Willie the Duck
Legend
A very valid point. One I've made in other discussions. I repeated the prevailing wisdom here out of rote habit/expediency/it wasn't my main point (i.e. I was being lazy). I might say this is an exception because we're talking about monsters one faces at high levels, but even that's not the case as everyone fought dragons at near every level bitd (especially in 1e). Regardless, overall you are right -- for much of what appears to have been a typical play experience, fighters do not have the best saves.People talk about fighters having the best saves in AD&D a lot, but I think relatively few actually experienced it much. In AD&D, fighters did have the fastest improving saves and the overall best saves at relatively high levels - but for the first 6 levels or so, they actually kind of sucked compared to clerics and magic users. But if most people didn't play high levels back in the day (as surveys suggested), they probably didn't actually experience it or, if they did, they only experienced it for a very few levels.
There is some wiggle room in the old adage that part of the fighter's class features are found on the treasure table and they will have the best defensive magic items. But even that is pretty nebulous and inexact (do you give the best ring of protection to the fighter, or to the wizard or thief who otherwise are really vulnerable? If you run into ring mail +3 and plate mail +1, I bet the fighter is wearing the plate.).