Poll - What was the cheesiest ... ?

[molonel]

A friend of mine and I, who have played all three editions of D&D, are presently involved in a discussion about what was the cheesiest, most unbalanced, most powerful rules or classes or spells in any edition of the game. So I thought I'd throw the question out to the collective experience of this forum.

What was the cheesiest or most overpowered rule or element from any edition of the game?

If you are like me, you will probably need to break it down into classes, spells, melee combatants, special abilities, etc.

I'll give some of my nominations later, but I don't want to bias anyone by giving them first.

 

[GlassJaw]

I'd probably say some of the kits in 2ed like the bladesinger or some of the dwarven ones (champion maybe?). Some of the skills were kind of weird too. Wasn't there one called observation in the rogue's book? Why would you not that that?

 

[Thanee]

2e Complete Psionics without a doubt. Teleport at first level!

Bye
Thanee

 

[jmucchiello]

Hard to say what the cheesiest is but here are few high placing contenders:

1e Psionics: Not only were you whatever class you had, but with a lucky roll, you had a bunch of other abilities too.

Dragon's 1e Anti-Paladin: Although there were other 1e era alternate classes that were just as bad in Dragon, non were as cheesy as the Anti-Paladin.

1e OA Ninja: Another class where you stacked additional abilities on top of normal class abilities.

2e Kits: I don't know which book came out last, but as the kit books came out it was like the designers were daring one another to come out with something more broken than the last book.

2e Elves (when using stuff from the Complete Elves book): Love those arrow tricks in an abstract combat system.

3e Magic items: They are rarely dangerous any more. Use to be you had to worry about changing gender when putting on a belt or getting killed by necklace. Not any more. Yes, the cursed items are still in the DMG, but their use is discouraged.

3.5 Clerics: They moved all the front-loaded options out of the other classes but didn't do it to the cleric?! Couldn't they have pushed one of the domain powers back to 3rd or 4th level or something?

If I was near my books I'm sure I'd remember more of these.

 

[Sejs]

Definitly 2nd ed Psionics and Complete Elves.

Yeesh.

 

[wingsandsword]

A friend of mine and I, who have played all three editions of D&D, are presently involved in a discussion about what was the cheesiest, most unbalanced, most powerful rules or classes or spells in any edition of the game. So I thought I'd throw the question out to the collective experience of this forum.

What was the cheesiest or most overpowered rule or element from any edition of the game?

Here's a few

Classes:
Ghul Lord (2nd Edition, Al Qadim): A Necromancer-type who can inflict 1 HP per spell level to himself to create spell effects of any level (I think only Invocation and Necromancy though). At 2nd level with a good constitution and HP roll they can throw a Meteor Swarm, and with only 2 good CLW's (CMW did 1d10 in 2e remember) they can do it again.

2e Psionics: Nothing like being able to throw a Disintegrate at 3rd level, Teleport at 1st Level, or offer no-saving-throw no-magic/spell-resistance Dominate effects at 3rd level. Even though 3.5 psionics are very balanced and quite nice, I still know DM's who won't touch psi because of the Complete Psionics Handbook.

The Complete Book of Elves: The complete book of munchkins is more like it. It also directly contradicted other game lines books while it was at it (since when were the elves of all D&D worlds descended of nomadic plane-hopping, spelljamming elves who left their kin on every world in the Multiverse, including Athas). Oh, add free uber-intimidate powers to all elves, bonus nonweapon proficiencies just for being an elf, free life-bonding between elves that gives big bonuses, utter immunity to enviromental heat and cold between 32F and 100F, and the elven afterlife rules that make elves truly immortal. Bladesong and the archery stuff didn't help either. Oh, and the "Extra Proficiences" rules based on age, where for every 10 years after age 100 you started the character at you got a free NWP, start as a 200 year old Grey Elf (for no age penalties) and start with 13 bonus NWP's at 1st level just for being an elf. Sheesh.

1e/2e Core Sleep Spell: Hooray for 1st level spells that incapacitate without a saving throw.

Front-loaded 3.0 Rangers: Unless the player was a real roleplayer, I never saw a melee combattant who didn't multiclass for level of ranger and all it's perks.

Rokugan Ninja: It's a fighter/rogue gestalt released in a non-gestalt using game.

 

[diaglo]

2000ed and 3.11ed for Workgroups

infinite slings... no cost. no weight. and you can make anything you want out of them with 1 rank in Craft (underwater basketweaving)

1edADnD psionics... they forgot to bring the rest of the rules with them from the OD&D version. followed closely by the introduction of the UA... Gary wrote the UA for his powergaming scions.

2edADnD the elf bladesinger and Psionics yet again

Holmes edition 2edD&D and 3edD&D magic in general. no really good saves vs. it. so charm person and sleep and etc... could reek havoc.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

Bladesinger and the Blade from Complete Bards.

Changing the ability bonus charts from the simple and elegant D&D bonuses to those weeeeeeird tables.

The Half-templates being used as a crib for making something up that doesn't reek of cheese.

 

[Halivar]

By far and away, the Great-Cleaving, Whirlwind-ing 3.0 fighter carrying a bucket of puppies.

 

[DragonLancer]

2nd edition Psionics.

Nuff' said.