'House rules were the norm' is most likely an understatement. I found a friend's copy of the 2nd edition PHB a while ago, and we were reading through it, laughing at the crazy backwards ass rules. Different classes levelled at different exp totals. Past a certain level, you stopped gaining HP. All 7th+ level fighters had an army. A big one. Hell, survive to 5th level, you were near god level.<br/><br/>My favorite was the module we found, for 3rd level characters. Encounter one: "If the players refuse to agree to aid the merchants and escort them on their incredibly dangerous trip, the 21st level wizard who is invisible nearby casts Time Stop, disables the players, then strips the players of their gear, tosses it in a pile in the center, then uses a memory blank to wipe their memory of him ever existing." No, I'm not making that up.