im thinking about starting up a new campiagn and i would like to know...
1. what did you hate about 2nd edition?
2. what did you like about 2nd edition?
its my fav system and im really curious what you all think about it.
thanks for the help. :-*

It's been a long time, but I can definitely remember my fave thing that changed going to 3rd edition, was the streamlining of all the rolls.

Starting with 3rd edition, everything you had to roll was roll HIGH, instead of high for this, low for that, etc.., :).

I distinctly remember the rules getting easier to manage, allowing more focus on actual gaming.

That was at the start, then tons more stuff came out, but you know, you dont' have to use that.

Many fond memories of 2nd edition though, :).

I still have some of the rulebooks around too, and of course a ton of Realms, Ravenloft and other world stuff that's 2nd edition.

2nd ed for me was for the most part seamless. Sure there was thaco and a few add-ons but really nothing changed in our group. The new editions books were just inferior art. The loose-leaf binder for the monster manual was nice in some ways but it  really seemed like just adding more stuff in that good Dm's didnt need and bad ones overused.  Besides in college we used the 1st ed PHB,DMG, MM(1&2) fiend folio and Deities and Demigods....Any more than that just slowed us down what with walking uphill both ways in waist deep snow.

Dude, I love 2nd edition.  While I can appreciate the simplicity of the d20 system, there's a certain je ne sais quois that you get from crunchy systems like 2nd edition.  And really, is THAC0 that hard?  I don't remember it being that difficult, and I was 10.

When you read the 1st edition core books, you get the impression that they were making things up as they went along.  3rd edition is obviously geared towards hardcore gamers, and tries too hard to be edgy.  4th edition is, well...  I'm not going down that rabbit-hole right now.  2nd was just right; there was enough crunch to satisfy my most nerdy urges, and the writers didn't take themselves too seriously.  Also, you could still find some art that wasn't trying its hardest to blow your mind with how "TOTALLY BAD ASS" your character could be.

Oh, and Planescape.

beyonder wrote on Aug 10^th, 2010 at 3:21pm:

Oh, and Planescape.

;D


Spelljammer, FTW!

Planescape def rocked, the boxed set for the Blood War, right before TSR went down was epic.

The North boxed set too for the Realms.

I still have all that stuff, sitting on a shelf here, :)

I've never even looked at Spelljammer!  They didn't have it at my FLGS when I was a kid, though I was aware of it and wanted to check it out REALLY BADLY.  How I would have loved it!  Man...  it may be time to hit up eBay.

Regarding Planescape, I never actually played in that world, though I spent many hours poring over the boxed set.  I recently picked up the 3e Manual of the Planes and they seemed to have really taken a lot from Planescape.  My day will come.

beyonder wrote on Aug 10^th, 2010 at 3:21pm:

Oh, and Planescape.

Planescape and Darksun for the ultimate win!!!

I love 2nd edition...it's what I grew up with and still have all the books for.  Loved Ravenloft and who could forget the Temple of Elemental Evil...I mean, it was amazing.  If you are really gonna roll out a 2e campaign, please let me know if you need a player...I'm totally looking for THAT game.  :)

beyonder wrote on Aug 10^th, 2010 at 3:21pm:

And really, is THAC0 that hard?I don't remember it being that difficult, and I was 10

i think THAC0 is a much simpler combat system than 4e's 'lets see how many +'s i can pull from every player at the table with me'

Gman wrote on Aug 10^th, 2010 at 4:36pm:

Oh, and Planescape. Spelljammer, FTW!

i never got to play in these worlds or darksun.
i loved forgotten realms and ravenloft!

jharris wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 2:46am:

I love 2nd edition...it's what I grew up with and still have all the books for.Loved Ravenloft and who could forget the Temple of Elemental Evil...I mean, it was amazing.If you are really gonna roll out a 2e campaign, please let me know if you need a player...I'm totally looking for THAT game.

im in the works for starting up a 2e even as we speak. ill be looking for 4 serious players. ill keep you in mind and let you know whats happening with it. thats kinda why i put this post up, to see who would be really interested in a 2e game.

anyone ever play ravenloft masque of the red death? it was good, had a lot of potential.

THAC0 was so simple...still one of the easiest combat systems ever.  All you needed was the attackers THACO and the defenders AC, how freakin' hard is that?

Any ideas on day/time/frequency that you are looking for?  I've been trying to find a good intelligent game.  Never got Masque of the Red Death, but played the original Ravenloft module and a campaign in the ravenloft setting...I really enjoyed the darker tone of that world. 

ravenloft was awesome. i could not find masque of the red death, but had plenty of information that made me want it badly. the internet wasn't quite that useful yet then. i did have the nightmare lands (a strange but interesting set), the shadow rift (a long adventure that takes place after the grand conjunction), and of course, the grand conjunction itself.

i loved the horror genre for d&d 2e.....then 3.xx came along and successfully neutered it all, and now 4e is planning on rubbing salt in the wound. oh well, maybe it won't be that bad.

jharris wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 3:54am:

Any ideas on day/time/frequency that you are looking for?

no times as of yet but id like to play it weekly or at the least every two weeks. id like for it to be at night so that mood and atmosphere could be set. i find that daylight and artificial overhead lighting dont lend themselves well to the games i like to run. ive gotta see how my schedule is gonna be once school starts up. homework will be my top priority!

Man, I can't believe that I forgot to throw down the Ravenloft setting.  My top three AD&D 2nd ed settings were/are:

Ravenloft
Dark Sun
Dragonlance

with Planescape fighting for a spot in there somewhere.  There is no way I can say which one is my favorite so they are all number one on that list.

I sure do miss the many years and some great groups and great times playing and running 2e.

Dark Sun was pretty amazing; I just left it out because it's available for 4e now.  On that note, I haven't checked out Dark Sun for 4th yet - how do folks feel?  I haven't been to a single Encounters session.

Dark Sun was the only campaign setting I ever used in which I ran the game as a true sand(no pun intended)box campaign.  Rich descriptions, unique landscapes/societies - it was perfect!

I played in the first Dark Sun encounters.  It was alright considering the GM was not familiar with DS at all and had just skimmed the adventure just before running it.  There were two tables playing and the first (big) table was a TPK on the first encounter, while our table made it through the second encounter without a single death.  My character however was dropped a couple times but was able to be revived.

I am not sure I will buy the 4th ed book because I do not play (or care much for) 4th ed.  I would only buy it for fluff but I have everything for Dark Sun prior to 4th so I have enough fluff to run it using pretty much any system I chose to run it in.

encounters (Dark sun or otherwise) is pretty much exactly what I think most of the old schoolers dislike about 4th ed. That and the "how to play without a DM" section.

hewhorocks wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 7:50pm:

encounters (Dark sun or otherwise) is pretty much exactly what I think most of the old schoolers dislike about 4th ed. That and the "how to play without a DM" section.

Could you tell me a little more about what you mean? You've got me really curious.

michael wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 1:27pm:

jharris wrote on Aug 11th, 2010 at 3:54am: Any ideas on day/time/frequency that you are looking for? no times as of yet but id like to play it weekly or at the least every two weeks. id like for it to be at night so that mood and atmosphere could be set. i find that daylight and artificial overhead lighting dont lend themselves well to the games i like to run. ive gotta see how my schedule is gonna be once school starts up. homework will be my top priority!

Well I am definitely looking for an weekly evening game, and really am hoping to find one playing on a weekday, since I work most weekends...and it is football season...if that fits what you have in mind, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help get the ball rolling.  I still have a ton of stuff and I am really excited to dust of the old gear. 

...and if it's not to early, I call dibs on a ranger character  (depending on how you decide to go about generating characters).   ;D

Kev wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 2:57pm:

I sure do miss the many years and some great groups and great times playing and running 2e.

you should play in my game when i get it up and running. if youre kev, i think i met you once before at one of the meetup groups.

jharris wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 9:10pm:

and if it's not to early, I call dibs on a ranger character

sounds good to me but hold off making him just yet. id like that to be a process we work out together so that the campaign can be tailored to the character.

jharris wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 9:08pm:

please let me know if there is anything I can do to help get the ball rolling

in about a week or so ill have a list of ideas and id love to get your opinion

michael wrote on Aug 12^th, 2010 at 4:22pm:

you should play in my game when i get it up and running. if youre kev, i think i met you once before at one of the meetup groups.

That would be me.  It would depend on what day, time, and how often.  I am already in a regular Sat night game.  But if it was something that did not conflict with that and was maybe once or twice a month I might be able to swing it depending on day and time.

Kev

michael wrote on Aug 11^th, 2010 at 8:11pm:

hewhorocks wrote on Aug 11th, 2010 at 7:50pm: encounters (Dark sun or otherwise) is pretty much exactly what I think most of the old schoolers dislike about 4th ed. That and the "how to play without a DM" section. Could you tell me a little more about what you mean? You've got me really curious.

Encounters is kinds of like Fastfood DnD. Its all about the tactical encounter with no real character development. The encounters are strung togther to form an adventure but the Rich and subtle tones of Character Motivation, NPC interaction and personal Character Story arcs have been removed-simplified for the sake of standardized presentation.

Cenrtainly any group could role-play throughout the encounters but the setup itself seems to avoid "railroading" the PC's by limiting the space for wandering. You dont need rails to guide PC's if your keeping them in predefined vacum tubes.

I gotcha. Thanks

Just wondering if there have been any developments in kicking off this campaign?

I am unsure which campaign this was supposed to be.

jharris wrote on Aug 19^th, 2010 at 1:37am:

Just wondering if there have been any developments in kicking off this campaign?

im working out some of the last details now, as far as what rules im gonna use and bend and what im gonna add. i have a big idea about what kind of campaign im gonna run but now i need to start the focus process. school starts this monday and its eating up most my time. and because you mentioned a ranger im trying to get a copy of the complete rangers handbook. its something ive wanted to add to my collection anyway.

hewhorocks wrote on Aug 19^th, 2010 at 6:15am:

I am unsure which campaign this was supposed to be.

im wanting to get a serious 2e game going. never seems to be enough time in the day.

I am so interested, but school has kept me away from the MGG, let alone trying to attend another game. Keep me in reserve for now.

Adam wrote on Aug 27^th, 2010 at 8:16pm:

I am so interested, but school has kept me away from the MGG, let alone trying to attend another game. Keep me in reserve for now.

you got it brother

anything ever happen with this?

yep!
the first game is done and ready to go. i have three players. we hope to play on the 30th.

At what time do you play, and do you have room for one more?

Sometime after nightfall. I don't have room for this game but maybe in the 2nd game. I have another guy interested in playing as well. I'm running a dark, serious cooperative story telling campaign and want to keep it to three, no more than 4 players. This is not a typical hack n slash metaplayer game. Each adventure will be tailored to the PC's needs and goals. If you are really interested in making a serious commitment to the campaign then I'd be happy to get in touch with you and give you some more details after the first game is over.

I would very much like to join, however, I work in retail and Saturdays are usually pretty hard for me.  And with the holiday season fast approaching, I'm not entirely sure what my Saturdays will look like.   :(  If you still have a opening after the first and its late enough in the evening, I may still be interested.