I began gaming with the second version of the third edition of Dungeons and Dragons also known as 3.5. One thing I loved with this was being able to play a variety of classes with any race I basically wanted. Half-Elf Ranger was a personal favorite. A friend of mine loved Halflings and would play a variety of classes as a Halfling. Rogue, Cleric, Warlock; he did them all. Looking back, I think his race of choice would have probably been Kender if he could choose it.
I remember this one hilarious adventure where our Druid (who was a Dwarf btw) left the party to face the undead without any divine help, except for my Paladin. Of course, my Paladin gets killed almost immediately. Upin the Druid's return, my character was reincarnated via the spell of the same name, and became an Elf. Reincarnate would be a huge deal back in AD&D. My Paladin would, in the normal rules, no longer be a Paladin. Elves cannot be Paladins, only Humans. This would have left quite an awkward situation for our party, as well as been almost a character ender since the now Elf non-Paladin would be somewhat of a sucky Fighter without Fighter abilities or Paladin ones.
While the 2e DMG suggests that the class restriction rules can be waived, this would be for rare situations, and Paladins are supposed to be rare as is. Its weird to think that my character's career would have ended due to changing race. Were the deities in 2e racists who saw Elves as only Chaotic? Or maybe Elves have some other divine warrior fate.
In the Threshold e-magazine for Alfheim, they had Elf classes for Classic BECMI D&D. In that list was the unique name level class of Druid Knight, a Paladin-like character that uses the forces of nature for his powers. Something about the Druid Knight seems so perfectly Elvish, something alien and mystical, a warrior who takes his prowess to an art form. This would be something I would pilfer for AD&D. Something akin to the Druidic Knight appears in the current edition eith Oath of the Ancients, a subclass of Paladin.
I guess its just weird for me, a child of the d20 era. Here, Dwarves can totally become wizards if they wish to. With older editions and retroclones, I would sooner run into a scientists and tell him that pi is exactly 3 instead of suggesting a Dwarf Wizard. The overwhelming ability to choose my character without debating the idea to the DM is something the newer generation takes for granted. Forget Classical D&D for a moment where Dwarf was a class, the idea of an arcane casting class for Dwarves is such an alien concept.
And yet, I find it somewhat artistic in its own way. Dwarves, Elves, what have you; the older editions seem to make then feel more like a vibrant culture with some of the restrictions. I believe something similar to this is the explaination to Race as Class. The explaination being that non-humans are so rare that they only have that ine example to work with. Its why Dwarf Clerics only came into being eith the Rockhome Gazetteer. Its a weak defense, but I can understand it.
So what do I, a child of the d20 era prefer? I guess what was done in the AD&D era, but with caveats. Humans were unique with choice, but even certain human cultures would probably have class restrictions. I can't see the Red Wizards really be okay with non-magical warriors running around all the time. Then again, my expertise is not in Realmslore. So if we only view class restriction as a cultural thing, then the concept comes into view.
What is your take on this subject. Do you see yourself agreeing more with Classical, AD&D, or the d20 and post-d20 era? Post in the comments below.
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