daring manouvers and tactics role-played (at best with a to-hit or Dexterity roll) rather than simulated on an exact grid.Arbitrarily-placed stuff in adventures. Adventures typically had themes, but sometimes unrelated monsters and/or treasure was thrown in for good measure without much reasoning in addition to the themes' monsters and treasure. You probably had less 'fluff' justifying each encounter - some encounters didn't have 'fluff' justifications.More monster fluff. The 2E MM had an "Ecology" and a "Habitat/Society" section (a few paragraphs each) for most entries, giving much more detail than the 3E MM does. Many monsters had listed uses for their body parts, or descriptions of how their strongholds should be designed and staffed.Much more perceived freedom for DM fiat and rulings. A lot of things were decided by DM fiat rather than by rules, especially riddle-locks, hidden doors and most kinds of traps. The DM was supposed to make up a lot of stuff on the spot, even when using published adventures. A good amount of DM fiat and rulings also made combat interesting despite its abstract nature."Gotcha" traps and "Gotcha" secrets. Not everyone used these, but in many cases it was considered OK to punish careless PCs without rolling any dice - cursed magical items were an example of this and much more common than in 3E. Some adventures also had save-or-die traps, which have become rarer in 3E. It was also common to reward players for being inquisitive, perceptive or smart by hiding treasure in tricky or secret places requiring players' skill to get to.Name Level. PCs were supposed to become politicians, or, for the very least, local power figures, when reaching mid-high levels. Older versions had clearer mechanics for this. 2E granted you with automatic followers (similar to the 3E Leadership feat) when you reached a certain level and built a stronghold; each class had different followers listed for it in the PHB.</blockquote>

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