Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragonsrole- playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by its class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to create a Dungeons & Dragonsplayer character. A well- rounded party of characters requires a variety of abilities offered by the diverse classes in the game. Dungeons & Dragons was the first game to introduce the usage of character classes to role- playing. Dungeons & Dragons classes have generally been defined in the Player's Handbook, one of the three core rulebooks; a variety of alternate classes have also been defined in supplemental sourcebooks. Classes by type. The release of Unearthed Arcana in 1. Barbarian and reworked Paladins to be a type of the new base class Cavalier; Oriental Adventures also introduced a number of alternate classes more appropriate for an Eastern setting. Runecaster, and Shaman); in addition, supplemental handbooks offered a variety of . NPC classes not intended for player use in its Dungeon Master's Guide. Non- core base classes are considered optional and do not always exist in all settings. For example, the Samurai class introduced in the Oriental Adventures book may not make sense in a game set in a standard European- style realm. There are literally hundreds of 'homebrew' character sheets for AD&D 2nd Edition available on the Web. Unfortunately, most of them are terrible, and as of now Wizards.Similarly, classes associated with psionics such as the Psychic Warrior don't apply to worlds without psionics. Multi- classing. Only humans can, and it requires extremely high stats to do so. Non- humans, on the other hand, can . In addition, Prestige classes add yet more options for multi- classing. This edition offers the most freedom regarding multi- classing. There are, however, penalties to the rate of experience point gained if classes are added haphazardly. The 3rd edition version of Unearthed Arcana includes rules for gestalt characters which combine the advantages of two classes. The class- specific multiclass feats are also prerequisites for the power- swap feats, each of which allows the character to swap out a daily, encounter, or utility power from their first class for one from their second class. Also, at 1. 1th level, a character with a multiclass feat and all of the power- swap feats is eligible for paragon multiclassing, which allows a character to gain additional powers from their second class in lieu of taking a Paragon Path. Some classes are only available through multiclassing, the first such class was Spellscarred, introduced in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide. The Player's Handbook III introduced . The core classes only require an ability score of 1. Monk, Paladin and Ranger (who need 1. The first supplement, Greyhawk, added the Thief as a fourth main class, as well as the Paladin as a fighter subclass. These four fantasy gaming archetypes represent four major tactical roles in play: the Fighter offers direct combat strength and durability; the Thief offers cunning and stealth; the Cleric provides support in both combat and magic; and the Magic- User has a variety of magical powers. In many ways, other classes are thought of as alternatives that refine or combine these functions. Dwarves and Halflings were restricted to the Fighting Man class, and Elves were restricted to the Fighting Man and Magic- User classes; all three non- human races had limited level advancement. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition. The five standard base classes, five sub- classes in the Player's Handbook are listed in the adjacent table. The Player's Handbook also introduced the Bard as a sixth base class; however, its usage in 1st edition was more akin to what would be called a prestige class in later editions, as it was not a legal choice for a starting character. Instead, a character had to start as a Fighter, change classes to a Thief, and finally switch classes once more to become a Bard. A character's ability scores directly tied into what class choices were legal for them. RPG Sheets: Character Sheet Archive! For instance, a character wishing to be a Fighter required at least 9 Strength; the more discriminating Monk required 1. Strength, 1. 5 Wisdom, 1. Dexterity, and 1. Constitution. High ability scores in statistics considered pertinent to the class would grant an experience bonus. The Player's Handbook brought about other changes in the game and its character classes. The effects of a character's strength score on hit probability, damage, weight allowed, and open doors rolls were changed. High intelligence conferred an increased chance for both spell knowledge and ability to learn languages. The wisdom score now gave clerics a spell bonus, while low wisdom gave a chance of spell failure. New charts delineated the effects of constitution, dexterity and charisma. Each of the five main character classes and five sub- classes had its own experience table; for most classes it was now harder to gain promotion above third or fourth levels. Multi- classed characters were also introduced. Hence, a character might be a (human) Cleric or else simply an . The Basic Set presented four human classes: Cleric, Fighter, Magic User and Thief, and three demi- human classes: Dwarf, Elf and Halfling. The Companion Set introduced four optional classes for high- level characters: the Avenger, Paladin and Knight for Fighters, and the Druid for Clerics. The Master Set introduced one additional class: the Mystic. The Gazetteer series included many optional classes for humans and non- humans, including the shaman (GAZ1. GAZ1. 4). Additional human and race classes were also presented in other supplements. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition. As such, it sought to simplify the rules and straighten out contradictions. Character classes were divided into four groups or . Each of these groups had a . The Player's Handbook went on to say that . Rather than specific spell lists for each class, 2nd edition had two unified lists: one for wizard spells and another for priest spells. These lists were then further subdivided by school of magic and sphere of influence. Classes still had distinct spells; in order to accomplish this, different classes had access to different spheres of magic. Thus the Illusionist class from 1st edition became a type of specialist wizard; specialists gained the ability to cast extra spells of their chosen school of magic in exchange for the inability to cast spells of . A Transmuter, for example, would gain extra spells per day in the school of Alteration, but would be denied access to the schools of Abjuration and Necromancy. A similar distinction was made for priests. The druid was provided as an example; the specification of other specialty priests was left to dungeon masters and setting books. As an example, a specialty priest of Tempus, the god of war in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, can incite a berserker rage in allies and lacks the . The selection of spheres of influence worked similarly to the allowed and forbidden schools of magic. The Bard class, previously attainable only after switching from Fighter, to Thief, and lastly to Bard, was changed to be a normal class that could be chosen at character creation. The Assassin and Monk classes were removed from 2nd edition (though the concept of a bare- handed fighter or a killer for hire certainly remained legal, just not as a class). The Dungeon Master's Guide clarified the rationale behind the decision in a section on creating new character classes: What is a Viking but a fighter with a certain outlook on life and warfare? A witch is really nothing but a female wizard. A vampire hunter is only a title assumed by a character of any class who is dedicated to the destruction and elimination of those loathsome creatures. The same is true of assassins. Killing for profit requires no special powers, only a specific reprehensible outlook. Choosing the title does not imply any special powers or abilities. The character just uses his current skills to fulfill a specific, personal set of goals. Nonetheless, second edition did introduce a number of additional classes and class modifications (called kits). The shaman, runecaster, assassin, barbarian and monk each were implemented many different ways, including as their own classes, though they were not included with the initial set of classes in the Player's Handbook. Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition. Monk as a base class, the creation of the new Sorcerer class, and the inclusion of Barbarian as a base Player's Handbook class, previously described in 1st edition's Unearthed Arcana rules and as an optional kit in 2nd edition. Statistical requirements on classes and experience bonuses were abolished, though a low score in an important statistic to a class would still adversely affect a character in it. Rather than earlier editions' rules on splitting experience, characters can simply choose which class they wish to take a new level in and add the appropriate bonus from the class. Prestige classes were also introduced in the 3rd edition's Dungeon Master's Guide, with new classes only available at higher level and after meeting several prerequisites. In addition to the eleven classes presented in the PHB, various alternate base classes were presented in supplements, and the Dungeon Master's Guide presented five weaker classes designed for NPCs. Core character class. To attain a specific prestige class, a character must first meet a number of prerequisites, such as certain feats or membership in a specific organization. Prestige classes offer a focus on different abilities that may be difficult to attain otherwise; for example, the 3rd edition version of the Assassin prestige class grants minor magical powers, more sneak attack damage, and better usage of poison.
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