D&D 5E Is a dwarf wizard still "playing against type"?

[SirAntoine]

As something of a tangent, one "traditional" fantasy setting (read: elves, dwarves, orcs, etc...) that did Dwarf Wizards right was Earthdawn. I always liked the way it removed itself from the Tolkienesque influence while managing to keep the dwarves dwarf-like and the elves elf-like. If anyone is looking for inspiration as to how to "justify" dwarven wizards (or many other "against type" portrayals of demi humans in general) they could do far worse than look at Earthdawn.

As you pointed out, Tolkien actually gave spells to the dwarves. I am not sure why D&D established that they weren't wizards, but it did and it has its own mythology just like Earthdawn can have its own. The question therefore, ultimately, is if you think dwarves can be wizards in D&D. Unless I have a player who really wants to play one, I wouldn't change the mythology. And as to this thread's question, it's "against type" because that mythology is still cherished. Too many dwarven wizards would ruin it.

 

[SirAntoine]

I have had dwarven wizards in my D&D since the third campaign I ran in 2e, we had long ago gotten rid of level limits and let any one multi or duil class (even both, my 1st time playing my now best friend started as a human thief, then duil classed into fighter/mage) One of our new players asked if he could be Dwarven rune smith... witch in his mind was a Paliden/Wizard, and I said AOK...

By the time 3e came around 4ish years later no body I know blinked at "Any race can be any class"

Level limits are another matter entirely. I would permit a dwarven wizard, but not any level. 8th or 9th level at the very highest.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Level limits are another matter entirely. I would permit a dwarven wizard, but not any level. 8th or 9th level at the very highest.

so what did you guys do when people hit there level limits? I mean you don't make a character play 3 more months with no exp just because the human in the group could keep going?

 

[RCanine]

I would like to point out that not only can Dwarves be warlocks and mages in WoW, but dwarven Warlocks are a major plot focus of the initial release of Blackrock Mountain.

 

[SirAntoine]

so what did you guys do when people hit there level limits? I mean you don't make a character play 3 more months with no exp just because the human in the group could keep going?

It didn't stop anybody. It begs the question of using attack ranks, though.

 

[Henry]

I also ignored level limits. Mind you, in the campaigns I played with friends, it was rare that we would reach them. I think the highest we reached in 2e was level 12.

Yeah, back when I used to play 1e, as long as level limits didn't kick in until level 9 or so, we didn't care, because none of our games back then ever used to GO PAST 9th or 10th level. By the time a year of real time had passed, people were quitting to date girls / get a job / move away / got bored and new players would move to town / break up / lose their summer jobs / want to play again -- or someone else at the table wanted to DM and the acting DM usually would be burned out by that point and want to play. I don't think we EVER had an AD&D group with the same player pool for more than a year or so.

 

[Minsc]

so what did you guys do when people hit there level limits? I mean you don't make a character play 3 more months with no exp just because the human in the group could keep going?

I believe there was an optional rule somewhere along the way where you could break the level barrier, but it took double the XP. I know the level limit could also be pushed back if your prime requisite was high enough.

 

[SirAntoine]

I believe there was an optional rule somewhere along the way where you could break the level barrier, but it took double the XP. I know the level limit could also be pushed back if your prime requisite was high enough.

I can't remember double XP, but that would only make a difference after 9th level when the XP requirements start to get big.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

It didn't stop anybody. It begs the question of using attack ranks, though.

what do you mean it didn't stop anyone? and what is an attack rank?

My question is if you had 4 players, an elven fighter/mage, a human cleric, a Dwarven thief and Human Ranger... you get to a point where the two players playing humans want to keep going but the other two are at or about to be at level limit... how do you continue the campaign?


In my experience we always pushed off the choice until someone hit a level limit, and as such 7 out of 10 times it wouldn't come up. Then the few times it did we decided it wasn't worth retiring and brining in new characters so we would just ignore them... I only once saw a group choice to use the limits. I thought the game was odd because everyone started as demi humans with 2 or three classes, then retired before level limit and brought in a human with only 1 class...

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I can't remember double XP, but that would only make a difference after 9th level when the XP requirements start to get big.

I think 2e had a thing if you had an exceptional stat or something... we never really used them. I did jokeingly say I was going to use them in a 3.5 game... but I was just being funny