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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8245099" data-attributes="member: 7023840">I should add this as an addendum- Zeb might be the greatest TSR-era D&D designer that doesn't get the necessary props.But I thought I'd add one more thing. I tend to neglect the very important article he wrote that was published in the Feb. '87 Dragon magazine (#118) - which means that he we wrote it before then. In the article Who dies? (one of the most controversial articles ever written) Zeb discusses his early thoughts designing 2e, and in particular, discusses the classes.What did he say, briefly?-Not everything is going to make it.-Oriental Adventures isn't going to make it, because it's for Eastern campaigns (none of those classes will be in 2e PHB).-The core four will have a few adjustments, but all will make it.-The assassin is a goner, guaranteed.-The monk will not be in the core rules.-"The bard just doesn't work." Never have truer words been spoken, then or now.-"The illusionist is little more than a magic user with different spells." He suggests that it become a school of magic. -You don't need a thief-acrobat.-Jury is out on the druid; on the one hand, the druid is really just a cleric following a particular mythos. On the other hand, people really like druids.-The barbarian, cavalier, paladin, and ranger present their own issues. The "barbarian and cavalier are unbalanced, unplayable, and unnecessary." Amen. He's not going to include them in the core. The paladin he likes and will keep.-Finally, the ranger he acknowledges has a strong archetype as a "valiant woodsman," but is a big question mark if it's just a fighter with tracking. So there it is. That early, he already knew where he was going with the classes.</blockquote>

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