Introduction
Again I peer into this corner of the fantastic conceptarium: mankind and the close analogues thereof, at once different yet all touched by the human condition, organized into a roster that recognizably calls back to the shared literary gestalt that underpins the entire genre (with later contributions from other media).
This most eminently unfashionable of topics is broached for aforementioned reasons two: immersion into another world, of course, but also as a means of adding variety to play through character details, by ensuring that a human ranger and an elven ranger don’t amount to quite exactly the same.
Here, more than ever, is a matter where holding fast onto mechanical differences will serve the game best, rather than waxing poetic over ornate psychological subjectivities that might prove apt for a literary study in character but that for the sake of play must come to be regarded as fully optional or left at the door.
Past establishing the above, it must be said that addressing it was decidedly not a strength of AD&D, whose draft of playable races is… lackluster, to say the least. And I don’t mean its selection per se, as these calques of humanity who some might find unbearably staid are perfectly palatable to me. It is the rules governing them that are rather lazily cut and pasted, resulting in a bunch of roses with different name tags. This exercise in redundancy sees five races be awkwardly brushed with uneven strokes from a repetitive set of mechanics: dwarves and gnomes forming one of the “ability groups”, half-elves and elves making up the other and halflings left to be squeezed in the middle, taking a little ballast from each. It feels like a collective identity crisis all the way, granting that a little of it makes sense due to shared heritages, but designwise equating an attempt to butter five toasts with enough butter just for two. 5th edition is afforded the benefit of having had three whole editions of fermentation since that time, yet it provides a deal that’s only a little better in this regard, having opted for minimization of the racial element to the point of vestigiality.
The big mechanical problem with races is that rather than lending variety and adding interest, their advantages simply funnel the canny player into a “perfect match” rut of sorts, giving us the rational stereotypes of the halfling thief, the half-elven bard, the elven ranger and assorted chestnuts. I’m to continue to strive for the platonic ideal, mostly within the constraints of the source material, to have each combination of race and class offer something a little different. Not as easy as it might first appear, this will undoubtedly see me return to the drawing board time and again as class writeups are touched upon. Granted, it is inescapable that a given race will always suit a given class best, the challenge lies in making it so that the deal isn’t a completely open-and-shut one.
The Limits of Exoticism
Time for a short detour before we continue.
I talk about wanting different play experiences and yet I’ll dismiss out of hand most of the catalogue of aberrations borne out of edition bloat, later to be enshrined in the cores of 4th and 5th, the lot of them undisputedly different and playable, yes, but in the way of a computer game avatar. Effective play beyond the confines of 8-bit hack & slash requiring human emotion, being what makes me wary of “speak with …” spells and helps explain my abiding hatred of character pets.
The willingness to play around with elves and dwarves, as done-before as it may be, has a reason: they're possessed of both legendary heft and a close enough affinity to humanity that ultimately makes them relatable.
As I may have mentioned earlier, when it comes to my tolkienistic views of fantasy, I’m a deeply, deeply vanilla, “one-missionary-to-screw´em-all-and-in-the-darkness-bind-them” kind of guy. I could perfectly stand to live with a game with nothing past mankind – of which demihumans can hardly escape being a distorted reflection – for I am of a mind that there’s a liminal point of believability in rpgs that is invisible, unsoundable and yet it is there. Step on it and you’ll feel the running cheapen on the spot. Take two steps further and you’ve got a full-blown furry convention on your hands.
Playable Races &
Having left subjectivism to the care of philosophers and method actors what remains are the mechanical leverages. I’ve decided for 5-6 salient characteristics for the demihumans, starting from AD&D 2nd but plundering far and wide for inspiration as well as rubbing off some of my own musk in between. Many among these are bound to be numeric bonuses which on the one hand are terribly unexciting but on the other are good objective markers of competence that don’t require special attention on the player’s part (as analysis paralysis is a definite concern).
I also return to the concept of apex and nadir attributes (the bolded stat increases and decreases), who have to be assigned the highest and lowest rolls respectively, being compulsively switched, if rolling in order.
Man
· Movement: 30’, medium size
Racial Abilities
· Zestful Drive: 10% bonus to experience point gain
· Adaptability: may round attribute fractions up when facing difficult or very difficult checks
Eligible Classes: Any class
Men are nothing if not an oddity, traditionally presumed as preeminent in the typical fantasy setting (even if we look at sci-fantasy) but for which no credible mechanical reason whatsoever is ever given. The thematic of being adaptable and tolerant is touted back and forth, or we get some vague “the time of men has come” platitudes implying that the other denizens of the world have simply packed it in and given up. On the other hand, humanity is overwhelmingly multifaceted, so whatever I came up with would have to fit with every class and every playstyle. In the interest of simplicity (for they're not to be dislodged from their usual place as the most common race), the benefits of playing a human are always at work and, though discreet, incredibly effective no matter the situation.
Knowing that oftentimes conquests aren't entirely attained through capability as much as they are by sheer will to prevail, I made out humanity’s lot – our lot – as being spurred by the curiosity afforded them by their mortality, translating the gift of superior drive into gaining in levels at a faster rate. Their other ability effectively acts as a conditional minor increase to every stat when the chances of success are narrowed, the exact kind of understated advantage that makes for a good all-rounder.
Lastly, altough the notion of level limits is one that I reject outright, the same isn’t true for classes. Humans are allowed to choose any class for which they qualify.
· Movement: 25’, small size
· Attribute Adjustments:
o +1 Dexterity
o -1 Strength
Racial Abilities
· Lesser Resilience: +2 bonus to Saving Throws against Poison/Death
· Lesser Magic Resistance: +2 bonus to Saving Throws against Magic
· Nimbleness: +4 bonus to Evasion Saving Throws against melee attacks from large-sized (or larger) creatures
· Ambusher: +2 bonus to attempts to Hide in Shadows (+4 if in vegetation)
· Rock-throwing: +1 bonus on attack rolls made with slings & thrown weapons
Eligible Classes: Fighter, Thief, Ranger, Druid, Assassin
Half-Men stand conceptually astride dwarves and elves, they’ve decent saves against magic, poison or death (meaning most spellcasting is off the table) and slipperyness and stealth aplenty. They have a hard time presenting as credible fighters, that being the archetype most disproportionally impacted by the race’s small size and strength penalty. In order to offset this, they become the sole proprietors of the coveted defense bonus against large opponents, along with an ambushing specialty and a minor weapon bonus, being perhaps the second best all-rounders after mankind. Their choices of class are restricted by my view of them to mirror that found in Dark Sun, where pastoralism is nowhere to be found. They’re fierce tribal warriors gathering in burrow-dwelling communities, their religious observance guided by shamanism as represented through the Druid class.
Dwarf
· Movement: 25’, medium* size
*(Counts as small-sized for feats of athletic movement)
· Attribute Adjustments:
o +2 Constitution; +1 Strength
o -2 Dexterity; -1 Charisma
Racial Abilities
· Infravision 60’ (perceives shapes but not colour nor fine details)
· Workhorse: treats Exhaustion and Encumbrance penalties as being one level lower
· Resilience: +4 to Saving Throws against Poison/Death; always applies CON bonuses to HD, regardless of level
· Magic Resistance: +4 to Saving Throws against Magic; magical items not of dwarven make that are worn or used have a 1 in 4 chance of temporarily losing their dweomer due to the dwarf’s mundanity (effect lasts an hour)
· Stonecunning (may determine, at up to a distance of 10’, except for depth/bearing):
o Grade or slope in passage
o New tunnel/passage construction
o Sliding/shifting walls or rooms
o Unsafe walls, ceilings and floors
o Stonework traps, pits and deadfalls
o Determine approximate depth/bearing underground
· Dwarven weapon training: +1 bonus to hit with battleaxe, throwing axe, warhammer or crossbow
Eligible Classes: Fighter, Cleric, Thief, Assassin, Berzerker
Dwarves are the rock that won’t budge. Where other races rely on avoidance, the dwarf instead takes the punishment in stride, be it through saves or raw Hp. I’ve kept all of the features that’ll make them naturally shine in underworld play regardless of class. As thief-types they’re definitely a little wanting, due to their lack of Dexterity but it must be considered that they’re one of only two races to get infravision (which can be huge for stealth purposes), can weather encumbrance better than other thieves and have the stamina to endure and persist when called to athletic action, as a ways to compensate for being poor performers. An entry for weapon training also prevents them from being completely hapless with ranged weaponry. Their signature magic resistance (folded into the save, rather than being an extraneous roll) prevents the choice of casting classes other than the Cleric, their isolationism and aversion to the great outdoors sees off the rest.
Elf
· Movement: 35’*, medium size
o *(if no more than lightly encumbered – second level of encumbrance penalties costs an extra 5’ of movement)
· Attribute Adjustments:
o +2 Dexterity; +1 Intelligence; +1 Charisma
o -2 Constitution
Racial Abilities
· Lowlight Vision 120’ (halves penalties, no effect in pitch darkness)
· Fey Blood: +4 bonus to saving throws against Charm/Suggestion; cannot be paralyzed or put to sleep by magic
· Keen Senses: decrease the chances of being surprised by 1, extendable to a party with any elves among its number
· Silent Step: +2 bonus to attempts to Move Silently
· Mask of the Wild: +2 bonus to attempts to Hide in Shadows while in the wilderness
· Elven weapon training: +1 bonus to hit with longsword, shortsword, short bow or longbow
Eligible Classes: any except Paladin
Elves are the graceful followers of the path of better-than-thou. Having Constitution as premandated dump stat hampers them badly across the board. To balance that, they get a couple of free stat bumps, an interesting suite of avoidance bonuses, a movement boost, and their enhanced senses benefit the whole party. As both warriors and rogues, the weapon training grants them a slight attacking edge. I recovered their fey resistance to paralysis to add to the sleep immunities, but in an effort to stop the proliferation of infravision chose to keep their vision shy of functioning in full darkness, leaving darksight as an exclusive of those races who do dwell under the earth. They obviously shine as rogues but their lack of staying power prevents them from being crowned in absentia. They can be most any class, depending on the latitude from which they hail.
Half-Elf
· Movement: 30’, medium size
· Attribute Adjustments:
o +1 Dexterity; +1 Charisma
o -1 Constitution
Racial Abilities
· Lowlight Vision 60’
· Fey Heritage: +2 Bonus to Saving Throws against Charm/Suggestion
· Lesser Zest for Life: 5% bonus to experience point gain
· Lesser Adaptability: may round attribute fractions up when facing difficult checks
· Traveller of Forked Paths: May multiclass in accordance with the AD&D rules but using just one experience total and increasing each class’s level threshold by 500 Xp points (750 Xp if three classes), accordingly multiplied further up the level table
Eligible Classes: any except Paladin, plus Fighter/Thief, Fighter/Cleric, Fighter/Mage, Cleric/Thief, Mage/Thief, Fighter/Mage/Thief, Fighter/Cleric/Thief
Half-Elves have the dubious honour of being the least interesting race from the AD&D book, exhibiting a watered-down mix of elvish and human traits. In addition to following through with that script to its logical conclusion, it occured to me that they would be the only race to possess the mixture of drive and curiosity with the increased lifespan to allow for effective multiclassing, making them, in a way, the ultimate all-rounder, avoiding the psychological rigidity and lack of dynamism that are the hallmarks of the demihuman. This is, of course, already hinted at in the books, with the half-elven array of choices for multiclassing ever being among the top tiers, but the problem with “advantages of choice” is that, once that choice is settled for, all of the remainder reverts to just being wasted potential.
And here’s the thing: I’ve never seen much love for multiclassing in whatever edition of the game. It’s there, mostly as a curiosity for completists, with its draw of purported character versatility always running afoul of the shoals of the economical principle of specialization as applied to the scale of the adventuring party. If a game were to be run solo, that versatility might be worth the price of admission but in party-driven play? The smart money’s always on just letting each body tend to its own niche and be a more effective unit overall. Now, of course, there’s always the problem that it might turn out unbalanced, becoming shiny enough to attract munchkinism. But even in that unlikely event, until measures are put into place, it being guarded within the folds of a rare and otherwise unexciting character race seems like a good place to put it.
Gnome
· Movement: 25’, small size
· Attribute Adjustments:
o +2 Intelligence; +1 Constitution
o -2 Wisdom; -1 Strength
Racial Abilities
· Infravision 60’
· Superior Caster: may weave magic while encumbered or heavily encumbered and with the use of only one free hand
· Spell-Eater: if a Saving Throw against Magic is an adjusted 20 or greater, a gnome negates the spell’s effect upon himself (though not other targets) and gains a hit-die's worth of temporary hit points instead; While they persist, a gnome’s melee attacks count as magical in nature
· Innate Magic: the bonus spell slots granted by a gnome’s Intelligence modifier are innate and always usable, regardless of character class, armour use or encumbrance. The spells for these slots use Intelligence as the casting stat and must be determined from the following list:
1. Detect Magic, Disguise Self, Audible Glamour
2. Invisibility, Fool’s Gold, Phantasmal Force
3. Detect Illusion, Dispel Magic, Spectral Force
4. Improved Invisibility, Hallucinatory Terrain, Stoneskin
5. Advanced Illusion, Passwall, Stone Shape
· Chtonic Affinity: while under the earth, a gnome forgoes casting rolls to cast any of his innately known spells
Eligible Classes: Fighter, Thief, Wizard, Assassin, Witch, Sorcerer
Gnomes are reimagined into natural talents with magic more reminescent of germanic fairytales, the matter having come down to either dropping them on the grounds of redundancy with the dwarves or effect some sweeping changes. I wanted to distance them from just “good saves against magic” thematically associated with magic resistance (and, by extent, lack of casting capabilities) and so I went down a different path. There was also the concern with typecasting, as the compromise with high intelligence would easily moor gnomes overmuch to the casting classes, meaning they needed something to offer the remaining archetypes. I have to say I’m quite pleased with the result, as their ability to gobble up magical energies offers something to everyone while rewarding the higher class HDs and their innate casting capabilities handily set them apart from the remaining fighters or rogues (5th edition’s concepts of Arcane Trickster and Arcane Knight not being entirely lost on me), with a side-dish of illusion magic proving most useful for both thievery and assassination purposes. Also, to prevent them from being the proverbial ultimate caster, their fallible Wisdom ensures that their rate of spell recovery is lackluster. They can choose from among all of the non-divine casting classes and the basic martial package.
Half-Orc
· Movement: 35’, medium size
· Attribute Adjustments:
o +2 Strength; +1 Constitution;
o -2 Intelligence; -1 Charisma;
Racial Abilities
· Lowlight Vision 60’
· Ferocious: rolls an additional damage die for critical hits in melee
· Untiring: treats the effects of Exhaustion as being two levels lower
· Inured to Pain: subtracts 1 point from every damage source
· Eater of Flesh: can only draw nourishment from meat and must eat an additional portion of rations every day
· Seed of the Great Leveller: Disadvantage to interactions in civilized/urban environments (initial reaction rolls, hiring retainers, gaining followers, etc.)
Eligible Classes: Fighter, Thief, Ranger, Assassin, Berzerker, Witch
Half-Orcs are shorthand for brute force, their human heritage merely serving to tame their nature to the point of playability. Declaredly inspired by the Uruk-Hai, their physical prowess is written large not just in attributes but also in abilities and superior mobility, being the only race to boast increased movement with absolutely no strings attached. They do come saddled with a logistical problem only made possible by a game where encumbrance is enforced as well as the rare instance of a social disadvantage, for unlike the fluctuating tensions one could deem expectable surrounding the other races, being the offspring of an archetypical enemy of civilization unavoidably increases the risk that the character may regrettably run afoul of prejudice or outright aggression, fuelled by fear. The pursuits of half-orcs are almost entirely martial, with a backdoor into witchcraft for the occasional bout of hedge-wizardry.
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