As usual, I'm having trouble deciding on a character. I have a couple high scores (15 and 17) and a couple  low scores (7 and 6). I can qualify for most classes. I was shying away from a magic-user due to low spell capacity, but the house rule to allow bonus spells and spontaneous casting makes that much more appealing.

I'll probably wait a bit to see how others' choices shake out, so I'm not stepping on anyone's toes.

I'll check in tomorrow morning.

(Former Rath here, by the way.)

Yeah. There is a bunch of goofy things about 1st edition AD&D. I started playing this edition in 1984 and just last night I either learned something new, or re-learned something I had long since forgotten concerning monster saving throws.

The way monster saves are computed in 1st edition is quite byzantine and totally representative of the scattershot nature of the game.

Nostalgia...

I am late to the party, but I will catch up. I was thinking cleric/mage, though I can be just a cleric too, Gotta roll my stats, see what it looks like.

Mediocre stats, but nothing really bad, which is a nice change of pace. I think I will just be a cleric though.

Drat, I wanted to be a dwarven cleric, didn't remember that they were not an allowed option.

Are we using racial level limits? I was thinking about a 1/2 Orc cleric, but they cap at level 4.

For this game, I am willing to do way with racial limitations altogether, unless any of you have strong objections?

This might open up new race class options, especially for those of you who may be struggling for new class concepts.

I am not concerned about any supposed "balance", I am more interested in fun.

Thoughts?

I am good with abandoning racial limits, and allowing things that are forbidden.

In reply to DM Pawn (msg # 16):

I have no objections to removing racial limits.

Yeah I could the logic at the time but I’m good with flexible fun

Obviously I am all for it. Considering a half-Orc cleric sounds like fun, though the Wisdom cap is 14, I could live with that. Or maybe a dwarf.

I'm hovering between MU/Illusionist and Thief.  With those who are hovering closer to MU realm I'm leaning thief because we need it -- which I am happy to do -- but will wait a bit to see how things shake out.

In my experience, the race/class and level limitations did not often became a factor because so few of the AD&D games I played had characters ever reach a level cap. Characters died so often and the highest level character, legitimate character played in an actual campaign, I ever saw was 8th. The vast majority of campaigns fell apart before characters even reached 5th level. This is just my experience though, others likely have quite different experience.

But, for the purposes of this game, we won't get to high levels either. I have no interest in high level play, as you are all aware.

I have read articles and interviews where the game's designers said the limits were also put in place to reinforce the idea of a human-centric world. This also is no longer a concern for me. The world is whatever you want it to be and I don't need arbitrary, hard-coded game rules to dictate what the fantasy world looks like.

Time is fleeting. Life is already hard. Let's play the characters we want to play and have fun!
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:45, Tue 05 Oct 2021.

Oh yeah, we previously discussed bringing the 2nd edition Bard over to 1st edition. I have included that class in the House Rules thread for your consideration.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:15, Tue 05 Oct 2021.

Bard sounds like fun, if no one else grabs it, I might try that!

Maybe a Dwarven cleric/bard with a bag-pipe among his instruments.

I’ll commit to a magic user (but I’m willing to change if someone else has their heart set on it — or we could have two).

I got permission for cleric/bard, this should be interesting.

So -- Cleric/Bard, MU, and Galadel's a fighting type.

And I'm dithering around.  We still need a thief, could use a pure cleric . . .

Or cleric/thief? Just a thought.

I think it's:

Fighter (Zeta)
Cleric/Bard (Beta)
MU (Delta)

Alpha and Gamma both dithering around still :-).  So, my rolls were decent, but not enough to be a Ranger.  Busy day but I'll take a close look this evening and commit to something.

I'm working on another fighter, these 1ed adventures always needed a front line.  We called them sponges in the day, I guess cause they could absorb damage, buy time for the spellcasters to work their magic.

Sorry you didn't get those ranger numbers you wanted. That would have been fun.

No worries, like yourself, the fun is in the playing something of interest.

In that case . . . we have a cleric/bard, which kinda covers thieving and clericing.

Do we want another one of those that focuses on one, or another damage sponge (fighter)?