D&D 5E 5E AD&D Restricitons

[FormerlyHemlock]

I would probably just use the 3.5 gestalt rules in 5E.

Level limits are not really needed as we have a better human. Racial restrictions ciould come back. ---- I want them to come back if they ever do Greyhawk again or Dragonlance.

"Better human" doesn't obviate the need for level limits. It has to do with lifespan. Without level limits, the long-lived races will naturally overshadow all of the short-lived races--you'll have thousands of elven archmages running around the place, leaving no room for adventurers to do anything.

Kind of like the Forgotten Realms, I guess.

 

[delericho]

"Better human" doesn't obviate the need for level limits. It has to do with lifespan. Without level limits, the long-lived races will naturally overshadow all of the short-lived races--you'll have thousands of elven archmages running around the place, leaving no room for adventurers to do anything.

That conclusion doesn't follow. If elves have a much smaller population than humans and/or produce adventurers in far smaller numbers, the resulting population of elven archmages will be correspondingly smaller. Since both are common assumptions made by settings, the problem you describe is far from inevitable.

Remember, the frequency of elven PCs of any given class/level has nothing to do with the frequency of elven NPCs of the same - PCs are already exceptional individuals simply by virtue of being PCs.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

"Better human" doesn't obviate the need for level limits. It has to do with lifespan. Without level limits, the long-lived races will naturally overshadow all of the short-lived races--you'll have thousands of elven archmages running around the place, leaving no room for adventurers to do anything.

If that's how it worked there would be thousands of 15th level mages running around any 2nd ed AD&D world, maybe not quite archmages but still putting newbie adventurers out of business

 

[JonnyP71]

I would probably just use the 3.5 gestalt rules in 5E.

Level limits are not really needed as we have a better human. Racial restrictions ciould come back. Hell I want them to come back if they ever do Greyhawk again or Dragonlance.

That's a bit of a cop out... it's not hard to mirror 1E multiclassing in 5E quite closely:

Humans - need 15 in prime requisite(s) of 1st class, and 17 in prime requiste(s) of 2nd class, can never return to 1st class to gain more levels in it.

Demi-humans - must state chosen classes at character creation, and gain levels in each one alternately. Even when a class level limit is reached they must put the next scheduled chunk of xp into that class. Levelling them alternately prevents any obscene F14/W16 as in an earlier quoted example.

Class level limits based on stats and race - Halfling with low(ish) strength - level 4 maximum in fighter!

Now we're talking, proper multiclassing as it *should* be

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

If that's how it worked there would be thousands of 15th level mages running around any 2nd ed AD&D world, maybe not quite archmages but still putting newbie adventurers out of business

Yes, which is an indication that 2nd edition set the level limits too high. By 1E standards, there would just be thousands of 10th(?)ish level mages running around... exactly as the 5E MM says there are. Every drow war party seems to have a 9th level mage with it--but never any archmages.

I never played 1E but I have memories of the level limits thereof because they affected the Gold Box games like Pool of Radiance/Curse of the Azure Bonds. If you wanted to get above 7th-10th level you pretty much had to be human. Of course, nowadays it's fashionable to claim that you're not interested in play above 12th level because nobody gets to 20th level anyway, but I've always been a long-term kind of thinker, and I like knowing that I have a future, so if 5E had level limits I'm sure I'd wind up playing races/classes that could avoid them just in case.

 

[bleezy]

The long rest rules don't really capture the gameplay of AD&D. This was one of my disappointments with the 5e DMG. You'll need to homebrew the rest and healing rules if you want to play an AD&D-style game.

 

[GreenTengu]

Well, you would slightly redo the races to add attribute penalties...
Dwarfs become Small Size with all attached restrictions.

All attributes are determined by rolling 3d6 in order of attribute. You basically need a 11+ in the right category to be anything but a Fighter. Actually good classes like Paladin or Ranger require exceptional stats of 14+ across 3 different attributes. If your main class attribute is 13+ you get a 10% experience bonus and if it is 17+ you get a 15% experience bonus.

The only classes everyone can be is Fighter (to a particular level, generally a single digit low level) and Thief (unlimited). The only other non-human can choose any other class is Elf that can be Wizard to a limited level. If any non-human wants to multiclass, they have to choose it at first level and divide all experience points by 3-- even after they hit the maximum level in their class.

People would be lucky to be proficient with even a single weapon, nevermind this whole category thing.
Create the whole Thac0 chart to count backwards and have AC equal to 10 minus your armor bonus.

Divide the saves into a bunch of really random and arbitrary categories which have different numbers for no particular reason.

No one gets skills except the Rogue getting a few, no one else is capable of actually learning to do anything and just makes raw attribute rolls.

People only regain 1 hit point per day without magical healing.

Everyone's character portrait ought to be a terrible lopsided sketch-- and everyone has a beard!

The haste spell ages you a year, Elves cannot be resurrected-- dead is dead. But, they are also immune to Ghoul touch.

Give all female characters a strength penalty. Gotta simulate how weak and useless women folk are.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[JonnyP71]

...I got nothing. Some things just don't age well for a good reason.

You don't need anything. They didn't have a strength penalty. They just had a fractionally lower maximum strength for initially rolled stats - which rarely came into play (unless the players were cheating and trying to get all 18s!)

And why? Realism. Because women (shock, horror) ARE actually weaker than men in a purely physical sense. It ain't PC to say so, but it's true. They're also smaller, slower and mostly unable to consume 15 pints and a curry on a friday night.

But they have other skills, and they are more complicated... so very very very complicated. (Source - 15 years of marriage!)

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*