Racial Level Limits: Did you Use Them?

[Nikosandros]

When I first started playing AD&D I used them, but I quickly came to loath them. I'm still playing AD& regularly and I haven't used them in about 25 years...

 

[Corathon]

I did (and still do) use racial level limits. I played in one campaign in which these limits were modified.

 

[was]

Never used them

 

[wingsandsword]

We didn't hold to the level limts. Oh we tried a few times but when we reached them and were in position to exceed them it just seemed too arbitrarily cruel not to allow the player to continue.

What we DID observe quite faithfully (a very few singular exceptions) were the allowed classes and multiclass combinations. It's one thing to be told, "Don't even start." It's quite another to be told, "Now that you've come this far and are still having fun - STOP."

In my experience, it was the opposite way around:

We'd hold to the level limits, but allowing every exception case we could come up with, like using the optional rule for higher level limits for high Prime Requisite scores, and we generally allowed Wish and Limited Wish effects to allow characters to gain extra levels (1 level above the normal limit with a Limited Wish, 5 above with a Wish).

The allowed classes & multiclass combos were right out the window. Pretty much any race could be any class, as long as they had the ability scores and alignment. Just about any multiclass combo was allowed as long as they didn't have more than 1 warrior class (Fighter/Ranger/Paladin), 1 Priest class (Cleric/Druid/Monk/Specialty Priest), 1 rogue class (Bard/Thief/Assassin), and Psionicist was it's own category. You couldn't have more than 3 classes, and if you wanted to stop progressing in a class permanently (we called it "barring") you could choose to do so and not put XP into that class (typically because you were at the limit for that class and any further XP would be a waste). . .but it would take a Wish to be able to proceed any further in the future.

We created level limits for new class/race combinations, and since Humans could be unlimited level in any 2e class, and up to 17 in Monk and Assassin (IIRC), and Half-Elves could be unlimited in Bard, we added classes that had unlimited progression to all the core races. Elves could be unlimited in Druid. Dwarves could be unlimited in Paladin. Gnomes could be unlimited in Necromancer. As a general rule, we assumed that any race could rise to at least 9th level in any class unless it was a strange case.

 

[saskganesh]

Used to, but not any more. Demi Humans PC's are rare in my humancentric world, and they have a lot of racial and cultural baggage to contend with.

 

[delericho]

In 2nd Ed, we used them, but also used the variants in the DMG to allow extra levels for high PR (and, I think, there was also a "slow advancement" option that we used).

That said, we only ever once had a game that reached a high enough level for the limits to actually matter. They tended not to be a factor when creating characters, largely for that reason.

I only ever played 1st Ed very briefly, with pregen characters who were nowhere near the limits; I don't know if the DM would have used them or not.

 

[BriarMonkey]

When I was first learning AD&D we used the racial level limits, as well as the multi-classing/dual-classing restrictions. Class restrictions were also observed.

As we became more and more comfortable with the system however, the racial level limits pretty well fell by the wayside. However, class restrictions and the multi-classing/dual-classing rules were kept pretty well intact.

 

[howandwhy99]

Modified limits, but with the understanding class abilities are not the total of a character's power. Level maxed characters can still trade for powers, equipment, information, and the like to improve their potency.

The modifications are like AD&D's where high ability scores can enable a non or demi-human to increase max level by class. There may be a cost to increase the scores, but this is transforming one kind of resource into another in the end.

 

[Niccodaemus]

We are playing 1e right now and all the players had to look up level limits and such when making characters. Most people went single class human to avoid them, but we are using them.

This is precisely what limits were intended to achieve!

 

[Crothian]

This is precisely what limits were intended to achieve!

My elven Fighter, Magic-user, thief said bring on the limits!