Race in AD&D seems like a pretty straight forward thing, but when was the last time you looked at the charts?

Fail Squad Games Gamers have been screwing this up for a long time. It ‘s time to take a closer look at race.

Character Races

One of the beautiful things about AD&D was the mechanical balance. Many newer gamers don’t care for the restrictions, but it is these restrictions that keeps much of the strategy and cooperation in the game. Unfortunately, it’s the Racial limits and restrictions that often get house ruled, glazed over, or forgotten.

Another thing of beauty regarding the AD&D books is they walk a player through character creation chronologically and logically. First came the Stats, and now choose a race, then a class.

What is race?

Let’s take a look at what race is in game terms. Unlike our real world which defines this by skin color, AD&D uses a clearer distinction, and perhaps a more proper one.

After a player has determined the abilities of their character, it is then time to decide of what racial stock the character is to be. For purposes of the game the racial stocks are limited to the following: dwarven, elven, gnome,half-elven, halfling, half-orc, and human.

In later books a wider selection would be allowed, and in Unearthed Arcana (Considered AD&D 1.5) many restrictions were eased. Your DM should decide if they are going to use UA and Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide when starting a game.

Racial Restrictions

The races have various bonuses and restrictions, but through it all Gygax kept a tight rein on them. Humans were the most common creature throughout fantasy hero stories, and there had to be a reason. Humans are versatile, adaptable, and quick to embrace change. This is reflected in the charts that follow the race selection section of the AD&D Player’s Handbook (Easley Cover) Page 13. (click on the image for full size view)

Many of these restrictions and reasons for them are peppered throughout the text, they are simply summed up conveniently on Page 13. Let’s take a look at the story we are being told and how it often gets mis-used or house-ruled.

Classes in CAPS are major classes (Fighter, Magicuser, Cleric, Thief (Monk). lowercase classes are sub-classes. The letters in the parenthesis are alignment restrictions. This table has A LOT of information coming at you all at once. Yes or No indicates if it is allowed.

Table II

Classes in CAPS are major classes (Fighter, Magicuser, Cleric, Thief (Monk). lowercase classes are sub-classes. A number indicates the greatest level that character can attain, U is unlimited, and (Where we screwed things up), numbers in a parenthesis means that is the maximum level possible but it is ONLY allowed for NPCs.

That’s right, Humans clearly dominate the ‘known world’ in religion (and other professions). There were no Dwarf, Elf, Gnome Clerics that were player characters. No Halfling Clerics. Half-orcs can only reach level 4 and half-elves level 5 in Cleric, while humans are unlimited in their holy power across the board.

Furthermore, many of these maximum limits are only the maximum if the character has an exceptional prime requisite.

To House Rule or Not?

The question comes up quickly, “Well if this is the case, why the hell would I play a non-human race?”

That may have been exactly Gary Gygax’s point. Humans have a bonus and a benefit; unlimited power.

But frequently complaining players and DMs desperate for a happy table, acquiesce and over-rule racial level limits and others.

Has anyone tried the game enforcing the rules as written? It seems like a broken and restricted thing, but it retains a firm balance. Let’s not forget there are half-orc bonuses, infravision and more. Yes they may be limited to level 4 cleric, but they can be a Fighter/Cleric. A level 8 half-elven wizard is still a being of power in the game, if it is not heavily adjusted.

I have found myself DMming games that had power rapidly spinning out of my control and I didn’t know why. Much of it was because I allowed these balancing restrictions to be lifted. The end result at mid to higher levels was the game stopped being fun.

The Fail Squad Games advice would likely be to house rule these limits with caution, and try the game with them for a while before discussing alterations with the group. Allow an opportunity to re-visit the house-rule later if you feel it slipping out of control and want to rescind it.

Racial Table III

There is a third racial table that follows and it illustrates the limits and minimum stats required to play the various races. Much of this was covered in previous articles on Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma, and Comeliness.

Which race is best?

I think this is where our friend Gary Gygax succeeds every time. It’s the one you want to play! AD&D has a definite game strategy and mechanic balance. A successful party has at least one of each class, and perhaps an extra race sprinkled in on occasion. With Modules like Tomb of Horrors, living forever was never guaranteed, and chances are, you would get to play another character pretty soon anyway.

Do you house rule racial level and ability limits?

comment below.

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