102
+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. The trouble is, if I only believe it is an 8% improvement in AC, I'm going to conclude that the DMG is wrong about how strong +2 AC is. So it seems good and ...
69
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 (December, 1999).
During the last seven months I have slowly chipped away and re-read (and read for the first time, in some cases) all Letters and Forum columns--...
65
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 items or characters from another campaign. The AD&D 2nd edition revised DMG, p.14, on "Super Characters", even cites the specific example of a ...
55
I believe it is a matter of story, and less a matter of mechanics. Mechanically, any monster, any NPC, any curse, any trap, anything the players encounter will have a solution, a stat to beat, and you as the GM would have calculated their chances and deemed it possible for them to defeat (speaking in generalities)
The way to make the Undead scary is not to ...
55
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 points of comparison. I'm excluding the Skills & Powers stuff in late 2e from this discussion, that was less like 2e than many other versions of D&D ...
45
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're playing AD&D 2nd edition.) The relevant part on that page is:
If only a number is given, the casting time is added to the caster's initiative die rolls....
37
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 from just a bit of a taste that no this is not a potion ow why is my tongue burning.
If he explicitly states that he sucks the potions down like a vacuum cleaner ...
36
The second edition books have recently (mid 2015) become digitally available on dmsguild.com:
Player's Handbook
Monstrous Manual
Dungeon Master's Guide
33
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 attack and a +2 to AC at the same time. You have a total of +3 to distribute between attack and AC.
Giving a more powerful item than a Legendary weapon to someone ...
32
Major Differences
the list of classes
the presumption of Non-Weapon Proficiencies
Advancement of Thief Skills
nature of Bards
Kits
Specialist Mages
Clerics
THAC0
Psionics
The list of Classes
AD&D 1E Core: Assassin, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Illusionist, Paladin, Ranger, Thief, Wizard. Bard is special, see below.
AD&D 1E+ UA: Assassin, Barbarian, ...
30
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 check what they were first.
By all means explain why you were wrong but don’t forget that’s just a salve for your conscience - just because you’re taking his ...
25
#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". It has Armor Class 7, and is Level 0. It has 6 hit points, attacks once per round (#AT 1), and does 2-8 points of damage (i.e. 2d4) on a successful hit. It ...
24
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 of a dramatic gap between the two because the power curves are more gradual in general. Similarly, the difference between levels isn't as extreme (a level 7 ...
24
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 core books (trapped in a pit with the roof descending to crush you, drowning in an acid pool etc.).
Human stomach acid has got nothing on the kind of magical-...
22
I emailed Eliezer Yudkowsky, the author of HPMOR -- this was his response:
I didn't have three exact items in mind. The well-knownness of the
Candle of Invocation hack using only one item dates to after Harry's
time.
So I think that's going to be as good as we can get. Now let us give thanks to Eliezer for taking the time to respond to such a ...
22
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 fighter and a wizard have the same amount of XP, then the wizard will be of a lower level than the fighter.
This is most evident when comparing the Wizard and the ...
answered May 7 '15 at 11:56
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22
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 'the DM should use XP in a largely-discretionary way to achieve diverse goals.' In their words, "the job is difficult because there are only a few rules (and lots ...
22
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 was that, if you give Odin a HP total, then many players will try to kill him, and some will succeed. Unless you're specifically intending to make it possible ...
21
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, the DM picks a method to use, but a new wizard's spellbook usually contains detect magic, read magic, and about 4 other spells either that the player picks and ...
20
Planescape: Torment is based on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition from the 1990s. THAC0, for example, only exists in that edition and a couple contemporary D&D editions (very late AD&D 1e and Basic supplements) - it's not a term found in other games. Armor Class doesn't work the same across D&D editions, let alone other tabletop RPGs....
20
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 a little bit beefier than a wild dog. The difference between the three is in what they are trained to be able to do, not in their statistics.
Dogs don't gain ...
20
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 character can also use a weapon one size greater than himself, although it must be gripped with two hands. (Player's Handbook (1995) 96)
Thus, for example, a Medium ...
18
As you say, this is how Green Slime is presented in the DMG (3.5e p77, 3.0 p117). Note that Green Slime is considered a hazard, much like a flow of lava, raging river, or 40' pit would be a hazard.
Green slime is green slime. Does the module say the slime is invisible? That the players can't see it? Is there an illusory wall or darkness spell concealing ...
18
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 skill and no 5 foot step. Also you have to announce your intention to cast a spell at the begining of the round. If anything hits you before it is your turn, ...
17
From this archived forum post.
It using the 3.5 D&D rules.
The Infinite Wish Loop!
Buy a Candle of Invocation for 8,400 gold.
Summon an Efreeti using the Candle of Invocation, you get three Wishes.*
Use the two first Wishes for whatever you like
Use the last of the three to ask for a Candle of Invocation
Per Gate spell you going to have to have be ...
17
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 level, which there's not - see 2e DMG Chapter 3, "Above 20th Level," there is no cap in 2e.
Your real question is "What level Pathfinder PCs are appropriately ...
17
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 every 1/6 turns. Increasing to 1/5 at 21, 1/4 at 22, and so on until every turn at 25.
2. Is this present in 4e / 5e: No
Regenerating hit points every round is ...
17
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 charging if you're not running straight at them. A charge can't involve stopping to turn around.
(If you're coming to AD&D 2e from D&D 3.5e, this may seem ...
17
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 words and their dictionary pronunciations where they are available and common-practice pronunciations or TSR rulings where they not. For more general ...
17
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 events around them and can use abilities not requiring motion or speech.
AD&D is famously open to DM interpretation, but I don't see how you could ...
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