117
votes
Accepted
How do I explain to an AD&D player that items that increase Armor Class in D&D 5e are overpowered?
+2 AC is much more than an 8% improvement, in one case it is as high as 200%.
Erik's and Quadratic Wizard's answers do a fine job of comparing the proposed item to existing magical items in the DMG. ...
- 111k
94
votes
Accepted
How does one play a Chaotic Evil character without disrupting the play group?
Don’t play chaotic evil characters like that
It seems somewhat obvious so I was hesitant even typing this answer, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen questions of this sort crop up so I might as ...
- 11.4k
77
votes
How do I explain to an AD&D player that items that increase Armor Class in D&D 5e are overpowered?
Refusing to allow overpowered custom items from another campaign is an AD&D tradition.
Even in AD&D, the Dungeon Master's Guide recommended against allowing a player to bring powerful custom ...
- 72.1k
70
votes
Which Dragon Magazine issue did this unusual rat-like race appear in?
No rat-like race appears in any "Letters," "Forum," "D-Mail," or "Questions of the Month (Forum)" column appearing in Dragon #153 (January, 1990) through #266 (...
- 98.8k
63
votes
Accepted
How does D&D 5e compare to AD&D 2e?
I played many years of 2e (and BECMI, 1e. 3e. 3.5e, PF, and OSR stuff) and have read the 5e PHB, Basic set, and Hoard of the Dragon Queen and played some short games, so I think I can give some good ...
- 172k
47
votes
Accepted
In the first "Eye of the Beholder" game, does lower AC mean the target is harder to hit?
Lower AC is better for that game's D&D version
That video game (in your screenshot) and table derived from it are based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd edition – which uses the THAC0 (&...
- 139k
45
votes
Accepted
An old school experienced DM insists Magic Missile always goes first. Does it or not, and why?
What you're looking for is the definition of the Casting Time entry in a spell's description, on page 129 of the Player's Handbook. (Segments are from AD&D 1st edition and aren't relevant if you'...
- 239k
45
votes
How does one play a Chaotic Evil character without disrupting the play group?
What is Chaotic Evil?
Chaotic evil characters are unpredictably violent, and sooner or later they are going to turn on other party members with murderous intent. - OP
This isn't what a CE character ...
- 26.9k
37
votes
Accepted
What happens to a character that drinks green dragon acid?
Tasting isn't quaffing.
Chances are he didn't gargle the potion to get a feel for what was in it, he got a bit on the tip of his finger and then rubbed it on his tongue. He would be able to tell ...
- 15.5k
37
votes
How do I explain to an AD&D player that items that increase Armor Class in D&D 5e are overpowered?
The closest weapon to this in 5e is Defender. But this is a Legendary weapon, so not suitable for a level 6 character. It is also worse than your player's sword, since it cannot give both a +2 to ...
- 2,812
37
votes
How do I explain to an AD&D player that items that increase Armor Class in D&D 5e are overpowered?
Start with “I made a mistake”
It’s not his fault that you allowed him inappropriate items and now you need to be mean and take his stuff away. Especially since it seems clear that you didn’t actually ...
- 189k
36
votes
Accepted
Can I legally obtain AD&D 2nd core rulebook in a digital form?
The second edition books have recently (mid 2015) become digitally available on dmsguild.com:
Player's Handbook
Monstrous Manual
Dungeon Master's Guide
- 1,144
36
votes
How does one play a Chaotic Evil character without disrupting the play group?
There are some excellent answers here, but to add to them:
Evil can be a team player.
One of the most likeable characters I've played in games was a Chaotic Evil kobold who was utterly without human ...
- 401
25
votes
Accepted
How much of an issue is "Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards" in 2nd edition AD&D?
A More Gradual Power Curve
In 2e (and 1e and Basic), though it's still a thing (by design) that fighter types are more powerful early in the game and wizards more powerful late in the game, it's less ...
- 172k
25
votes
Accepted
What does '#AT' mean in early versions of D&D and AD&D?
#AT means Number of Attacks per combat round. Sometimes it is written in long-form as "Number of Attacks", sometimes with the abbreviation "#AT".
The example given is of a creature called a "Farmer"....
- 942
24
votes
What happens to a character that drinks green dragon acid?
If he explicitly swallows "a gulp" of draconic acid (presumably analogous to Black Dragon breath) then yes, he's very very dead. That falls into the "inescapable death" situations described in the ...
- 634
23
votes
How much of an issue is "Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards" in 2nd edition AD&D?
AD&D took an interesting approach to this—the classes don't advance in levels at the same pace. It is still likely a level N wizard will be more powerful than a level N fighter, but if a ...
22
votes
Is a "too easy kill" worth no XP?
There is no explicit rule about an encounter being "too easy."
The DMG has an entire chapter devoted to experience points (chapter 8), which is far too much to summarize here. The overall gist is '...
- 98.8k
22
votes
How to stat gods in AD&D Second Edition?
In general, the best advice on statting up gods is "Don't." The primary lesson learned from the publication of Deities & Demigods (later re-released in 1985 as Legends & Lore) for 1eAD&D ...
- 7,856
21
votes
Accepted
How many spells does a Wizard start off with?
The Dungeon Master's Guide covers starting wizard spells
To determine what spells are in beginning wizard's spellbook, see the Dungeon Master's Guide (1989) on Initial Wizard Spells (41).
In short, ...
- 183k
20
votes
Accepted
How to handle a dog in AD&D 2nd ed?
Stats for purchased dogs
The dog available for purchase from a kennel, as listed in the equipment chapter, has the statistics of a war dog in the Monster Manual or Monstrous Manual under Dog, and is ...
- 239k
20
votes
How do you know if a weapon is two-handed in D&D2E?
Chapter 6 on Weapons on Weapon Size says that
A character can always wield a weapon equal to his own size or less. Normally this requires only one hand, except for some missile weapons.... A ...
- 183k
20
votes
How does one play a Chaotic Evil character without disrupting the play group?
Being unpredictable and violent are not defining characteristics for the chaotic evil alignment. Characters with those traits will tend to be chaotic evil, but there are a lot of ways to play the ...
- 301
18
votes
Maximum levels in AD&D 2nd Edition
You're asking the wrong question, "maximum level" is irrelevant. It assumes a max level 2e character is calibrated with a max level Pathfinder character, which they're not, and that there is a maximum ...
- 172k
18
votes
How much of an issue is "Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards" in 2nd edition AD&D?
At very high levels spellcasters do become significantly more powerful than noncasters. However, compared to 3rd edition there are some important differences.
For one thing, there is no Concentration ...
- 3,890
18
votes
Accepted
How do I convert the DC of a check from AD&D 2E to 5E?
Your best bet is to rebuild the hazard from scratch using the 5e rules.
Wizards, when they first published 5e, also released a handy Conversion Guide, with details about converting characters, ...
- 11.6k
17
votes
Accepted
Does a high Constitution give regeneration in recent editions like it does in 2e?
1. Do Characters in 2e regenerate hit points for extremely high constitutions: Yes.
According to the AD&D Player's Handbook on Page 15, starting at a constitution of 20, you regenerate health ...
- 5,618
17
votes
Accepted
Is there any reason a charcter with enough movement should not always approach enemies from the rear, gaining +2 to attack rolls?
Charging
Last one first: you can't “charge” someone's back when they're facing you, because charging has to be a relatively straight, well, charge at the intended target. It's definitionally not ...
- 239k
17
votes
Accepted
How does one pronounce THAC0?
Officially THAK-oh or THAKE-oh is acceptable
This D&D FAQ on the Wizards of the Coast Web site has a section entitled How Do You Pronounce...? that says
Here are some commonly mispronounced ...
- 183k
17
votes
Is the target of Hold Person completely still, or just held in place?
By the Text of the Spell
This spell holds 1d4 humans, demihumans, or humanoid creatures rigidly immobile for five or more rounds.
and
Held beings cannot move or speak, but they remain aware of ...
- 3,502
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible