A Sorceress for another time?

[Hopeless]

Done also in the 3.0/3.5 thread this is for 2e and 1e discussion

Had an idea for a character but need a second (or third!) opinion since these days there's a fifth edition coming out and thats not including Pathfinder or the original remakes.

I'm picturing a sorceress whose backstory is that she's the paternal granddaughter of an elf who abandoned her family upon the birth of her son but whose lineage remains strong in the family bloodline.

Albeit not a half elf she retains enough to pass as one and possesses the ability to cast magic as a result of that bloodline.

Trained by her great aunt who was killed before she was fully trained she has finished her own training using unconventional means, by that I'm seriously considering taking Martial Weapon Proficiency/ Swords and Light Armour Proficiency depending on either swapping out the Summon Familar ability or ignoring the light armour proficiency feat for the Toughness Feat (+3hp).

For spells have the usual Detect Magic, Read Magic and then Disrupt Undead and Dancing Lights (as it doesn't need a spell component) with Shield (as she can wear leather armour with a minimal chance of spell failure) and either Magic Weapon or the standard Magic Missile (leaning more towards Magic Weapon).

So stats wise; Str 16, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 17 please note these weren't rolled in that order merely assigned and I'm wondering if I should drop a point or two.

Hit Points will be a base of 7.

I see the character as having taken up a more martial stance to complete her arcane training being able to cast disrupt undead via a weapon she's holding and making use of the shield spell so she could eventually pick up two weapon fighting (sword and dagger) at some point and whilst it might be easier to multi-class I was wondering how this would work as a pure sorceror even with the hit point problem bolstering the defences and looking at buffs to back her up I was really wondering if this could work.

What do you think?

Is this plausible?

2e: This would be a base wizard under that system wouldn't it?
Same would go for 1e so how would you handle this under either of those?

Multi-class after reaching 2nd level and take fighter or ranger for say 3 levels, is it actually possible to then go back to wizard to improve up to 4th so can then continue as a wizard from that point on?

[LibraryOgre]

In 2e, you cannot, in the rules, flop back and forth like that. I would suggest either making her mechanically a half-elf and a fighter-mage., or just a straight up bard.

[Hopeless]

In 2e, you cannot, in the rules, flop back and forth like that. I would suggest either making her mechanically a half-elf and a fighter-mage., or just a straight up bard.

For 1e then even though essentially a quarter elf would that still qualify for the Ranger/Magic User?

For 2e other than the above would the only other route would be to take a few levels of Wizard and then multi-class as a Ranger from that point on?

[LibraryOgre]

For 1e then even though essentially a quarter elf would that still qualify for the Ranger/Magic User?

For 2e other than the above would the only other route would be to take a few levels of Wizard and then multi-class as a Ranger from that point on?

Only if he's multiclassing, or your DM lets you treat him as a half-elf, in either case.

For a human, the easiest way is to take a few levels in wizard, then stay ranger... but that's going to be VERY stat-intensive, needing, IIRC, a 15 Intelligence and a 17 in Str, Dex, and Wisdom (though it might be Str, Con, and Wis).

Like I said, you might do best to consider a straight 2e bard. Moderate fighting, spell use, and a good range of proficiencies. Toss in the Tracking prof, and you've got a rangerish spellcasting semi-warrior.

[PJ Garrison]

This is kind of a weird build for 1E or 2E, since 3E doesn't back-translate easily like the TSR versions of the game do.

2E has the bard class, which would be a good fit. They have decent spellcasting and fighting abilities, a few thief skills, and their own unique bardic abilities. They're considered to be a jack-of-all trades class. They don't get spells right away, though, so you'll have to wait till you get to 2nd level.

If you character is a human, the bard is a good single class. Half-elf bards do not have any racial limits (in fact, that is the only unlimited race-class combination in 2E), which makes that a very good option if you want to be a half elf. They also gain levels pretty quickly, much faster than multi-classed or dual classed PCs.

This the the simplest and easiest option. And I personally think the 2E bard is one of the funnest classes in the game. You may not be the best at what you do, but you'll always be able do something useful in each phase of the game.


Multi-class Fighter/Mage
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If your DM goes strictly by the book, multi-classing is out, since 1/4 elves are considered to be human, but if he's generous, you could be a half-elf fighter/mage.

This gets you a fighter spellcaster the fastest, but you'll be limited to 14th level as a fighter and 12 level as a mage. It could bite you in the ass in a long campaign.

Although this combination has the best potential THACO and number of attacks, your HP will probably be on the low side, since all fractions are rounded down. You'll also level up more slowly.


Dual-Classed Human
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A dual-classed human that starts with a few levels as a fighter and then switches to a mage will have the greatest potential for magic, and should have high overall hit points, but it is the slowest method to get to a spellcaster, as you'll have to gain a few levels as a fighter first.

You don't want to start out as a wizards first, and a fighter second. Not only would you have crappy hit points, but you'd also be unable to learn magic after you switch.

Ideally you want at least 3 levels as a fighter to give you a bunch of hit points (more is better!), and then switch over to a mage. You won't be able to wear normal armor and cast spells, but you'll have a decent amount of HP and the ability to use any weapons you want, on top of the ability to cast spells.

The drawback to the dual-classed character is that he'll be a crappy fighter, since his THACO won't improve once he switches over to a wizard. All you really get with this option is extra hit points and unlimited weapon selection.

[Hopeless]

Never tried running a Bard under 2e, under 1e the process was so elongated that I never even considered that class save as an npc.

There was one exception that game eventually started in 3e and was converted over to Gurps.

We had multiple choices for characters and I went for a plain fighter with a sailor background, but was give a couple of backup characters namely a druid and a bard named Talespinner.

When we eventually chose a single character we were left with party consisting of a human female fighter, an elven male Ranger, a human male cleric, a human male Paladin and a human female Evoker who eventually gained a baby dragon familiar...

Converted over to Gurps where magical items come across as a drag since they drain fatigue and the gm tried to convert my character into a cleric because we lost a potential player and his character shortly after play and the gm killed the character off without thinking that maybe Gurps is not an ideal system if you want someone to be able to cast healing spells and your choices are between an overpowered Ranger, a Paladin, a pyromaniac wizard and a Fighter whose isn't interested in running a cleric for the nth time!

The reason I even mentioned that is because the Ranger was done under 2e rules and had Strength and Consitution both at 18 although his character's strength was noted as "00" and I believe the Dexterity was at least another 18 but I don't remember the rest so I assume he took quite a bit of time generating his character since had he known it was going to be run under Gurps (the Ranger player's preferred system) it might have been worse!