After posting a number of articles about character classes, some hindsight might be useful. One reason I wrote revisions and additions was to boost player characters’ lowest levels—hence extra spells at the first few levels, modified class abilities, etc. The other reason was to stretch demi-humans experience progression to the full 36 level range. One pothole remains (I’m sure there are others), but this one needs particular attention: saving throws.
Previous “experimental” articles recently addressed a desire to boost low level characters used in the D&D BECMI game. So far, the spell progression tables for magic-users and clerics have been addressed, I’ve given the elf class my take on related issues, as well as the classic thief’s skill progression table. I haven’t addressed the classic fighter and dwarf classes since I didn’t think they needed anything extra. One more topic remains therefore: halflings, the grandest of little heroes.
Following the previous article and logical questions from readers, here’s my attempt at tinkering with elves. The original goal was to make a few more spells available to low level characters. This was easy enough with magic-users and clerics. Elves (as described in the D&D BECMI rules) are decidedly more problematic. In the standard game, elves are “kinda/sorta” limited to 10th level. This never made sense to me, and it looks pretty awkward. In the optional rules introduced in the RC, page 266, level limitations are done away with, and elves are enabled to acquire spells at the same rate as human magic-users. I didn’t like this either, given that BECMI elves are basically a hybrid fighter class. Should they obtain as many spells as specialized magic-users? Maybe not. That’s a lot of variables. Let’s first have a look at how elves compare with the magic-user and fighter classes.
There will be five NIGHT SHIFT games at Gary Con XIII this year. I will be running SPECTOR DETECTORS! You are the hottest ghost hunting video show on the Internet! Or at least in the tri-county area. But you hope to change that when your crew decides to investigate Willow Crest Manor, the most haunted house in a 50-mile radius. You have digital cameras, energy drinks, and your totally not at all fake “Spector Detectors.” What could possibly go wrong?
Out of curiosity, I generated alternate spell progression tables for D&D BECMI magic-users and clerics. There were two reasons for looking into this. The first is that 1st level characters start with only one spell (or none at all in the case of the cleric), which a lot of players stumble upon. The other reason is that by-the-book first level parties are incredibly weak, and especially in the case of the magic-user, they don’t contribute all that much to a game session, other than role-playing or pitching ideas. It’s all rather limiting. Spellcasters should be in the business of casting spells.
Morelia the Wood Witch for Basic Era D&D (BX/OSE)
The PCs have to help Morelia with her love potion problem because she is needed at the Tredecim, the meeting of all the worlds’ witches. An adopted character from Ginny Di.
I am revisiting one of my favorite villainesses, Skylla from BECMI, updated to D&D 3.5, using the DMG Witch class.
Old-school D&D really is lacking in the “Bad-ass forces of good” department. Let’s fix that. Lunars are the angelic forces against demons. Best stay out of their way.
“Saving people, hunting things, the family business.”
Surely heaven waits for you! Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural for the NIGHT SHIFT RPG.
Bruce Heard
timsbrannan