What are the major changes in AD&D, 2nd ed. from 1st ed.?
When the time came to write the 2nd edition of AD&D, TSR took the opportunity to take some of the changes made in later 1st ed. supplements and some of what seemed to be the more popular house rules, and merged them together with the rules presented in the Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide. Some of the changes were important alterations, some were made into “optional” rules, and others were merely cosmetic additions. What follows is a list of the major changes, compiled by Lawrence “DMGorgon” Mead and Ian Malcomson. Note: Because some of the changes actually occurred with later 1st ed. books such as Unearthed Arcana and the Dungeoneers Survival Guide, or in the pages of Dragon Magazine, players who adopted the rules presented in those books saw fewer changes to the core rules when 2nd ed. came out. When a change was made with UA or DSG, that is noted below. Also, some of the affected rules were often ignored by 1st ed. players, and/or are often ignored by 2nd ed. players, so t
