Redpill me on AD&D

I plan on dragging my mostly-5e group into trying AD&D 2. Besides PH, DMG and MM, what should I use? Which supplement books offer good mechanic material? Is allowing kits and player options a good idea? What about non-PHB classes like FR shamans and mystics?

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    D&D is only good with a warrior, wizard, elf and dwarf party.

    no supplements

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Without Cleric and Thief? Why? (I partly agree with you).

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      That's not D&D, that's HeroQuest.

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    That elf is gonna blast them with the wand and take all the treasure, isn't she?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      You can tell she is not because Larry Elmore drew the scene. If it was Holloway or Brom, totally it would happen.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Is there a collection of classic D&D art works out there?

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    2e like is the redheaded stepchild edition. Not quite original D&D, not quite 3e, just stuck in the middle. Most of the later non-core stuff is a mess, too. Player's Option series is full of awful and busted and very clearly never-playtested shit, especially Skills and Powers. Combat and Tactics has some okay stuff if you're careful about what you use and how much..

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Despite the name, Player's Option are pretty much entirely for DMs to make custom classes with.
      Most 2e things are strictly optional at the DM's sole discretion. It's as close to a toolbox as D&D editions get.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >red pill me on AD&D
    Why? There are much better games out there

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Nobody wants to play your homebrew, Steve.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Although I like my friends, they are morons system-wise, so I would have a better time getting them into AD&D than into GURPS, WFRP or RuneQuest.

      2e like is the redheaded stepchild edition. Not quite original D&D, not quite 3e, just stuck in the middle. Most of the later non-core stuff is a mess, too. Player's Option series is full of awful and busted and very clearly never-playtested shit, especially Skills and Powers. Combat and Tactics has some okay stuff if you're careful about what you use and how much..

      1. It's going to be less balanced that what you are used to. House cats and all that.
      2. Less is better. PH, DMG and MM is fine. Don't over complicate it.
      3. Strongly consider rolling for stats.

      Thanks! I've considered making them roll "4d6 drop lowest" for ability scores, so that they wouldn't be killed by low rolls combined with my inexperience in AD&D encounter creation.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Thanks! I've considered making them roll "4d6 drop lowest" for ability scores, so that they wouldn't be killed by low rolls combined with my inexperience in AD&D encounter creation.
        Thats fine but they will still die like a b***h to random kobolds at level 1. I recommend starting at lvl 2.

        There is 2nd ed srd at https://www.purpleworm.org/rules/
        Kits are the most fun concept in this edition, they are like origins/class variants, so give that sections a read.

        You can discuss stuff in /osrg/

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >You can discuss stuff in /osrg/
          But prepare to get bullied for liking the least OSR edition of TSR D&D.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >AD&D 2
      A bad choice, but if you must, stick with core, ignore NWPs, enable xp-for-gold, and grab fixed reaction tables from 1e or B/X

      He says, naming none, Black person that he is

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    1. It's going to be less balanced that what you are used to. House cats and all that.
    2. Less is better. PH, DMG and MM is fine. Don't over complicate it.
    3. Strongly consider rolling for stats.

  6. 1 year ago
    Smaugchad

    Core 2e is rock solid and very usable. Don't give the players anything else. I'm fricking dead serious about this. Expansion material was rushed or by the corporate overlords without adequate playtesting and it can break your game very easily. Splatbooks are the very worst and they WILL frick shit up beyond rebalancing.

    Introduce individual expansion options proficiency by proficiency, kit by kit one at a time after you've reviewed it yourself and perhaps after testing them out with an NPC who can then serve as a trainer for the PCs to pick it up or a liason for new PCs, like if you want to introduce a new race option.

    All this shit is much easier to do now with the internet and having literally all the materials available to you. Back in the day the splatbooks were a good deal to catch up on a whole lot of updated options all at once and players absolutely, positively fricked shit up by going hog wild with them. I'm not even talking pun-pun tier autistic rule looping, just normal combining of random cherry picked abilities would break it. Don't let it happen in your game, keep those players on a short leash. Trust me.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Splatbooks are the very worst and they WILL frick shit up beyond rebalancing.

      Just use the Complete Book of Elves and make everyone an elf; that handles the balance problem.

      Legit, though, I was part of an elf-only Forgotten Realms game back in the day. We were part of an elite team sent from Evermeet to recover some important ancestral elven drinking glass or some bullshit. We went to the elven ruin it was last spotted in, but it was gone, we tracked it down to a museum it had been stolen from before getting to the castle of some lord who ended up being happy to sell it to us after we got all pumped up about killing him.

      It was an interesting experience; we were always outsiders everywhere we went, suspicious of those around us and suspected in turn, dealing with the whole setting from a position of arrogance and alleged superiority. It also helped with the weird question in many games of how it feels to be PCs that even at level 5 or so can smite most of the people you'll encounter in the street: we were elves from Evermeet, obviously we're better than human mud farmers.

      • 1 year ago
        Smaugchad

        Yeah, well one way to sort of balance it is if everybody is OP and the Complete Book of Elves is basically that. Were you all Bladesingers?

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Only 1. We also had a cleric of Corellon and a Spellfilcher, and an Archer.

          • 1 year ago
            Smaugchad

            I think that's how the complete books are meant to be used and I suppose OP might try it that way. Some of them still have some unforseen synergy even in the single book but probably no worse than OP would leave unforseen if he started doling out kits and races piecemeal at his own discretion - but at least then the need would be his. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >that handles the balance problem.
        Why do DnD gays require balance so tucking badly?
        Like all palladium games have high low and medium powered characters and the games seem to function just fine.
        Why does the fighter and the wizard have to be equally valuable in game?

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    As a zoomer who has DM'd a ton of D&D 5th edition and AD&D 2nd edition I highly recommend you use the following house rules:
    -4d6, drop the lowest, arrange as pleased
    -allow humans to raise a single ability score by 1. give them a free NWP (regardless of class group) or free NWP upgrade.
    -max hit points at level 1, pick best of two when rolling for hit dice after level 1
    -use the standing at death's door optional rule (found in the dmg).
    -nat 20, instant hit, roll twice the usual damage die, nat 1, instant miss, come up with a list of fumbles or just get them to roll dex to avoid dropping their weapon or falling prone
    -d10 group initiative

    I don't know how your groups plays but they seem to be plebs who think more is always better. In my humble opinion you have one opportunity to show them the inherit beauty of 2nd edition which is the fast-paced combat, (somewhat) straight forward mechanics and player interaction with the world - there is no rolling for wisdom to check for secret doors behind the bookcase, you have to describe to them step by step what they see and what happens.

    -Character creation should only take between 30 to 60 minutes
    -Limit the races to only human, dwarf, elf and halfling
    -Allow only the four core classes: fighter, thief, cleric and mage (the idea here is NOT to overburden them with too many choices, encourage them to pick whatever sounds/feel right to them).
    -Use the secondary skills table
    -Ignore NWP for now, however allow fighters weapon specialization

    Modules I highly recommend to run or at the very least check out:
    -Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Revised - "Beneath the Twisted Tower"
    -Doom of Daggerdale
    -Assault on Raven's Ruin

    Optional:
    -Halls of Eveningstar -- dungeon crawl with some neat/impressive encounters, has some opportunity for RP and things to do outside of the dungeon.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >come up with a list of fumbles or just get them to roll dex to avoid dropping their weapon or falling prone
      Critical fumbles are cancer. Watch everyone at your table go from making martials to nothing but caster that force saves.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >As a zoomer
      >"bunch of moronic shit"

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    quickly implement Spelljammer to 2e and have treasure island adventures

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      There's already spelljammer books for 2e though. Thats's where it fricking started.

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Don't gloss over retainers and hirelings, they're actually a pretty nice part of the game that got phased out in later editions.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Leadership is still there but people refuse to let anyone use it for some reason.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        The most common complaint involving cohorts and minions is the fact that there's more units for the party to juggle on the field. Which often leads to combat taking more time because most groups in this era tend to at best hyper focus on what their character is capable of doing, instead of treating it as a intended wargame, and at worst being lazy & moronic as frick.

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    AD&D 1 is the pinnacle of fantasy roleplay and dungeon crawling, but you can't enjoy it properly without autism. AD&D 2 is an aborted compromise between autists and non-autists, a true worst of both worlds.

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Skip it and do OSR. You can always convert OSR to AD&D.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >OSR
      Why people choose OSR instead Basic D&D (B/X etc.)?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        OSR is largely clones of the originals with a few houserules, and if you like the specific houserules it's convenient to have them already in your book. Also it can be cheaper than getting the originals, what with ebay scalpers and all.
        I guess now you can get the originals from WotC, but some people don't want to give them money for squatting on TSR's work all these years.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Mainly cult of the new. The clones offer absolutely nothing that's better than actual D&D and in many cases they're plain worse.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        A lot of the more popular OSR stuff is just clones of B/X with better indexing and layouts.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Newer games often get rid of some of the weirdest of the old rules, even when they're attempting to recreate the authentic jankiness.

        The books themselves usually have better production values and organization.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      If you think AD&D 1e isn't OSR you do not know what OSR means.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Nobody fricking knows what OSR means.

        • 1 year ago
          Smaugchad

          I don't think anybody is going to claim OSRIC isn't OSR and OSRIC is AD&D 1e

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            OSRIC is OSR and AD&D 1e, AD&D 1e isn't OSR but is OSRIC

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          i do; it means games i like. i dont like it? FOEGYG

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        He said AD&D 2e you fricking ESL moron and no 2e is not OSR.

  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Which supplement books offer good mechanic material? Is allowing kits and player options a good idea?
    None.
    No.

    2e is good if you reduce it to its bare bones and don't even use most or any of the optional rules in the core book. Pretty much all of the mechanical crunch in 2e is really frickin bad, like nonweapon proficiencies, kits, specialist classes, everything. Play with none of the rules labeled optional and the game is fantastic, almost like basic D&D. This of course requires a gaming group that's not addicted to videogames-in-disguise like 5e because 2e doesn't offer players brainless buttons to press.

  13. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    There's no reason to play AD&D2 over 5e unless your goal is to have extremely powerful spellcasters.
    It's not simpler than 5e and it doesn't offer more options than 5e. You should honestly just go for either 3.5 or an OSR

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >There's no reason to play AD&D2 over 5e
      Except if you prefer the completely different gameplay 2e offers. 5e is NOTHING like old d&d.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >there is no reason to eat spaghetti over noodles

      Shit Take Sunday I see.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      You have absolutely no idea of the content of AD&D, and you are particularly moronic because 2e was a special case in many aspects.
      You fricking moron.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        no u

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >You shouldn't play AD&D2 because it has extremely powerful spellcasters
      >You should play 3.5 instead

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >low IQ reading comprehension
        Twitter was made for you

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Point by point dissection of this post.
      >There's no reason to play AD&D2 over 5e
      Untrue. There are plenty of reasons. Faster combat, more magic items, more spells, better balance, more lethality, less superheroy playtype, more emphasis on rulings instead of rules. Less difficult to find a dm (5e has a major dm lack, where as 1e and 2e have no such problem. I could go on.
      >unless your goal is to have extremely powerful spellcasters.
      This betrays a thorough lack of understanding of 1e and 2e play. in AD&D spell casters require that they have other characters around them to protect them. They're literal glass cannons. Spells can be easily interrupted and canceled and lost. So no. balance is the core of AD&D as opposed to other editions. Sorry. Just wrong.
      >It's not simpler than 5e and it doesn't offer more options than 5e.
      Both right and wrong... right in that it's not simpler, wrong in that it DOES offer more options than 5e. I could go on about things like bows that add to damage from strength *strength bows" an encounter and combat system that encourages diplomacy, more careful thinking in play because it's more lethal, and a more stealthy approach to play. It's a very different game and the options within it are complex and varied.
      > You should honestly just go for either 3.5 or an OSR
      OSR perhaps, but ad&d has it's adherents for a reason, because it has a tonal quality that is hard to capture in the newer versions, it also has a much simpler and some would say more elegant, economical, and less resource hungry way of presenting data. Stat blocks for a monster that take up whole pages in 5e are a scarce few lines in AD&D. It's both simple and more complex at the same time. The assumption is that you HAVE certain resources as a dm, like a monster manual and that you can open it and look up a monster if you don't remember them from the blurb. As for resources, 1e and 2e are fully compatible, and woth STILL has not ported over all the ad&D content to 5e.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      This anon is right. 2e corrupts true OSR with storygaming special snowflake "character options" "non weapon proficiencies" and various other heresies. All this to facilitate Dr*gonlance and other railroaded tradshit style campaigns. Want to sperg about character options? 3.5 is a better choice. Want to actually have fun? Any other OSR game is a better choice. And if you actually like 2e's goal of being a nothing game that only exists to ruin D&D, 5e is a better choice.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >Want to actually have fun? Any other OSR game is a better choice.
        List me your top five anon.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >There's no reason to play AD&D2 over 5e
      I beg to differ. pic related, this is an example of how much more content AD&D has over 5e. These are just the spells and magic items . No extra fluff, just the actual spells and actual items.

  14. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    If you don't want to frick around with kits and NWPs, just play OSRIC - which does "cleaned up 1e" better. You can still use 2e splats and monsters.

    The 2e DMG is basically useless. The Monstrous Compendiums have a lot of fluff because they were originally supposed to take up a page in a binder, but the problem is that they have a lot of fluff to hit a certain amount of space.

    In some ways, the 2e PHB is a good source of inspiration for houserules; it has so many optional rules for doing things, you have a nice basis for making your own D&D.

  15. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >Kits and player options
    Honestly I would ignore players options books until you REALLY know the system. You'll basically be breaking down the game/rebuilding with it. I's a LOT f work.
    >Kits
    There's always a big hangup on kits.
    Dum dum grogs who have never looked at the class manuals claim that they somehow break the game.
    In reality 99% of the kits in those manual suck donkey balls.
    >Mages overpowered
    No they're not. They're exactly the same as prior editions aside from specialty wizards. But specialists get cucked out of 1-3 other schools of magic.
    Wizard kits are laughable.
    The only kit that I've seen that was useful in practice was the demihuman paladin.
    (paladin's handbook)
    And nothey don't break the game.
    They're actually cucked really hard and take forever to level. Plus demi human levelcaps cuck them even harder.
    2e is solid.
    Just remember cast time is a thing and so is weapon speed (if you want)
    One thing to look into are the various splatbooks for spells. They basically took all specialty magic from ever setting and compiled them into giant collections. We're talking 100s.
    It makes for good material to switch things up a bit.
    >Inb4 metamagic turns csturz into nukebois
    No they don't. They take 2 slots to use. You can't stack them. A boatload of time to cast.
    >Source
    Played BX, 1e, 2e and 3e.
    Been at the game since 1985.
    2e is a solid system.
    Plus it's compatible with everything that ran before it with just a tiny bit of number swapping. So you'll have about 20 years of material in dungeon/dragon magazine to swipe for pretty much infinite 1shots and very short campaigns

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >compatible with everything that ran before it with just a tiny bit of number swapping
      The reverse is also true, anything printed for 2e is easily used in the earlier, less option-bloated systems.

  16. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Ok do you know what you are getting into? AD&D is a mish-mash of incredibly random bullshit and the original DMG opens with like 30 pages of overly complex rules for infectious disease and Insanity that have about a 2% of occuring and ends with overly complex rules for for Psionics with an infitesimal chance ofevery being relavent. Be sure to figure out if you want to use weapon speeds profciencies weapon vs armor type the utter nonsense chart for unarmed attacks/wrestling ported from one module where PCs didnt have their weapons ad they came up with the most needlessly complex way to handle it

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      yeah !
      classic
      "haymaker" ! woot woot

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