Character Class Compendium for First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
- Dungeoneers Guild Games
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
A Comprehensive Reference to First Edition AD&D Character Classes.
By R. Nelson Bailey
Time to make a new character!
Let’s see… what character do I want to play this time? A cleric—a dwarf cleric. Perfect. I’ve never played one before. OK—what’s that? The Players Handbook says dwarf player characters cannot be single-class clerics. Let’s check Unearthed Arcana—great! It says dwarf player characters can be single-class clerics, and the level-limit rules are right there. The cleric “to hit” table is in the Dungeon Masters Guide, as are the saving throws and undead-turning tables. Back to the Players Handbook for weapon proficiencies. Nonweapon proficiencies—where the heck are those found?
As you can see, creating a character in First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) can be difficult. You must consult multiple sections across several rulebooks. Hunting down all this information can be confusing and a hassle.
But no more! The Character Class Compendium has everything you need in one place. It covers every official First Edition character class—cavaliers, druids, magic-users… even two paladins: the original fighter subclass and the revised cavalier subclass. It also corrects errors and omissions, such as the level title for a 5th-level cleric (“Prefect,” by the way) and the correct Hit Die type for the cavalier (it’s a d10, not a d12).
All character information is drawn from the following First Edition AD&D rulebooks: Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Unearthed Arcana, Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide, and Wilderness Survival Guide.
Click on the link to go to a character class entry.
Download a PDF copy of this article.
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