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Post by captainjapan on Mar 7, 2021 17:28:20 GMT -6
I would like to put names to the multiclass characters besides Fighter/Magic-user or Half-elf Thief. Can anyone help me brainstorm different class-descriptors for the different multi-class combinations. The way I'm leaning is a scheme that imagines any regular class as a possible sub-class of any other, e.g.:
Fighting Wizard, Fighting Cleric, Fighting Thief
Magical Fighter, Magical Cleric, Magical Thief
Clerical Fighter, Clerical Wizard, Clerical Thief
Thieving Fighter, Thieving Wizard, Thieving Cleric
-not very imaginative.
I could use help jazzing up any of the above, lame-a$$ titles. I've been dwelling on this for too long now and the only signifier that comes to my mind is Battle-Mage. I don't like Battle-Mage.
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yesmar
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Fool, my spell book is written in Erlang!
Posts: 217
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Post by yesmar on Mar 7, 2021 17:57:49 GMT -6
Spellsword
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2021 18:45:40 GMT -6
Fighter + Magic-User = Spellsword
Fighter + Thief = Scout
Fighter + Cleric = Templar
Magic-User + Thief = Nightblade
Magic-User + Cleric = Heretic
Thief + Cleric = Dissident
Thief + Fighter + Magic-User = Bard lol
Cleric + Fighter + Magic-User = Prophet
Cleric + Magic-User + Thief = Inquisitor
Cleric + Magic-User + Thief + Fighter = Special Forces/Royal Enforcer/Death Knight
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Post by waysoftheearth on Mar 7, 2021 19:37:35 GMT -6
Additional suggestions in bold:
Fighter + Magic-User = Spellsword
Fighter + Thief = Scout
Fighter + Cleric = Templar
Magic-User + Thief = Nightblade
Magic-User + Cleric = Exorcist
Cleric + Thief = Inquisitor
Fighter + Magic-User + Thief = Bard
Fighter + Magic-User + Cleric = Prophet
Magic-User + Cleric + Thief = Diabolist
Fighter + Magic-User + Cleric + Thief = Exemplar
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Post by captainjapan on Mar 8, 2021 11:09:27 GMT -6
Additional suggestions in bold: Fighter + Magic-User = Spellsword Fighter + Thief = Scout Fighter + Cleric = Templar Magic-User + Thief = Nightblade Magic-User + Cleric = ExorcistCleric + Thief = InquisitorFighter + Magic-User + Thief = Bard Fighter + Magic-User + Cleric = Prophet Magic-User + Cleric + Thief = DiabolistFighter + Magic-User + Cleric + Thief = ExemplarI'm so glad somebody, besides me, had the idea that ”exorcist” might be a legitimate cleric type. I was worried it might be too controversial to include, but it seems one of the most logical interpretations, all-the-same. |
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Post by captainjapan on Mar 8, 2021 11:11:29 GMT -6
Fighter + Magic-User = Spellsword Fighter + Thief = Scout Fighter + Cleric = Templar Magic-User + Thief = Nightblade Magic-User + Cleric = Heretic Thief + Cleric = Dissident Thief + Fighter + Magic-User = Bard lol Cleric + Fighter + Magic-User = Prophet Cleric + Magic-User + Thief = Inquisitor Cleric + Magic-User + Thief + Fighter = Special Forces/Royal Enforcer/Death Knight Scout is my Ranger after I read Bunnies and Burrows. I love that title. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2021 16:24:20 GMT -6
Additional suggestions in bold: Fighter + Magic-User = Spellsword Fighter + Thief = Scout Fighter + Cleric = Templar Magic-User + Thief = Nightblade Magic-User + Cleric = ExorcistCleric + Thief = InquisitorFighter + Magic-User + Thief = Bard Fighter + Magic-User + Cleric = Prophet Magic-User + Cleric + Thief = DiabolistFighter + Magic-User + Cleric + Thief = ExemplarI'm so glad somebody, besides me, had the idea that ”exorcist” might be a legitimate cleric type. I was worried it might be too controversial to include, but it seems one of the most logical interpretations, all-the-same. I've always been a big fan of the idea of Clerics in D&D performing exorcisms. It just suits their profession. Demons explicitly exist in even the earliest rules. This is one of the obvious alternative uses of the Turning mechanic at high levels. |
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 9, 2021 5:30:54 GMT -6
An interesting thread. I had a thought long ago to try the reverse to what you are suggesting -- start with known classes and then try to recreate them using only "core four" combinations. That way I could stick to LBB+Greyhawk but give more of an AD&D set of options. My idea was to base the class on one of the core four but then add in a level of something else in order to give minor benefits.
Ranger = fighter + thief (or fighter + druid if Eldritch Wizardry is allowed)
Paladin = fighter + cleric
Assassin = thief + fighter
That sort of thing. (My wife added in Witch = MU + cleric just because it fits her concept of witches.)
I never took it much beyond what I typed here, but the concept of allowing lots of combinations is pretty cool, I think. By mixing the percentages of each class you can get different flavor, but since my campaigns usually top out at level 8 or so there aren't often enough levels to really see much difference, other than in play style. I suspect that with a 1-20 level campaign like in AD&D the differences would be more clear.
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Post by captainjapan on Mar 9, 2021 7:45:36 GMT -6
The Assassin is mechanically a Fighter/Thief, but wasn't Conan a Fighting Thief? I think I would like to re-appropriate the AD&D title, Barbarian, to be the Fighting Thief. Oh, but then I would displace Scout, hmm.. .
How does Charlatan sound for a Clerical Thief?.
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
Posts: 383
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Post by flightcommander on Mar 9, 2021 14:02:07 GMT -6
How does Charlatan sound for a Clerical Thief?. Charlatan sounds more like Magic-User + Thief to me, personally. Also wondering if it might be nice if at least some of the combinations had Good/Evil variants, eg: Magic-User + Cleric = Exorcist (Good) / Demonologist (Evil) |
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Post by Finarvyn on Mar 10, 2021 5:44:48 GMT -6
The Assassin is mechanically a Fighter/Thief, but wasn't Conan a Fighting Thief? I think I would like to re-appropriate the AD&D title, Barbarian, to be the Fighting Thief. Oh, but then I would displace Scout, hmm.. . How does Charlatan sound for a Clerical Thief?. But you've hit upon part of what makes OD&D so great. A class can be many things, and a combination of classes can be many things. If you want a character to act like a Ranger or an Assassin or whatever, pick a combo and just play. If two players pick the same combo but play the character different, that's a good thing! You don't NEED to have a special class for each character concept. |
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Post by captainjapan on Mar 10, 2021 9:17:19 GMT -6
Indeed, so, Finarvyn . Sometimes, I become so preoccupied organizing and redefining some vaguery of the rules that I forget a basic truism about what it is that sets the original game apart. yesmar said, in another thread, that this game is bigger than any limitation we might attempt to place on it. Submitted for your approval, here are some suggestions for combination titles for the core three (four) classes:
| Fighting | Magic-using | Clerical | Thieving | | Fighter | n/a | the Spellsword | the Templar |
| | Magic-User |
| n/a | the Exorcist |
| | Cleric | the Monk | the Heretic | n/a |
| | Thief | Shinobi - the Ninja |
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| n/a |
As you can see, there are many blanks. One way to treat this is as flightcommander suggested, to give each title an evil counterpart. This can be represented if, for instance, the precedence of the row title is made to denote good and the precedence of the column title is made to denote evil. In the above table, that would make the the Monk, good. It would make the Templar, evil. That's not actually how I see it, but just for demonstration purposes. The other way would be to say that combining Thievery with any of the other three classes reverses their "goodness" and necessitates a new class title. Honorable mentions (and reasoning behind them): the Scientist - this was an option for Magic-User/ Cleric. It became the Heretic. Examples would be the Alchemist or the Astronomer the Mystic - Steve Marsh's psychic built as a mage. Another heretical Cleric. the Bandit - Chosen on the assumption that unemployed fighters might turn into highwaymen. The Bandit is, as described in the Monster manual. the Crusader - Different from the Templar in name only. I thought I wanted something more generic. a note on the Scout: In Bunnies and Burrows, the Scout has extra language abilities which give him an advantage in gathering intelligence from other groups of animals. I can see the reverse of the Scout being the Spy for this reason. Alas, the Spy is already mentioned in OD&D. I think I see another reasoning for The Scout as Fighter/ Thief, though. Consider that the Thief was never more than 'special teams" in the adventuring party; kind of like the kicker on a football team. The Thief is not sturdy enough to fight in the front lines. He's more like the troubadour, or the bannerman..., or the Scout. Do I have that about right? |
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Post by captainjapan on Mar 12, 2021 13:30:04 GMT -6
I learned a new word, today:
Gish - a slang term relating to character classes, and specifically refers to a character who is capable of both melee combat and magic with relatively equal adeptness.
Gish originated from Dungeons & Dragons, where the githyanki had an elite caste known as the gish; githyanki using the multiclassing option to become fighter/wizards of considerable lethality.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2021 8:50:27 GMT -6
I learned a new word, today: Gish - a slang term relating to character classes, and specifically refers to a character who is capable of both melee combat and magic with relatively equal adeptness. Gish originated from Dungeons & Dragons, where the githyanki had an elite caste known as the gish; githyanki using the multiclassing option to become fighter/wizards of considerable lethality. Oh, Lord, yes. I remember everyone saying that back in the 90's. Planescape and all that was huge back then. So many Gith with their zeppelins. |
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Post by Zenopus on Mar 13, 2021 23:33:40 GMT -6
captainjapan: good to know, and potentially useful as today I signed up for a Gary Con game where the entire party is Githyanki...!
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