#AD&D2e

[jayjtheunsuspiciousmelodicathem]

hi yes I'm mostly a 5e GM (trying to get my groups to play longer non-D&D campaigns with various degrees of success) but I've studied AD&D2e for quite a while now (I do want to run a game in it one day to see how it played in practice and maybe take away some new tools for other systems) so I feel like I'm qualified to answer

Now, first of all, the term "edition" originally meant as much as "revision" - AD&D1e and AD&D2e were pretty much the same system, but 2e revised basically how the system was written and divided into books (Gygax wrote the player's handbook without all info a player should know, and most of the important stuff was contained in the DMG, 2e divided the contents more fairly). And this definition of "edition" still holds up for other systems! I have a copy of Call of Cthulhu 2e (a contemporary of AD&D) a copy of Call of Cthulhu 7e (contemporary of 5e), and I saw a PDF of 6e, and tell you what, the systems are pretty much the same, give or take a couple skills - 7e is by far the largest outlier, but you can still take stuff from 6e and use it with 7e with minimal adjustments.

I mention that, because when it comes to D&D, everything went south in that regard. AD&D2e, AD&D1e, D&D BECMI (which stands for Basic-Expert-Companion-Master-Immortals - essentially a simpler version of D&D intended as an introductory point and more casual than Advanced D&D which was intended to be more of a "tournament" ruleset. It started with Becmi and expanded to Expert, and the further letters are just additional rules), and then Original D&D (the one released in 1974, "white box") worked on a vastly different engine than 5e. These editions, which I will collectively call Gygaxian, were pretty much 100% compatible with each other, and you could, with minimal adjustments, run the original Ravenloft module (intended for 1e) with the BECMI rules, or AD&D2e rules, or if you're feeling particularly hardcore, even the Original rules.

Meanwhile 5e works on an engine we know as "the d20 system", first introduced in D&D3e at the turn of the millenia, which overhauled the entire game.

So, AD&D2e in its core rules features six stats - Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma. The way these stats work is that depending on how high you rolled on character creation (and you would most often roll just 3d6 depending on your GM) is that they don't give you a uniform stat bonus like in 5e, but instead they kind of give you another set of stats. This is the table of bonuses for strength

Hit probability - your attack bonus (which you would actually subtract from your roll but more on that later) Damage adjustment - your damage bonus. Notice that it doesn't align with the hit probability; in 5e 18str gives you +4 to hit and +4 to damage. Weight Allowance - basically how much more you can carry in pounds. Maximum Press - how much you can lift and hold over your head in pounds Open Doors - The door is stuck or heavy or barricaded, and you want to get in, so you roll this. It's a d20 roll and you must roll equal or lower than the number appropriate for your strength. If you have high enough strength to have a number in parentheses, this means you get a single chance to try to force a barricaded, locked or magically held door. Bend Bars/Lift Gates - a d100 roll, low is better. Basically what it says on the box - you try to bend iron bars or lift a heavy gate

Now you may have noticed that the 18 is a bit weird. There's a plain 18 and then there's all of those 18/XX - what's that about? Well, this is yet another oddity of gygaxian D&D. Warrior characters (fighters, paladins, rangers), if they had an 18 in strength, they got to roll a d100 (unless they were a halfling) for exceptional strength. You would note the number you rolled as a decimal next to the 18, and read the table at an appropriate range

So for example, Strahd Von Zarovich in the 2e reprint of the original Ravenloft module was assigned two strengths - 18.00 for the corrected version, and 18.76 for the original version. This means that he has a whooping +3 to hit, +6 to damage, can carry 335 pounds, can lift 480, has an 80% chance of opening a door (with 30% chance of getting past a barricade, lock, or magic lock), and a 40% chance to successfully bend bars open in 2e, using the corrected statblock.

The other stats were similar, but each had different derivative stats - dex had adjustments for missile attacks, reaction time and AC, wisdom had saving throw adjustments and cleric/druid spells, intelligence dictated your languages, proficiencies (if you used them), wizard spells etc. Fun fact, you had a stat called "resurrection survival", because complications during resurrections are fun /half sarcastic (I have a character whose entire deal is that his resurrection went wrong and he's one of my absolute all-time faves).

Basically nothing was uniform - in 5e you just roll six numbers and you have a universal stat bonus formula you apply to all numbers and boom, you have +1 +4 +2 0 -1 +5 bonuses from your stats. Some calculations like encumbrance or jump distance might ask you to take either the score or the bonus and put them in a formula, but they're not as important. Also hit and damage bonuses are now usually the same.

Oh right I forgot to mention, the current line of D&D editions is technically a continuation of the AD&D line, D&D basic having been discontinued. Which is why we went from AD&D2e and D&DBECMI to just D&D3e. As I said D&D really pushes the definition of an edition.

Now let's move on to the races. Humans in 2e have only one major advantage over the other races - they can be any class without any level caps, and they don't have minimum-maximum ability scores other than the 3-18 range.

The races also gave you some other bonuses like elves and half-elves have sleep and charm spell resistance, ability to spot hidden and secret doors, dwarves have poison saving throw bonuses, dwarves and gnomes can tell where they are underground etc

Now in 5e, races work completely differently - for starters, there are no race-class combination restrictions based on a surface level copypaste of Tolkien! 2e and 5e were written with different philosphies - in 2e creatures, classes and races were stronger, so they had restrictions imposed on them to keep things "fair", while in 5e you have races and classes that have thousands of unrestricted combinations, but their features are largely toned down and balanced.

I won't go over each class in detail, but in 2e classes had very little horizontal progression like 5e has. Warriors got a level-dependent "attacks per round" where you progressed up to 2 attacks per round, half an attack per six levels (1-6 1/round; 7-12 1.5/round , 13+ 2/round; the 1.5 meant 1 attack this round, 2 attacks the next, or vice versa), wizards and clerics got more spells, rogues got higher percentages in thieving skills (which were the only kind of rigid skill system D&D had for a long time before 3e). At a particualrly high level the character could get basically a lair - warriors got a castle, wizards a wizard tower, priests can pretty much set up a new parish or become an arch druid in a duel or another trial - which would attract followers, which were an important part of the game

You see, in gygaxian D&D characters were much weaker - each character got an additional hit die each level, up until level 10 or 11, when they just stagnate at 9 or 10 dice, and just start adding a bonus - a lvl10 fighter for example has 9d10+3 hp, at which point they also don't receive constitution HP bonuses anymore. Then at lvl11 they'd have 9d10+6hp. If I'm understanding the rules correctly, you don't reroll the entire formula, you just roll or add the amount that wasn't previously there (unless you're on lvl 10 or 11 where you have to remove all constitution bonuses). And with maybe two special abilities, many of which have a frequency like "once per week", you weren't exactly the most fearsome enemy. So you would have a lot of henchmen by your side, essentially being a small army.

5e meanwhile is not suited for such gameplay - hell it struggles when you have more than four enemies. Combat in 2e was more focused on side initiative rather than individual initiative, so your party may act first, but you all pretty much shout your actions (or if you're a nice group - wait your turn for the GM to ask what you're doing this turn), do them, and then the GM does the enemies' actions.

2e had also a greater variety of weapons, which had two damage dice - one for small and medium targets, and one for large targets, which honestly I wish stayed, because it allows for so much more variety in weapons. MOST WEAPONS ON THE TABLE WERE POLEARMS, HISTORICALLY THE BEST FAMILY OF WEAPONS.

but now I need to talk about the elephant in the room

THAC0

Many people loved it, many found it confusing, I find it charming.

THAC0 stands for "to hit armour class 0". In Gygaxian D&D, AC went from -10 through 10. AC-10 corresponds to modern AC30, AC0 corresponds to modern AC20, AC10 corresponds to modern AC10.

What this means, is the number you have to roll on your die - the natural roll - to hit a creature with an AC of 0 (or modern day AC of 20). Each character has their own THAC0 value dependent on class and level - warriors for example had lower THAC0 (which was better) with every level, while other classes had to wait two or more levels before their THAC0 improved.

In 5e to hit a creature you roll a d20, add your stat bonus, proficiency bonus, and any weapon or spell bonus you have. the higher the number the better. If it matches or surpasses the target number (enemy AC), you hit. Nat20 is auto-hit and a crit. Nat1 is an auto fail.

In 2e however, you take your THAC0 - the roll you need to hit an AC0 creature. Let's say you're a 7th lvl fighter with 18.50 strength. Your THAC0 is 14, your to-hit bonus is +1, and let's say you have a +1 sword too. You adjust the THAC0 by subtracting your bonuses from the number, so 14-1-1=12. You need to roll a 12 to hit a creature with modern AC20. Then you subtract the enemy AC (which is a bit of an issue but I'll get to that later) from your THAC0, so let's say you're fighting Strahd Von Zarovich who has an an AC of 1 (modern AC19 - not the actual AC of modern Strahd). So 12-1=11. To hit Strahd in his stupid face you need to roll a nat11 or higher on your d20.

In other words, it's a very backwards version of the modern attack roll.

THAC0 is basically modern AC20, with your to-hit bonus from your level subtracted. All characters start with THAC0 of 20, so that's +0. Warriors get +1 to hit for each level above 1, so a lvl7 fighter has +6 to hit. 20-6=14 (your base THAC0), OR 14+6=20. Then when you apply your other bonuses it starts looking like this: 20-6-1-1=12, or 12+6+1+1=20. The AC serves as another adjustment - right now you're trying to hit a modern AC of 20, remember. But it can be higher or lower, and Strahd happens to have an AC lower than that (AC1), so you adjust it to 19-6-1-1=11 or 11+6+1+1=19.

What's happening here is that you're trying to find the number you want to roll or roll over before you make the roll.

"but wait" you ask "how am I supposed to know the enemy's AC without metagaming?" well either you're so used to fighting goblins by now that you just remember their AC, or you invert the formula! Many players would calculate not "how high to hit this particular enemy?" but "how high of an AC can I hit with this roll?"

So you would roll your die, add the bonuses you have on your sheet - let's say your fighter rolled a 9. You have +1 to hit from your strength, +1 from your magic sword, so you rolled 11. Now subtract that from your base THAC0 - 14-11=3. With that we've calculated that a roll of 9 for this fighter hits an AC of 3, which in modern D&D would be AC17.

Another one. The fighter rolls a 19, adds the +1 and +1. Your adjusted roll is 21. 14-21=-7 - you can hit a creature whose modern AC would be 27.

This is a very weird system rooted in the origins of D&D, but it's kind of charming in a way, and once you understand it it's honestly not that scary. Just unintuitive. Thankfully they changed the way AC works, thus allowing for a simple roll+add=hit.

Also you may notice that with this way of rolling, there might be some ACs that are impossible to hit - nat20s and nat1s are still there to make your hard battles even more memorable!

Oh and spells were prepared by preparing each instance of casting a spell, meaning if you plan on casting fireball three times today, you need to spend three spell slots on preparing fireball.

I hope the ramble makes any sense, especially in the THAC0 section, because I started getting a bit tired in the middle of typing. And I hope it answers anyone's questions about the mechanical differences between 2e and 5e!

JayJay out

Images taken from various pages of the revised AD&D2e player's handbook

what's the difference between ad&d and regular ol 5e?

I'm legally not allowed to answer this question lest the weight of ancient pissing matches descends upon me, but I think the way 5e balances character/party utility (one person not being allowed to dominate the entire thing) and "being able to take suboptimal options and not have it ruin your entire class function" is a good difference.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Your post detailing a story in ad&d of a band of warriors delving into a dungeon filled with large lads and undead inspired me to look into ad&d 2e myself and so far I have found myself enjoying the mechanics greatly. So thank you for that do you have any advice for those just getting into ad&d?

Thank you! I love AD&D and am happy to help get more people into it, or any other rpg that has similar pre-WotC dungeon crawling gameplay.

Here’s a few rapid fire tips off the top of my head for those trying to get into AD&D2e and similar games:

Everybody Reads Both Rulebooks

Really this is my stance for basically any TTRPG, but I think that everybody should read the Player’s Handbook and the DM Guide. A session of any game will always go smoother if everybody has read the rules instead of one guy being tasked with remembering them all.

Check the Wiki

There’s a very useful wiki for AD&D you can use.

While I still recommend you read the rulebooks themselves to get a full understanding of the game you’re playing, the wiki is way better than a crusty old PDF or questionably formatted and nearly-falling-apart-by-now physical copy for quickly checking rules mid-session, and for waking you through character creation.

Start Small

Even before WotC brought the D&D brand and made it the overwhelming monopoly it is today, D&D was a juggernaught if the industry, and, even though I think from reading them that TSR-era D&D was very much written with more passion than just trying to soullessly sell products, TSR still had the dollar signs in their eyes and released like a million supplement and all that crap.

My suggestion: Stick with the DM’s Guide and Player’s Handbook at first. There’s just too much shit otherwise, and a lot of the later additions and supplements have a lot of very questionable content that will not really improve your experience. For instance, why did they introduce a fucking proficiency for eating and drinking?!

Use Even Older Adventure Modules

AD&D2e is retroactively compatible with the adventure modules made for previous editions, and I suggest you use these instead. While I think AD&D2e is the best ruleset to come out of TSR D&D, the adventure modules saw a pretty sharp decline around that time. This is when adventure modules started to be more like scripted stories rather than the dungeon crawling sandboxes they previously were.

Some suggestions that should get you started and keep you going for many many sessions are:

In Search of the Unknown

The Sinister Secret or Saltmarsh

Keep on the Borderlands (get the later version not the original version.)

Village of Hommlet

Throw Everything You Know from D&D3e Onwards Out the Window

If you aren’t sure how to handle something mechanically, do not default to assuming you do it the way it works in later editions. For instance, there are no skill checks in dialogue. You might roll Charisma once at the start of a conversation to determine if the other group trusts the PC or not, but that’s it. Everything else it just talked out.

Also, encounter balance? Throw it out. PCs will have to negotiate, sneak past, run away from, or use clever tactics to survive encounters. It being unbalanced is the whole point. You should be playing this like you would play an old survival-horror game like Resident Evil or Silent Hill, not like an action game. The PCs are fragile and will die easily if they just try to take everything head on.

This is another reason that everyone should read both rulebooks. If you don’t, then you’ll default to playing I like WotC D&D, which is a totally and completely different game.

Run it as a Challenge Game

These games only work if you run them as “challenge games,” which means they are scenarios meant to challenge both the PC and the player. No one should ever fudge dice, adjust HP values of monsters, change the solution to a puzzle just to be what the players thing is right, etc. It’s a dangerous gauntlet and you see if they live or die based on their own decisions and your descriptions. If the GM bends reality to ensure the party’s success (or ensure their failure, but everyone already knows that’s bad) then the whole game and whole story is invalidated. There will be a story, but it cannot be preplanned, it will emerge from seeing what these PCs do and who they turn out to be when they encounter these challenging scenarios. That has to include the possibility of unceremonious death.

Run a Troupe Campaign and Play Multiple Characters on Large Parties

A “troupe campaign” is one where instead of a small party, there are dozens of PCs which form a pool or roster to select from. Like you read in that post, we do ours as a mercenary free company. They get hired to do this stuff.

This makes it so that, in a highly lethal game like AD&D, the “story” doesn’t end as soon as a PC dies, which also means you’re less inclined to cheat to keep them alive when they shouldn’t be. That was just one of dozens of main characters.

Also, get used to playing multiple PCs at once. Make everyone create 3-5 PCs at the start of the campaign, and everyone bring at least 2 of them per adventure. This may take some getting used to but it is really not that hard, especially if you learn to play in third-person like Eureka tells you to.

Get used to party sizes between 6 and 15 PCs. Despite ironically being less focused exclusively on combat than WotC D&D, AD&D doesn’t pretend it’s not descended from wargames.

Ignore Alignment

Yeah alignment still mostly ranged between being pointless and being bad back then too. It meant something back in the very earliest editions of the game, but by the point of AD&D2e it was already mostly a vestigial system that you can and should ignore for most classes. You can keep it for, like, Clerics and Paladins if you want, that’s what we do.

But generally you should give up on the idea that your PCs will even be good guys at all, they’re amoral mercenaries and/or treasure hunters. This doesn’t mean they’re necessarily “bad guys” either, it’s more complex than that.

(art by @chaospyromancy)

Sir Ferdinand, one of my PCs and Captain of the White Company, is a scoundrel who overcharges his employers whenever he can get away with it; does dirty mercenary jobs like raiding, robbery, and extortion as much as he does heroic jobs like rescuing kidnapped children and protecting towns from raids, sometimes even at the same time. Recently he calmly and politely told a village of lizardmen they had better swear fealty to the local lord while subtly implying that something terrible could happen to their home if they don’t. In an adventure before, while overcharging a town for protection due to a threat that the White Company knew was not credible, once the company stumbled upon a secret smuggling and slavery operation that had been kidnapping people from the town and nearby village, he put every effort towards rooting it out despite it not being their job and even later being ordered by their current employer to stop sticking their noses in it. As he said before engaging an extremely dangerous and magic-wielding man in full plate armor while he himself had only maille at the time, he could not call himself a Christian in good standing if he turned a blind eye to slave running.

What alignment is Sir Ferdinand? None of them. He doesn’t have alignment, he has values.

[fantasyfantasygames]

Dark Hammer

Dark Hammer Core Rulebooks 1-3, Darker Games, 1998

No connections to the Dark Hammer stores in the UK, or the dozen-ish Warhammer-inspired characters or games out there.

Dark Hammer (DH) is a fantasy RPG that takes its influence from some unusual sources. They mix to make something that, for all its interesting facets, ends up reading and running like a set of D&D2e house rules.

From Battlelords of the 23rd Century, DH gets its Aggression stat, the Ram Pythons (which inspire their Lizardmen), the Phentari (which inspire their Octomen), and the Arachnids (who inspire their, uh, Arachnids) as the main faceless horde of high-level villains.

From the Silhouette system, they got the idea of bounded effectiveness - your bonuses came in the form of additional d20s rather than just numbers, and you took the highest, with additional rolls of 15+ adding +1 to the result.

From MERP / Rolemaster they picked up the idea of restricted spell lists, with small numbers of thematic spells. Werewolf: the Apocalypse probably got them the Rage ability that was tied into BL23C's Aggression stat. Amber Diceless is the clear source for the item creation rules. (They were not a good fit.) And more, and more, and more.

All of this was merged into a class-and-level system with Health (hit points) rolled on d4 through d10 per level, and Defense (armor class), and an attack table with some very specific ideas about how long specific classes or races should plateau. There were some nice changes that cleaned up the D&D2e core, like having a single Magic Defense rather than saving throws, but in general everything got either bolted onto the same chassis or stuck out as a weird minigame, or both. It runs a great amount like D&D.

The setting is not well-detailed, and mostly shows up in monster and class descriptions. DH embodied the phrase, "Stealing from one is plagiarism; stealing from many is research." Art is ok for an early-90s book, which is unfortunate because this was the late 90s.

There are three corebooks, which are actually not broken out into the usual PHB/DMG/MM set. Instead, the first book is for levels 1-6, the second is for 7-13, and the last one is for 14-20. The monsters are generally borrowed from other games, but at least they picked a reasonably consistent set of them.

All in all, Dark Hammer is a reasonably decent kitchen-sink fantasy setting that there's no real reason to play.

Darker Games published Dark Hammer through the end of 2001, at which point their college loans came due. You might be thinking "Why would you stop publishing a game when you need money?" If you're thinking that: Welcome to the gaming business, I see it's your first time here! Remaining copies were pulped as a tax writeoff.

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[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

Hey, sorry, I saw 2e and voted for it, not realizing it was Pathfinder, and not the AD&D2e Monstrous Compendium, so if that one wins by one vote, I'm sorry.

Oh shit I thought I responded to this, my bad. Didn't come down to it, but I'll try to remember to put that on the next poll since there's interest. I've seen a good amount of the art in it, and it's got some good stuff. Probably going to be a while before it wins, but can't hurt to start trying.

[hamstermastersamster]

Haven't posted Gaming Thoughts in a while. I'm currently working my way through Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition and I'm on BG2 right now. I wanted to play them mostly for more Minsc and Boo, but also Jaheira backstory.

They're not as ancient and painful to play as I thought. I'm guessing the EE has a lot to do with that. Even so . . . I HATE the Real Time with Pause gameplay (my brain cannot fathom the lack of turn-based) and it took a hot minute to wrap my head around the laborious AD&D2e rules the game is based on.

There's no 'inspect' button or glossary of spells and status effects, and half the time you can't tell what's going on in battle and what spells and shit the enemy have on them, and there's like fifty different versions of 'remove spell protections' type spells and none of them seem to work on everything. Whole thing is a headache! Save scumming is almost mandatory!

Also, BG1 felt kinda open and carefree while BG2 is a STRESSFUL TIME. The plot quest to save Imoen feels time-pressurey, your companion quests are all time-pressurey, like bitches i JUST want to do the quests I WANT in the order I WANT and not feel guilt or get whined at!

If you play the PS4 version you should also be aware of literal save-destroying bugs and crashes, especially in Siege of Dragonspear and any of the 'new' content from Enhanced Edition. Forget doing Rasaad's quests, lmao. Pretend he doesn't exist. Or at least make a loooot of saves.

I don't entirely regret embarking on this adventure but I do miss all the QoL and modern gaming mechanisms that are in BG3 a loooot and I'm feeling my patience for finishing everything being constantly tested. There's a lot of unnecessary tedium in the older games. My completionist soul is warring with my impatience to just get this done so I can get back to BG3.

But I still love Minsc and Boo! My current BG2 party is just All Girls + One (1) Rashemen Himbo and One (1) Hamster.

[twopoint99]

Long ago, in the 90s, I played AD&D2E. I was an Irda bard named Lorelei, and I spent most of my time with the party thief, a halfling with a sense of humor and a bag of holding.

Because I’m curious, I wanted to make a couple of polls. This one is essentially a poll version of a post by @mookybear12404

Please reblog for sample size!! And feel free to tell me about your first characters!!

[smiteworks]

Fantasy Grounds Game Day

Thursday, December 28th

Try out new rulesets and Fantasy Grounds.

The games are AD&D2e & Savage Worlds.

*AD&D 2e: Caught in the Mouth of Chaos [Play to Learn]

*SWADE: ETU - Horror for the Holidays [FG Beginner Friendly]

This is an event of different rulesets and publishers. Games are free to play utilizing the Fantasy Grounds VTT. Having the free Demo version downloaded and updated before the event starts is a requirement to participate. You can find it on Steam or download it directly from SmiteWorks here:

*This will be the last Thursday Game Day as the format will change in 2024 to a monthly event.

[anim-ttrpgs]

I and my friends are making a ttrpg for fun, and have come to an impasse. We disagree about the inclusion of an attribute, that dictates the PCs bravery. Therefore I wonder what a gamedev plugged into the TTRPG scene, thinks about mechanics that make PCs act brave/cowardly.

Well if you ask me specifically, I’m going to tell you don’t include anything that can take control of a player’s character away from them, but that does not mean that you can't have any kind of mechanic/stat that governs a PCs fear or stress level.

I personally can’t stand that mechanics that dictate that PCs run away, or dictate that they do anything at all like by falling under mind control, not because I think of the character as myself or some shit like that, I just consider myself to be the person most qualified to know what he or she would do in any given situation, so I’ve never been a fans of passing or failing saving throws or whatever determining if my character takes a certain action or not.

This is not to be confused with, like, regular dice rolls. Rolls to determine if my character can do a certain action well enough to succeed are totally fine, in fact I often want more of those.

This is one of the reasons why the Composure and Tiers of Fear systems in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy work the way they do.

We definitely wanted fear to be something that could affect the PCs and cause them to run away in a realistic fashion, these aren’t supposed to be fearless action-heroes, but I didn’t want it to be just a dice roll and then the GM tells you that your PC has to run away now. So, instead, Composure acts as a “cap” to the PC’s Skill modifiers. Base Skills cannot be higher than the PC’s current Composure level, making them worse and worse at succeeding skill checks the more frazzled and fatigued they are.

This never forces a situation where a player is told “your PC is going to run away no matter what,” but it means that the lower and lower that Composure gets, the more running away or surrender seems like a better and better idea.

That isn’t to say that mechanics that force certain character actions have absolutely no place in RPGs, hell Eureka even has one instance of this with wolfman rampages, but that’s only for one single character type, not a main mechanic which affects all PCs.

It’s well known that I really love AD&D2e, which has tons of that, though I also think that that may be one of the reasons why such a mechanic is so prevalent in TTRPGs in general. I’ve found that for a lot of TTRPGs, if you pick any random mechanic and ask “why is this in the game,” the answer is often some variation of “because D&D did it,” with little thought as to whether it needs to be in this RPG that isn’t D&D, or as to whether it was even a good idea when D&D did it.

Ultimately, study lots of RPGs, and know that there is more than one option besides just "do it the way D&D does it" and "don't do it at all."

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Why You'll Love the Jaxie Romper

Here are a few standout features of the Jaxie Romper:

Versatile Design: The Jaxie Romper can be dressed up or down, making it a versatile choice for any occasion. Whether you’re heading to a casual brunch or a summer evening gathering, this romper fits the bill.

Comfortable Fit: Crafted from high-quality fabrics, the Jaxie Romper is designed for all-day wear. Its breathable materials ensure you stay comfortable, while the tailored fit flatters your silhouette.

Playful Aesthetic: With its fun cut and stylish details, the Jaxie Romper adds a playful touch to your wardrobe. From vibrant colors to unique patterns, this romper makes a statement.

Styling Tips for the Jaxie Romper

Here’s how to style your Jaxie Romper for different occasions:

Casual Outing: Pair the romper with flat sandals and a crossbody bag for a relaxed day out. Opt for minimal jewelry to keep the look effortless and chic.

Evening Glam: Transition to evening wear by adding a pair of strappy heels and bold statement earrings. A clutch bag can complete your look, making it perfect for a night out with friends.

Layering for Chillier Days: If the weather cools down, throw on a denim jacket or lightweight cardigan over your romper. This adds an extra layer of style while keeping you cozy.

Caring for Your Jaxie Romper

To maintain the beauty and integrity of your Jaxie Romper, follow these care tips:

Gentle Washing: Always check the care label for specific washing instructions. Generally, hand washing or a delicate cycle is best to preserve the fabric and details.

Air Dry: Avoid using the dryer; instead, let your romper air dry to prevent shrinking and maintain its shape.

Shop the Jaxie Romper at D2E Boutique

Ready to elevate your wardrobe with the stylish Jaxie Romper? Visit D2E Boutique to explore our collection and find the perfect romper that matches your unique style. Embrace comfort and chic elegance with this versatile piece today!

Article 61

Embrace Versatility with Jumpsuits and Rompers

Jumpsuits and rompers are essential staples in any fashion-forward wardrobe. Offering a unique blend of style and comfort, these pieces can effortlessly take you from day to night, making them ideal for various occasions.

Why Choose Jumpsuits and Rompers?

Jumpsuits and rompers provide several benefits that make them a favorite among fashion enthusiasts:

All-in-One Convenience: The one-piece design of jumpsuits and rompers simplifies getting dressed. No need to coordinate tops and bottoms; just slip it on, and you’re ready to go!

Flattering Silhouettes: Both styles come in various cuts and fits, catering to different body types. Whether you prefer a fitted jumpsuit that accentuates your curves or a loose romper for a relaxed look, there’s something for everyone.

Endless Styling Options: Jumpsuits and rompers can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. Pair them with sneakers for a casual outing or heels for an elegant evening event.

How to Style Jumpsuits and Rompers

Here are some styling tips to maximize the impact of your jumpsuits and rompers:

Accessorize Smartly: Use accessories to elevate your outfit. A statement belt can cinch the waist and add definition, while bold jewelry can enhance your overall look.

Layer Wisely: If the weather is cooler, layering is key. Consider adding a chic jacket or cardigan to create a stylish ensemble while keeping warm.

Choose the Right Footwear: Footwear can dramatically change the vibe of your outfit. Opt for ankle boots for an edgy look, or dress it up with strappy sandals for an elegant touch.

Caring for Your Jumpsuits and Rompers

To keep your jumpsuits and rompers in top condition, follow these care tips:

Check Care Labels: Always refer to the care instructions on the label. Different materials may require specific washing methods to maintain their quality.

Proper Storage: Hang jumpsuits and rompers to avoid wrinkles and maintain their shape. For rompers, consider using padded hangers for added support.

Shop Jumpsuits and Rompers at D2E Boutique

Ready to incorporate stylish jumpsuits and rompers into your wardrobe? Visit D2E Boutique to explore our stunning collection. With various styles, colors, and designs, you’re sure to find the perfect piece that embodies your personal style. Discover the ease and elegance of one-piece fashion today!

[sirobvious]

No, I’m arguing that the “rules of playing pretend” have in fact already been written in a wide variety of different ways represented by a wide variety of different games, by passionate game designers who deserve your attention far more than the absolute TTRPG monopoly of Wizards of the Coast, and who have created fantasy combat games that are better than D&D5e for when you want to play fantasy combat, and created all kinds of other games for when you want to play something other than fantasy combat.

Because these exist, you actually don’t have to make your GM write a crummy D&D5e hack every time you want to play something, which takes more time and more effort for worse results.

If you’re really incredulous that somebody with a full time job could learn and play multiple games with other people who have full time jobs, here’s a quick non-comprehensive list of the TTRPGs I’ve played

D&D3.5e

D&D5e

AD&D2e (this one’s by far my favorite D&D)

Call of Cthulhu

Trail of Cthulhu

GREED

Mothership

Monster of the Week

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Mausritter

FIST

Silk & Dagger: A Sensible Drow RPG

Death Bed: An Impenetrably Medieval Dungeon Game (extremely early draft, just a playtest of the combat mechanics)

I personally prefer longer, “crunchier” games, but there’s some great games on that list that are super short. In the time it takes to read this entire text post from top to bottom, you could get through half or more of the most important parts of GREED, Mothership, Mausritter, or FIST. (Though for someone who has only played D&D5e, I really would not recommend jumping straight to short rules-light games like FIST or Mausritter. The reason these games can keep themselves so short and light is because they expect you to be able to fill in the gaps with your own experience playing many similar games. Medium-complexity games like Eureka are the best starting point for new players and are the best way to escape the D&D5e walled garden.)

If you or anyone else reading this is at all interested in learning and playing a wide variety of TTRPGs in an environment designed to be conducive to scheduling, I have to recommend the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club, the entire point of which is to introduce people to new TTRPGs, give them time to read them, and then match them up with others of similar schedules to play.

The state of TTRPGs if it was video games

“Oh I wanna play a Half-life video game; instead of playing Half-life 1, Blue Shift, Opposing Force, Half-life 2, Episode 1, Episode 2, Portal, Portal 2, E:0, or E:02, I’ll just download 10,000 mods for Skyrim until all the draugr are replaced with Combine soldiers.”

[everyaccentthesame]

Infinities are stupid. There I said it. I’m not talking about mathematical infinities, however. They’re fine, even if I don’t really understand them. Ignorance is bliss and all that. No, today I’m talking about the only sort of infinity that I remotely feel somewhat confident talking about: infinities in worldbuilding and how they’re used in D&D.

 Let me define infinity as  far as I understand it in terms that will be useful for this discussion. Infinity, outside of mathematics, means something that is boundless and endless. The description of universe (or in the case of d&d, a plane) as infinite typically means that something is infinite in terms of spatial dimensions but can also refer to the contents of that universe. An infinitely large universe may well contain finite amounts of ‘stuff’ (people, material, energy) within it, though if a finite universe contained infinite amounts of ‘stuff’, that stuff would be infinitely compressed within the finite bounds of that universe.

 D&D has had a long, convoluted, and collaborative history, and this is true for both its ruleset and its worldbuilding. The settings of D&D have been created to act as a basis or a baseline for DM’s to work off as a reference for their stories. Whether they set their games within these settings is up to the DM, but D&D has always released extensive setting books describing the settings endorsed by the creators of D&D. Often these settings have had little impact on one another- Dragonlance, Greyhawk and the Forgotten-realms have changed little about each other over years, each holding to different pantheons, and with little crossover except in a number of niche products. Some settings have sought to create a setting that ‘connects’ other settings- the Spelljammer setting, for example, and references to Spelljammer have percolated through 2nd to 5th edition. Many editions like to imply that all settings are connected in some way through a shared cosmology of connected dimensions or ‘planes’, though this cosmology is interpreted by different folks in those settings in different ways.

 Many of the core concepts of this shared D&D universe were created in its early days by Gary Gygax, Jeff Grubb and others. Each edition of D&D has liked to change the way that the so-called D&D multiverse has worked, switching it up a bit, or in the case of 4th edition, scrapping it completely to create something new. One thing that has remained consistent through each edition up until the 5th, is the description of all planes except Demiplanes as being ‘infinite’ in extent, including the material plane. Indeed, the 5th edition has dropped all mentions of absolute infinity, except in regards to the Astral- a plane defined by not having anything in it, except for that which is brought in from outside it.

 There are more than a couple of problems with the use of the term ‘infinite’ to describe a planes size, or the number of planes in existence. For a start, its lazy. Its shorthand for, ‘I don’t want to go into details, or restrict my creative space’. It allows an author to say ‘very big, bigger than you think, unimaginably big’ in an impressive manner, without saying very much. The issue is that infinities, while fine as a concept, and even interesting to deal with as an idea, if the stories you tell are designed around that- anyone who’s seen the TV show Rick and Morty will appreciate the difficult implications of dealing with our own insignificance in an infinite multiverse where our actions have little to no actual consequences- in traditional storytelling, they don’t help us achieve anything. I don’t know about you, but most of my adventures are not based around telling my players how insignificant their actions are and that they should embrace nihilism, and I don’t think my players would appreciate it if I started doing that. Traditional stories require tangible, achievable goals, meaningful stakes and plots that emotionally resonate with those appreciating them. Infinities as a cosmological concept, depreciate from my ability to tell stories with those in mind.

 Why do I think that? The universe we live in is so large it might as well be infinite to us and indeed may well be, but we don’t consider stories told about the real world to be lacking in stakes. The counterargument there is that humans have a special attachment to their specific little blue and green rock that they happen to live on that your players won’t, and by virtue of experience and the significance we attach to those experiences, we place value in stories told about it. Furthermore, Earth is the only planet in the known universe which contains life, no-less technologically developed life, and thus hold an importance to us who live on it and value that sort of thing. However, many people do struggle to find meaning in the real world, and if you have the option of preventing that sort of existential dread, I would take it.  If your D&D setting never interacts with the other planes or wider multiverse then fair enough, you have effectively dealt with the problem by ignoring it. But sooner or later, you might engage with the wider D&D cosmology, and you’ll want to make sense of it. And infinity will get in the way.

 Infinity could be dealt with in a way that kept the above critique valid but didn’t add any additional difficulty. Infinite planes of material reality could combine with every other plane being infinite to create areas of ‘planar continuity’, carving out finite areas of each plane that only interact with finite areas of other planes. Instead, up until 4th edition, in general terms, anywhere in a plane was equally accessible and if you ‘plane-shifted’ the area which you ‘plane-shifted’ from would rarely matter. This has a number of cosmological implications- for example, Sigil, supposed centre of the multiverse, is a set finite plane interacting with an infinite multiverse, and thus would immediately explode with an infinite number of planar travellers, if there were an infinite number of planar travellers. That it does not implies one of 3 things:

 1. There are not infinite planar travellers.

2. Something prevents all but a finite number travelling to Sigil.

3. The designers didn’t think this through terribly well.

 While the first two options are what I would see as the ‘in-universe’ reason, in our universe the official published material mentions neither option, indicating that it is likely to be the third option which is correct.

 In addition, there is the issue of having finite gods in infinite planes, and in infinitely large planes. Assuming an infinite number of beings reside across infinite material planes, a finite number of gods would be constantly be dogpiled by infinite mortals and petitioners (petitioner is a fancy word for dead souls that go to their gods side when they die). The material that established much of the ‘great wheel’ setting, ‘Planescape’ discussed a great many gods, but nowhere mentioned that there were infinite numbers of these beings. This does not happen, so either we:

 1. Assume that gods are ‘infinite’ in their nature (which is not stated in the official material but does make for good theological worldbuilding material) and thus able to deal with infinite petitioners, planar travellers and godly duties at once.

2. Assume there are not infinite travellers, and thus a finite number of planes inhabited by those capable of planar travel.

3. Assume that the designers, once again, did not think this through.

 The assumption that gods are ‘infinite’ in nature has consequences for our abilities to tell stories in a planar sense- many players love the idea of challenging the god to combat and defeating them, or become gods themselves, which is impossible with gods that are infinite. Now some DM’s may like the idea of infinite gods that can’t be challenged too, and that’s their prerogative, buuuut, that is complicated by the fact that every single D&D edition has, at some point, provided stats for their gods.

 It also doesn’t help that the authors of many supplementary materials seem to forget that the planes have been defined as infinite many times. Modrons, for example, have been given a hard cap on their numbers, which should, by the nature of infinities, make them infinitely irrelevant in the scheme of things. Yet they are not, and the march of the Modrons is an event that can make ‘the planes go crazy’. In reference to the ‘Blood war’, a massive plane-spanning war between the forces of Evil Law and Evil Chaos, numbers are discussed in a very, very, finite manner, as are battlefields and distances. This has been the case in all materials in every edition since AD&D’s Planescape.

 All this suggests that the concepts of infinities as mentioned have been routinely ignored, largely because it assists with the telling of compelling narratives. And if the presence of infinities gets in the way of telling compelling narratives, as a game about creating compelling narratives with your players, D&D and it’s settings would be better served by ignoring infinities, and instead choosing to deal with the far more comforting finities. Thankfully, as of 5th edition, this seems to be what has been done, and the lore of D&D is better off for it.

[daven-and-boosters-tavern]

Adventure Conversions

Good morning!!

I’m in the process of converting an old 2nd Edition adventure to 5e.  There is one thing that has been going over my mind.  This is mostly for DMs.

When running an adventure, do you prefer to have the monster stat blocks inline with the adventure or added as an appendix?  Some of the stat blocks can be very lengthy and take up to half a page (a couple taking a full page.)  Where as if it was put into the appendix, it leaves more room for information for the adventure itself.

In 2nd Edition, TSR (pre-WotC) had a small informational inline stat block that had all the pertinent information set for the encounter along with additional information in the adventure itself (in case ‘special attacks’ had to be described).  that looked something like this:

Spectres (2): Int high; AL LE; AC 2; MV 15, Fl 30 (B); HD 7 +3; hp 55 each; THAC0 13; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8; SA successful attacks drain two life energy levels from victim; SD + 1 or better weapon to hit; immune to sleep, charm, hold, and cold-based attacks; immune to all poisons and paralyzation attacks; SZ M; ML 15; XP 3,000.

As opposed to the current: 

Thankfully, since I ran 2e back in the day, I know how to read this.  But there is no equivalent for 5e and so much more information needed to effectively run the encounters.  I’m having to uses full stat blocks for the time being and thus asking this question.

I’m  almost done with the monster conversion for this adventure.  I then have to go through the traps and set the DCs for them rather than ‘save vs spells’ and the like that 2e used.  Then there is the map rebuild.  My original is kinda beat up and hard to scan since it’s on a 24″ x 36″ poster, double sided.

Let me know what you DMs prefer or like.

Thanks!

~Daven

[oldschoolfrp]

Ambeoutin, first king of the minotaurs, claims the Axe of the Emperors in single combat with a green dragon (Terry Dykstra, Dragonlance DLR2 Taladas: The Minotaurs for AD&D 2e, TSR, 1991)

[anim-ttrpgs]

>Game you played most this year.

Definitely Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, which, is the game we wrote, but we can call it playtesting.

>Favorite game you read this year.

I haven't finished reading it, but--disqualifying Eureka because obviously we like it a lot if we wrote it and filled it with many of our favorite RPG mechanics--that would be Greed by @gormengeist. It's the funniest RPG rulebook I've ever read, though I wouldn't even say it has jokes, it's just funny in how irreverant and absurd it is. It makes me laugh the same way Cruelty Squad makes me laugh, and, like Cruelty Squad, there actually is a well-thought-out game underneath that crass nonsense.

>Game you stared longingly at instead of playing or reading it.

This is a tie. I'd say AD&D2e, Greed, and Warhammer 40,000: Only War. I love AD&D2e, the best D&D in my opinion and maybe I would go as far as to say the only one that is really good. Unfortunately, our group's campaign has been on hiatus since like February or something.

Greed is something I wanted to play since I saw the cover art, and it is definitely getting nominated in the next round of nominations in our TTRPG book club.

And, Warhammer 40,000: Only War is a game I've always wanted to get around to playing, but just never ever have, but maybe that'll change since I nominated it for the TTRPG book club.

>Game you most look forward to playing next year.

Well, probably those three above, and, if it wins in the book club vote, Those Dark Places. I know I'm gonna vote for it.

>Favorite game/supplement you wrote this year.

If we aren't counting Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, which has really been written over a handful of years on-and-off until we decided this year was go-time and set out to finish it, probably FORIVA: The Angel Game, an adventure module for use with Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. I'm so proud of how the villains turned out in this one, they even scare the GM running the game. You can get this adventure module along with the full rulebook for Eureka all for $5 on our patreon. And if you'd like to play any of these, join us at our TTRPG Book Club.

Before the spotify wrapped posts start flooding in, let's do a "Gaming Wrapped". Tell me in a reblog or tags:

Game you played the most this year

Favorite game you read this year

Game you stared longingly at instead of playing or reading it

game you're most looking forward to playing next year

favorite game/game supplement you wrote this year (if applicable)

[sirobvious]

AD&D2e is so much better than 5e it’s unreal

it is simplier, yet deeper