CHARACTER CLASSES (Descriptions, Functions, Levels)

Character class refers to the profession of the player character. The
approach you wish to take to the game, how you believe you can most
successfully meet the challenges which it poses, and which role you desire
to play are dictated by character class (or multi-class).

Clerics principally
function as supportive, although they have some offensive spell power
and are able to use armor and weapons effectively. Druids are a sub-class
of cleric who operate much as do other clerics, but they are less able in
combat and more effective in wilderness situations.

Fighters generally
seek to engage in hand-to-hand combat, for they have more hit points and
better weaponry in general than do other classes. Paladins are fighters <UA: revise>
who are lawful good (see ALIGNMENT). At higher levels they gain limited
clerical powers as well. Rangers are another sub-class of fighter. They are
quite powerful in combat, and ot upper levels gain druidic and magic spell
usage of a limited sort.

Magic-users cannot expect to do well in hand-to-hand
combat, but they have a great number of magic spells of offensive,
defensive, and informational nature. They use magic almost exclusively to
solve problems posed by the game. Illusionists are a sub-class of magic-user,
and they are different primarily because of the kinds of spells they
use.

Thieves use cunning, nimbleness, and stealth. Assassins, a sub-class of
thief, are quiet killers of evil nature.

Monks are aesthetic disciples of
bodily training and combat with bare hands.

Each class is detailed fully in
succeeding paragraphs. It is up to you to select what class you desire your
character to be. Selection must be modified by abilities generated and
possibly by the race of your character.

The following tables will enable you to determine the major differences
between character classes at a glance. Specific comparisons must be done
in {light} of the detailed info given in the sections which discuss the
individual classes in question. Note that non-human and semi-human race
characters who are multi-classed are typically bound by the limitations of
the thief class only. That is, a fighterlmagic-user can benefit from both
armor, weaponry and spells; a fighter/thief is limited by the constraints of
the thief class.

Q. Are the anti-paladin, anti-ranger,
samurai and houri character classes
officially part of the AD&D game?
A. No. Although many new character
classes have been published over the
years, very few have made it to
official status.  The ranger, for example,
began as an article in 1 of
the very early issues of Strategic
Review (a precursor of DRAGON
magazine), and was incorporated
into the official AD&D Game when
the Players Handbook was published.
    Other than the barbarian (in #2 of
IMAGINE magazine), the thief -acrobat
(#6), and the cavalier (#11)
there have been no official character
classes since the Players Handbook
was published.  This has not stopped
the flood of unofficial material, much
of which has been quite interesting.
Many players find that the classes in
the Players Handbook do not serve
the needs of their own campaign,
which might, for example, feature a
very powerful evil religion, of which
anti-paladins might be a part.
    However, many of the character
classes are attempts to produce
super-powerful characters, allowing
some players to unbalance The Game
-- the ninja (an assassin variant
based upon the medieval Japanese
spies and Killers) was particularly
easy to exploit in this manner.
    There are 2 other points to note
in connection with unofficial character
classes.  Firstly, many DMs may
not allow such characters into their
campaigns because they do not know
the roolz governing those characters
-- every DM knows how a fighter
'works', but how many know the
details of the merchant or the toady?
Secondly, while they may not be
completely suitable for PCs,
unofficial classes make interesting
NPCs for parties to encounter.
<update, OA: the samurai is an official class>
(Imagine #14)

Q. If a character with a STR of 10 
finds a girdle of giant strength, can 
he become a ranger, which 
has a minimum STR requirement 
of 13? 
A. No.  Character class prerequisites 
apply to the unaugumented permannent 
abilities of a character.  Abilities 
that are boosted above the required 
minimum only while items such as 
gauntlets, rings and girdles are in the 
character's possession do not count; 
the augumentation is temporary, lasting 
only as long as the item is worn. 
Of course, for characters who read 
manuals & tomes -- or use wishes 
-- to increase their abilities permanently, 
these restrictions do not apply 
when they enter a new class (see 
PHB p33), as their natural abilities 
have been improved for good, without 
the temporary aid of artificial 
devices which withdraw their benefits 
when no longer worn etc. 
    A similar point should also be 
made about the D&D Game -- it is the 
character's unaugumented abilities 
that count when determining if a 
class is a good choice for that 
character, so players cannot claim 
their brand new character just 
happened to inherit daddy's girdle of 
giant strength. 
(Imagine #26)

CHARACTER CLASSES TABLE I: HIT DICE, SPELL ABILITY, AND CLASS LEVEL LIMIT

Class of Character	Hit Die Type	Maximum Number of Hit Dice	Spell Ability	Class Level Limit
CAVALIER	d101	10	no	none
Paladin	d101	9	yes2	none
CLERIC	d8	9	yes	none
Druid	d8	14	yes	23 (Hierophant of the Cabal)
FIGHTER	d10	9	no	no
Barbarian	d12	8	no	no
Ranger	d83	10 ( +1)3	yes4	none
MAGIC-USER	d4	11	yes	none
Illusionist	d4	10	yes	none
THIEF	d6	10	no5	none
Acrobat	d6	12	no	none
Assassin	d6	15	no5	15 (Grandfather of Assassins)
MONK	d46	17 ( +1)6	no	17 (Grand Master of Flowers)
BARD	d6	10	yes	23 (Master Bard 23rd)

CHARACTER CLASSES TABLE II: ARMOR AND WEAPONS PERMITTED

Class of Character	Armor	Shield	Weapons	Oil	Poison
CAVALIER	any1	any	any1	no2	only if evil
Paladin	any1	any	any1	no2	never
CLERIC	any	any	club, flail, hammer, mace, staff, lasso, sap, <sling: A0.65>, staff sling	yes	only if evil
Druid	leather or padded	wooden	aklys, club, dagger, dart, garrot, hammer, lasso, sap, sling, scimitar, spear, staff, staff sling, sword (khopesh), whip	yes	DM's option
FIGHTER	any	any	any *	yes	DM's option
Barbarian	any3	any	any	yes	DM's option
Ranger	any	any	any	yes	DM's option
MAGIC-USER	none	none	caltrop, dagger, dart, knife, sling, staff	yes	DM's option
Illusionist	none	none	caltrop, dagger, dart, knife, sling, staff	yes	DM's option
THIEF	leather, studded leather, padded, or elfin chain4	none	bow (short), caltrop, club, crossbow (hand), dagger, dart, garrot, knife, sap, sling, sword (broad), sword (falchion), sword (long), sword (short)	yes	DM's option
Acrobat	as thief	none	as thief, plus lass and staff	yes	DM's option
Assassin	as thief	none	any	yes	yes
MONK	none	none	aklys, atlatl, axe (hand), bo stick, caltrop, club, crossbow (any), dagger, garrot, javelin, jo stick, knife, lasso, pole arm (any), sap, spear, staff, sword (falchion)	no	DM's option
BARD	leather, studded leather, padded, ring mail, elfin chain, or magical chain mail	none	club, dagger, dart, garrot, javelin, knife, lasso, sap, scimitar, sling, spear, staff, sword (bastard), sword (broad), sword (falchion), sword (long), sword (short)	yes	only if evil

* (You may, at your option, allow fighters to opt to learn various artillery engines in lieu of normal hand weapons.)
<above note was take from siege weapons section of the DMG>

1: A cavalier or a paladin will not wear leather, padded, or studded leather armor, because such garb is considered beneath the character's station. Similarly,
a cavalier or paladin will not USE pole arms, missile weapons, or other types of arms that are associated with the lower social classes. <Knights of Solamnia may be exempt from this>
See the description of the cavalier class hereafter for particulars.

Q: Can a cavalier use a crossbow?

A: In general, cavaliers shun the use of
missile weapons, with the exception of
elven and half-elven cavaliers who often
use short composite bows. Cavaliers tend
to see missile weapons as ignoble because
they deal out damage at a distance, which
calls the cavalier's personal bravery into
question. This does not mean that a cavalier
cannot take proficiency in crossbow at
higher levels, but the character risks losing
status in the knightly community for
doing so, depending upon the circumstances
and whether or not the character
is dependent upon the undesirable
weapon. Historically, the crossbow was
sometimes used by normal soldiers, so it
would probably offend the cavalier, who is
supposed to be superior.
(117.54)

2: The USE of oil in personal combat is unacceptable to the cavalier and the paladin, but such characters may use oil in siege warfare.

3: A barbarian may use any sort of armor, but does not gain the full benefit of the dexterity bonus of the class if the armor worn is of the bulky or
fairly bulky category.

4: A thief attired in anything other than leather armor must take adjustments to his or her chances of success in performing certain
thieving functions. See Thieves Table II hereafter.

QUESTION: May thieves use bows?

ANSWER: No.
(Correction: Thieves may use short bows. See above.)
 
 

ADQ: The Players Handbook specifically
states that a thief may use a club, dagger,
dart, sling, or a sword. Why can't a thief
use a bow?
ADA: It is all a matter of game balance.
Logically, a DM can say that a thief's
training takes place in towns where a
bow on one's back is not as useful as a
dagger in one's hand when going into dark
alleys and the like.
(Polyhedron #14)
 

Q: What happens if a magic-user uses
a sword when in desperate need?
A: If a character?s need is truly great, the
DM can allow any class of character to use
a weapon prohibited to his class. The
normal nonproficiency penalty applies
(perhaps with an additional - 1 to hit). If a
player falls into the habit of declaring his
characters in desperate need too often,
however, the DM should either disallow
the use of the prohibited weapon or give
the character no experience award for
completing the adventure.
(150.9)

Question: Can a thief wear studded leather?

Answer: No. He can’t move silently because the studs will click on
surfaces he touches, and they will add extra weight, making climbing
up walls extremely hard.
(Correction: Thieves may use any kind of armor, including studded leather. Anything other than leather armor will impose penalties on thieving functions. See Thieves Table II hereafter.)
 

Question: Why can’t human, half-elf and elven Magic-
Users wear armor and still cast spells? Elves and half-elves
who are Magic-Users and Fighters can, so I don’t believe it is
because of the iron in their armor or weapons. If it is because
of training, then Magic-Users could be able to learn how to
wear armor and cast spells at the same time—and even a
human Magic-User/Fighter could train to acquire the
ability.

Answer: This is a tough one. I would like to provide a logical
answer why M-Us can’t wear armor—but I can’t because there isn’t
one. The only reason for the restriction is game balance, giving each
character class advantages and disadvantages which will make it
comparable in power and potential with the other classes.
As part of the built-in game balance, elven and half-elf Fighter/
Magic-Users are limited as to how far they may rise in experience
levels. They also must divide their experience points between more
than one class. So, to make that type of character one which players
will desire to try, those particular spell-casters are allowed to wear
armor and cast spells.
    Even though elven and half-elf Magic-Users are also limited in
how many levels they can gain, they are forbidden to wear armor
because human Magic-Users are also not allowed to be armored. If
elven and half-elf M-Us could wear armor, why would anyone want
to be a human M-U?
 

Question: Why should Druids be able to wear leather armor,
since it is made of the hides of the animals they worship?

Answer: Druids do not worship animals, they worship all
aspects of nature. This includes the “survival of the fittest”
process, whereby some animals are killed to provide food,
protection, or some other benefit for another species. Since the
Druid is as much a part of nature as the things which make up
his environment, it is quite natural for a Druid to use the remains
of a fellow creature for food, armor, or whatever. — J. Ward, W.
Niebling
* * *

Q. Some classes have minimum abiliity
scores such as the ranger who must
have a STR of 13, INT of 13,
WIS of 14 and a CON of 14.
What happens when a score
drops below the minimum, as occurs
to CON after a number of
deaths and resurrections, or STR
if hit in combat by a shadow??
A. The character does not cease to be a
member of a particular class (either
temporarily or permanently) because
his ability scores no longer reach the
minima required. The minima apply
only at the time a character is
created, not to his or her continued
functioning.
(Imagine #3)

The AD&D and LA game systems are sufficiently different as to require specially crafter material for adventure scenarios in either.
This is especially true for dungeon crawls, where LA Avatars start out equal to around 5th level PCs with a broader range of potentials, but progress more slowly from there than do PCs. - Gary Gygax

Mr. Awesome wrote:
Gary: I've been tinkering with making new character classes for AD&D, and I was wondering if you had any special way of figuring out experience needed for levels.

Actually, if you find the various progressions for the classes given in the rules books satisfactory, they will provide you with a template for that of any new class.

Cheers,
Gary
 
 

Richard wrote:
Gary, I think it is awesome that you and Kim and Frank have allowed TN-alignment nondruid clerics for ADandD 1st edition as stated in an Unearthed Arcana errata article of Dragon magazine. Because of that, I now know that I can be a TN-alignment nondruid cleric of Lugh, Tyche, Untamo, ....

Hi Richard,

Indeed you can have a TN cleric of a deity that is principally or entirely of Neutral bent. Glad that you find this so suitable.
 
 

Darius wrote:
I do not want to bring up AD&D but I ran across something in a Dragon Magazine from 1988. Reading your plans from 2E, it included mention of new classes including a MU called the Savant I believe. It is written very poorly and does not contain any refrence to you, but then again you had left TSR by now.

The basic idea of the class is one that seeks knowledge and is a scholar. It is also described as a "split-class" which I take to be like a theif-acrobat. However, I do not see that developed in the text. But they do "specialize" in one type of magic (it mentions making potions and scrolls). The class has some abilities like read languages and legend lore.

So does any of this sound familiar to you, or is this just a case of someone printing up a class with the same name, but completly difference susbstance?
 

Sure does. I have been pestered for information on the Mountebank, Mystic, and Savant for many a year.

There is no way I am ever going to publish the material, as the game they were meant to be used in became the exclusive property of TSR, and is now the property of WotC.

Maybe after I have shuffled off this mortal coil my rough notes will be found and whomever acquires them will share whetever information about the proposed classes is therein.

Frankly I do not remember much about them.
After over 20 years and a great deal of new creative work in vastly different RPG systems, it should be no wonder to anyone that my recollection is hazy at best.

Cheerio,
Gary
 

Greg Ellis wrote:
Col_Pladoh wrote:
Creatively my major RPG interest since 1995 has been in the Lejendary Adventure game and in the last three years secondarily in the C&D one.
 

Yeah, but there aren't any mystic henchmen in the Lejendary Adventure game. Unless perhaps you count Forgie...

If there were, mind you, they could certainly be of any moral compass and of any socio-economic background. And you would probably find them in all sorts of places all over the world!

The mystic was a marginal archetype based on what is termed Oriental Mystery and Eastern mythology.
As special class abilities are not a feature of the LA game system, no such Avatar is suitable in it.

Abnout as close as one could come would be to have a combination of these Abilities: Arcana, Psychogenic. Learning, Theology. Divination in no particular order.

Cheerio,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally posted by the Jester
Hey there Gary!

My question is this: before UA came out, in many of the Dragon articles you published with 'teaser' stuff in it, you referred to a PH2. You had talked about several other subclasses that never saw print- the mystic, savant, mounteback, etc.

How far along did your developement of these go? Any chance we'll ever see any of the details, or was it all lost during the TSR/Gygax fallout?
 

Howdy!

First.
I did the article material to intriduce the convepts dealt with and get feedback from gamers.
I have always paid attention to that, even if I don't agree with the comments and suggestions 

I indeed planned to see to a revised AD&D game, a Second Edition, that added the new material from UA and elsewhere, compiled the various monsters books into an encyclopedia-like work, and updated the DMG.
I really wanted to go over the rules and mechanics of the game to see about possibly changing things a bit to include select skills for classes, and also make the system more adaptable to other genres.
Indeed, I wrote a lengthy memo to management about this play, suggesting it begin implimentation in house in c. 1986.

The new classes--mountebank, mystic, and savant were in progress of development when the troubles at TSR caused me to drop that work so as to manage and direct.
Likely the nores and all are somewhere here.
I am precluded by legal agreement from exploiting any A/D&D material.
Won't give the stuff out for free either, so that it can be exploited by some publisher...

Heh,
Gary

Hi Mike 

Quote:
Originally posted by optimizer
Howdy!
 

How did you go about introducing these new classes when you created the game? Were Joe and Dennis in your campaign when they created them, or did they send them in to you for publication? How about the other classes added after the original 3?
 

Joe Fischer played in my group, and he did an article in THE STRATEGIC REVIEW introducing the Ranger Class for the D&D game. From that I built the AD&D version. Dennis Sustarre was not a member, but he corresponded with me, and did a DRAGON Magazine piece on the Druid Class. (I had them as NPC "Monsters" in D&D before that.) From his material I crafted the new PC class.

I did the Thief, Assassin, Monk, Cavalier, Barbarian all by myself, as I'd done the three basic ones in OD&D. Same for the demi-humans. Tim Kask had a hand in creating the Bard class.

Most of the new material was introduced into my campaign first, then done in DRAGON as articles, then appeared in the PHB or UA.
 
 
 

Quote:
Originally posted by optimizer
Howdy!
 

Thanks for the response!

Did you have trouble finding volunteers to try the new classes? Did any of them catch on so well that people decide to continue playing them beyond the playtest period?

Thanks again!

Mike
 

Hi Mike 

Well shucks!
We weren't formal in play testing.
When I had new material I'd just pass it sround to the guys, and let them decide what to do about it--or sit down and DM the adventure 

Terry Kuntz played the first monk character, and he loved it.
We had several assassins, but nobody played one for a long period of time.
Tim Kask played the first bard IIRR.
Druids were very popular, and he had been playing one regularly.

From the in-game experience I'd fine tune the new class and then get it into print so other gamers could have at it.
Pretty much the same with adventure modules.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by mistere29
What about attribute requirements for classes. Did you hold your players to them?

But of course! Usually that meant the player with a specific class in mind about to create a character would roll up quite a few before one fit the bill, but that was considered part of the fun
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by mattcolville
My only question for the moment involves the classes in 1st ed. AD&D and their inspiration. In many discussions about design, I've referenced those classes and said "If there had never been Aragorn, there would be no Ranger." Ditto the Thief with the Grey Mouser. It's presumptuous of me to say such a thing, especially considering you're right here and I can just ask you. To what extent were the original classes inspired by/modeled on specific characters?

The Ranger class was originally devised by Joe Fischer, then a regular in my D&D game group. I published his initial treatment of the class in The Strategic Review, thereafter revised it and included it in the core game rules. Of course it is apparent that Joe based the class on JRRT's work and Aragorn. Likely a forester of some sort would have been created at some point, but it would have been quite different from the Ranger as it appeared. certainly.

The Thief was based on Jack of Shadows (Zelazny) and Cugel (Vance) with a touch of REH's Conan, rather than solely on the Gray Mouser. Mouser was too good a swordsman to serve as the pure model.

What was done was tobuild game characters based on broad archetypes, and where there were strong fictitional characters of the archtypical sort, use them as central models.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by VirgilCaine
What is your favorite character class to play?

I mainly play a skill-based system these days, but when playing a class-based one I don't ming any of the main classes--fighter, mage, illusionist, cleric, druid, thief, ranger, or some combination of those if playing a demi-human. The last new PC I created was a gnome illusionist thief.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by John Drake
Hey there Gary
These are some pretty standard questions I suppose, and no doubt have been asked this before, but I have not been fortunate enough to have heard the answer.
So, apologies for the repeat of query  What I was wondering was:

From a player's perspective, what is your favourite AD&D character class? If you do have one, for what reason is it your favouite?

Howdy,

I usually play a magic-user, fighter, or a multi-classed demi-human--such as an illusionist thief--when I play OAD&D.
I don't mind playing a cleric, druid, or ranger though. It is just that I began RPGing when class choices were more limited, so most of my established PCs are fighters, or magic-users.
When I am tired, I always opt for a fighter, when feeling full of vinegar I prefer a mage.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by zakon
Hmm...what to ask...

Did you ever plan to have "specialized" classes like the assassin or acrobat, or did they just crop up?

Howdy!

The assassin is an archetype, not any more specialized than most of the other classes.
The thief-acrobat was an attempt to make the nimble swashbuckler of many a motion picture the same. So to the point, I did indeed plan those types of characters.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by jokamachi
Hey, Gary,

Good to see you on the boards these days. Hope everything is well in your corner. Anyway, I've got a burning question for you:

Should I play a thief or a ranger?

Best Wishes,

Jokamachi
 

P.S. Have you seen Chimes at Midnight yet?

Which PC you plat depends on what you want to have your character do in the adventures, scout and fight mainly outdoors or skulk mainly indors and perform what it rakes to purloin valuables.

As for Chimes at Midnight, which I assume is a film, no. What genre is it?

Cheers,
Gary

<trim>
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by airwalkrr
So in other words, it was felt by you and the other designers that classes like the paladin (which typically required more XP per level) were more powerful than classes like the thief (which was the power-leveller of the game) and that they needed to level at different rates to remain equivalent? Was that the rationale, or is there another element of balance I am missing?

Properly, there were no other designers involved in this regard, and it was my sole decision, mostly my sole creative input in fact.

I do believe that the millions of persons that played and enjoyed the AD&D game demonstrate the correctness of my design choice,much of it based on playing the D&D game intensley for four years, averaging about 20 or more hours of DMing and play a week over that period.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Treebore,

I pretty well concur with what you state, and most of the AD&D game audience certaoinly does. All character classes are not equal, but the differing advancement requirements helps to keep them relatively so.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug McCrae
Gary, what were your inspirations for the D&D party? The small band of adventurers each with different, but equally useful, skills and abilities has been a very important concept in roleplaying games, yet it seems to have few analogues in fiction.

Indeed, as far as I know there are no literary parallels of the FRPG adventuring party.
My insporation was from wargaming, the mix of arms on the battlefield.
    Infantry = fighter,
    rangers/spoes = thief;
    medical/priest = cleric,
    artillery/engineers = magic-user.

Cheerio,
Gary

Quote:
Originally Posted by haakon1
I tend to agree. Though I wouldn't go as far as you would in saying M-U's were the be-all-and-end all, I do think M-U's had a very low survival probability at lower levels in AD&D, and were more powerful than the other classes at higher levels. Fighters, on the other hand, took a strong lead and weakened over time. Clerics and thief-types were more in the middle -- overall, clerics seem the most durable characters and got decent power at high levels.

Perhaps I only say that because my highest level character was a cleric . . . 

If the group is playing cooperatively, the others protect the low-level m-u most assiduously knowing that later on he will be the one that will carry the day for them/ Thus the viabillity if such a character should be high when part of a thoughtful player group 

Cheers,
Gary

Cavalier +
Paladin +
Cleric +
Druid +
Fighter +
Barbarian +
Ranger +
Magic-User +
Illusionist +
Thief +
Assassin +
Monk +
Bard +
Samurai +
Shukenja +
Sohei +
Bushi +
Kensai +
Oriental Barbarian +
Wu Jen +
Ninja +
Yakuza +
Good Priest +
Neutral Priest +
Evil Priest +
Knight of the Crown +
Knight of the Sword +
Knight of the Rose +
White Magician +
Red Magician +
Black Magician +
Tinker +

cf. Lejendary Adventures (page 32)
Demonurge
Desperado
Ecclesiatic
Elementalist
Forester
Jongleur
Mage
Mariner
Noble
Outlaw
Rogue
Soldier
Warlock