D&D Cover to Cover, part 7

Being a series of articles in which the author reads the indelible words of Gygax and Arneson as presented the Original Collector's Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, published by Tactical Studies Rules. Beginning with Men & Magic, and concluding with The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, the author will consider those earliest passages, adding elucidations and interpretations along the way for your consideration.

Men & Magic
CHARACTERS (continued)

"Elves: Elves can begin as either Fighting-Men or Magic-Users and freely switch class whenever they choose, from adventure to adventure, but not during the course of a single game. Thus, they gain the benefits of both classes and may use both weaponry and spells. They may use magic armor and still act as Magic-Users. However, they may not progress beyond 4th level Fighting-Man (Hero) nor 8th level magic-User (Warlock). Elves are more able to note secret and hidden doors. They also gain the advantages noted in the CHAINMAIL rules when fighting certain fantastic creatures. Finally, Elves are able to speak the languages of Orcs, Hobgoblins and Gnolls in addition to their own (Elvish) and the other usual tongues."

The above passage concerning elves as player characters has probably generated more questions and confusion than any other in Men & Magic. The more I read it, the more I think that a total lack of a phrase such as ‘at the same time’ leads me to deduce that indeed an elf must decide which class to pursue between adventures. While the elf never has to remove his magic armor, even when he decides to cast spells for an upcoming excursion, he or she is either one or the other for each adventure, but not both ‘at the same time’. Indeed this means that an elf player character will need to alter certain class specific details whenever he opts for the other class (such as re-rolling hits and rewriting saving throws). It looks as if a revision of my house rules is in order.

"Other Character Types: There is no reason that players cannot be allowed to play as virtually anything, provided they begin relatively weak and work up to the top, i.e., a player wishing to be a Dragon would have to begin as let us say, a “young” one and progress upwards in the usual manner, steps being predetermined by the campaign referee."

While I’ve never personally been too keen on this sort of thing, I believe that the authors are trying to convey that anything is possible with D&D, and that if a referee wanted to, he could indeed construct a ‘Fantastic Medieval Wargame Campaign’ for a party of Dragon player characters. The predominant theme here is that everyone starts ‘weak’ and needs to experience the same challenges and obstacles in their pursuits of experience, wealth and fame. A theme that was presented over 30 years ago as a campaign concept in Men & Magic, and has influenced countless games since.

"Character Alignment, Including Various Monsters and Creatures: Before the game begins it is not only necessary to select a role, but it is also necessary to determine what stance the character will take - Law, Neutrality, or Chaos."

Much has been written and debated about this original D&D Alignment system. Pulp fiction inspirations aside, my take on this is it is a result of the need to add actual sides to the game, much in the same way that all wargames prior to this rather unique iteration pitted players or sides in a conflict against one another in a table-top miniatures simulation. You had Bob versus Bill, with Neutral forces who might be added through the course of a game to one side or the other, either as mercenary units or once certain criteria where met. (edit: a few days after typing this I noticed in CHAINMAIL a passage titled 'GENERAL LINE-UP' which include Law-Neutral-Chaos. This supports my ‘line-up’ or picking sides theory). There is no mention of moral codes, ethics or doctrines which might govern the behavior of a particular individual player character or non-player character. There are even some creature types which are either Law or Neutrality; Chaos or Neutrality; or that appear in all three columns on the Law-Neutrality-Chaos Table. Men and Lycanthropes are listed in all three columns. Many monsters which are considered ‘evil’ in later editions of D&D appear here in both Neutrality and Chaos; for example Orcs, Ogres and Minotaurs. Men, though, are the only ‘default’ playable race which appears in the Chaos column. As mentioned earlier in the Characters section, Neutral Clerics are in fact required to declare which ‘side’ they are on prior to attaining 7th level. The fact that Anti-Clerics become synonymous with Evil Clerics in later passages leads me to believe that Evil is always on the side of Chaos, and that Good is always on the side of Law, but not vice-versa. Good and Evil were added in later editions, Law and Chaos were retained, and the entire scope of Alignment became unnecessarily involved once the various codes were mingled. But such subsequent editions and ways of considering Alignment are not the intent of this reading of Men & Magic. Furthermore, there is no mention of penalties or drawbacks for switching from one Alignment to another (provided it is permitted by the three column table), except for the brief explanation in the Clerics section which speaks to the loss of help from “above” after constructing a stronghold. From all of this I construe that there are Protagonists, Antagonists and the Indifferent in between who are either non-committal or not intelligent enough to care. Exactly how Law and Chaos are defined, whether it be Good guys and Bad guys or Order and Anarchy, is left to the referee to decide. Perhaps Clerics simply have a higher ethical and moral standard, being the only ones truly concerned with Good and Evil, and that each situation dictates whether or not Alignment even comes into play.

"Changing Character Class: In order for men to change class they must have a score of 16 or better in the prime requisite (see below) of the class they wish to change to, and this score must be unmodified. A Cleric with a “strength” of 15, for example, could not become a Fighting-Man. In any event Magic-Users cannot become Clerics and vice-versa."

This rather vague passage does not clarify whether a 4th level Cleric with a 16 strength can become a 4th level Fighting-Man, or a 1st level Fighting-Man. On the one hand we have a very stringent prerequisite for making such a change, and on the other hand we have no penalty for making such a change. If there is no penalty for changing classes, it would be possible for all men with very high intelligence or wisdom to begin as Fighting-Men, and then switch to Magic-User or Cleric once they had advanced in experience. But why would such a change be restricted to only those with a very high score in the new class’s prime requisite? Are we to assume that, through the course of play, the character in question is utilizing this ability enough to compensate for not actually practicing the other class? When switching from Magic-User or Cleric to Fighting-Man, having a very high strength could justify such a 4th to 4th level change, but not the other way around. In the end I assume that a character making such a change in fact starts anew at 1st level, and must recalculate Hits and saving throws. I would allow such a character to retain his prior experience, but only insomuch as it pertains to his original class, incase he or she desired and was able to change back to it. A character with a 16 or better in both strength and intelligence, or strength and wisdom is fairly rare, so allowing such men to switch class between adventures, like Elves can, would not be unfair nor unbalanced, but it might potentially cause issues for a Cleric’s moral or ethical demands. I would handle such a situation on a case by case basis, if it ever actually arose in a game.

~Sham, Quixotic Referee

D&D Cover to Cover, part 6

Being a series of articles in which the author reads the indelible words of Gygax and Arneson as presented the Original Collector's Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, published by Tactical Studies Rules. Beginning with Men & Magic, and concluding with The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, the author will consider those earliest passages, adding elucidations and interpretations along the way for your consideration.

Men & Magic
CHARACTERS

"There are three (3) main classes of characters:
Fighting-Men
Magic-Users
Clerics"

When I first took the time to seek out and explore this, the original version of D&D, I was taken aback at the absence of the Thief class. I got my humble start with Basic D&D (Holmes), and quickly moved to AD&D. Now I truly enjoy what I call the Three Pronged Crown of D&D Classes. Of late I’ve actually become enticed by the Swords & Sorcery influenced take of ‘No Clerics’ (specifically for a particular Age of Solstice), and just Warriors and Wizards, but I think for "good-old-honest-as-it-was-intended" D&D, these three classes form a perfect triumvirate of dungeon crawl balance. For reasons I have made plain in older posts, I find great fault with the Greyhawk Thief class. I also find it quite remarkable that this Three Pronged Crown of D&D Classes continues to influence most fantasy games that have followed in D&D’s footsteps. My defense of the Cleric’s importance in D&D and gaming is in this older post.

"Fighting Men includes the characters of elves and dwarves and even hobbits. Magic-Users includes only men and elves. Clerics are limited to men only."

Something that bothered me about Basic D&D, once I became immersed in AD&D, was the Race-as-Class approach. Perhaps this was rooted in my feeling, through those years, that AD&D was somehow the superior version of D&D; that Basic was for kids and Advanced was for those who were prepared for the big-boys edition. Now I realize that dwarves, elves and hobbits were never designed to be the ‘Lords of the Land’ in Men & Magic’s D&D. I understand it now, but it did take me some time to come around to this realization. Men are the Heroes destined for legend in original D&D.

"Fighting-Men: All magical weaponry is usable by fighters, and this in itself is a big advantage."

Aside from slightly better Fighting Capability and Hit Point totals, a Fighting-Man’s greatest ability is owed to the restrictions of Magic-Users and Clerics. Not much to get excited about, but Fighting-Men are still the backbone of any successful adventuring party in D&D. I like the fact that this class is so straightforward and barebones.

"Magic-Users: Top level magic-users are perhaps the most powerful characters in the game, but it is a long, hard road to the top, and to begin with they are weak, so survival is often the question, unless fighters protect the low-level magical types until they have worked up."

Again, this speaks to the usefulness of Fighting-Men. Without their presence, Magic-Users will not reach their potential. Interestingly, Magic-Users do not build a stronghold at high level like their other human counterparts. They can, however, manufacture magic items and create custom spells through research.

"Clerics: Note that Clerics of 7th level and greater are either “Law” or “Chaos”, and there is a sharp distinction between them."

In fact, as we shall discover later, those Clerics of “Chaos” are distinguished from those of “Law” by not only the title “Anti-Cleric”, but also by the effects of their spells. Of note is the fact that there are no Patriarchs of “Neutrality” in D&D. If a player wishes to have a Cleric character progress beyond 6th level, said character must have a greater conviction than simply Neutral. Based on the scattered passages concerning Clerics, found here, under Alignment, and in the Spells section, I would conclude that Clerics may indeed be Neutral before attaining the title of Patriarch (or its Chaos equivalent, Evil High Priest).

"Dwarves: Their advantages are: 1) they have a high level of magic resistance, and they thus add four levels when rolling saving throws (a 6th level dwarf equals a 10th level human);2) they are the only characters able to fully employ the +3 Magic War Hammer (explained in Volume II); 3) they note slanting passages, traps, shifting walls and new construction in underground settings; and 4) they are able to speak the languages of Gnomes, Kobolds and Goblins in addition to the usual tongues (see LANGUAGES in this volume)."

This passage is the very paragraph I read recently that encouraged me to study Volumes I-III in the manner I am now doing. For some reason, I originally read this passage as +4 on saving throws (vs. magic). In fact, not only had I misread the bonus received, I scoured the books for a contradiction, assuming that there was no way I had gotten this so wrong the first time. While the passage reads “when rolling saving throws”, I would probably still only give this bonus of four levels against threats of magical nature, which would include almost everything aside from poison and ghoul paralysis. I enjoy the fact that dwarves also have a race specific magic item in the +3 Magic War Hammer. It’s a nice design choice, likely rooted in mythology, that has been carried on through later editions of the game. Additionally, with the absence of the Thief class in original D&D, the dwarf should be considered an indispensable asset to any dungeon crawl due to their ability to ‘note’ traps (and the other listed hazards) while underground. I believe that this powerful trait is often overlooked in D&D circles, but it is a pronounced skill given the lack of the Thief. Exactly how the ability to ‘note’ traps is handled is left to the referee, but it is certainly an aspect of the ‘Class’ which I have neglected when putting together my own clarifications of these rules. An aspect I will address in the future.

~Sham, Quixotic Referee

D&D Cover to Cover, part 5

Being a series of articles in which the author reads the indelible words of Gygax and Arneson as presented the Original Collector's Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, published by Tactical Studies Rules. Beginning with Men & Magic, and concluding with The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, the author will consider those earliest passages, adding elucidations and interpretations along the way for your consideration.

Men & Magic
PREPARATION FOR THE CAMPAIGN

"The referee bears the entire burden here, but if care and thought are used, the reward will more than repay him."

Readers are beginning to grasp the notion that the referee has a lot of homework to do before actually playing this D&D.

"First, the referee must draw out a minimum of half a dozen maps of the levels of his “underworld”, people them with monsters of various horrid aspect, distribute treasure accordingly, and note the location of the latter two on keys, each corresponding to the appropriate level."

It is assumed that the campaign will begin with the classic dungeon crawl. Perhaps if the players decide to explore the countryside rather than enter the referee’s carefully planned six level upper regions of the “underworld”, they will immediately be thrown into a game of Avalon Hill’s Outdoor Survival? Astute readers will remember that in the FORWARD, the following advice was offered, that the referee will have to devote a number of hours to laying out the maps of his “dungeons” and upper terrain before the affair begins. Regardless, the thrust is clearly with the “underworld” at this point. The name of the game IS DUNGEONS and DRAGONS, after all!

"When this task is completed the participants can then be allowed to make their first descent into the dungeons beneath the “huge ruined pile, a vast castle built by generations of mad wizards and insane geniuses”."

I’m not sure how insane geniuses got lost over the past few decades, but the other guys, those mad wizards, are still behind pretty much every dungeon when it comes right down to it. Simple, straightforward, and an approach which proved to be a flawless entrée to gaming greatness in the many years that followed. In my gaming circle, it's still a perfect recipe for challenges, exploration, adventure and dice-rolling fun.

~Sham, Quixotic Referee