AD&D 1E Rules that are kinda cool but everyone forgot

Ralif Redhammer · 2026-03-12T18:22:10+0000

SkidAce said:
I always use this example to players who multi-class. And I agree with the design.

But it illuminates why people are always looking for a good gish class...

In smaller groups, I think there's some benefit to having a bigger toolkit, but in most parties, you're going to be surrounded by people that do what you do, only better.

I think a big part of the gish class' persistence is rooted in D&D's squishy wizards design. People are always looking for a more resilient spellcaster that gives you fireball without being a glass cannon.

Lanefan · 2026-03-12T21:28:39+0000

Flying Toaster said:
I never really understood why multi-class demi-humans had to earn all of the XP required for each class level, but did not get all of the hit points for each class. Instead the HP got averaged together, so a Fighter/Mage could have no more than 7 HP per level(s) instead of 14. We may well have been reading those rules incorrectly...

I think you were reading them right.

Multiclass levels in 1e don't really stack in any way, and that includes hit points. Stacking (or 'additive') levels is a 3e-and-later thing.

We have it that a multiclassed F-MU rolls a d7 for hit points when its leading class (usually the Fighter) bumps. If relevant, the character would get the Fighter's Con bonus. I suppose there's an argument to be made that being part-Fighter ought to be enough for the character to roll d10 for hit points, i.e. the better of the two classes, but that's not how we ever saw it.

cbwjm · 2026-03-12T21:45:43+0000

I remember being confused by the constitution bonus for multiclass warriors, I don't I think at the time we weren't doing it right, we just added the best bonus to the final result (normally the first level you gain hit points so a fighter/thief would gain the full bonus when they hit level 2 as a thief). Now I'm pretty sure the actual way to determine hit points was to add the constiution bonus to the rolls before dividing, giving a fighter/mage with an 18 con a potential maximum hit points of 10 at level 1 ((1d10+4)/2 + (1d4+2)/2). It probably didn't come up that often, I just remember not quite understanding it back in the day.

Lanefan · 2026-03-13T09:01:30+0000

cbwjm said:
I remember being confused by the constitution bonus for multiclass warriors, I don't I think at the time we weren't doing it right, we just added the best bonus to the final result (normally the first level you gain hit points so a fighter/thief would gain the full bonus when they hit level 2 as a thief). Now I'm pretty sure the actual way to determine hit points was to add the constiution bonus to the rolls before dividing, giving a fighter/mage with an 18 con a potential maximum hit points of 10 at level 1 ((1d10+4)/2 + (1d4+2)/2). It probably didn't come up that often, I just remember not quite understanding it back in the day.

Hard to do when the classes will be bumping at different times. Assuming a straight 50-50 xp division the Fighter side will bump before the Mage side does, meaning the character doesn't get the Mage side points yet to toss into that formula.

Far simpler to just make it d7+4 when the Fighter side bumps, or d7+3 if you want to also average the Con bonus (assuming Con 18).

cbwjm · 2026-03-13T09:59:28+0000

Lanefan said:
Hard to do when the classes will be bumping at different times. Assuming a straight 50-50 xp division the Fighter side will bump before the Mage side does, meaning the character doesn't get the Mage side points yet to toss into that formula.

Far simpler to just make it d7+4 when the Fighter side bumps, or d7+3 if you want to also average the Con bonus (assuming Con 18).

It's not that difficult, but it's assuming I'm correct with how to do it, maybe it was explained in a sage archived column. Basically it doesn't matter when each class levels, you roll 1d10+4 and divided that by 2 when the fighter side levels, then after gaining the xp for the wizard side you roll 1d4+2 and add half that total to hit points. Easy, but I still didn't get it when I first started playing adnd.

Nowadays I'd probably just add there xp together and say that's what's needed to level so a ftr/mge doesn't hit level 2 until reaching 4500 xp.

Nikosandros · 2026-03-13T10:36:57+0000

Lanefan said:
Hard to do when the classes will be bumping at different times. Assuming a straight 50-50 xp division the Fighter side will bump before the Mage side does, meaning the character doesn't get the Mage side points yet to toss into that formula.

Far simpler to just make it d7+4 when the Fighter side bumps, or d7+3 if you want to also average the Con bonus (assuming Con 18).

It is even better to keep a separate tally of HP totals by class and then average them. If you have con 17, when you go up a fighter level, you add d10+3 to the fighter tally, when you go up as a M-U, you add d4+2 to the M-U's tally. Your actual total is the average of the two separate sums.

Mannahnin · 2026-03-13T12:55:58+0000

I think part of the tricky bit is that the process outlined on page 19 of the 1E PH implies that you only add the Con bonus once, and it says that you add it before dividing the HP by two or three (the character's number of classes).

Notes Regarding Character Classes Table I.:

Class of Character is self-explanatory. Multi-classes have been omitted, but certain facts pertaining to them are given hereafter.

Hit Dice Type shows the type of die to be rolled by a character of the appropriate class at each level of experience (q.v.) he or she has gained so as to determine how many hit points (q.v.) the character has. Multi-classed characters determine their hit points as follows:

1. Roll the hit die (or dice) appropriate to each class the character is professing.
2. Total the sum of all dice so rolled, and adjust for constitution (q.v.).
3. Divide the total by the character's classes (two or three), dropping fractions under %, rounding fractions of % or greater upwards to the next whole number.
4. The number derived (quotient) is the number of hit points the multi-classed character gains with the rise in that experience level.

2E is a little less punitive here, advising that you add the Con bonus once (and to use the Fighter's higher bonus if it applies) AFTER division (at first level), and then that you get a proportionate fraction of the Con bonus each time you gain a level in a given class thereafter (2E original printing page 44, or revised PH page 61).