AD&D 2E On AD&D 2E

[ilgatto]

Better layout, better index and new art, along with typos corrections and errata included. Not bad.

I hated the art in the revised

Well, if there's anything to be said about post-2E editions it's that the art has become better and better. That is, not counting 1E/2E art by Trampier, Erol Otus, Russ Nicholson, Roslof, Emmanuel, Easley, Elmore, Caldwell, Mark Nelson, Ken Frank, Brian Despain, ...

Erm...,

I guess it's a matter of taste.

 

[deganawida]

This one?
View attachment 273504

Yes! Love it!

 

[cbwjm]

The cover especially. First time I saw that fighter charging with sword drawn on the cover, I knew I wanted to play fighter types.

When I got my PoD copy, I was so disappointed by the art that I looked up pieces from the 2e PHB. The female warrior who has the hill giant on his back and is pulling his nose ring? I showed that to my girls as an example of a strong female character in D&D back in the day.

I was always a little disappointed that the no/lightly armoured warrior never quite worked in 2e without magical items. Having grown up reading every Conan book I could find in the 2nd-hand bookstores, I kind of wanted to run that archetype. Nowadays, I'd probably figure something out by porting something from later editions into 2e.

 

[James Gasik]

I was always a little disappointed that the no/lightly armoured warrior never quite worked in 2e without magical items. Having grown up reading every Conan book I could find in the 2nd-hand bookstores, I kind of wanted to run that archetype. Nowadays, I'd probably figure something out by porting something from later editions into 2e.

Actually you can do it. Try this.

18 Dexterity (-4 defensive adjustment to AC). Fighter with Swashbuckler Kit from Complete Fighter's Handbook (-2 bonus to AC when wearing no armor, padded armor, or leather armor). Also from Complete Fighter's Handbook, devote two weapon proficiency slots to the Single Weapon Style (+2 bonus to AC when using a single one-handed weapon with no shield).

Entirely doable at level 1, and gives you, with leather armor (AC 8), an AC of 0!

*As an aside, an astute observer will note that while the bonus to AC from Dexterity and the Kit are negative numbers, the bonus from Single Weapon Style is a positive number, yet all lower AC! Not confusing at all!

 

[John Quixote]

*As an aside, an astute observer will note that while the bonus to AC from Dexterity and the Kit are negative numbers, the bonus from Single Weapon Style is a positive number, yet all lower AC! Not confusing at all!

All you have to remember is that the sign carries no semantic content at all and can be safely ignored either way, as long as you're paying attention to whether the text calls the adjustment a "bonus" or a "penalty"!

 

[James Gasik]

All you have to remember is that the sign carries no semantic content at all and can be safely ignored either way, as long as you're paying attention to whether the text calls the adjustment a "bonus" or a "penalty"!

It's pretty odd though. Younger me was never confused by "negative" bonuses it (but to this day my brain sometimes trips over the simple Thac0 calculation), but I remember getting into a debate with another player long ago about how a negative number can't be a bonus!

I can't understand why AC bonuses would flip between positive and negative values seemingly at random, if the ultimate calculation was to arrive at a lower value, lol.

 

[cbwjm]

Actually you can do it. Try this.

18 Dexterity (-4 defensive adjustment to AC). Fighter with Swashbuckler Kit from Complete Fighter's Handbook (-2 bonus to AC when wearing no armor, padded armor, or leather armor). Also from Complete Fighter's Handbook, devote two weapon proficiency slots to the Single Weapon Style (+2 bonus to AC when using a single one-handed weapon with no shield).

Entirely doable at level 1, and gives you, with leather armor (AC 8), an AC of 0!

*As an aside, an astute observer will note that while the bonus to AC from Dexterity and the Kit are negative numbers, the bonus from Single Weapon Style is a positive number, yet all lower AC! Not confusing at all!

The problem being that's as good as it ever gets, also never had all of the complete series of books when I was younger so the kits and style wouldn't have been accessible by me then. Part of the issue if I had the books was that it would lock me into the swashbuckler kit, doesn't quite fit for a bare chested barbarian warrior!

 

[James Gasik]

The problem being that's as good as it ever gets, also never had all of the complete series of books when I was younger so the kits and style wouldn't have been accessible by me then. Part of the issue if I had the books was that it would lock me into the swashbuckler kit, doesn't quite fit for a bare chested barbarian warrior!

Well I mean, without magic, AC never gets better than Full Plate + Shield and Dexterity either, for an AC of -4, so I dunno if that's really a problem. The Swashbuckler, on the other hand, can get complete benefit from Rings and Cloaks of Protection, magical leather armor, or even Bracers of Defense.

 

[Reynard]

I was always a little disappointed that the no/lightly armoured warrior never quite worked in 2e without magical items. Having grown up reading every Conan book I could find in the 2nd-hand bookstores, I kind of wanted to run that archetype. Nowadays, I'd probably figure something out by porting something from later editions into 2e.

Weird. Conan wore armor all the time in the original stories.

 

[James Gasik]

Weird. Conan wore armor all the time in the original stories.

It's just he has a tendency to lose any gear he has, and often in art he'd be reduced to this sort of state.