D&D 2E AD&D 2e - Player's Options ?

[Zardnaar]

I know they were different, their xp chart was based on the druid which was rather punishing at higher levels unless you used the demihuman deities xp instead of the druid xp chart. I like to take the cleric's 120 points and create a speciality priest from scratch and just use the cleric xp chart. Keep that more or less in the hands of the DM and you don't end up with too much power creep.

Yeah those rules are actually good in the DMs hands designing priests.

Disaster for PC options.

 

[teitan]

We must have used a house ruled initiative because it was quick and easy, d10, low roll goes first. Modified by dex, weapon speed and/or casting time.

 

[Mark Hope]

We must have used a house ruled initiative because it was quick and easy, d10, low roll goes first. Modified by dex, weapon speed and/or casting time.

Apart from modifying by Dex, that's how it works BTB. So BTB is actually even quicker than that, because you don't apply Dex

 

[Bedrockgames]

Did you buy and use these alternate rules and character options?

Wiki
« Player's Option
In 1995, TSR re-released the core rulebooks for 2nd Edition with new covers, art, and page layouts. These releases were followed shortly by a series of volumes labelled Player's Option, allowing for alternate rules systems and character options, as well as a Dungeon Master Option for high-level campaigns. They consisted of:

• Player's Option: Combat & Tactics
• Player's Option: Skills & Powers
• Player's Option: Spells & Magic
• Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns

Some of the optional rules included the introduction of a point-based system to allow players to pick and choose parts of classes to make their own class, and a more tactical combat system including attacks of opportunity.»

For my part I tried to get a campaign started Skills & Powers but we never finished character creation. The players did like all the added complexity.

I had Skills and Powers and read the other books from friends who had them. I remember really not liking these supplements when they came out. It just felt like D&D was trying to be another game. You saw it in some of the lines as well. I felt the shadow of Vampire start to loom over some of the Ravenloft products for example (to the extent that there were rules introduced for playing the monsters in one of the supplements). There is nothing wrong with taking a game like D&D in experimental and fun directions. But when it feels like an effort to capture some other game or trend's magic, I think the results are often bad. It is hard to say though. I think these just weren't for me at the time. I played a lot of other games that were not D&D, so if I felt like doing something D&D didn't, I just played those instead.

Some people like the player option books though. I had a player in my group who loved them (and still hails the to this day).

 

[Zardnaar]

My opinion on them has changed. If you treat them as a splatbook due to the name players option you're going to have trouble.

For the DM to craft custom races, classes, and the world they're a very good tool box.

Skills and Powers has a proto advantage rule in it although I found a spell on 2E Tome of Magic that does the same thing.

 

[Zardnaar]

Apart from modifying by Dex, that's how it works BTB. So BTB is actually even quicker than that, because you don't apply Dex

This also spell casting times don't seem to be optional while weapon speeds are.

Since if you announce a spell then roll initiative a single point of damage disrupts your spell. Magic Missile almost functions as a counterspells. Casting time 1.

That and the power words. Two wizards one tries for power word kill the other has spell turning. That's funny.

 

[DwarfHammer]

~Sigh~
Step 1: You spend 5 minutes once & write yourself out a 1e style chart.
Step 2: You roll the dice, you apply whatever modifiers, &....
Step 3: You look at the chart & report what AC you've hit.

Roll a d20. Add modifiers. Subtract that number from you thAC0. That’s the armor class you hit. It’s literally a simple process.

 

[Ath-kethin]

I had and used all of them except Combat & Tactics. I was not interested in dropping my rapier's damage to 1d6 and the rest seemed pointless - though we did adopt the 6 second combat round from that book.

Skills & Powers was fine, but was mostly useful for creating completely useless and incompetent characters. I once jumped I to a campaign taking over a kobold thief henchman who was the only character NOT built using S&P. By sheer coincidence, I was also the only character that could successfully do anything.

I absolutely adore HLC and it is still my go-to book of DM advice.

Spells & Magic also still sees use at my table. I prefer it's take on Alienism/Far Realm magic, fatigue based magic, and other bits to any other incarnations. I remember being soooo disappointed by the 3.x take on the alienist, and no version since has worked any better for me either.

 

[Zardnaar]

I had and used all of them except Combat & Tactics. I was not interested in dropping my rapier's damage to 1d6 and the rest seemed pointless - though we did adopt the 6 second combat round from that book.

Skills & Powers was fine, but was mostly useful for creating completely useless and incompetent characters. I once jumped I to a campaign taking over a kobold thief henchman who was the only character NOT built using S&P. By sheer coincidence, I was also the only character that could successfully do anything.

I absolutely adore HLC and it is still my go-to book of DM advice.

Spells & Magic also still sees use at my table. I prefer it's take on Alienism/Far Realm magic, fatigue based magic, and other bits to any other incarnations. I remember being soooo disappointed by the 3.x take on the alienist, and no version since has worked any better for me either.

Also had the shadow mage.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Also had the shadow mage.

Exactly.

I find I much prefer approaches that take existing material and tweak it to approaches that make a completely new set of abilities.