everything in 2e was optional...like it should be, I always felt like my gaming groups (especially games I DM'ed) were more about telling a cool story and creating an epic adventure than about the rules.  Odd comparison, but it's kind of like the Matrix, we had rules (gravity etc) but they were always a little more flexible...If the story got better because you were carrying too much shit, then encumbrance played a part, if not, we kind of looked the other way.  Remember people, this is FANTASY.  we're not trying to recreate some historic fiction here.

hewhorocks wrote on Jan 29^th, 2011 at 11:05pm:


That's true...  what I'm saying, though, is that having rules marked "Optional" in a core rulebook speaks volumes about the game's design philosophy.  The designer acknowledges that not all rules are always appropriate, whereas house rules are generally implemented because of a flaw in the ruleset or the result of a truly unique situation at the table.  AD&D 2e (and, admittedly, other systems as well) is *intended* to be played significantly differently from table to table, as opposed to *inevitably* played significantly differently from table to table as a result of necessity and/or player/DM frustration.

inb4 "AD&D 2e has flaws and often/always requires houserules; here is/are an/some example/examples:"