How to convince my players to give 2e a try?

[Sir Robilar]

Recently - while working on my Dark Sun conversion for Pathfinder - I was leafing through my old AD&D 2e PHB and suddenly it hit me - this is the game I want to play! Yes, some of the rules are wonky as I was quickly reminded. But I believe this is no problem when all you do is play. It only becomes a problem if you (or your players) look for problems, instead of going with the flow.

So how do I convince my players to give it a try? Right now we´re playing Pathfinder (they all enjoy it), before that we did some True20 and 4E. We´re all mid 20ies and I´m the only one who ever played 2e. All the others started with 3e. It´s a great group and I´d love to give this old gem a shot, using Dark Sun. I miss it´s feel and simplicity - the modern games are to complicated and we have rules discussions all the time. Even some of the wonky rules I miss. But I know how theses guys will react - they´ll outright refuse to play (one of them told me he "hates going back in systems"). Or all they´ll do is search for wonky rules and constantly make fun of them. So what to do?

 

[MortalPlague]

I don't have an answer for you, but I think one of the big hurdles you may face is that 2nd Edition PCs are far less powerful than their 3rd and 4th edition counterparts. While I would love to run a retro game with my group at some point, I don't think I'd have a lot of support, and this would be one of the biggest issues.

 

[Crothian]

Not knowing you or the group this is tough to give advice. If I were selling this idea to my group I would emphasize that they have fun with everything I've ran so far and they will have fun with this. They need to keep an open mind and trust me as they have with all the other campaigns I have run for them. I would point of the simplicity and I'd bribe them by buying them all the PHB as I see them used for cheap all the time. I would also stress that I have at least one copy of each book we might need so they don't have to spend any money at all.

I did that when I ran Changeling the Dreaming. I had more then enough of each book the players might need so they didn't need to buy anything or even bring any books to the game. When dealing with an out of print game and with players that are concerned with having to buy more books it is a good strategy.

 

[Chainsaw]

Try being honest about it - tell them the story you just told us: that you were doing some conversions, were reminded of how much you had playing 2E and thought it might be fun to run a session or two, just as a one-off, to mix things up.

They might be more willing to try it if they don't feel like their regular game (and all the effort they put into their characters) is in jeopardy. Who knows, maybe they decide they would like to switch. Maybe you find out it's not as great as you remember. Maybe it turns into a game you run periodically, just enough to get your fix. No need to commit to anything up front.

I would say that if they won't even try a SINGLE SESSION for you, then they're pretty lame given all the work you the DM do for them the players.

 

[Stormonu]

Well, if the other players aren't on board, this will be a tough, if not impossible sell. Is your group one that likes trying different systems or do they prefer to stick with one tried and true system? If it is the latter, I would take them at their word they don't want to play 2E.

You may want to arrange one day as an, "if your interested, come by and we'll try it". If no one shows, you might want to shelf the idea (or perhaps look for a 2nd group more open to the idea).

Since you appear to be setting up a Pathfinder Dark Sun game, why don't you consider doing a "flashback" or campaign opening using the 2E rules to introduce the Dark Sun game? You could make it very clear you're using this as a "test" to ensure that the 2E/Pathfinder mechanics will be matching up, and if the group likes the feel of the 2E version, you could continue on with it. If they don't, you can just mark it up as an experiment and go back to the rule system everyone else wants.

Also, I'd suggest keeping it as simple as possible - either premades based on what the players suggest, or "converting" their Pathfinder characters to 2E versions as best you can.

 

[JoeGKushner]

sneak it in under a retro system. "Hey, heard of this Lamenations of the Flame Princes? Look at this boxed set eh? Eh? It's new..."

 

[ExploderWizard]

Tell them you really want to run Dark Sun and have a bunch of great material for it but it would be easier to run it in the system it was written for rather than do all that conversion work. (Probably very true!!)

If they end up determined not to have any fun unless they get their chosen system then invite one of the players to run Pathfinder instead.

 

[WheresMyD20]

But I know how theses guys will react - they´ll outright refuse to play (one of them told me he "hates going back in systems"). Or all they´ll do is search for wonky rules and constantly make fun of them. So what to do?

Regarding "going back in systems" - why are they playing Pathfinder then? Shouldn't they be playing 4e?

Kidding aside, there's nothing inherently wrong with 2e. It's a perfectly good edition that stands apart from 3e the same way that Pathfinder stands apart from 4e. All three of them have their own unique feel. 2e is not an objectively "inferior" edition compared to 3e anymore than 3e is an objectively "inferior" edition compared to 4e. They're all just different.

Tell them that the 2e rules are written the way they are written in order to keep the game simple, fluid, and fast-moving. DM judgment is a key component of 2e. It says so specifically in the introduction to the 2e DMG. Relying on the DM to make common sense decisions is an intentional design decision designed to keep the rule set from becoming cumbersome.

If they just want to sit around pointing out wonky rules, then ask them if they want to keep an open mind and give the game a fair shot. If they say "yes" then the rule-hunting should stop. If they say "no", then put the game away and play something else.

 

[Rel]

2e is the only edition of D&D that I've never played a single session of. I have no particular desire to do so for its own sake. But I certainly would give it a try if a good DM told me that they had an idea for a fun game and wanted me to give it a shot.

If you are getting a lot of resistance from the group though, consider trying to identify what it is about the system that really grabs you. If it is simplicity then consider trying to run it with a fairly simple system that they will play. Whatever you identify as the quintessential thing that makes the game fun to play, try to focus on a vehicle that will deliver that thing but that your players will get their own enjoyment from at the same time.

 

[Wik]

If you do get the group to sit down at the table and play, you need to pre-empt them before they can start attacking wonky rules. It's a good idea to rewrite some of the rules - which is actually in the spirit of how 2e was played!

For starters, get rid of THAC0 and use the 3e style of plus modifiers for attack rolls. I'd also allow for characters to deal an extra d6 or something if they confirm a critical hit, but that's an old house rule I played around with.

Saving Throws could be another hurdle. Basically, 2e has two alternatives to saving throws - you can force the PCs to make ability checks, or saving throws. If you use the former, you're making the game more reliant on ability scores... if you use the latter, levels are more important. It's really a GMing preference thing, which I always loved when I ran the game.

Nonweapon Proficiencies could be a problem, because they're not really "balanced" with each other (who ever took Dancing as a NWP!?).

I think a good way to get a group into 2e is to get them all suggesting "Fixes" for problems they encounter. If you get the entire group into houseruling, you can really buy interest in the game.