What Game Mechanics Have You "Borrowed" From 2E?

[ruleslawyer]

Fortunately, I have at my disposal a much preferable (IMHO) set of rules that calls this sort of thing an "attack challenge" and assigns it more reasonable parameters than did the Complete Fighter's Handbook...

FYI, Torm, the ranged disarm thing you mentioned generally gets handled as a feat (there are a bunch of ranged disarm variants out there). One thing I'd caution against is allowing too many of the purportedly "realistic" 2e optional combat rules into the game without comparing/contrasting for feat options; too many of them are "gimmes".

As for spells having "teeth": It seems that the tide is against me, but one of my favorite things about 3e was its getting rid of these wacky sorts of things. I always hated to have to deploy the pseudo-realism entailed in dealing with 33,000 cubic-foot fireballs and flammable grease and whatnot. Much happier with 3e's "magic is magic, not physics" attitude.

Like Shemeska, I am a big fan of those 2e rules (from campaign-specific materials, for the most part) that are about flavor rather than core changes. I use the spellcasting restrictions, spell keys, and power keys from Planescape as well, and some of the weirder FR wild and dead magic rules as appropriate.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

I just reinstalled magic's sharp teeth.

I ripped out most saftey features Wotc stuck on spells like Fly and put back the chance to fatally teleport into solid matter on a teleport mishap.

I've done the same. Put back aging effects for wish, resurrection, etc, along with ghosts who age you, system shock for certain effects, etc.

 

[Soel]

My fiends still have their 2e weaknesses and strengths, like the charts in the 2e Planescape Monstrous Comp, and the (pre-Hellbound) Teleport Without Error.

 

[diaglo]

Called shot: wooden stake to the heart of a resting vampire. still makes me wonder how you kill a vampire without being able to target its heart.

 

[Eternalknight]

I have a slightly different Xp system that uses the optional individual awards from 2nd edition.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I use the variant called shot rules from Swashbuckling Adventures - a trifle more balanced than the 2e version, essentially allowing a character who rolled a critical to make a called shot rather than the normal extra damage. Trickier called shots require a higher BAB.

I ahve used setting material from 2e, but never done much with the rules.

The Auld Grump

 

[Mishihari Lord]

THAC0 and 10 to -10 AC.






























Okay, I'm kidding.

 

[Jubilee]

I'm playing in a campaign where the GM uses a "Con Check" rule that I'm told is from 2E - If you take more damage than half your remaining hit points in a single hit, you have to roll a d20. If the number is -higher- than your con stat, you are dazed for a round. Originally you fell unconcious (and could be coup-de-grace'd) but we convinced him to tone it down a bit. I've never played 2E and the idea of trying to roll under something seems ridiculously unfit to 3.5. A fortitude save, I could understand, but this con check thing? Bleh.

So far monsters ignore dazed PCs and we've killed a few monsters while they were dazed, so it works out mostly in our favor, but it still seems backwards to me.

/ali

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

I can't use old rules from 2nd edition because I haven't fully learned 3.5 yet! (rueful look)
But as I learn more of the 3rd edition mechanics, some things are becoming more apparent, and one of those things is how to translate spells (although I cannot do it at all, not now, not yet.)

If I manage to become truly good with 3.5, then I would bring forward some of the 2nd edition spells in their original form (the only alterations being the straight mechanical translation.)
For example, Chromatic Orb could be brought forward. (Yes, it is an Autokill spell at 12th level. But what if the campaign never reaches 12th level? Perhaps this would keep the carrot in front of the eyes of certain low level PC spellcasters, inspiring them to make greater efforts to advance themselves and in the process helping their friends ...)

 

[ruleslawyer]

Called shot: wooden stake to the heart of a resting vampire. still makes me wonder how you kill a vampire without being able to target its heart.

You use the coup de grace mechanics, or just require the vampire to be helpless, period, which are IMHO much more balanced approaches than being able to land an instant kill on a vampire just by taking a -4 penalty to the attack roll.

Aging is probably my least favorite part of 1e/2e mechanics.