Basic Fantasy RPG Forums

I'm wondering how most of you deal with this problem. A PC feels like he isn't getting a lot when leveling just HP, attack bonus, and spells. What if they want abilities? I don't know really know how to explain this. I personally think that is enough until a couple of levels, should PCs be getting more every few levels. I hope I explained it well, this problem just came up before I was going to bed.

PS:Never check your play-by-post before you go to bed.

Does this person have any experience with newer versions of the game, if they do, I can imagine they might have a hard time handling how games that emulate the Old School version do leveling, its alot more stripped down.

They were talking about AD&D and how it had "skills" or something like that. I think he was wanting something other than BASIC.

After explaining that old school games don't progress the way the modern games do (a good thing for most of us), you might simply suggest that he (the player) might focus on characters that have more sequential level-dependent benefits... Thief class for instance, especially if you layer on some options for the character.
For starters, utilize the Thief Ability Point Distribution method found in the core rules and download the thief options supplement for some extra tweaks. There are also other Thief Types such a Jester, Assassin, or Thug.

If being a dedicated Thief is not to his liking, consider using one of the alternate sub-classes or quasi-class options which layer on some other level-dependent benefits. For instance, a Holy Fighter (ie. quasi-class version of a Paladin) has several level dependent features. Another nice idea is to use your choice of a Ranger, which depending on the source has Tracking, Move Silently, and perhaps other benefits that scale with level. Also, for fighting classes consider using Combat Options Supplement for some additional things to use besides just getting extra hp or attack bonus.

In a nutshell, there are options to help you deal with most play-types or personalities, or you can layer on some options of your own. But, consider also, that given a little exposure to simplified rules, your player may gain greater appreciation of these qualities... bringing out more role-play instead of pure roll-play (which this player seems to favor at this time, based upon your description of the situation).

I don't recall AD&D having skills.. at least First Ed..

dymondy2k wrote:I don't recall AD&D having skills.. at least First Ed..

True, although some were added later called, Non-Weapon Proficiencies... first showing up with Oriental Adventures (I think), then more completely assumed to be part of the game by the time Dungeoneer's & Wilderness Survival Guides or Manual of the Planes (among last of the AD&D 1e books).

You might want to look at the Secondary Skills supplement in the download section, pretty close to the Non-weapon proficiencies/skills of earlier editions of D&D. The Backgrounds and Specialties supplement also gives some added benefits at certain levels, and adds some "flavor" to the core classes.

Gaining "crunchy" features when gaining levels is very much a modern thing. Your players need to understand that playing old-school isn't about what's written on the sheet, but what you do with it.

Radical idea: Download TSGS and put together a one-shot game. If you run it right, TSGS is a blast, and yet it has almost no rules at all.