Yeah. "3E rules, 1E feel" is Necromancer Games/Rob Kuntz's schtick. Please do not STEAL ROB KUNTZ'S SCHTICK, or Midnight Rider will come over to your house and slap you around with a wet noodle.
Now the following is an UNCLAIMED SCHTICK, and if someone would be kind enough to step forward and do something with it, they will be rewarded with all the acclaim and recognition the schtick deserves.
RETURN OF SECOND EDITION
Necroticfasciitis Games today anounced an upcoming line of products based on the company's motto, "Third Edition Rules, Second Edition Feel".
Peter Clarkson, CEO, said: "Our extensive market research, centering on myself and my esteemed business partner, Will Bebb, shows there's a huge untapped market out there of gamers who miss the unique feeling that Second Edition brought to gaming in general, and D&D in particular."
"Second Edition gamers are a hardy, independent lot. They know what they like, and they don't like reading 3E's dry-as-dust rulebooks. Reading them is like reading a statistics textbook, if you know what I mean. No, Second Edition gamers want rules that appeal to and stimulate the imagination. To that end, our products will feature rules that allow your imagination to run wild! When you read our books, you'll be wondering at what sort of imagination could possibly have come up with these rules."
Necroticfasciitis Games' first product boasting the Second Edition feel will be an adventure module for 1st to 20th level PCs, "Return to the Return to the Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil". In this adventure, the PCs meet a mysterious hooded stranger while in an inn. The stranger, who turns out to be a powerful wizard smoking a pipe, tells them to escort his friend, a moody, angst-filled dark elf wielding two scimitars, to a temple of ancient evil. The dark elf needs companionship on this journey because, well, it's a long way and he needs someone to talk to. Once they reach the temple, the PCs are to watch the dark elf's back and protect him while he destroys the ancient evil that lurks there. All true Second Edition gamers will recognise this as a challenge worthy of any adventurer, no matter what their level.
The second and subsequent products in the line will be Epic-Level expansion books, focusing on the individual character classes. Necroticfasciitis Games recognises that the true meaning of "Epic" is not in terms of a numeric definition, but is rather a state of mind. In line with this philosophy, the rules in our Epic-Level books will be suitable for characters of any level, unlike the restrictive "past 20th-level" requirement in WOTC's Epic-Level Handbook. With our products, there's no reason anymore that even humble 1st level PCs can't be world-shaking, demigod-slaying heroes! Of course, game balance is a very important consideration to Necroticfasciitis games. A fundamental tenet of Necroticfasciitis Games is that no PC, however, epic, should be the most powerful character in the campaign. DMs can thus rest assured that their powerful, pipe-smoking wizards and angst-filled, dual-scimitar-wielding dark elves will always be equipped with the perquisite feats, skills, items and special abilities (including unique divine favours) to match it with these Epic-Level PCs.
Further down the line, expect several 500-page books detailing revisions and modifications to the rules for character creation, combat, spells and magic that are guaranteed to leave your players shaking their heads in wonder and disbelief, at the power of your imagination (if not what chemical substances you've been using).
All this and more, from Necroticfasciitis Games!
