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Adamaro
2010-12-19, 05:13 AM
Hey,

I'd like to make an "old style" campaign, where race and class are rolled up. Are there any handy charts out there consisting of all 3.5 races and classes? Or something similar ...

tnx

TheMeMan
2010-12-19, 05:58 AM
Hey,

I'd like to make an "old style" campaign, where race and class are rolled up. Are there any handy charts out there consisting of all 3.5 races and classes? Or something similar ...

tnx

Well, for races:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_race_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)

Premier
2010-12-19, 06:05 AM
Just curious, what exactly do you mean by "old-style"? In D&D you always chose your race and class.

TheMeMan
2010-12-19, 06:09 AM
Just curious, what exactly do you mean by "old-style"? In D&D you always chose your race and class.

Erm... I may be wrong, but under 1st Edition I've heard talk of it being rather normal for this way of choosing to occur. I could be heavily wrong, however, as I never played, nor read the material. Just remember talk of it.

akma
2010-12-19, 08:00 AM
You had to rule stats then choose characters in older versions. For exemple, to become a paladin you had to rule 17 charisma.

Ravens_cry
2010-12-19, 08:02 AM
Erm... I may be wrong, but under 1st Edition I've heard talk of it being rather normal for this way of choosing to occur. I could be heavily wrong, however, as I never played, nor read the material. Just remember talk of it.
I can see it happening, but by default you rolled your stats only. That being said, there was various minimum stats to play various classes and races, and genders, as well as and maximum for races and genders.

Lateral
2010-12-19, 08:05 AM
Only game I've ever heard of that makes you roll race and class?

FATAL. :smalleek:

pasko77
2010-12-19, 08:19 AM
Only game I've ever heard of that makes you roll race and class?

FATAL. :smalleek:

Oh, come on.
Warhammer fantasy. It's not that bad.

Anyway, op is confusing, as in dnd you rolled your Stats, 3d6 in order, not your race.

Yuki Akuma
2010-12-19, 08:46 AM
"Thri-kreen".

*sneaks off*

Mercenary Pen
2010-12-19, 08:52 AM
"Thri-kreen".

Now with multiple personalities- thus 'Three-kreen':smallwink: Something else we're going to make you roll for...

So, now that you've rolled up a Half-Orc Cloistered Cleric with incurable Kleptomania, time to roll your stats.

No, these days having to roll your race and class would be a house-rule for character generation, rather than the usual method.

Ravens_cry
2010-12-19, 08:57 AM
No, these days having to roll your race and class would be a house-rule for character generation, rather than the usual method.
It would still be a house rule even in those days.

Gnaeus
2010-12-19, 09:31 AM
Oh, come on.
Warhammer fantasy. It's not that bad.


You did it in Stormbringer too.

"Bob, you rolled a Melnibonean Fighter Wizard. Roll an extra D6 to add to each of your stats, then start figuring out what kinds of demons or elementals you have bound into your gear.

Fred, you rolled a beggar. Roll again on the crippling injuries table!"

Vemynal
2010-12-19, 04:15 PM
Actually I heavily discussed doing this with a couple of my players about half a year back, the idea was that you would roll a "D3" to decide level. You'd roll a D6 to decide race and you'd roll a d8 to decide whether you had a template. If you got a template you'd roll a d6 to decide which one.

this was the kicker: You rolled your stats in order: str, dex, con, int, wis, cha. What you rolled while rolling that stat was what you got (4d6 and drop the lowest)

Essentially the idea was "You're born into this world without any choice as to your race, physical and mental capacities (though after birth you can painstakingly train these attributes).

But then, in trade off, I was going to have all source material open with no restrictions for classes/feats (yes...including leadership and undead leadership >.<)

I'm a little sad it didn't work out, would have been an interesting campaign.

pasko77
2010-12-19, 04:27 PM
You did it in Stormbringer too.

"Bob, you rolled a Melnibonean Fighter Wizard. Roll an extra D6 to add to each of your stats, then start figuring out what kinds of demons or elementals you have bound into your gear.

Fred, you rolled a beggar. Roll again on the crippling injuries table!"

Lol, i will admit it can be bad, but old games weren't about balance. If you take wfrp second edition, there isnt the same gap between classes as in your example.

Yet, if you add random chaos mutations, it can go _horribly_ wrong.

Psyren
2010-12-19, 04:49 PM
I thought this thread was about asking for help with a THRI-kreen archivist... I was going to say, use the nonpsionic thri-kreen variant with reduced LA

Violet Octopus
2010-12-19, 08:21 PM
If it was Core only, or even Core+Complete+Races, it'd be pretty easy to make such a table yourself. The DMG has NPC random character generation tables starting from page 110, which skew race/class probabilities depending on alignment.

If it was "every class and race ever printed (including Dragon Magazine?)" then randomly generated results would be quite eclectic, and not very "old style".

Adamaro
2010-12-20, 04:09 AM
Tnx for all the answers. I'll try to make something and include all good advice on DMG 110 and Vemynal's ideas. I like them a lot.

Psyren
2010-12-20, 04:16 AM
Essentially the idea was "You're born into this world without any choice as to your race, physical and mental capacities (though after birth you can painstakingly train these attributes).


While this is a valid philosophy, it fails to take into account that the vast majority of people in the world do not become adventurers. Yes, in a realistic setting we wouldn't get to choose our stats and race, but in a realistic setting we'd in all probability stay home and be bakers/farmers/seamstresses etc. and it wouldn't matter anyway.

FelixG
2010-12-20, 06:20 AM
While this is a valid philosophy, it fails to take into account that the vast majority of people in the world do not become adventurers. Yes, in a realistic setting we wouldn't get to choose our stats and race, but in a realistic setting we'd in all probability stay home and be bakers/farmers/seamstresses etc. and it wouldn't matter anyway.

Am I the only one that players Bakers and Barhands 3.5? :smallfrown:

:smallbiggrin:

Chambers
2010-12-20, 10:12 AM
These (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/lists) could help.

AyeGill
2010-12-20, 10:42 AM
Am I the only one that players Bakers and Barhands 3.5? :smallfrown:

:smallbiggrin:

I think you mean Blacksmiths and Basketweavers.

Also, anybody who stays home on the farm have much better chances of picking up craft(basketweaving), and so their average power level is upped considerably beyond that of adventurers.

Grelna the Blue
2010-12-20, 11:26 AM
There were certainly many GMs in the old days (back when we called them DMs) who required players to roll the six stats in order, sometimes with only 3d6 per stat. That did a lot to determine your choice of class (the high stat usually determined it), although optimization generally went straight out the window. It was HARD to qualify for paladin back then. However, I can't recall ever hearing of any D&D games in which players had to roll for class and race as well as stats.

AyeGill
2010-12-20, 11:36 AM
Actually I heavily discussed doing this with a couple of my players about half a year back, the idea was that you would roll a "D3" to decide level. You'd roll a D6 to decide race and you'd roll a d8 to decide whether you had a template. If you got a template you'd roll a d6 to decide which one.

this was the kicker: You rolled your stats in order: str, dex, con, int, wis, cha. What you rolled while rolling that stat was what you got (4d6 and drop the lowest)

Essentially the idea was "You're born into this world without any choice as to your race, physical and mental capacities (though after birth you can painstakingly train these attributes).

But then, in trade off, I was going to have all source material open with no restrictions for classes/feats (yes...including leadership and undead leadership >.<)

I'm a little sad it didn't work out, would have been an interesting campaign.

I always assumed that everybody has no control over what they're born as, but the players assume control of somebody who has been born as what they want(this is also the reason PCs have slightly better stats than everyone else). So if you choose dwarf and put your highest stat into strength, you character was simply a dwarf that was born a lot stronger than the dwarven average.

Yuki Akuma
2010-12-20, 11:58 AM
There were certainly many GMs in the old days (back when we called them DMs)

We still call them DMs... when we play D&D.

Other games use GM because Dungeon Master is copyrighted.

Gnaritas
2010-12-20, 12:13 PM
This thread just gave me an idea.

Make several piles of "cards"

A pile of races (or groups of races)
Human or Half Elf
Dwarf or Elf
Gnome or Halfling
Any else

A pile of classes (or group of classes)
Any arcane class
Any divine class
Any roguish class
Any full BAB class

Pile of ability scores
25 point buy
4d6 drop lowest
16,15,14,12,10,8
13,13,13,13,13,13

Pile of bonuses
Extra feat
Extra 10k gold
Extra 5k XP
Extra +2 to a stat

Pile of Flaws, Pile of ......

Each player can pick any card (back and forth so last to pick becomes first to pick), some might pick a class first, others a race, until everyone ends up with each of one kind and then can build his character.

Grelna the Blue
2010-12-20, 12:35 PM
We still call them DMs... when we play D&D.

Other games use GM because Dungeon Master is copyrighted.

Okay. I can't recall having heard the term DM more than very occasionally since about the mid 90's in the games I've been in or around. {Scrubbed}
However, I'm perfectly willing to accept your statement that it's still common usage elsewhere in the gamesverse.

Psyren
2010-12-20, 01:26 PM
13,13,13,13,13,13


Is there a point to this one, besides making one person go off to play Xbox? :smallconfused:

Thufir
2010-12-20, 01:35 PM
I once did an almost entirely random character. Rolled stats, then made a list of of what classes would be good with those stats, and rolled for it. And rolled for race, though I restricted my options on that as well, just because I didn't want to end up as a race I'd been before.
Ended up with a halfling ranger as I recall.

Coidzor
2010-12-20, 02:31 PM
Oh, come on.
Warhammer fantasy. It's not that bad.

Anyway, op is confusing, as in dnd you rolled your Stats, 3d6 in order, not your race.
Isn't that the game where you last maybe 4 sessions per character before you can't fight anymore because you've lost too many limbs? :smallconfused:

Quietus
2010-12-20, 02:35 PM
Isn't that the game where you last maybe 4 sessions per character before you can't fight anymore because you've lost too many limbs? :smallconfused:

Yup. Usually takes about six limbs lost, though.

Wraith
2010-12-20, 03:14 PM
Just curious, what exactly do you mean by "old-style"? In D&D you always chose your race and class.

Possibly Adamo is thinking of the Druid's 'Reincarnation' spell from 2nd Edition?

You *would* roll randomly for your new race on the provided table if your PC died and everyone was too busy making fun of you to do a proper Resurrection. :smalltongue:

AyeGill
2010-12-20, 03:21 PM
Possibly Adamo is thinking of the Druid's 'Reincarnation' spell from 2nd Edition?

You *would* roll randomly for your new race on the provided table if your PC died and everyone was too busy making fun of you to do a proper Resurrection. :smalltongue:

But, it's the same in 3.5

Ravens_cry
2010-12-20, 03:27 PM
But, it's the same in 3.5
Yes, but the Druid reincarnation list was quirkier. You could come back as a Badger. 3.5 basically used the Wizard Reincarnation list.

nedz
2010-12-20, 04:09 PM
In a couple of long running 1st and 2nd Ed games I ran, most of the players seemed to prefer Re-incarnation on the Druid table. I think it was a machismo thing :smallbiggrin:
We had every bit the menagerie you get with 3.5.

Earlier still: I do remember it being a core player skill to roll 3d6 in order and then to try to make a character for what you were given.:smallcool:

These days players prefer more choice and the stats are more important in qualifying for feats etc.

Ed: another point about random class generation.
If you wanted a really gritty game: should have them roll D%
01-97 Commoner
98-99 Warrior
00 Roll again on Table 2

Table 2
(more NPC classes)

No one gets to take a PC class at level 1