Of Elves, Wizards, and Plate Mail (Is There Anything Wrong with AD&D, Part II)

This is my first response to a specific criticism of AD&D offered by Mark Damon Hughes on his website What's Wrong with AD&D?  In the section Metal and Magic and Multiclassing, he prints a few points made by Dr. Erin D. Smale on wearing armor while casting spells and the seeming irrationality behind multi-classing rules.  Like the other issues that Mark points out on his page, these are some valid points that really need to be addressed because as new games were developed, each with its own sensibilities, people demanded explanations for rules that seemed arbitrary.  Most of the choices that Gygax made in the development of AD&D followed conventions and standards of the (especially pre-Tolkien) fantasy genre.  Times have certainly changed since then, and most of those conventions have either been re-imagined, refined, or re-defined.

So let's look at these questions that Dr. Smale asks about AD&D:

1. Why are multi-classed demi-human magic-users permitted to wear metal armour but human magic-users are not? . . . 2. Why are demi-humans restricted in level advancement? . . . 3. Why can multi-class demi-human magic-users wear armour but single-class demi-human magic-users can't? . . . 4. How are other multi-class character abilities justified in contrast to their single-class restrictions?

The good doctor points out the inconsistencies in logic with the usual answers to those questions, and I agree:  those answers are inconsistent and incorrect.  Game balance has little to do with the answer (at least, if we understand game balance to mean equalizing power between characters of comparable level).  In fact, game balance in relation to level limits was considered after the fact, with the publication of Unearthed Arcana. 

Why are demi-humans restricted in level advancement?  Looking to Dr. Smale's specific questions, it's easier to answer the second one first because the answers to the others are closely related to one another.  Part of the issue with AD&D multi-classing is a loose distinction between racial culture and genetics.  Are elves adept at magic due to their nature or hundreds of years of their society's development of mystic arts?  Like most of the ideas behind AD&D, there is a tendency to blur specifics - this time done in an attempt to leave things mysterious and exciting.  Either way, there was a specific idea people had in their head when they thought of high-fantasy elves, and while original (Basic) D&D preserved that idea by making demi-humans their own classes, AD&D had to do the same thing while still allowing some variation to class.  This was done by limiting single-class levels for demi-humans but opening the door for multi-classing, something that humans are not allowed to do.  It suggests that multi-class identities are more likely among the demi-humans, especially since a multi-class character can assume a combined level almost twice as high as a single class.  As one can see, the limits to character class are meant to guide identity and character more than balance power.  Furthermore, most of the reasons that the mechanics work the way they do are meant as an explanation of why we see particular conventions at almost every turn. 

To address one of Dr. Smale's other criticisms, elves show their affinity for magic through their likelier multi-class choices: fighter/magic-user, fighter/magic-user/thief, magic-user/thief, and fighter/thief.  Elves and half-elves are the only characters that may multi-class as magic-users.  Elves are not more "adept" at magic use than humans, but they certainly are more used to it as part of their lifestyle and culture. 

This sounds a bit as though I'm defending a purely mechanical choice that reflects an idea without supporting a real-world (even if that world is a fantasy world) rationale.  However, keep in mind that while elves, dwarves and halflings have preconceived ideas attached to them, so do humans.  In most fantasy, and in most science fiction, humans are always able to overcome what seems to be impossible odds and defeat more powerful (as a whole) races.  Two conventions about humanity's place in the world (or universe) raise to the forefront: human beings' "insatiable curiosity" and their unlimited potential.  Only from the human perspective do we see demi-human levels as "limited."  It might be more accurate to think of humans as "unlimited" in relation, instead.  Therefore, it doesn't matter how long an elf lives.  Only humans have unlimited potential in noble or demanding pursuits, while anyone can pursue ignoble skills as far as the highest-level thief.

Why are multi-classed demi-human magic-users permitted to wear metal armour but human magic-users are not? . . . Why can multi-class demi-human magic-users wear armour but single-class demi-human magic-users can't?  The first and second questions have the same answer because they are basically the same question: Why are multi-classed magic-users permitted to wear metal armour but single-class magic-users are not?  The answer is in training.  A single-class magic-user simply is not trained in the use of arms and armor, while a multi-classed magic-user is.  Even a dual-classed magic-user has not been trained in the use of armor while casting spells.  Also, as I stated above, AD&D tends to err on the side of generalization.  There are so few spells that do not require somatic (physical) components, that AD&D generalizes all magic spells in regards to casting while wearing armor.  This idea was either unpopular or misunderstood enough that it was changed in 2nd edition AD&D.  Multi-classed magic-users could no longer wear armor while wearing spells, unless they were elves (not half-elves) and were wearing elven chain, "as magic is part of the nature of elves."

How are other multi-class character abilities justified in contrast to their single-class restrictions? Dr. Smale's final question leads him to, perhaps, the best argument for fair game balance between single- and multi-classed characters.  When demi-humans are restricted in single-class pursuits, having multiple classes is a benefit.  Furthermore, they are, more often than not, on par with their single-class human counterparts, if not better due to their versatility.

Eventually, though, a multi-class character will reach level limits.  An elf fighter/magic-user, for example, can only reach levels 7/11, while their human counterpart will continue to advance.  That means the elf's experience total will be 70,001 for the fighter and 375,001 for the magic-user, for a total of 445,002 experience.  An equivalent single-class fighter will be level 10, and an equivalent single-class magic-user will be level 11.  At these levels, the multi-classed elf is a superior character.  But he has reached his limit.  How long will that superiority last while the human magic-user continues to advance? 

Again, humans have unlimited potential, while the other races do not.  This is part of why human beings, in most fantasy settings, are expanding their lands while the other races have been driven to seclusion or face dwindling numbers.  Also, multi-classing suggests that the lines between distinct human concepts are fuzzier for demi-humans.  For elves, magic is such a part of their lives that they would benefit more by including it in their studies.  Similarly, dwarves spend their time fighting underground, sneaking through tunnels and digging through earth, so of course they will have the option of being fighter/thieves.

One can infer that contemporary players are much more interested in seeing characters break conventions than succumb to them.  They don't want to know how an elf's character would develop.  They want to know how their character would break tradition.  This is due in part to our general American philosophy of individualism.  White Wolf games certainly pushed this idea, by explaining factions of monsters and describing how each faction is seriously flawed in one or more ways.  Players were expected to fight against nature or society and, through their individuality, become something better.  Other games, such as D20 D&D, accentuate that idea by making individual characters highly customizable, so much so that characters are rarely restricted by the normal class limitations.  In D&D, this is a trend that started with the AD&D Player Handbooks for the various classes, escalated with the Players' Option line of books, and finally culminated in D&D 3.0.  This is what contemporary players want out of  the hobby - customized personalities instead of roles to play.

Unfortunately, AD&D was always about playing traditional roles, not customized inventions.  The last thing I wanted to point out was that, again, these rules are meant to explain why we see the same conventions over and over again.  Any in-world explanations are going to be after the fact, whether after mechanics are in place or after the racial conventions are decided upon.  Even by the time 2nd edition was printed, people's ideas of certain character races had changed, so the 2nd edition had to reflect that.  For example, dwarves were no longer restricted to 9th level as fighters.  They could reach as high as 15th level!  That's an increase by two-thirds!  This comes from the increased suggestion that dwarves are fighters, rather than the thieves and tunnelers they are portrayed as in The Hobbit.

What happens when we remove all of these restrictions?  Why would a particular race have a preference for one class over another?  Character races will start to lose their individuality.  Aside from superficial differences, such as height, there will be no reason to choose one race over another.  Worse, what happens when multi-classed characters are allowed to advance to unlimited levels?  If the multi-classed character is already more powerful than an equivalent single-class character, allowing unlimited advancement only makes that relative power permanent.  Ultimately, the total personal customization of characters means that lines between races and classes are drawn arbitrarily because, in the long run, they mean nothing.

Related Links
What's Wrong with AD&D?