Hey there, Illusive Manager! Since you know D&D 3.5, you won't have much trouble back-dating to 2nd edition in the way we play it. We have a variety of house rules anyway, some that borrow from 3rd edition trends: we use Ascending AC, base Attack Bonus converted from 2E's THAC0, and allow an unlimited range of species-class combinations, no multi-classing or class-dipping here though. There are no Feats. We do have our own house-version of 2E's Nonweapon Proficiencies (skills and skill-checks). We are not strict about grids. Flanking is narrative, not mechanical. We do use maps sometimes, with measurement ruler tool loosely employed, and we revert to theater of the mind sometimes too. The main point is we are not strict about 5-foot grid-play, like some games. We are more loose and descriptive to serve the story and freedom of action, in most cases, while still trying to be reasonable and conceivable. Mages have free-casting (don't have to memorize certain spells, can cast any from their repertoire). Priests have this too, with an even broader selection of spells limited only by 2E's Spheres. All of that won't matter much for the Roleplaying aspect of monsters as Co-GM anyway. We're fairly narrative oriented. We like scary descriptions of the monsters, such as breathing steam, stomping on the ground, and eerie voices or eyes looking at you from the darkness. If it's a monster who talks and the party talks to you, then we would like a monster voice that fits, and some answers that fit their alignment and motives in the situation. For the mechanical aspects of Monsters, we'll be looking closely at 2nd Edition Monster Compendium references. Use this monster index as your primary reference. (Click). I'll be talking with you directly about any monsters that are potentially on-deck. We will look at your monster's page from that 2E monster index, together, and decide "what you can do", and let you play it from there, as-if you were a DM, but also with an element of yourself being a Player since you might surprise me (the main DM). I will show you how it is very easy to convert 2E's Monster Compendium entry from AC to AAC (ascending AC), and how we convert Monster THAC0 to Attack Bonus. Other than that small 2-part conversion, I bet you'll find everything very clear and easy from the 2e monster index link. The 2e monsters had excellent write-ups, talking about the fur on the monster, the smells, the ecology, the motives, and so on. I am looking forward to meeting you more & introducing you to the Players. They are a fun, creative group, and I think that will hold your interest on this game regardless of edition. By the way we have 1 other Co-GM, Eddyall, who has developed some unique monsters and orc-related enemies for one part of the plot-line (a war against orcs who use Earthbending powers from Avatar:Airbender cartoon, to create strong-AC Rock Orcs). Eddyall's schedule does not allow him to join the sessions to portray the monsters, hence the opening for another Co-GM to take more of the monster-playing roles. The PC's are mostly Good aligned and have the hearts of heroes, as described on the Game introduction text. They have great, diverse backstories. We use something in 2E called the "Kit", if you've heard of that. For example our Minotaur Ranger is a Path-Maker Kit, our Elf Mage is a Witch kit, and our Gnome Thief is a Tinkerer/Celestial-traveler kit. Read some of the monthly Journal entry threads to catch up on the vibe of the story, personalities, and timeline so far. They're around 5th to 6th level now. I'll talk to you in-private about some of the larger over-arching enemies and movements of armies on the continent, and some of the adventure modules (like Adventure Paths) that are coming up over the next month of weekly gaming. Since you need to join games towards the later-half of our session times, I'll meet with you before the game and plan-ahead for what kind of monsters would be likely to be encountered in the later 2 hours of our next game. For map-work and Token-work, we see what you can contribute once you see the game table. We have good maps and excellent tile resources access. I'll show you the areas where I think we need help, and listen to your advice, ideas and analysis to make our maps better, and make monster tokens ever more-plentiful (hahaha, DM laughter). Can you play or at least observe & meet the Players at the time you said (when you get home) on next Monday Feb. 29?
