1 Character, 13 Systems - Part 4: AD&D 2nd edition

    I described my character, Korsanian, in a previous post here. 
    Having looked at him in a D&D-style system, let's go one step up to AD&D 2nd edition:

Books Used: AD&D 2nd ed Player's Handbook, Player's Options: Skills & Powers, The Complete Book of Elves
Approximate time to create: 90 min

Korsanian Vambrae  -  Grey Elf, Wizard (level 1)

Str  10     Weight Allowance 40 lbs, Attack/Damage Adj 0/0, Max Press 115 lbs,
                Open Doors 1-6 (d20), Bend Bars/Lift Gates 2%
Dex  13   Missile Adj 0, React Adj 0, Defense Adj 0
Con 12    System Shock 80%, HP Adj 0, Ressurect Chance 85%
Int  16     Max Spell Lvl 8th, Max # Spells 11, +5 CP, Learn Spell 70%
Wis  14
Cha  14  Loyalty Base +1, # of Henchmen 6, Reaction Adj +2

Background Event: touched by magic

Racial Abilities:
+1 Int, -1 Con
Due to reclusive ways -1 reaction roll w/other elves, -2 other races
Starts w/6 languages of choice
Infravision, 60'
Animal Companion
Secret Doors (detect 1 (d6) in passing, 1-2 searching for secret, 1-3 searching for concealed)
Less Sleep (only requires 4 hrs)
Resistance (90% to sleep and charm effects)
Max MU level 15 (17 w/optional prime requisite rule)

Class Abilities:
d4 Hit Die
2,500 XP needed for next level (+10% to XP earned for Int 16+)
Can memorize- 1st level spells: 1 / day
Access to Schools- Abjuration, Divination, Necromancy only
Detect Magic- 1/day for every 2 levels
Read Magic- 1/day for every 2 levels

Scout kit:
Lower Middle Class
+1 to all NWP checks in wilderness or natural caves
-1 to all NWP checks in urban or dungeon settings

Non-weapon Proficiencies (NWP):
Tracking, Survival, Fire-building, Rope Use, Orienteering, Weather Knowledge, Reading/Writing, Spellcraft, Herbalism

Weapon Proficiencies:
Staff, Light Crossbow

Alignment: Neutral Good

THAC0: 20 (subtract target AC, roll equal or above on d20)
Weapons:
Staff (2H)  1d6 damage

Armor:
none (AC: 9)

Saving Throws (on d20 roll):
Paralyzation, Poison and Death Magic    14+
Rod, Staff or Wand                                   11+
Petrification or Polymorph                       13+
Breath Weapon                                         15+
Spell                                                         12+

Gear (37 lbs total, encumbered at 40 lbs):
Belt, Soft Boots, Hose, Common Robe, Backpack, Belt Pouch (small), 10 Candles, Flint & Steel, Lantern (hooded), Lamp Oil (5 flasks), Rope 50' Hemp, Wineskin, Winter Blanket

Spells/day: 1st level- 1
Spells known:
1st lvl- Cantrip, Chill Touch, Detect Undead, Detect Magic, Identify, Read Magic, Alarm, Protection From Evil


    Wow, this was way more work then I expected.  I wanted to bridge the gap between the old school like D&D original and the new school of picking options, so I went with the Player's Option book to customize the character.  It was kind of good, it let me tighten up some things like only taking 3 of the spell categories (abjuration, divination and necromancy) which fit my character concept - then it went screwy when I failed a few of my rolls to learn spells for the only starting spells I could take (with the limited spell selection I could only take the 8 spells I rolled to start with, but they are not guaranteed, which leaves a conundrum - I just went ahead and gave myself the spells since I couldn't roll for anything else).  I managed to give myself proficiency with the light crossbow, which was something I wanted, but then didn't roll enough starting gold to afford one.  Basically, the mix of point-buy and rolling randomly did not always mesh well.  The non-weapon proficiencies was nice to give him some skills fitting the concept, but the cross-class costs was a pain to calculate.  Back in the day this was also when I remember shifting to rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest for attributes, so that's what I did here.  Which is nice when you want a better-than-average character, but for this concept I actually wanted some lower than average scores.  So the Str, Dex and Con are all a few points higher than I'd like given the character I was trying to make.  Also I got a good Charisma roll which I suppose works, it at least off-sets his racial penalty.
    Oh yeah, the race was a pain too.  Elves normally get +1 Dex and -1 Con, but I was trying to get my Dex lower, not higher.  So in the Complete Elves book there was the Grey Elves sub-race that got +2 Int +1 Dex -2 Con -1 Str.  Ummm.... better, I wanted the Int bonus, but a total of +/- 3 was a lot more than the default +/- 1 total in the core book.  So I fudged this to +1 Int and -1 Con which I think any DM would be okay with, and also took the racial reaction penalty.  The Scout kit was a nice addition, pretty easy to choose and incorporate, gave me a break on the cost of some of my NWPs (though they were mis-named, apparently the S&P book changed a few of the titles), and I liked how they were not restricted to any class.  The background table was funny since it had "touched by magic" which was a part of my character concept anyways.  And boy am I glad D&D 3.0 and on went to the attribute bonus that gets applied in different places, because all the little fuddly details about each attribute was annoying to write out.  His maximum MU level did go to 15, or 17 w/an optional rule using his high Int, which is a lot better - that's such a high level odds it'll take years of playing to hit it (though the whole idea is still stupid).  Resistance to sleep and charm seem to have taken over the immunity to ghouls from the S&W version, and the resistance makes more sense to me (in this version elves don't really sleep, and being in nature and subject to fae creatures with charm/compulsion effects could have given them the resistance).
    So far this version has taken the longest to make, and it is not terribly better than any of the others.  A little more detail, slightly, very slightly closer to the concept than the Swords & Wizardry version, but a real headache, and I had to 'house rule' a few things to make it work.  I'd have to say that I'm still with 13th Age as the closest version for the least amount of work.