PHATsakk43
Last Authlim of the True Lord of Tyranny
The kits I’ve found best are for the settings in general. The ones in the complete series are often either useless or overpowered.
I’ve heard more and more about this work by Zeb and it’s Taladas setting on Krynn in the past few weeks, having never heard about before October. Which is interesting as I avoided Dragonlance as a kid because it seemed like a very static world. I guess that TSR didn’t market it much after that initial release.
I suppose a deeper dive into Sage Advice may be useful:
Two replies in Dragon #173 stand out:
Sage Advice #173 p. 63 (September 1991), Question: 4
The Player's Handbook, on pages 26 and 52, makes it clear that only single-classed fighters—not paladins and rangers—can use weapon specialization. However, the Complete Fighter's Handbook, on page 58, pretty clearly implies that all warriors (fighters, paladins, and rangers) can specialize. Did the rules change when the Complete Fighter's Handbook hit the shelves? If so, why would anyone want to play a simple fighter?
According to a short conversation I had with TSR, Inc.'s Dave "Zeb" Cook a while ago, the rules in the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide are intended to serve as the fundamental basis for the AD&D® 2nd Edition game and are supposed to remain unchanged until that far-off day when a new version of the game comes along. (There are no plans for another edition currently in the works, but no set of game rules stays current forever.) While there is a continuous stream of new material planned for the game, all of it is intended to supplement the core rules, not replace them. All of the rules in the Complete Fighter's Handbook are optional, but the phrase giving weapon specialization to all warriors is an error.
Sage Advice #173 p. 63 (September 1991), Question: 5
With how many weapons can a fighter specialize? Is it possible to specialize in both a fighting style (from the Complete Fighter's Handbook) and a weapon or combination of weapons? How do you use weapon specialization if you also are using weapon groups from the Complete Fighter's Handbook? Is it possible to double specialize? If so, how do you get it and what bonuses do you get for it?
In the core rules, a single-classed fighter—and only a fighter—can specialize in exactly one particular weapon. If you're using weapon groups, the fighter must pick one weapon within the group as a specialty. If you're using the rules in the Complete Fighter's Handbook, you can allow fighters to take more than one weapon specialization, but they still must choose their specializations one weapon at a time.
Style specialization is actually just a weapon proficiency available to warriors, rogues, and priests. Don't let the name confuse you; a style specialization is a general set of tricks for fighting a certain way, not an intensive study of one particular weapon. It is possible for a character to have more than one style specialization.
There are no rules for double specializations in the current version of the AD&D game. However, if you play a variant game and allow all warriors (including rangers and paladins) to take weapon specialization, you might allow fighters only to spend two extra proficiency slots on one weapon (and one weapon only) and become double specialized. The effect of a double specialization is up to the DM, but increasing the specialization bonus to +2 "to hit" and +3 damage seems most reasonable. If you use this unofficial optional rule, be prepared to start adjusting your campaign's play balance, because your poor monsters are going to have a hard time going toe-to-toe with your campaign's fighters.
These two replies seem to suggest that specialization is limited to single class fighters, regardless of kit bonus, which raises the question as to if the kits are "warrior" kits or just "fighter" kits. Then it gets a bit weirder, as some questions mention things like an elven ranger with the archer kit from the CBoE:
Sage Advice #259 p. 22-23 (May 1999), Question: 2
I have an elf Ranger character with the Archer kit from The Complete Book of Elves. The book says the character can fire two arrows at once from the bow. He can do this with a -1 initiative penalty and a -1 attack penalty. My character is also specialized with the longbow. The Player's Handbook says a character specialized with the bow can walk around with an arrow nocked and can simply draw and fire before initiative is rolled: a shoot-first, ask-questions-later, pre-initiative advantage. Could the specialized elven Archer fire two nocked arrows before initiative is rolled? One book says it's done with a -1 initiative penalty, and the other says there is no initiative roll. I understand that the character would still fire with a -1 attack penalty, but I am curious about the pre-initiative dual shot.
Actually, the Player's Handbook says nothing about "walking around" with an arrow ready to fire. It says a bow specialist can fire before any initiative rolls if he starts out with an arrow nocked and drawn and with the foe in sight. (See the Effects of Specialization section in Chapter 5). It's pretty hard to walk around with a bow pulled back, and even if the character could manage the feat without accidentally shooting his pals in the back several times a day, he still doesn't get of a shot before the initiative roll unless he can see the target before the initiative roll.
I suggest following this particular rule to the letter: One arrow fired before initiative, and then only if the archer meets all the requirements. As "Sage Advice" has pointed out before (in issue #255), characters can use only one fancy bow trick at a time.
Apparently, either Skip decided to ignore the letter writer's statement that the character in question is a ranger or this is tacit acknowledgement of specialization bonus solely from a kit isn't really clear. This is also a reply at the tail end of 2E in 1999, so there was 10 years of game behind this question.Which is interesting, as responding in 1998 to a question regarding rangers with weapon specialization not being allowed in the Core Rules CD-ROM program, Skip reverts to his statement back in 1991:
Sage Advice #248 p. 20 (June 1998), Question: 6
According to the AD&D CD ROM, it is impossible for a ranger to use weapon specialization, but I know I've read somewhere that they can. Is this in error in the program?
The program is right. Early printings of the Complete Fighter's Handbook contained an erroneous reference to weapon specialization for rangers and paladins, but the error was corrected in later printings. Note that if you're using the rules for creating custom characters in the Skills & Powers book, rangers and paladins can purchase the ability to specialize in a weapon with character points. The expenditure of character points, however, means that these characters must give up some other class abilities.
Which also brings in the 1995 Player's Option rules into the conversation. At least this reply suggests that PO characters and Core+PHBR characters are basically a fully seperate build tree and you should somewhat limit crossover between the options in the PHBR and PO.
This is further elaborated in a few replies regarding the Player's Option books in 1995:
Sage Advice #222 p. 36 (October 1995), Question: 9
I have two character kits from the Complete Book of Elves and the Complete Book of Dwarves that have been completely befouled by the new Combat and Tactics book. The elven archer fires at a rate of 5/2 moving or 3/1 standing still. Since the new specialization rules came out, how is the archer to be modified to reflect the rules change (since bow specialists now get an increased rate of fire?) Also, the dwarven sharpshooter used to have an improved rate of fire and extra damage due to training and custom equipment. What are the new damage and rate of fire ratings for crossbows fired by the sharpshooter? Is any of this going to be cleared up in the Skills and Powers book?
The Skills and Powers book won't solve this one for you. Its approach to kits is very different from the one in the soft-backed rule books.
You have two choices when trying to fit elven archers and dwarven sharpshooters into a game that uses the PLAYER'S OPTION combat system. You can ignore the C&T rules and use the rules that go with the kit instead (which is a pretty bad deal for the sharpshooter) or you can drop the kit rules in favor of the C&T rules. If you choose the latter, assume that both characters start out as specialists with their chosen weapons and then spend their proficiency slots (or character points) on weapon mastery. In both cases, adhering to the kit restrictions is a good way to justify acquiring advanced levels of mastery. Remember that becoming a grand master takes some special effort.
Sage Advice #222 p. 36+38 (October 1995), Question: 10
Do any of the kits in any of the books automatically start with any mastery above specialist? (The elven bladesinger maybe?) Would bard blades be allowed to become experts automatically?
Specialization is the highest level of mastery anyone gets for free, and then only single classed fighters get it. Elven bladesingers and bard blades receive no free levels of mastery. If you're going to use the PLAYER'S OPTION rules in your campaign, you should stick to the kits presented in the Skills and Powers book. If you're using the character point system from the Skills and Powers book, both blades and bladesingers could achieve mastery in their chosen weapons. They should however, also have to pay a hefty character point cost for their kits; the DM should set a cost based on the special abilities presented in S&P's character creation chapter.
Sage Advice #223 p. 77 (November 1995), Question: 7
The weapon specialization rule in the Combat & Tactics book says characters can specialize in only one weapon at a time. What happens to characters who must specialize in multiple weapons; for example, the samurai and the swashbuckler?
They have to give up their extra weapons of specialization, although the DM could allow them to have expertise in the extra weapons.
My reading of these three replies suggests that kits as presented in the PHBR series were not anticipated to be compatible with the PO builds, or even the weapon proficiency system described in PO:C&T. Backing up this theory is another reply, this time referring to thief's off-hand weapon ROF:
Sage Advice #255 p. 26 (January 1999), Question: 15
Can a Thief throw an additional dagger each round by using a second hand, as can be done with melee attacks? What about larger things such as bolas and javelins? Can a specialist pull this of?
No, you can't use the two-weapon rule to increase your missile rate of fire, or can you use multiple attacks from class and level. Missile specialists can receive higher rates of fire, depending on which set of specialization rules you use. Check out Chapter 4 of the Combat & Tactics book (pages 74-75).
There are some other places where such, "there are several systems that you can use--pick one and stick with it" type phrases show up. The "Gods Books" for the Forgotten Realms settings for example provide 3 different ways for a monk's unarmed combat. Either the PHBR Fighter or Priest book, the PO:C&T rules, or the core PHB & DMG. Specifically, it does say that the PHBR Ninja book martial arts style (which IIRC was basically the 1E OE system) should not be used. As for the wonkiness of the first 4 PHBR books, this 1992 reply regarding a weird reference in the TCBoT gives some insight:
Sage Advice #185 p. 76 (September 1992), Question: 1
The Alertness proficiency from The Complete Thief's Handbook reduces the chance of being surprised by "1-in-6," but the rules in the Players Handbook use a 10-sided die for initiative and surprise. Also, when do you check this proficiency?
The AD&D 2nd Edition game does use a ten-sided die for initiative and surprise. The "1-in-6" reference is an error. As I understand it, The Complete Thief's Handbook and other early books in the Complete Handbook series were written before the new PHB was released, so it was very hard for the authors and editors not to think in AD&D 1st Edition game terms while doing their work.
Alertness grants the character a +1 bonus on surprise rolls (in the current game, an adjusted roll of 1-3 on a 1d10 indicates surprise). The Complete Thief's Handbook leaves the DM™ on his own when it comes to deciding when to make Alertness proficiency checks. I think the most sensible method is to have the character make the check immediately before any surprise roll. Another workable method would be to allow a character to check once every turn (10 minutes) or hour. The +1 bonus for a successful proficiency check would apply to all surprise rolls made within that time.
I think I had referenced this earlier, but I think this may have a lot to do with how inconsistent these books seem. TSR was never very good about being internally consistent and the crossover from 1E to 2E looks like a good example of this. My guess is that all this was being written concurrently with the anticipation of a continual cash grab of releasing books, as throughout the 1980s TSR found that without core book releases, revenues would drop resulting in the several financial crunches the company faced.
