A lost version of the AD&D classes and races?

[RealAlHazred]

In 3/3.5e, I believe in DMG section on NPC classes like Warrior and Expert, it mentions you could create a Witch class and gives some ideas. I used a Witch NPC (enemy in a large group, including a wizard) from that concept once, and I don’t think the players noticed it wasn’t a sorcerer.

"Witch" was the example given in both the 3.0 and 3.5 DMG for making your own class by changing an existing one. The example witch used the sorcerer as a basis. It used Charisma as the spellcasting stat,, didn't have any special powers, and its spell list drew from the cleric, druid, and wizard lists.

 

[Mannahnin]

I have an older set than many, and in the Holmes Set I had, the elf was to choose each time whether to adventure as a Fighter OR a Magic-User. This was apparantly changed on release or something to that matter.

Yes, this is how elves are said to work in the original 1974 set. Greyhawk switched it up and innovated the way multiclassing was to work for the rest of AD&D (split xp evenly between all your classes, right from the beginning), but Dr. Holmes wrote the 1977 set as an intro and clarification to the original rules (plus invented an initiative system, and they included some monsters from Greyhawk and such), with minimal inclusions from the supplements.

I've played in couple of OD&D campaigns during the pandemic, and had a couple of elf characters (as well as a regular Fighting Man), and each DM has run it a little differently.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Interestingly, this is sort of how the Phase Elf works in Carcass Crawler #2 for Old School Essentials. You have a fighter and a magic-user level, one for each "phase" and each day decide which phase you're in.

 

[Mannahnin]

Interestingly, this is sort of how the Phase Elf works in Carcass Crawler #2 for Old School Essentials. You have a fighter and a magic-user level, one for each "phase" and each day decide which phase you're in.

Nice. Sounds like an homage to the original idea.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Nice. Sounds like an homage to the original idea.

It does. I wasn't familiar with the Holmes elf, and as soon as it was explained upthread I knew that's what Gavin was going for.

I love the 9th level Phase Elf class feature: "A phase elf may bring an extra-dimensional space into being, accessible via magical doorway in a location of the character’s choosing. The extra-dimensional space contains a 10 mile diameter area, consisting of (possibly otherworldly) terrain and wildlife agreed with the referee. No buildings or sentient creatures are present, but the phase elf may construct a stronghold inside their extra-dimensional domain."

 

[Mannahnin]

It does. I wasn't familiar with the Holmes elf, and as soon as it was explained upthread I knew that's what Gavin was going for.

I still think of it as the 1974 Elf, as I never played Holmes.

I remember James Maliszewski doing this with the elf in his original Dwimmermount campaign reports years ago too. I really enjoyed his reports of how the player portrayed it.

 

[Ancalagon]

Now, they don't tell you how to do this. But imagine if they had, and that sort of customization had been strongly supported from the game's early days?

I can tell you that the GLOG is strongly oriented towards such flexibility and creativity. I"ve played a game where we were professional treasure seekers. I played an antling petty swordsman, and other players were had a gun-priest, a rigatoni cowboy (with 1 hp), a monkey dad and one I can't recall. Sent through a magical door - a portal that would appear near treasure, we investigated a farm, then found the manor of the local lord, having an important party. We crashed the party, the monkey dad stole jewelry from the upper floors while my antling raided the kitchen for valuable spices and the other PCs just made a giant ruckus, like starting a food fight etc etc.

Monkey Dad (Class: I don't know how to categorize this one)

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