3.5 to 2

[grigori777]

Good day.  I am finding numerous character generator programs and sites to create characters in 3.5, but none for 2.0 that accept any race other than elf, 1/2 elf, human, dwarf, etcetera.  Is there a way to convert a 3.5 character to 2nd edition?  I know there is a book that is for 2.0 to 3.0.

[Vulpinoid]

Good question...and good luck.

I've recently been asked to run an old school D&D game using 2nd Ed AD&D rules. Personally, I thought the system was a cumbersome behemoth which didn't do a lot of what I wanted in a game (ie. really getting into the meaty bits of the story, while instead it pretends to be about story, but is really just an elaborate combat system with some side dressing.)

But hey, I've been asked to run a game by a guy who has heaps of the old books, he's been playing it for years and he wants to get a new generation of friends into the hobby. He was the orchestrator for the event and he only likes to play what he's familiar with...

So I've been looking for some good character generators for 2nd Ed AD&D, as well as some good archive sites and conversion sites.

There isn't  lot out there.

But then again, you have to remember that 2nd Ed AD&D is almost entirely pre-world-wide-web. So anyone who would have wanted stuff online would probably be a die-hard fan (like the guy who has organised the game I'm running...before you ask, no, he has a time consuming job that prevents him from setting up fan sites to old games).

I did manage to find a couple of decent generators for settings like Dark Sun and Planescape, they've got a few "non-standard" races. I'll see if I can dig up a link.

V

[grigori777]

I've got all the books on a flash drive, but I wanted to see if there was a way I could either convert ones I have or find a way to create a character without having to read almost the whole book... lol  Thanks for the help it gets boring playing all the same races, and I we need to make 6 characters, all different races and classes.

[Larry L.]

Welcome to the Forge, dude!

I once had a pretty ridiculous amount of knowledge regarding this rule set. I could probably point you in the right direction if you share a little more information about your game. Are you actually playing a game using the 2nd Edition rules, then? Were you previously playing a game in some other edition of D&D? Who's the DM?

[Jason Scanlon]

If i recall correctly, there are rules in the character creation section for using monsters as a race, though they may be less than comprehensive. Good luck.

[grigori777]

I've always played using either 3.0 or 3.5.  this will be my first time actually playing the 2.0 rules, except when I played the PC game Planescape Torment, which I do not remember much about.  A friend is DMing.  We are to make 6 different characters, no two can be the same class or race, and my understanding from talking with him about it briefly, almost all races are allowed.

[Jason Scanlon]

The rules i mentioned require some DM arbitration if i'm not mistaken. It doesn't sound like this is necessarily the angle being considered, i just thought i'd mention it. Was your friend any more specific than "almost all races"? Counting half-elves there are six (right?) playable races in 2E, though i realize those alone would not be ideal for six players to choose from. Based on the question, i had assumed that you were running the game. In this situation I might ask the DM if he or she uses any races taken from supplements or other sources (i'm only really familiar with the 3 basic books and mainly the PHB). If theres no such option for you, the DM can always allow new races according to the guidelines i mentioned (probably a more accurate word than rules). In any case i would consult the DM. Sorry i couldn't be of more help.

[Larry L.]

grigori,

The most comprehensive software I found for creating characters in 2nd Edition was Core Rules 2.0 plus the Expansion disc. You might be able to find a copy of both discs on eBay. The main disc includes all the stuff from the "Player's Option" rulebooks which I never got into, but the expansion disc includes all the various splatbooks that were published. And there's tools to make custom races and kits for your own campaign. So you could use this software to make a character based on most of the published rulebooks.

This might be overkill if you just want to make one character, though. Has the DM stated he will allow characters based on books X, Y, and Z, or anything like that? You might want to try to get a copy of The Complete Book of Humanoids; that has stats for most of the monster races as playable characters.

There's not really a way to convert a character from one version of the rules to other. You'd be better off re-imagining that character and building him from scratch in the new rules.