TarionzCousin
Second Most Angelic Devil Ever
I played in a 2E Lankhmar "City of Thieves" campaign where all of the six PC's were built from different kits from the Complete Book of Thieves. That was fun.
The 2e PH had 3d6 in order as method I, but there were five other alternative dice rolling methods in the PH to generate scores. Not the same as the 1e human rolls but I would still say 2e's presumption is generally more than 3d6 in order as a baseline.It's not just that they're alignment locked, or that they're limited to humans, but because the 3d6-in-order presumption of AD&D 2E means that meeting the ability score requirements (Strength 12, Constitution 9, Wisdom 13, Charisma 17) necessarily makes paladins quite rare, even among PCs.
Was anybody using that back in 2E? At our table we used 4d6, drop lowest and arrange to taste.The 2e PH had 3d6 in order as method I, but there were five other alternative dice rolling methods in the PH to generate scores. Not the same as the 1e human rolls but I would still say 2e's presumption is generally more than 3d6 in order as a baseline.
Even with these alt methods though the 17 Charisma was a real gatekeeper. Even if you rolled a 17 or 18, assigning that to Charisma would not get your combat oriented warrior character nearly the same combat bonuses as applying it to Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.
I think a whole lot of people did, as that was the default system in 1E.Was anybody using that back in 2E? At our table we used 4d6, drop lowest and arrange to taste.
The DM may use this expansion of the agriculture proficiency when druid characters assist a small village facing tough times or if a PC takes up farming.
1e also had the assassin.The druid is also, I'm fairly confident, the only class that carried the whole "you have to win a duel to advance to the next higher level" bit into AD&D 2E. The prior edition had a few other instances of that (monks, as I recall), but here it's a requirement that only druids need to fulfill (albeit only for 13th, 14th, and 15th level). That's because the druidic hierarchy is baked into that part of the class, and there can only be so many characters occupying the attendant slots ofSenior Vice PresidentArch-Druid, Great Druid, and Grand Druid.
And assassins similarly only went up to level 15.In order for an assassin character to gain experience levels above the 13th (Prime Assassin), he or she must have the requisite experience points and then either assassinate the local Guildmaster Assassin (14th level) or challenge him or her to a duel to the death. Likewise, a 14th level player character assassin can journey to the place where the Grandfather of Assassins (15th level) has his or her headquarters and slay him or her by assassination or in a duel. Note that duplicity, trickery, ambush, and all forms of treachery are considered as fair by assassins. A higher level character can accept a challenge and then have the challenger slain by archers, for instance.
I thought the assassin had that in there too, but was too lazy to go check.1e also had the assassin.
PH page 30:
And assassins similarly only went up to level 15.
True Neutral: True neutral characters believe in the ultimate balance of forces, and they refuse to see actions as either good or evil. Since the majority of people in the world make judgments, true neutral characters are extremely rare. True neutrals do their best to avoid siding with the forces of either good or evil, law or chaos. It is their duty to see that all of these forces remain in balanced contention.
True neutral characters sometimes find themselves forced into rather peculiar alliances. To a great extent, they are compelled to side with the underdog in any given situation, sometimes even changing sides as the previous loser becomes the winner. A true neutral druid might join the local barony to put down a tribe of evil gnolls, only to drop out or switch sides when the gnolls were brought to the brink of destruction. He would seek to prevent either side from becoming too powerful. Clearly, there are very few true neutral characters in the world.
That comes up on pg. 59-62.Did it have any discussion of being True Neutral? Balancing evil against good or chaos versus law? That was a Moorcockian balance type concept in 2e that was explained in a way to suggest weird roleplaying requirements which impacted druids in particular.
Just be prepared to expand on what's there quite a bit. The actual number of herbal concoctions it presents is surprisingly small.Sounds like the herbalism magic section might be good to poach for ideas when using a herbalism kit in 5e.
Complete book of necromancers was an incredible book, I was flicking through it before and it has some great ideas in itI really love the Complete Book of Druids. I enjoy the fluff that it adds to the Druids as a whole for RPing purposes. And yes I quite dig the whole "Highlander/Pokemon Gym Trainer" aspect where you have to fight your way to the top of the Hierarchy. I actually like using it in my DND games, although I make the upgrading of rank into more of a fluff thing while still allowing the level up to happen regularly. (So even if you do reach level 20 as an Druid, your technically not an Arch Druid until you actually fight and beat one. You just keep the Druid capstone for class mechanics sakes.)
The only other book that I enjoy, which adds to the Fluff similar to Complete Druids, would be the Complete Book of Necromancers.