D&D 3E/3.5 1E/2E Race, Class + Stat Restrictions in 3E

[MerricB]

G'day!

I was considering putting back the stat and class restrictions of 1E in my 3.5E game.

e.g.
* Dwarf: Str 8-18; Dex 3-17; Con 12-20; Int 3-18; Wis 3-18; Cha 3-16 (after adjustments). May only be Fighter, Rogue, Cleric.
* Paladin: Str 12+, Int 9+, Wis 13+, Con 9+, Cha 17+

As far as I can see, this would have no balance repercussions; its primary effect would be to make some classes harder to qualify for (and thus, rarer), and emphasize "traditional" race/class combinations.

Any thoughts on this? Are my assumptions correct?

Cheers!

 

[Gez]

I thought about this, but in a variant way.

Using a lot of base classes (D&D+OA+AU+Psionics+MH+Hexblade+hombrewed, about 40 classes), and then restricting them. For example, elves aren't wizards, they are wu-jen, it fits more their flavor. A kernel of classes are available whatever the race (fighter, rogue, sorcerer), but the other depends.

There's no real stat restriction, but it's generally assumed any character will have at least a 12 (before racial modification) in his first class's primary stat. Of course, for some classes, the primary stat may vary -- for a fighter, it could be Strength, or Dexterity (finesse or ranged specialist).