Post by scogle on Jul 24, 2008 12:06:57 GMT -6
One thing which is not covered in the rules is how elves are meant to advance. There are two main sides to this interpretation, I've found: one is the rule found on Philotomy's OD&D Page, which runs like this:
"At the beginning of each adventure session (loosely defined as the from the start of an adventure until XP is awarded in a safe place), the Elf's player declares whether he is adventuring as a Fighter or as a Magic User. During that session, the Elf's earned XP goes to the declared class, and he fights and saves as the declared class."
Also, don't forget elves can wear magic armor while casting spells, and the other bonuses they receive.
On the other side of the coin, we have the interpretation I've nick-named "Greyhawk". While Supplement I had no direct rules regarding multiclassed Fighting-Men/Magic-Users, it did have rules for other multiclassed options, and these all state that XP is evenly divided amongst all classes, whether one is operating as the declared class or not. Many referees apply this to the "bare OD&D" (od&d without supplements) rules as well.
I've been trying to figure out which one is best for an OD&D Player's Handbook I'm working on, so I did this comparison:
Elf Levels - "Greyhawk":
1. Veteran-Medium: 0
2. Warrior-Medium: 4,000
3. Warrior-Seer: 5,000
4. Swordsman-Seer: 8,000
5. Swordsman-Conjurer: 10,000
6. Hero-Conjurer: 16,000
7. Hero-Theurgist: 20,000
8. Hero-Thaumaturgist: 40,000
9. Hero-Magician: 70,000
10. Hero-Enchanter: 100,000
11. Hero-Warlock: 150,000
Elf Levels - "Philotomy":
1. Veteran-Medium: 0
2. Warrior-Medium: 2,000
3. Warrior-Seer: 4,500
4. Swordsman-Seer: 6,500
5. Swordsman-Conjurer: 9,000
6. Hero-Conjurer: 13,000
7. Hero-Theurgist: 18,000
8. Hero-Thaumaturgist: 28,000
9. Hero-Magician: 43,000
10. Hero-Enchanter: 58,000
11. Hero-Warlock: 83,000
Now, compare these to the advancement charts for FM, MU, and Clerics on page 16 of Book I.
Philotomy: Under philotomy's system, one could choose to focus on one class. However, focusing on one class would lead to the same level advancement as the "focus" class has, or thereabouts, so I didn't account for it.
Elves would be the fastest-advancing class by far under philotomy's proposed method. This doesn't make sense to me because elves get large benefits (Chainmail bonuses, use of magic armor while casting, etc.), but in this case they are not only stronger than either base-class alone, they actually advance faster.
Greyhawk: Under the "Greyhawk" system, elves are the slowest-advancing class to start with. This makes sense to me, as it counterbalances the benefits of playing an elf. Elves *do* begin to advance quicker at high-levels, but it's not to a very large degree, and this merely reflects the advancement of the Magic-User class itself.
Conclusion: The nature of OD&D level-advancement is such that neither one of these systems is "nice-and-neat", but overall I'd say the Greyhawk system makes the most sense to me. I'm going to recommend the "Greyhawk" system in my PHB, but I will include the "Philotomy" system as well to be used "at referee's discretion".
"At the beginning of each adventure session (loosely defined as the from the start of an adventure until XP is awarded in a safe place), the Elf's player declares whether he is adventuring as a Fighter or as a Magic User. During that session, the Elf's earned XP goes to the declared class, and he fights and saves as the declared class."
Also, don't forget elves can wear magic armor while casting spells, and the other bonuses they receive.
On the other side of the coin, we have the interpretation I've nick-named "Greyhawk". While Supplement I had no direct rules regarding multiclassed Fighting-Men/Magic-Users, it did have rules for other multiclassed options, and these all state that XP is evenly divided amongst all classes, whether one is operating as the declared class or not. Many referees apply this to the "bare OD&D" (od&d without supplements) rules as well.
I've been trying to figure out which one is best for an OD&D Player's Handbook I'm working on, so I did this comparison:
Elf Levels - "Greyhawk":
1. Veteran-Medium: 0
2. Warrior-Medium: 4,000
3. Warrior-Seer: 5,000
4. Swordsman-Seer: 8,000
5. Swordsman-Conjurer: 10,000
6. Hero-Conjurer: 16,000
7. Hero-Theurgist: 20,000
8. Hero-Thaumaturgist: 40,000
9. Hero-Magician: 70,000
10. Hero-Enchanter: 100,000
11. Hero-Warlock: 150,000
Elf Levels - "Philotomy":
1. Veteran-Medium: 0
2. Warrior-Medium: 2,000
3. Warrior-Seer: 4,500
4. Swordsman-Seer: 6,500
5. Swordsman-Conjurer: 9,000
6. Hero-Conjurer: 13,000
7. Hero-Theurgist: 18,000
8. Hero-Thaumaturgist: 28,000
9. Hero-Magician: 43,000
10. Hero-Enchanter: 58,000
11. Hero-Warlock: 83,000
Now, compare these to the advancement charts for FM, MU, and Clerics on page 16 of Book I.
Philotomy: Under philotomy's system, one could choose to focus on one class. However, focusing on one class would lead to the same level advancement as the "focus" class has, or thereabouts, so I didn't account for it.
Elves would be the fastest-advancing class by far under philotomy's proposed method. This doesn't make sense to me because elves get large benefits (Chainmail bonuses, use of magic armor while casting, etc.), but in this case they are not only stronger than either base-class alone, they actually advance faster.
Greyhawk: Under the "Greyhawk" system, elves are the slowest-advancing class to start with. This makes sense to me, as it counterbalances the benefits of playing an elf. Elves *do* begin to advance quicker at high-levels, but it's not to a very large degree, and this merely reflects the advancement of the Magic-User class itself.
Conclusion: The nature of OD&D level-advancement is such that neither one of these systems is "nice-and-neat", but overall I'd say the Greyhawk system makes the most sense to me. I'm going to recommend the "Greyhawk" system in my PHB, but I will include the "Philotomy" system as well to be used "at referee's discretion".
