Separating Class and Race in Classic D&D
by Cab DavidsonI started separating the race and class way, way back because players would want to play a halfling thief, an elf warrior, a dwarf cleric, etc. And there's really no reason why not.
I allow the Elf race class more or less as presented in PC3. Because it's really the best (and final) iteration of that class in classic - through the two Elven Gazetteers and into PC3 the class progressed to something that actually balances very well against other classes. There are other race classes in my game too - Sidhe and Pegataur have a choice of two classes each, and Medicine Man is a class available only to a few races.
Halflings and Dwarves as represented in the RC are essentially fighters with relevant limits to hit points, levels and weapons. The extra XP they need per level serves as a guide for how to handle their XP requirements in whichever other classes. You keep the racial abilities, and each race gets its own package, you advance in class according to the class table modified by a set %xp cost.
So, essentially, I allow most race and class combinations, with a simple table that modifies character stats from what is generated, and with an XP modifier. Some things advance faster than humans (e.g. kobolds), some advance much slower (e.g. pegotaurs).
HD are shifted up and down as appropriate. For example halfling is at 1 dice down per HD (minimum d4), Rakasta are 1 dice up. Much bigger critters max out at d12 for HP (relevant for, for example, trolls).
The one step that was quite 'big' was sorting saving throws out. I went over to racial saving throws for -everything-. And it's fine.
I've got four parties of PC's in my campaign right now, played by two groups of players. I can't list everything that's been done over many years but it's all extensively playtested. Right now, among current PC's, there's an Elven Cleric, a race class Elf, a Halfling thief, an Elf cleric, a Dwarf cleric, a Gnome cleric, a Rakasta (specifically a Simbasta) fighter, a Hodmedod necromancer, a Troll thief, a Troll fighter, a Bugbear fighter, and last night we saw the demise of a kobold fighter-mage.
Why do I do it this way? It's the simplest way I could find. Once a character is generated the XP table, HD, abilities that come at different levels, saving throws, everything is all sorted out. I'm all ears for other ways to allow such versatility without compromising simplicity!