Truthfully, I can't rightfully remember the whole reason, so I fancied having another look at AD&D 2nd Edition to see why it was I fell out of love with D&D for twenty years. You see, I played Basic D&D and then I had a stab at Advanced D&D, and almost immediately stopped playing. AD&D 2nd Edition was so weighed down that the gameplay suffered horrendously, at least in my group. As I couldn't find another group to play Basic D&D I let the game go, and for twenty years didn't give it a glance.
In 2009 my friend Jason started a Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition game and, while it was fun, it felt kind of hollow and was totally geared towards combat. Besides, I'd just come out the other side of World of Warcraft and didn't fancy playing a tabeltop version of it. Then we progressed to Pathfinder and things got much better, and I picked up the 3.0 rules last year and realised that I'd missed out on quite a lot. Recently I've been having a look over the Birthright setting and really enjoying it - it's the kind of setting I think would work well with Dragon Warriors - and it made me wonder what it was about AD&D 2nd Edition that turned me off it.
So, the point of this post - I just got the two AD&D 2nd Edition rulebooks and the Fighter's book off Ebay for a fiver, including postage. Just wanted to gloat about that, to be honest, but also when I get it I'll have a good read and try to put in words why it was I stopped playing the old game for the better part of twenty years.
And what I wouldn't do right now to get the Rules Cyclopedia at a decent price. Anyone want to swap it for Eclipse Phase?
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Good luck with the Cyclopedia. Those go for stupid prices on ebay, probably because the book is so darned good.
ReplyDeleteThe cheapest one I found was £28, and it was so knackered it was a bit of a joke. They're averaging about £40-50. Blimey! I do know a guy who's got one but I've had no joy in convincing him that lending it to me for a very long time is a good idea.
DeleteHere's the retro-clone that emulates the Cyclopedia most closely:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?fListingClass=0&fSearch=dark+dungeons
Cheers, Jeff - I've been reviewing that and it looks like something I could have fun with.
DeleteYes, Jeff is right. Dark Dungeons is more or less a direct clone of the Cyclopedia. If you want the rules, and it's not just nostalgia for the original book that's driving you, then DD is a good -- and cheap! -- substitute.
ReplyDeleteIt is nostalgia in many respects, I'll be honest. I'm bidding for a complete basic edition boxset as I type, it's just the whole trip back down memory lane, to be honest.
DeleteThe Rules Cyclopedia is, indeed, the bee's own gat-dang knees. Sorry, you can't have mine. But do check out Dark Dungeons, man, it looks like a good cover of the RC to me.
ReplyDeleteI can't have yours? Alright, Eclipse Phase and some dice, then!!!!
DeleteAnother vote for Dark Dungeons. I see a pattern, here...