D&D General Rulings, not Rules: How Will You Solve the Bard / Half Elf Dilemma?

[Mannahnin]

I'm voting 6, simply because, were I to actually be confronted with this puzzle, I would probably unravel it thus:

Bard does indeed create a sort of 'rule of its own'. You are not a 'pre-bard', BUT you can, as either a human or half-elf, dual class, starting as a fighter, and if you both meet the prerequisites to be a bard, and switch to thief within the allotted level range, then you can continue as a thief, without meeting the standard dual classing requirements. You can then switch to Bard within the designated level range window indicated. IF you were to NOT switch to Bard, you would simply stop leveling, unless you met the normal dual class requirements (IE you better be human for starters) since such progress has no rule making it legal.

Once you switch to Bard, there's no more questions to answer, you made it to Bard, you stay a Bard. If, during your advancement, you were to lose the qualifications to become a bard, then again you would still be able to advance in your current class or do whatever, assuming such was legal for other reasons (the dual class rules, etc.). If not, then you would simply stop advancing at all, until you could come back into compliance.

All of the above I would consider to be the 'baseline' from which any additional rulings might be made on a situational basis. That is, the DM is always free to change the rules, and might do so in return for free beer, good quality pizza delivered frequently, or other unspecified considerations.

This is how I would rule/resolve the conumdrum of "how do PH Bards work in 1E".

That being said, I think the revised, cleaned up Bard from Dragon 56's "Singing a New Tune" is a better alternative.

While I'm at it, I also note that the Sage Advice column in this issue, immediately following that article, is entirely devoted to questions about PH Bards. It doesn't really resolve this thread's question, though.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

This is how I would rule/resolve the conumdrum of "how do PH Bards work in 1E".

That being said, I think the revised, cleaned up Bard from Dragon 56's "Singing a New Tune" is a better alternative.

While I'm at it, I also note that the Sage Advice column in this issue, immediately following that article, is entirely devoted to questions about PH Bards. It doesn't really resolve this thread's question, though.

Yeah, you could do that, or use the 2e bard, etc. I don't think there's one best solution. I'm kind of assuming that a player, in a 1e game using mostly core 1e rules, comes to me and says she's going to play a bard (and has the stats required for the class). Anyway, some of the choices come later, and you really don't even need to decide anything until the PC reaches level 7 fighter.

And honestly, we only took PC side rules as guidelines to what was 'undoubtedly possible' in an ordinary sense. A lot of characters got weird things happening to them, reincarnation, one character got a hand cut off and a magical sword grafted on (with special powers), and on and on. Curses, haha. But also sometimes weird advantages and such that are not really something the rules can handle. So, by name level I'd think a good fraction of characters were no longer entirely described by the rules in terms of what their class/race/level/features were exactly.

Nowadays you might just have the PC take some feat or whatever, or MC into another class, or something. Back then we just did 'whatever', nobody cared about 'following the rules' anyway, not really.

 

[Dausuul]

Polymorph, yo.

 

[Krachek]

Gary won’t matter, so make it as you want.

 

[Orius]

I goofed up my analysis, I forgot that AD&D's dual-classing started over at first level. I had it mixed up with 3e style multiclassing.

 

[DammitVictor]

edit: Today, I have learned that my brain, my entire brain, is made of soft and pungent cheese.

 

[Mannahnin]

Just a reminder that Druids are strictly restricted to True Neutral alignments but must also perform a live human sacrifice once per year. So if you do finally qualify for Bard...

Wut. Since when, friend?

 

[DammitVictor]

Upon reviewing my copy of the Player's Handbook, I appear to be mistaken-- which is odd, because I remember the argument with my first DM very clearly whereupon he insisted that just because it was printed in the book, in black and white, didn't mean we were using it.

Which is odd, that conversation didn't come up when my first PC was blatantly illegal by-the-book.

I'm sorry. And a little disconcerted.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Upon reviewing my copy of the Player's Handbook, I appear to be mistaken-- which is odd, because I remember the argument with my first DM very clearly whereupon he insisted that just because it was printed in the book, in black and white, didn't mean we were using it.

Which is odd, that conversation didn't come up when my first PC was blatantly illegal by-the-book.

I'm sorry. And a little disconcerted.

Don't worry. You're probably confusing it with the other rule:

Every month, all characters must make a human sacrifice of one (1) Bard.

It's the only way to keep the numbers down.

 

[Mannahnin]

Upon reviewing my copy of the Player's Handbook, I appear to be mistaken-- which is odd, because I remember the argument with my first DM very clearly whereupon he insisted that just because it was printed in the book, in black and white, didn't mean we were using it.

Which is odd, that conversation didn't come up when my first PC was blatantly illegal by-the-book.

I'm sorry. And a little disconcerted.

I seem to remember a requirement to be True Neutral in AD&D. I was actually curious about the human sacrifice part.