D&D 2E What does AD&D 2E do better than 5E?

[Malerai_Kayne]

My gaming group has been switching back and forth between 2E and 5E over the last few years and we really like both. However, we also find that both systems have parts that irritate us. Obviously, many discussions about the benefits and drawbacks of both systems followed. So, I thought I'd see what this forum has to say. It's been a long time since I've been active in one, but ENworld does seem like a rather nice community.

As an example answer to my question: Magic. I know magic was considered overpowered in older editions (hell, even in 5E), but we never saw it that way. I love how special magic feels and that it isn't just one saving throw away from going away.

What do you think?

 

[Enrico Poli1]

• Settings done well (in particular, when I want to play in Dark Sun, I have to use AD&D2e rules)
• Psionics
• Variety in classes, spells, items and monsters

That said, I choose what rule system to use case-by-case

 

[DarkCrisis]

Tone. 5E is superhero’s who never really have to deal with real consequences. Easy to raise dead. Tons of HP. Multiple saves. Gods among men.

2E you have to be more careful. Same goes for the monsters. I had my 5E group play 2E and one player who never played 2E before said “I feel like what a I do matters.”

And that right there is right. Everyone’s role in important. Everyone is important. Teamwork makes the dream work.

 

[billd91]

2e is probably my 2nd favorite version of D&D after 5e and I'd be hard pressed to find anything that 2e definitely does better. I think I mainly like the development of dragons a bit better in 2e - they had gotten a major upgrade from 1e days and had a full 12-stage gradation in age groups. Also, maybe the emphasis put on magic weapons and armor in the random treasure table (held over from 1e) compared to wizardly items - an absolutely necessary recognition that martial characters are dependent on gear for magic rather than spells.

Otherwise, there are so many ways that 5e harkens BACK to 2e compared to 3e from handling magic items to giants being as threatening at range as they are close up that I'm pretty pleased with it.

 

[Velderan]

Tone. 5E is superhero’s who never really have to deal with real consequences. Easy to raise dead. Tons of HP. Multiple saves. Gods among men.

2E you have to be more careful. Same goes for the monsters. I had my 5E group play 2E and one player who never played 2E before said “I feel like what a I do matters.”

And that right there is right. Everyone’s role in important. Everyone is important. Teamwork makes the dream work.

To piggyback off this, magic items in 2e made more of a difference in your character's combat effectiveness. 5e gives players so many abilities it causes magic items to lose a bit of their luster IMO.

 

[Willie the Duck]

To piggyback off this, magic items in 2e made more of a difference in your character's combat effectiveness. 5e gives players so many abilities it causes magic items to lose a bit of their luster IMO.

At the same time, magic items (or special regular items) can make less of a difference (to combat effectiveness or anything else), which means you can have more of them to play around with. 5e has compressed the total range of scores and simplified the mechanics where advantage/disadvantage cover many situations. That's usually good, but when you want to hand out tiny little bonuses, it can be a problem.

Best example might be 2E Thief abilities and the equipment section of the Complete Thieves' Handbook. There are all sorts of items like tar paper to quietly break glass windows and hand-warming lamps to help pick locks in the cold and dog pepper to evade being tracked and all sorts of bits and bobs which give +1-5% to your percentile chances or alter specific checks under super-specific circumstances. Towards the tail-end of my original time with 2E, I dismissed such things as 'faffing around at the margins, rather than addressing the actual issues [that being a thief in TSR-era A/D&D kinda sucked, also that you just have to convince your DM that a roll isn't called for in a given circumstance and you've probably contributed more to your overall success than all that special equipment ever would].' Thing is, and I realize this now, a certain type of gamer really likes that faffing about and minutiae-focus, and it works much better when it's 1-3% (that the system has room to accommodate) than if it is truly immaterial (except for roleplay).

Same is true for the magic items. Because AC is 10 thru -20 or whatever and your fighter's modified ThAC0 changes 20+ point over 20 levels, you as the DM can hand out an toe-ring of +1 AC here and a merit-badge of +1-to-hit there; along with (because there are so many sub-components of skill and attribute checks, which in 5e are rolled up into something simpler) weight belts of +5% bend bars/lift gates and blessings of +3% system shock checks and snorkels of +3 ocean swimming and so on.

 

[Voadam]

2e specialty priests allow a ton more PC divine power customization than 5e cleric domains.

I like a lot of 2e's various psionics better than the few subclasses we have gotten for 5e.

In depth monster entries. I like the 5e MM and a lot of Volo's but the 2e monstrous compendium series is fantastic and I like a lot of the 2e descriptions. The 2e Monstrous Arcanas and such (draconomicon, giantcraft) are a lot of fun too.

Full on campaign settings.

Fleshing out campaign settings.

Campaign setting sourcebooks detailing one area.

Ravenloft I prefer the 2e setting with politics between dark lords over the 5e isolated dream prisons.

Greyhawk.

I prefer 2e fleshed out FR over advanced 100 years 5e FR soft reboot where most old lore is now inapplicable.

2e God books are pretty fantastic. 5e only has a set of decent charts in the PH appendix.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

2e specialty priests allow a ton more PC divine power customization than 5e cleric domains.

This. When it comes to making different faiths feel distinctive, 5e doesn't even come close.

 

[Atomoctba]

I know lots of people will disagree, but I love how, in 2e, the world did not need set "proper level challenges". You could have a party of 10th level characters that slashes against 1/2 HD kobolds (Dragon Mountain, anyone?) or a 3rd level party that meets a beholder in a random encounter. That made the world feel more real for me as a player. I never had the illusion that all challenges would be proper to my level and take care with my actions. Also, run away was almost always a valid option

 

[TheHand]

Mechanics-wise, I'm not sure there's anything that I personally think I like ~better~ about 2e, but as far as settings, lore, campaign materials, and just imaginative writing, I don't think the 2e can be beat. I still reference a lot of my 2E books for my current games, and I've adapted a lot of 2E modules for 5e.