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Post by geoffrey on Apr 30, 2022 15:31:18 GMT -6
I think I have finally found the delicate balancing act that will satisfy a couple of my heretofore contradictory desires:
1. I like having only the four basic classes: cleric, fighter, magic-user, and thief. There is something solid, bright, and old-fashioned about having only those four. Yet...
2. I like the occasional druid, illusionist, ranger, paladin, monk, bard, and assassin. Not too many, mind you. I want them quite rare, rare enough that it doesn't spoil the feel of having only the four main classes listed above. If the four main classes are the steak, the other classes are the salt. Too much is worse than none at all!
And, voila...
3d6 in order for PCs and for NPC demographics. Look at how hard and how rare it is for a character's stats, when generated 3d6 in order, to qualify him for the following classes:
Assassin: 1 in 16 chance Druid: 1 in 35 chance Illusionist: 1 in 269 chance Ranger: 1 in 623 chance Paladin: 1 in 1,062 chance Monk: 1 in 2,769 chance Bard: 1 in 58,029 chance
If you are a player, you can play any class from the PHB you want if you role it fair and square using 3d6 in order. That alone keeps the sub-classes rare.
For NPCs, I have worked out the demographics for the entire global population of mankind, and the numbers are quite small. For example, in the whole world there are only 264 paladins, 101 monks, and 5 bards! I'm keeping a tally to make sure that 90% of the leveled human NPCs the PCs encounter are of the four main classes, about 6% are assassins, about 3% are druids, and 1% are all the rest (and you can be sure that bards won't be on any random encounter tables!).
All of the above gives me the solid, basic, Keep-on-the-Borderlands feel along with the merest sprinkling of sub-classes, monks, and bards. To me, AD&D is best when it is essentially OD&D with some Advanced seasonings. A setting in which the sub-classes are common just doesn't appeal to me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2022 18:25:46 GMT -6
What are the odds of being a Bard Psionic, though?
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Post by geoffrey on Apr 30, 2022 19:09:12 GMT -6
What are the odds of being a Bard Psionic, though? Ha! Long odds, I'll wager. Without doing the math, I'm thinking about 1 in 5 million (at best).
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2022 4:26:44 GMT -6
What are the odds of being a Bard Psionic, though? Ha! Long odds, I'll wager. Without doing the math, I'm thinking about 1 in 5 million (at best). Perfect. The gods do care about us.
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