Players stuck is 2ed

[Mystery Man]

Treat his complaints like a running gag. Even if he never stops complaining at least you have someone to poke fun of.

 

[Henry]

There seems to be an awful lot of hate being thrown around in here for a game that most of us used to play just a few years back.


For a solution to the problem that lord banus has posed, I would suggest that you have a small discussion as to what differences he misses from 2E. See if any of them can be accomodated in 3E, with more balanced optional rules and the like. Failing that, he does have a choice: If the majority of the group is bound and determined to play 3E, he's got to decide if 3E, and spending time with his friends, is fun enough for him to continue playing it with all of you.

If he continues to play, ask him to restrict his complaints until before or after the session, and not during. If he can put up with a little ribbing about his favorite game version, surely your group can put up with a little ribbing about your favorite version.

 

[JesterPoet]

Hhmmm... I kind of respect old people's choices and 1st Edition Hard Core veterans have a good point when they say they prefer 1st Edition. (I don't agree but its a valid choice.)

I suppose they have a good point that they prefer 1st, but I wouldn't say they have a good point that it is better. I have never seen any quantifiable evidence that 1st or 2nd edition were any better than 3e. Most of the times the arguments I hear in their favor are laughable at best.



What makes 3e WAY better in my opinion is that it is much easier to teach people.

 

[diaglo]

So, does anyone else have the problem, 3 1/2 years after 3E was released, of players still trying to build their characters based on 2E memories?

i still build my characters based on OD&D memories.

but you are right. with the newer rules in place it does make many of the choices ineffective.

 

[diaglo]

And try to make the most hideously warped characters the world has ever seen. It's pretty easy with skills and powers.

do you want him to do this to your 2000ed game? it is pretty easy in this edition too.

i think this is the worst suggestion i've read on this thread.

 

[diaglo]

I have never seen any quantifiable evidence that 1st or 2nd edition were any better than 3e. Most of the times the arguments I hear in their favor are laughable at best.

and the reverse is true too.

What makes 3e WAY better in my opinion is that it is much easier to teach people.

OD&D and basic are easier to teach too. easier even than the 2000ed. so they must be better.

 

[JesterPoet]

and the reverse is true too.

I would disagree with that. I've seen evidence of 3e being a better, more concise system with fewer (not none, but fewer) inconsistencies between core materials.

That said, however, I loved 1st and 2nd, and would still be willing to play them if they were run by a decent GM. Unfortunately, the majority of the people I have run into who still hang on to the old rules enough to be able to run them are the kind of people you don't want to play a game with.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

In defense of your player a lot of times people talk about it with nostalgia. I'm one of those types, sometimes I'll dig out my old beat up books and think about running a one-shot of an earlier edition. I've played since 1st edition and I had some great games with 1st and 2nd edition. I do think that the classes FELT (emphasised for the people who will respond to this just to argue) more defined in the earlier editions, each one had their niche and there generally wasn't any crossover. Find out if he keeps going back to it over nostalgia or does he genuinely want to play 2E? Inform him that YOU are running a 3E (or was it 3.5E) game and he is welcome to play but you will not be going back to 2E and if he wants to play 2E so bad he should find another gaming group of likeminded people. You could also allow him to DM a 2E game for your group when you need a break. Feeding his need for a little bit could get him off your back.

OD&D and basic are easier to teach too. easier even than the 2000ed. so they must be better.

Gotta agree with you. The old red box basic set is STILL the best way to teach people how to role-play.

 

[JesterPoet]

In defense of your player a lot of times people talk about it with nostalgia. I'm one of those types, sometimes I'll dig out my old beat up books and think about running a one-shot of an earlier edition. I've played since 1st edition and I had some great games with 1st and 2nd edition. I do think that the classes FELT (emphasised for the people who will respond to this just to argue) more defined in the earlier editions, each one had their niche and there generally wasn't any crossover.

Amen to that. I don't think I've ever played a 3e D&D game that has topped some of my older edition games for "feeling" and "atmosphere"

Actually, I'm not really sure why that is. Strange. Though I do have to agree that the classes don't feel as defined as they used to be.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

For a solution to the problem that lord banus has posed, I would suggest that you have a small discussion as to what differences he misses from 2E. See if any of them can be accomodated in 3E, with more balanced optional rules and the like.

Totally agree. IMHO, it is the feel of OD&D that people miss moreso than the mechanics. Goodman Games started up a line of modules complete with Erol Otus artwork to try to capture that old feel. Even the module layout is the same complete with the old style blue maps and amateur looking interior artwork. Try one of those modules out on him (you can download them for $5 at RPGNOW or you can buy the paper version from Goodman Games' website) to see if it recaptures some of the old magic for him. If he sees that he can have the same experience with 3E as he did with earlier editions then the problem is solved.

On the other hand if he liked the mechanics of 2E then he is a rules lawyer and you must kill him immediately.