in this post i will begin to unravel the multitude of character options and meta knowledge that should give you the head start in reaching AD&D nirvana, most of what i write will be in reference to Osric since that's what ive been running reading and digesting over the past month or two, there are differences between Osric and AD&D but most of what im talking about should be similar enough that the advice will still be useful. A lot of the difference of minimaxing in old D&D is while new D&D min maxing is largely a solo affair AD&D characters are nothing on their own compared to them being part of a smart and coordinated team, if you stop thinking about D&D characters as a individual and more as part of a whole things start to click together a bit easier (might go into more detail on this in a future post just thought it needed to be mentioned here)
So firstly lets kill a meme (an always enjoyable task) are Demi humans worse than humans in AD&D? no are you out of your mind? they're better, a flat out a better option 9/10 times, especially these days where sadly most games wont go the distance, the main thing people get upset about is level limits which is usually discussed completely out of context and with no understanding about some very key mechanics, namely
1. demi humans get tons of special abilities from level one, these abilities by themselves are valuable boons to a character, stuff like an increase to hit with certain weapons, +4AC Vs large creatures, dark vision, +4 Vs poison (which considering poison is one of the most common instant death effects out there is huge) and a laundry list of known languages (very useful when you have to negotiate with a orc tribe for the release of your captured friend, this isn't a game just about combat non combat stuff can massively help you survive and thrive)
2.multi classing, you know what's better than being a human mage? being an elf mage who can wear armour and use weapons because they are also a fighter, you know what's better than being a elf mage fighter? an elf mage fighter that can also scale walls better than spider man, multiclassing is good so what's the downside? level limits, these don't matter if you aren't playing beyond like 9th level anyway (which is probably the majority of games these days) and really only effects you in the magic and Thac0 department anyway, personally I think your more likely to be able to get an elf fighter magic user with its better armour and hit points to 9th level than a human magic user so the trade off of high level magic is really not that much of a loss, there's also the fact that every demi human can level unlimited in thief, which provides some hp and saves improvement's at higher levels while also giving you cool thief skills (without sacrificing the abilities of the other classes your multiclassed in)
3.Human classes have level limits too, well assassin and druid do but you get the point, hell you can play a half orc and get to max level in assassin, you can play a half orc and multiclass assassin to max level and fighter to level 10!!!!! an amazing option how can humans compete? (probably with the ranger)
another thing worth mentioning is dual classing, this is an extremely interesting option humans get access to kind of like their version of multi classing, where as a demi human can level in 2-3 classes at once splitting their xp between their classes the human levels one class at a time but can switch to another class and start levelling in that instead (as long as you meet some quite high requirements, the process is also not reversible so if you where a level 5 fighter you cant then level fighter any higher), this comes with the draw back that your thac0 increases and saving throws while levelling this new class are set at that classes current level while your hit points stay the same,if you use your other classes ability while levelling this new class you don't get xp so this is a very difficult endeavour where you basically have to earn your reward (made a bit easier by hopefully having some magic items and higher level allies to carry you through the adventure) upon reaching one level higher than your original class with this new class you apparently get the ability to use both classes abilities (so basically you can be a fighter magic user without the level restrictions just with a lot more work and time investment, if your going to play in the same game for 50 years with the same characters this is probably the option)
so what if you just want a quick boost to your character at low levels is it possible just to start as a fighter and switch to a mage after one or two levels to have the benefits of a fighters hp pool? yes as long as you meet the requirements (AD&D character gen is quite forgiving and there are ways to increase stats in game though mostly down to finding certain magic items or drinking from magic fountains and using wishes) so if you get a raw deal at character gen don't give up hope for them, i think one thing that can be taken from this post is that AD&D is about the journey not the destination and damn is it one wild journey.
So i think that's where ill leave it, i think some more posts like this looking into the old school meta would be fun (future subjects could include but are not limited to, why chivalry will save your life or the risks of murderhoboing, why you should use consumables as soon as convenient, use wishes quickly and effectively etc) AD&D is a game of tremendous depths due to its many sub systems so there's a lot to talk about and it will be an excuse for me to dive further into the mechanics of the game (since i need to learn them for my game anyway). also was thinking about reading through some old fan zines from AD&Ds height like old dragon and white dwarf issues, since AD&D is the same game as when they where published I'm sure they are a treasure trove of advice tips and tricks (already peaked at white dwarf issue one there's some real fascinating articles in there)
No comments:
Post a Comment