Referendum on AD&D 2e

[Atom Again]

Thats like asking "If the Red Party was full of honest politicians, would you vote for them?" and then giving one of the answer options as "sure, though I still prefer the Blue Party". Then you go and interpret the fact that you got 44% in that answer, plus a mere 18% who really do support the "red party" as meaning that the "red party" is ahead in the polls.

????????????????????

Did I miss a memo or something? What on earth is Nisarg talking about here?

[scratches head]

 

[Scribble]

I loved AD&D 2e. But maybe that's because as somone mentioned it was "my game" the game I ran almost exclusivly for so many years... Before that I started with basic D&D and had tons of fun with that too...

I must be a freak though because you know what it is I remember from those games? Things like:

"Hey man remember that time when Roofus the halfing cleric was pulled up into the tree by a bunch of giant spiders, only to have the party wizard blast the whole group with a fireball in an effort to 'save' him?"

Or the one my friend to this day still bitches at me about (jokingly of course)

"Hey remember that time when the Spectre rolled a crit and because of the result on the table you had him "punch" through my chest and instantly kill my cleric? lame! haha"

What I don't remember?

"Hey rememebr that time when the halfling cleric did something and we had the perfect houserule/chart/skill check/game mechanic to handle it? That was sooo much fun when afterthat we cross refrenced page x and looked at table 1,2345.67 and 1/2 for answer.. blah blah blah."

Now don't get me wrong, I love 3e it's tons of fun. But like other have said for me it's less the system and more the stories your group makes.

and as far as the house rules? I love them. I love coming up with a new mechanic for something. As a DM I tend to if I don't know a rule and no one can think of it, and it can't be found quickly? Pull the old, roll a die man, evens it works odds it doesn't... Not the best mechanic, but for quick fixes? With 3e if I do that I feel like I'm commiting a cardinal sin!

Kind of the reason I think Dragon was much better back in the 2e days... To me the issues seemed to have more "new ideas." Things I had never thought of. Things that did something totally new...

These days dragon feels like it's "Hey kids look more feats/classes/spells!" and that's it... New.. but the same.

Anyway.. I'm rambling and most people probably stopped reading a while back. so the point of my rant? STOP RAGGING ON MY GAME! hehe

 

[was]

-I really like the new edition and play it all the time. That being said, I've got no real problems with 2nd either and still play it once in a while.
-I just don't understand why so many people spend so much time complaining about an edition that they, by their own admission, would rather forget. It's wasted time that's better spent on gaming.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

With a great DM, running Spelljammer, who was specifically a great Spelljammer DM, and whose great Spelljammer campaigns I'd personally played in?

Yes.

Otherwise?

No.

Would I ever DM it?

Double no.

Would I ever prefer it to 3e, or even basic?

Double no with chocolate syrup and a cherry on top.

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

????????????????????

Did I miss a memo or something? What on earth is Nisarg talking about here?

[scratches head]

He's saying that the poll questions are extremely leading and, whether by design or mistake, would lead to an inaccurate conclusion.

A demonstration:

Poll A reads:

Would you play AD&D 2e?

1. With a great DM, yes.
2. Maybe, although 3e is my first choice.
3. Not on your life.

And gets the (theoretical) results:

1. 35%
2. 45%
3. 20%

Poll B reads:

Would you play AD&D 2e?

1. Yes
2. Maybe
3. No

And gets the (theoretical) results:

1. 5%
2. 75%
3. 20%

Finally, Poll C, striving for accuracy, reads:

Which of the following best describes your feelings about playing AD&D 2e?

1. It's my favorite version of D&D!
2. I prefer it to 3e, but not basic/original/1e.
3. It's okay; I like it no better or worse than 3e.
4. I prefer 3e, but will play if it's what's available.
5. I avoid playing 2e entirely.

And gets the (theoretical) results:

1. 1%
2. 4%
3. 10%
4. 60%
5. 20%

All three polls are compatible. The same sampling of perhaps 100 respondents could produce these results. But looking at Poll A would give a more favorable view of 2e than Poll B, and looking at Poll B would give a more favorable view of 2e than Poll C. And Poll C is the most detailed and accurate of the three.

 

[Korgan26]

I am actually trying to get a bunch of guys I've been gaming with for a decade plus, to play in a 2nd ed. campaign. Unfortunately I have gotten looks of horror and "Your F@%&ing kidding me, right?" for replies.
Oh well, C'est la vie.

Z

 

[El Ravager]

Geeze... so much hostility for AD&D 2E. I don't get it.

Some of my and my gaming groups fondest D&D memories come from our days playing 2E. We recently got together and played a one shot game of 2E for the helluv it and had a blast. For me as a GM, it was refreshing to not have ginormous stat blocks to keep track of. Yeah, the system is somewhat wonky, but its not that bad... at least not to us.

I just don't get all the hate for it. If ya got a fun adventure and fun players to play with, how bad can the system make it?

Sure I like 3E better overall, but I sure don't have hat for DND E2


=====
El Rav

 

[Atom Again]

Geeze... so much hostility for AD&D 2E. I don't get it.

Keep in mind that (at the time that I type this) only 37% of respondents are saying NO WAY to 2e. So there isn't as much hostility as the thread would lead one to believe.

 

[Droogie]

2e had all of the archaic complexity of 1e, with none of the fun or spirit.

It was a marketing design, inspired by people who not only did not know anything about roleplaying but actively despised roleplayers.
Its complete lack of originality or creativity forced it to constantly fall behind the industry trends rather than lead them, allowing white wolf and others to swoop into a badly weakened "idea market" and lead roleplaying off a proverbial cliff, all the while 2e following merrily behind them.


Nisarg

Ironically, I seem to recall 2e was designed based on player feedback from this gigantic questionaire in Dragon magazine. In other words, if 2e was crappy, you can thank the players who sent in the questionaire with their craptacular ideas.

Makes you think twice about those "what would you change in 3e" and 4e threads.

 

[Nisarg]

Keep in mind that (at the time that I type this) only 37% of respondents are saying NO WAY to 2e. So there isn't as much hostility as the thread would lead one to believe.

Once again you miss the point, my interpreation is that 38% of people (that's 4 out of every 10, just about) are saying they wouldn't play 2e, even if the best DM they can imagine was running it.
Another 42% are saying that they would play 2e but ONLY if the best DM they can imagine ran it, and otherwise there's no way they'd do it.

Only 20% are saying they actually like 2e.

While as I've said before this is a very flawed example of a poll (which is why the only way to interpret that 42% is as essentially saying they DISLIKE 2e but think that the DM is more important than the system) I'd say that having a game that 80% of all respondents DISLIKE, and 40% of all respondents ABSOLUTELY DESPISE is a pretty high figure of "hostility", probably more than you'd get for most games out there.

Nisarg