Anybody wanna play in a nostalgic 2nd Edition game? (people with no 2e experience welcome...)

[Kalos Mer]

About a year and a half ago, I remember reading an angry rant by a virulent anti-3e gamer, who predicted that once 4e was announced (he predicted it would be out by now, mind) some of the 'sheep' who had followed the WotC line to 3e and then 3.5e would 'wake up' and come crawling back to the older editions of the game.   This idea is not meant to give credence to that rant.  I still maintain that 3e was in many ways a VAST improvement over what came before it.  

However, of late nostalgia has been creeping back into me for the edition I first cut my roleplaying teeth on, AD&D 2e, and especially for the only prepublished setting I ever truly loved, Planescape.  I want to run a AD&D2e game in this Setting of Settings.  Problem is, nobody I know around here is versed in older editions or willing to learn (unlike me, most of the kids at my college started playing in high school, ie, 2001 and beyond.)  My old online 2e group has been scattered to the four corners of the globe.  

So I'm asking to see whether there would be any folks around here - either oldtimers who remember the game and the setting, or newcomers who would be interested in a blast from the past.  We'd play online (with no nominal fee!) via AIM, IRC, or something.  (I'm REALLY not keen on play-by-post, but if enough people want to play for whom this is the only allowable option, I'll change my tune.)

(Newcomers will be directed to RPGNOW, http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=16868&it=1 where the 2e Player's Handbook is available for perfectly legal download for $6.  If that's not feasible, we'll work something out in the form of a crash course.)

[Ishmayl-Retired]

I gotta be honest... it will be a very long time before I am interested in using THAC0 again. :)

[Kalos Mer]

I honestly never had a problem with THAC0, m'self.  Besides, as DM the difficult question of whether or not a given roll hits will fall squarely on my shoulders. ;)

It's the game of the Baldur's Gate saga, people!!  Baldur's Gate!

[Seraph]

I happen to like the old school proficiencies, but THAC0 doesn't sound fun to me either.

[Kalos Mer]

Shh, guys.  You'll scare away any potential players if you keep pooping on my parade!

To anyone who may be considering it - it's really, honestly not that bad.  The AC scale is a little confusing at first, especially since the 3e version is a little more intuitive, but all the tricky work is done for you by your intrepid DM. ;)

[Higgs Boson]

I might be interested. THAC0, thats where the higst AC you can get is zero, right?

[Soup Nazi]

AC scales from 10 (the worst you can have) to -10 (the lowest you can have)

THAC0 (To hit armor class zero) is the number you need to hit AC 0. THAC0 begins at 20 for most classes and 19 for paladins, rangers, and fighters and drops lower as you gain levels; it's basically BAB in reverse.

The chart for THAC0 if you don't already have it memorized is on page 91 of the PHB. Saving throws are on page 101 (which I no longer have memorized).

C'mon people, no love for the old stuff?

EDIT: I got rid of my 2E books many moons ago, but I think I still have the rules down well enough to try this. Are 2E psionics in too?

[Kalos Mer]

I would be open to whatever subsystems people wanted.  2e psionics (either Skills and Powers version or Complete Psionicist version) would be fine.

The only thing I won't compromise on is the setting - I have a planescape urge like you wouldn't believe. ;)

I still have a wealth of 2e material and I'm more than happy to give those who are rusty or unlearned a 'crash course' of sorts.

[khyron1144]

I want in.  Espcilly after reading this part:

I would be open to whatever subsystems people wanted.  2e psionics (either Skills and Powers version or Complete Psionicist version) would be fine.

The only thing I won't compromise on is the setting - I have a planescape urge like you wouldn't believe. ;)

I still have a wealth of 2e material and I'm more than happy to give those who are rusty or unlearned a 'crash course' of sorts.

I'm not that keen on the Planescape setting, but I had some killer ideas for 2e characters recently, after getting my hands on Spells & Magic and Combat & Tactics.

Is one of the weird Spells & Magic specialist wizard types okay?  I kinda like Geometers and Alchemists.

[Bill Volk]

I'd love to give it a try, but everything I know about 2nd ed. I learned from Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment. If there's someone who can help me with the particular crunchy bits of character creation, sign me up.

[Kalos Mer]

Bill: As I said before, I'd be happy to help you with the crunch.  (And compared to 3e, there's a lot LESS crunch to character creation)  If you can't afford (or can, but don't want to spend $6) to buy the old Player's Handbook at the URL I gave above, we'll work something out.

Khyron - I'd be curious to hear what you didn't like about Planescape.  *Most* people I've talked to who profess not to like the setting usually had a bad experience or two under a particular DM who (in my opinion) presented the setting poorly.  That's not to say that nobody could possibly *legitimately* dislike the setting, I'm just wondering what your reasons are.  

As far as weird Spells & Magic types go - absolutely allowable.  My only limitations as far as this game are concerned are the following:

(A) I'd prefer if the races were kept to Planescape standard.  This is 2e, not 3e - weird templated 'level-adjustment' type characters are NOT happening.  Something SLIGHTLY out of the ordinary could be negotiated, but a half-dragon celestial minotaur? meh.

(B) Only draw on books that I have.  This isn't much of a limitation - I own the complete revised core, the Psionicist handbook, the complete Players Option line, the Tome of Magic, and the entire Planescape line - about 2/3 in hard copy, and the rest in (legitimately purchased) pdf copies.  Basically, keep asking to be sure but you can fairly safely assume that I have it.  (In the 2e days I was much more of a 'buy everything that comes out' kind of player than in my 3e days - my parents tended to foot the bill much more freely in those days, so I was spoiled a bit.)

Edit: And besides, if you have an idea coming from an old book I *don't* own, odds are I might be interested in going and buying the PDF anyway. ;)

[Kalos Mer]

So just so I understand:

Bill: Signed up, needs some instruction
Khyron: Wants in, though not too keen on the setting, has some interesting magic-user ideas.
Soup Nazi: Thinks he could handle it, used to own the books.  Interested potentially in a psionic character.
Sir Vorpal: Might be interested, needs filling in about some of the details

Ishmayl and Seraphine: Not willing to use THACO even if it was to make an attack with a standard ten-foot pole.

People who ARE interested or considering it - do you have a preference as to the medium? IRC, AIM, PbP (again, PbP would be a last choice for me, but it's a choice I'm willing to make if it's necessary to get this nostalgia game off the ground. ;))

And of course, other people who are interested are still welcome - I hesitate to make a firm declaration, but anywhere between 3ish and 6ish PCs would be ideal from my perspective.  (Though 2e combat was a lot quicker than 3e, above 6 PCs in my experience it can still get rather clunky.)

[Soup Nazi]

I'm pretty much only able to do PbP. Most of my online activities happen while I'm at work, and since I have an irregular schedule its very hard to plan around it. I might just have to play something other than a psionicist though (even though its my first choice), since I'd basically be doing it completely bind (without the books). A wizard on the other hand, I could play with my eyes shut, so perhaps that is the better choice from a practical standpoint.

If PbP is not your ideal choice, I can understand that. Consider me an alternate that will fill a gap if you can't get enough people to do IRC or AIM. I'd still be interested in hearing about the campaign though, whether I play or not.

[khyron1144]

Khyron - I'd be curious to hear what you didn't like about Planescape.  *Most* people I've talked to who profess not to like the setting usually had a bad experience or two under a particular DM who (in my opinion) presented the setting poorly.  That's not to say that nobody could possibly *legitimately* dislike the setting, I'm just wondering what your reasons are.  

As far as weird Spells & Magic types go - absolutely allowable.  My only limitations as far as this game are concerned are the following:

(A) I'd prefer if the races were kept to Planescape standard.  This is 2e, not 3e - weird templated 'level-adjustment' type characters are NOT happening.  Something SLIGHTLY out of the ordinary could be negotiated, but a half-dragon celestial minotaur? meh.

(B) Only draw on books that I have.  This isn't much of a limitation - I own the complete revised core, the Psionicist handbook, the complete Players Option line, the Tome of Magic, and the entire Planescape line - about 2/3 in hard copy, and the rest in (legitimately purchased) pdf copies.  Basically, keep asking to be sure but you can fairly safely assume that I have it.  (In the 2e days I was much more of a 'buy everything that comes out' kind of player than in my 3e days - my parents tended to foot the bill much more freely in those days, so I was spoiled a bit.)

Edit: And besides, if you have an idea coming from an old book I *don't* own, odds are I might be interested in going and buying the PDF anyway. ;)

Planescape standard races?  That's like PHB races plus Bariaur, Tielfing, and Aasimar, right?


As for my Planescape dislike, it could have been a DM mishandling things thing.  I really have only one experience.  It was more than a couple years ago, so I don't remember a lot of details.  The thing I remember most about the session is that one of the other PCs was one of the Wariors of Heaven celestial races and his character kind of upstaged everybody a bit.


So, a Geometer or Alchemist is maybe approved.  Can I be one of the Wizards of the Black Teddy faction?  It was a joke thing from an April issue of Dragon (#216), but I really like it.

[Túrin]

I'd absolutely love to be in your game!

...

That said, there might be constraints of a practical nature:

1) Time constraints. I guess I'm not the only one, but I happen to be rather busy. Depending on the pace you're running this game at, I might not be able to make it in because of this.
2) Location constraints. This will be a problem if we go the chat-route (which I'd nonetheless prefer) rather than the PbP-route: I'm on Central European Time, which means my nights are East-Coasters' evenings and West-Coasters' mornings.
3) Knowledge constraints. My only familiarity with 2E is from Baldur's Gate (though I did read the details about THAC0 and such that were in its manual) and I know virtually nothing about Planescape. As far as buying books online goes, anything that requires you to have a credit card (most online purchases in my experience) is off limits, since I don't have one. A crash course will be necessary I suppose.

None of these are insurmountable, but I'm not getting too deep into this before there's been some agreement on the above three issues. How often would you like to run a session? How long would such a session be? What day and time do you have in mind?

Túrin