Mercule
Adventurer
... how simple it was to create a PC/NPC. As a DM, I could stat one in my head in about 20 seconds, unless it was a mage.
... wild talent psionics. I had a whole order of "knights" that were made up of wild psionic teleporters. Still not sure about the best way to bring them back, since the order is critical to my world's history.
... 2E cleric spheres. Only a handful priesthoods in my world had unrestricted access to healing, and only two could raise the dead (and neither had major healing). Priesthoods were different from one another and actually reflected the deities they served.
... Heirophant druid (from 1E, not 2E). Just plain cool.
... Non-TWF Rangers. That's a thread in itself, though.
... Rangers with arcane spells.
... Random dungeon tables. So many good times.
... Random demon tables. Lessee, how could you not love the ability to spawn a demon like this:
-pelican-headed
-antlered
-gibbering
-elephant ears
-protruding metalic eyes
-a snout
-mandibles
-long rubbery rat-like body
-stingered tail
-vomit odor
-slimy skin
-primarily orange in color
-hunched back
-insectoid wings
-four tentacles ending in pincers
-hooved feet
... The 1E DMG appedices. All the colors, textures, dungeon trappings, etc. Also the list of theoritic supernatural properties of gems and herbs.
... Level titles.
... A time before FR. I never even cared for the gray box. I got it and said, "What a lame setting. It'll never last." I still have a hard time thinking of the setting as anything other than Lorainne Williams only success.
And, things I don't miss:
... THAC0. What a weird concept. A player/DM screen with the charts on it was better that THAC0. Looking back, even the idea of the inverted AC and "BAB" doesn't make much sense, but we didn't know any better.
... Five vaguely categorized saving throws.
... A myriad of odd-fitting rules. High is good on this role, low on that. Percentile for some things, d20 for others. Many classes roll odd dice for surprise or initiative.
... Humans are more versatile, so they can only persue one class at a time; while elves with their long life and level limits can never adopt a new profession.
... Lorainne Williams. I'll let that one lie other than to say that I've only ever boycotted one company's products because of the way they did business. In 1993 (ish), I stopped playing D&D and even threw all my houserules and world development in the trash because of the way TSR was behaving as a company. They immediately went so far off my radar that, despite remaining an active gamer for the next several years, I actually heard no news about TSR until WotC released 3E (at which point, I had to ask, "Huh? Doesn't TSR own D&D?").
... wild talent psionics. I had a whole order of "knights" that were made up of wild psionic teleporters. Still not sure about the best way to bring them back, since the order is critical to my world's history.
... 2E cleric spheres. Only a handful priesthoods in my world had unrestricted access to healing, and only two could raise the dead (and neither had major healing). Priesthoods were different from one another and actually reflected the deities they served.
... Heirophant druid (from 1E, not 2E). Just plain cool.
... Non-TWF Rangers. That's a thread in itself, though.
... Rangers with arcane spells.
... Random dungeon tables. So many good times.
... Random demon tables. Lessee, how could you not love the ability to spawn a demon like this:
-pelican-headed
-antlered
-gibbering
-elephant ears
-protruding metalic eyes
-a snout
-mandibles
-long rubbery rat-like body
-stingered tail
-vomit odor
-slimy skin
-primarily orange in color
-hunched back
-insectoid wings
-four tentacles ending in pincers
-hooved feet
... The 1E DMG appedices. All the colors, textures, dungeon trappings, etc. Also the list of theoritic supernatural properties of gems and herbs.
... Level titles.
... A time before FR. I never even cared for the gray box. I got it and said, "What a lame setting. It'll never last." I still have a hard time thinking of the setting as anything other than Lorainne Williams only success.
And, things I don't miss:
... THAC0. What a weird concept. A player/DM screen with the charts on it was better that THAC0. Looking back, even the idea of the inverted AC and "BAB" doesn't make much sense, but we didn't know any better.
... Five vaguely categorized saving throws.
... A myriad of odd-fitting rules. High is good on this role, low on that. Percentile for some things, d20 for others. Many classes roll odd dice for surprise or initiative.
... Humans are more versatile, so they can only persue one class at a time; while elves with their long life and level limits can never adopt a new profession.
... Lorainne Williams. I'll let that one lie other than to say that I've only ever boycotted one company's products because of the way they did business. In 1993 (ish), I stopped playing D&D and even threw all my houserules and world development in the trash because of the way TSR was behaving as a company. They immediately went so far off my radar that, despite remaining an active gamer for the next several years, I actually heard no news about TSR until WotC released 3E (at which point, I had to ask, "Huh? Doesn't TSR own D&D?").
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