D&D 2E Huh. AD&D 2e is my favorite D&D

McXanaxinAlcohol · Feb 25, 2025

Staffan said:
I don't have Revised, but Hovering on Death's Door was definitely in O2E.

I thought you were wrong so I checked and sure enough you are correct. This got me wondering if there were any new optional rules that were not included in the original 2E books or if i just recalled it wrong. Since I also now have the PDF of the "Premium" 2e revised edition from Drivethru I was able to Ctrl+F search for all Optional rules in revised and manually go through the original 2E DM guide;

I couldnt find a single Optional Rule from Revised that wasnt also in the Original 2E.

Velderan · Feb 25, 2025

McXanaxinAlcohol said:
I thought you were wrong so I checked and sure enough you are correct. This got me wondering if there were any new optional rules that were not included in the original 2E books or if i just recalled it wrong. Since I also now have the PDF of the "Premium" 2e revised edition from Drivethru I was able to Ctrl+F search for all Optional rules in revised and manually go through the original 2E DM guide;

I couldnt find a single Optional Rule from Revised that wasnt also in the Original 2E.

I thought the revised books were just the same thing, with different art and larger spacing to make the books easier to read. We can debate their success on that, but quickly skimming page 8 on the original 2e PHB and comparing that to pages 8 and 9 of the revised PHB it seems to be all the same material just on 2 pages instead of 1. The original 2e paragraphs on page 8 for "why a second edition?" are gone in the revised book and instead there was an entire page of the foreward for "this is not 3rd edition".

Bedrockgames · Feb 25, 2025

Micah Sweet said:
Good thing I never bought or played an RPG for the art.

I admit fully, I have done so. I don't expect all the bells and whistles and I actually prefer black and white art, but back when the 2E Ravenloft line was coming out, a big part of the atmosphere for me was the Fabian art and the border layout. It just added to the experience and feel. When they went more stripped down and stopped using Fabian, I had a much harder time being enthusiastic (and to be clear there was plenty of non-Fabian art in those books even early in the line but the whole look changed some time after 95 or so)

Micah Sweet · Feb 25, 2025

Bedrockgames said:
I admit fully, I have done so. I don't expect all the bells and whistles and I actually prefer black and white art, but back when the 2E Ravenloft line was coming out, a big part of the atmosphere for me was the Fabian art and the border layout. It just added to the experience and feel. When they went more stripped down and stopped using Fabian, I had a much harder time being enthusiastic (and to be clear there was plenty of non-Fabian art in those books even early in the line but the whole look changed some time after 95 or so)

I liked the art and formatting in those books too, but the words are what determined what I buy and use then and now.

Mannahnin · Feb 25, 2025

Text and rules are definitely most important for me, but aesthetics and art matter. I never bought copies of any 2E revised books (though I got a couple as hand me downs from friends getting rid of stuff), and never bought a Rules Cyclopedia because the art didn't work for me.

Ralif Redhammer · Feb 25, 2025

I don't know that I could pick a favorite D&D edition (given my mood, it jumps between BECMI, 1e, and 2e), but until 5e came along, 2e was the edition I played the most of, for the longest time.

Retreater said:
Yes, and that art was terrible. A bunch of featureless and incomplete drawings compared to nice oil paintings in the original releases.

It made me so sad that the deluxe 2e reprints that came out some years back were the revised 2e books. My 2e books are in rough shape from years of play and being schlepped all over the place.

Micah Sweet · Feb 25, 2025

Mannahnin said:
Text and rules are definitely most important for me, but aesthetics and art matter. I never bought copies of any 2E revised books (though I got a couple as hand me downs from friends getting rid of stuff), and never bought a Rules Cyclopedia because the art didn't work for me.

I never bought revised because I had the originals and there's no significant difference. I did buy the Rules Cyclopedia because it's awesome.

Bedrockgames · Feb 25, 2025

Micah Sweet said:
I liked the art and formatting in those books too, but the words are what determined what I buy and use then and now.

Words certainly are important lol. But I must admit, presentation also matters as well for me. I can overlook poor presentation for great quality writing and design, and I can overlook poor writing for great design (these are meant to be played at the table after all). And I don't need gloss or color or anything fancy. I do like it though when the look, feel and words blend together to enhance the end product. A good example of this is the Van Richten books. Those are good with or without the art. But try reading the compilation versions versus the original releases. The layout and art makes a big difference in building my enthusiasm

Bedrockgames · Feb 25, 2025

Mannahnin said:
Text and rules are definitely most important for me, but aesthetics and art matter. I never bought copies of any 2E revised books (though I got a couple as hand me downs from friends getting rid of stuff), and never bought a Rules Cyclopedia because the art didn't work for me.

Rules Cyclopedia seemed okay to me (but maybe because I wasn't invested deeply in any previous basic D&D aesthetic). But I a100% agree on the revised. That book looked terrible

Micah Sweet · Feb 25, 2025

Bedrockgames said:
Words certainly are important lol. But I must admit, presentation also matters as well for me. I can overlook poor presentation for great quality writing and design, and I can overlook poor writing for great design (these are meant to be played at the table after all). And I don't need gloss or color or anything fancy. I do like it though when the look, feel and words blend together to enhance the end product. A good example of this is the Van Richten books. Those are good with or without the art. But try reading the compilation versions versus the original releases. The layout and art makes a big difference in building my enthusiasm

Again, art is nice, but it doesn't affect purchase for me.

D&D 2E Huh. AD&D 2e is my favorite D&D

McXanaxinAlcohol

Purveyor of AD&D

Velderan

Hero

Bedrockgames

I post in the voice of Christopher Walken

Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast

Mannahnin

Scion of Murgen (He/Him)

Ralif Redhammer

Legend

Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast

Bedrockgames

I post in the voice of Christopher Walken

Bedrockgames

I post in the voice of Christopher Walken

Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast

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