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Eh, I don't feel like it's the worst subsystem in AD&D. The basic structure of PSPs, disciplines/sciences and their acquisition (levels of mastery, which when you read the rules carefully are clearly staggered), and the rules for those powers are perfectly playable as written. The psionic...

For some reason this perspective reminded me of the racism present in Lovecraft's stories. What if the other races view humans and their gods horror and revulsion? What if they see humans as a primitive race, lacking the ability to even plan long-term and insiduously diluting the purity and...

The OP poses an excellent question, really. In the rules, the advantages and disadvantages of other species are always expressed relative to a human baseline. But what if some other species is considered the baseline? For example, if humans are newcomers in a world dominated by (wood) elves...

Responding to the ideas above that humans are prone to personification, finding imaginary patterns, and memetic programming... if this is a vulnerability that is uniquely human perhaps we could represent it in game terms as a penalty to wisdom relative to other races (but apparently we don't do...

That method munchkinized my whole AD&D group for a whole year in high school!

I think 5E gave us some good innovations around the Paladin archetype. Oath of the Ancients for more of a Green Knight/Avalon Knight vibe, Oath of Vengeance for... Batman(?). And lots of other suggested oaths in supplements. The storytelling conceit of a Paladin is that in exchange for...

Or six classes for the possible prioritizations of those mechanics: spell > combat > skill ~ Cleric spell > skill > combat ~ Bard, Wizard, Socerer combat > spell > skill ~ Paladin or Eldritch knight combat > skill > spell ~ Ranger or Barbarian skill > combat > spell ~ rogue skill > spell >...

I think we can have any number of "full caster" classes as long as their spell lists are significantly different. AD&D cleric, druid, MU and illusionist supported different play styles largely by this means. In contrast, in 5E, almost any caster can access the best spells of any spell list via...

As many as needed to support distinct play experiences and unique mechanics that support players in exploring D&D in a different way. Currently, I consider that only the following are truly distinct: Cleric (divine full spellcaster) could package Druid Barbarian (martial with rage) Bard (mixed...

I always had an unreasonable love for the gemstone tables in the DMG--both suggested magical effects of, and the random rolling for gemstone value with its long-tail distribution, and the occasional spell or magic item that requires whole gemstones of a certain value to work, not just powdered.

On the other hand, it's not THAT hard to adjudicate illusions with a reasonable DM. For example: no save against illusions that are eminently reasonable for the environment: a guard walks in, a puddle of green slime on the floor, etc UNLESS the target chooses to interact physically with the...

Gnome for me. Intellectual, dilletante, I love small animals and tinkering. A touch of magic would be nice too, even if I can't go full wizard.

Pretty stingy in their selection, I say. I'd be more interested in a book that provides a few pages each on ALL the TSR/WotC settings that have come out since the seventies. I'm more interested in the minor and off-beat worlds than the major ones, most of which already have some 5e support.

Psionics were prominent (integral to the setting) in one 1e campaign that I ran and one 2e campaign that I played in. I admittedly never used the full psionic-on-psionic combat rules in either, but for both 1e and 2e the system of powers and power points are fine. I've seen a smattering of PCs...

I would happily play 2E again but if I were DMing it would turn out to be some ghastly hybridization of 1e, 2e and 3e. What to like about 2E: character classes are somewhat more filled out and playable than their 1e versions; lots of materials available for further customization; psionics...

Most of the ideas above are good ones. The wizard class should give a different play style/experience compared to other full casters, as different from cleric/druid/sorcerer/bard as warlock is from all the rest. Making their spells more powerful, but also take longer to cast and interruptible...

The tier system was one of Shadowrun's nicer innovations. I ran a short D&D game using a tier system for character creation (point buy, starting level, starting wealth and a couple of other categories I forget). That wouldn't work for a long campaign though. I'm not sure it could be adapted as a...

I think we're overdue for a modern d20 Modern, and reimagine the six "smart, strong, etc." classes without any spellcasting.

If all sorcerers have an innate gift, then why force them to be charismatic? There are too many Cha casters already and too much cheesy synergy among them. Here's a wild idea: Sorcerers have magic without any primary spellcasting stat. Their spell DCs and spell attack rolls IN THEIR THEME get...

Free your mind; kill the 8 schools! What makes a wizard? Their training. In literature, the abilities of academic/hermetic magicians are often defined by their masters/schools. So your premise is good. The universal spells can be ones that either underly magic itself (detect magic, dispel...