An introduction to Dungeons & Dragons - Part IV: Fighters and Thieves

(White Dwarf #26)

The fourth entry in Lew’s series explores Fighters and Thieves. Without the distraction of spells, I hoped for practical advice—and Lew delivers.

What’s it about?

Lew grimly notes fighters are often casualties. He envisions a 12-person party with five fighters: 2-3 up front (preferably dwarves) and bow-wielders behind them. Elf fighters are described as rare, and the strongest low-level fighters pointed out as multi-classed. He recommends proficiency in swords (for better odds of finding magic ones), bows, and military picks for armor penetration. His advice is practical: avoid reckless fights, engage when the odds are in your favor, and maximize party's attacks while minimizing foes - solid tactics like spear ranks and fighting in corridors. Lew has a few words about the monk but mislabels them as a fighter subclasses - I find them to be thieves for much of the game.

For thieves, Lew stresses their poor combat ability and advises beginners to choose demi-human thieves for the skill points and infravision—essential for scouting the dark. He warns against party theft and highlights useful roles: invisible scouts, magic-user eliminators via a back-stab, and trap specialists, emphasizing positioning when tackling traps. He recommends avoiding over-reliance on Move Silent or Hide in Shadows and suggests securing invisibility early on. His weapon recommendations (longsword and daggers or darts) are practical. Sadly, assassins receive only a brief mention with no advice.

Anything insightful?

• Dwarves leading with bow-users behind.
• Fight only when the odds favor you and maximizing attacks while minimizing the enemies.
• Practical weapon picks for both classes.

Should I share this with my players? 

Yes. The focused advice on Fighters and Thieves is ideal for beginners and a solid refresher for veterans. This article earns a spot on the “best of” list.

Arms at the Ready

(White Dwarf #31 & #33)

Lew combines the Weapon vs. AC charts with attack matrices to create a streamlined weapon table for each weapon.

 

What’s it about?

This idea addresses a common issue: many players avoid using Weapon vs. AC tables because they’re cumbersome and slow play. The dauntingly large tables often feel like more trouble than they’re worth. Lew’s solution simplifies this by letting you use your standard THAC0 for unarmored monsters and referencing his weapon handout for armored foes.

However, there are errors: the battle axe vs. AC 3 is incorrect, as is the footman’s military pick. Lew decides to stagger the non-fighter classes, grouping them in a way that doesn’t align with AD&D attack matrices. I get why he staggered them (to smooth attack progression) but its a deviation from the DMG. I'm puzzled as to why he didn't stagger the fighter levels, particularly as the DMG suggests it as an option. This gave me a reason to create my own version that closely follows the rules as written.

Anything insightful?

A clever, simple way to integrate Weapon vs. AC. There’s no excuse not to use it now.

Should I share this with my players? 

Yes. I even created my own Arms at the Ready sheets, adding a THAC0 entry for unarmored monsters and including details like damage, speed, length, weight, space required, and cost. I also adjusted the class lines to align with AD&D combat matrices. This is a clever idea that improves the game and deserve a spot on the "best of" list.

***

I decided to make my own Arms at the Ready sheets and include THACO (for when you are attacking monsters without armour) as well as adding in the rest of the weapon details (damage, SF, cost, enc., length, RoF etc). Should be everything you need, at least for the most commonly used weapons. Let me know if you spot any errors or if you find these useful.

Stop, Thief!!

(White Dwarf #45)

This short article by Marcus L. Rowland unpacks the thief's toolkit.

What’s it about?

Marcus examines each item in the kit, discussing its weight, size, and potential use as an improvised weapon. He assigns the entire toolkit a weight of 12.4 lbs, filling a gap in AD&D rules, and categorizes specialized tools based on their use, such as burglary tools like crowbars and trap detection tools like hand drills.

The article offers some rules for having the right tool; it increases the thief skill by a d10%. In his example a noisy floor (-5% to move silent) is negated by a thief wearing oversocks (the thief in the example rolling >5 on his d10). Simple and useful enough for players to make the effort while not overpowered. Marcus mentions rolling 00 on a check involving tools indicates a tool breaks, imposing a -5% on future checks until the tool is replaced. 

Anything insightful?

• Thieves' tools are finally given weight - 12.4 lb!
• Useful if you want to get granular.
• Rules for handling the perfect tool for the job.

Should I share this with my players? 

Yes. Initially, the rules for the perfect tool felt confusing as I think they are poorly explained, but it 'clicked' on a second read. They give substance to thieves tools and are simple to implement. The article is concise, fleshes out the thief and deserves a place on the ‘best of’ list.

Underestimating Druids (is a bad practice)

(Dragon #119)

Carl Sargent, co-author of The Enemy Within, explores Druids in AD&D. Is his advice worth sharing?

What’s it about?

Druids are often overlooked, seen as weaker clerics, with their strict Neutral alignment a dealbreaker for some. Carl counters this by highlighting their fast advancement, more spells and faster spell progression, and utility as backup fighters with spells like animal friendship and speak with animals. The lack of healing spells is overcome upon reaching 2nd level. They are better healers than clerics gaining cure serious wounds at 20k xp instead of 55k for clerics. 

Carl advises taking speak with animals and animal friendship early to recruit a war dog—good advice I’ve followed. He explains a reliable level 1 spell load: detect poison, detect snares and pits, faerie fire, and speak with animals. For level 2, he highlights and explains heat metal, slow poison, and charm person or mammal as standouts. Druids gain key spells much earlier than clerics: neutralize poison at 4k XP compared to 55k XP for clerics.

At level 3, Carl emphasizes the power of recruiting stronger animals like bears or lions, which can overshadow fighters. He provides thoughts on the cyclical nature of 'balance' to help work around the strict alignment restriction and justify the adventuring druid.  Finally, he highlights the druid’s high Charisma and its uses.

Any new insights?

• Druids fight - vicariously through pets, outperforming fighters from level 1 with war dogs and level 3 with bears.
• You hit those key spells faster than clerics and can heal just fine if you can make it to level 2.

Should I share this with my players? 

Yes. This is a clear, practical, well explained 'how to play a druid' guide written by someone who has clearly done so with success. It inspired me to give one a go. This makes the ‘best of’ list.

Bandits!

(Dragon #63)

Roger E. Moore and Thomas Armstrong bring us a fighter-thief hybrid with plenty of outdoors skills, available to humans, half-orcs and half-elves. Being useful outdoors is great but does the Bandit pull its weight underground?

What does a bandit get?

• Fighter Subclass. All the fighter goodies including multiple attacks. Limited to chainmail and medium weapons (no polearms or two-handed swords).
• Surprise = Best Scout. 4-in-6 chance to surprise enemies and only a 1-in-6 chance to be surprised—making them exceptional party scouts. This is their standout feature. Elves and halflings also have a 4-in-6 surprise chance but must sneak 90 feet ahead of the group and wear light armor to do so. Bandits have no restrictions on their surprise chance.
• Climbing. Can climb walls like a thief of equal level, though heavier armor imposes penalties (best check Thieves Table II in UA).

The Downside

• Outdoor skills. Abilities like hiding, trapfinding, tracking, and covering tracks are limited to outdoor use. While tracking and covering tracks have decent success rates, the others are unreliable at early levels and rarely useful in dungeon-focused games.

Why add the class? 

Even in dungeon-heavy campaigns, the Bandit excels as a scout. They will surprise your foe and prevent your group being ambushed. They are hardy enough to handle frontline combat just fine. Does the game need a sneakier, less durable, but easier-to-qualify ranger without alignment restrictions? Maybe. For now, it tentatively earns a spot on the "best of" list.

And now, the psionicist

(Dragon #78)

I’m one of the rare fans of psionics. In my current game, there’s a psionic ranger who didn’t hit the magic 100 attack power needed to psionically blast normals—a shame. The odds of being psionic and having enough power to regularly impact the game are slim. However, this class guarantees a psionic character and a chance to explore the subsystem.

What does a Psionicist get?

• Odd HP. Starts with a d10 for hit dice, decreasing to d4 by level 7. This feels like a gimmick—just use d6 throughout.
• Psionic Blast. Your psionic power points increase as you level. By level 5, you’ll likely have enough power points to mind blast normals.
• More Psionic Powers. Begin with a minor discipline, gaining additional minor, major, and even grand disciplines (at level 11) as you advance.
• Repeatable Spells. Disciplines act as reusable spells fueled by the psionicists' substantial pool of power points.
• Expanded Disciplines. Well-designed, scalable, and fun without feeling broken.

The Downside

• Can't fight & Easy to Hit. No armor or shields leaves you as vulnerable as a magic-user.
• Unclear Discipline Acquisition. The process for acquiring starting and leveling-up disciplines is not adequately described. It seems you randomly get your initial discipline but can choose new ones from level 2 onward.
• Clunky Psionic Combat. As written, psionic combat each segment is unplayable. A single combat round at the top of the turn, as suggested by Huso, is more practical. That said, psionic combat is so rare it might never come up.

Why add the class? 
The psionicist captures the 1970s zeitgeist of psionics and provides a way to fully engage with the psionics system. Be sure to read the psionics-focused Sage Advice from the same issue—it clears up much of psionics messiness. The psionicist makes the ‘best of’ list.

Lizardmen as Player Characters

(White Dwarf #26)

Lizardmen appeared as playable races in Quag Keep and TSR’s Rogues Gallery, but no official rules emerged. Roger E. Moore and Michael Brown offered their take in White Dwarf #26. Initially underwhelmed, I later saw potential.

What does a lizardman get?

• Scaly hide: Natural AC 5 (improved to 4 with a shield). OK early on but falls off quick.
• Swim speed and breath holding: Swim speed of 12’ and the ability to hold their breath for 10 minutes.
• Unarmed combat superiority: Lizardmen’s height and weight make them excellent grapplers able to dominate humanoids. You have about a 60% chance to hit with a grapple or overbear and then, thanks to height/weight, get +35 to +40% to the result against human sized foes. They will be pinned, prone and stunned in no time. You and the DM will need to be comfortable with the DMG unarmed combat rules for this ability to shine.
• Claw, Claw, Bite: Potential for solid damage but reigned in by a strength cap of 18 and any damage bonus only applying to claws. The most you'd deal with STR 18 would be 3-4, 3-4, 1-8. Hardly game breaking.

The Downside

• Level, HP & Class restrictions: Fighters only, capped at level 6 (with 18 Strength). HP rolls use d8 instead of d10.
• Ability Caps: INT, WIS, and DEX are capped at 12; CHA at 5. CON can reach 18, but they can’t have exceptional Strength, which feels punitive for a fighter. STR feels capped to nerf claw, claw, bite.
• Slow: normal movement is 6’, limiting escape options. Its comparable to fighters in plate armor but smart fighters wear banded.
• Moisture Dependency: Lizardmen must wet their skin every 24 hours or risk permanent CON loss, potentially manageable with waterskins.

Why add the race? 

D&D has hinted at playable lizardmen for years, with U2 portraying them sympathetically. Though weaker than all PHB races and unattractive to power gamers, their unarmed combat potential makes them worth considering.

Merchants

(White Dwarf #21)

A charismatic "party face" with verbal, spell-like abilities that shift focus from combat. While bards offer similar charm-related powers, they take longer to develop. Dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, and halflings can be merchants.

What does the Merchant get?

• Item Discounts: At level 1, goods cost 10–40% less, which helps early on (e.g., pooling funds for armor) but has diminishing impact later unless used for major expenses like keep construction.
• Languages: High Intelligence starts with additional languages, skipping in-game learning. Useful with strict DMs.
• Pick Locks: Starts at 15%. Unlikely to be used.
• Appraise: Never miss mundane loot. Identifies valuable goods (e.g., spotting a 2,000 gp chair). Sadly it doesn’t extend to working out if an item is magic.
• Suggestion: At level 1 an 18% chance to cast suggestion 1 x level per day. Opponents with lower Intelligence suffer save penalties. Situationally powerful but unreliable.
• Command: A standout ability that turns the game on its head, usable once per day per level. At level 1 a 45% chance to halt combat within 60 feet for 1–3 rounds, enabling non violent actions like parley, retreat, or casting defensive spells.
• Charisma boost: Works like a friends spell, improving reaction adjustments for a specific race and alignment. Usable once per level per day, but requires 10 minutes of preparation, limiting spontaneity.

The Downside 

• Can’t Fight: Hit Points and combat ability of a thief. Restricted to chainmail at best and no shield. Thrown weapons only.
• Unreliable Abilities: Percentage-based mechanics make command and suggestion inconsistent early on, balancing their potential power.

Why add the class? 

Merchants fill a niche as negotiators. Their abilities scale with level, becoming more reliable mid-game. Like monks, they start weak but shine later, offering something unique and deserving a spot on a “best of” list.

My Life as a Werebear

(White Dwarf #17, re-published in Flipping and Turning #6)

The DMG (p.21) broached the idea of playing monsters, did their best to discourage it and left us to figure it out on our own. Writers for Dragon and White Dwarf were amateurs like us, though some aligned with Classic Adventure Game principles (as I understand them) more than others. Lew Pulsipher stands out as a writer with a solid grasp of the rules, and I tend to trust his articles. He wrote with authority, evoking a tone not unlike Gygax.

In this article, Lew outlines how to create Monster Classes, limiting them to the abilities listed in the Monster Manual. No 10-HD blink dogs here. Instead, the Monster Class is divided into levels, culminating in the fully realized monster. Once complete, you can’t add additional classes—you’re done.

Lew provides examples with the lammasu, werebear, stone giant, and blink dog (the latter working toward leading a pack). In the were-bear example Lew shows how to balance the immunity to normal weapons with a number of caveats and restrictions. Spellcasting monsters seem to me to have the most potential for play. Each example Monster Class feels underpowered, implying that playing one should be a challenge rather than an opportunity for powergaming.

What you don't want is an 'everyone is a monster' 5e style party. Limiting the number of monster class characters in a party to 1 sounds fine to me.

***

I took Lew's advice from his 'My Life as a Werebear' and created a playable orc for my Arden Vul game. One of the players requested an orc henchman. I think it captures the MM orc well without overshadowing the half-orc. Capped at 4 HD, I doubt anyone would want to play one as a character, but they seem fine as henchman. Their strength is grappling and overbearing - at least after a few levels - which calls back to Gygax's infamous dog-pile grapple/throat slit combat example (PHB p.105).

The Barbarian

(White Dwarf #4 for OD&D and #12 for AD&D)

Early White Dwarf predates AD&D's launch, with issues around #10 tracking its emergence. The ideas at this time feel fresh and exciting. Thanks to Attronarch who pointed out the class is compiled here. 

What does the Barbarian get?

• HP: d8+1, solid for a fighter class.
• Cleric saves (at 4 levels higher): Technically it only bumps the cleric save up a bracket but feels overpowered, giving barbarians the best saves in the game.
• Fast leveling: hits level 2 at 1,500 XP. This feels like a fair correction to the fighter’s slow progression and the cleric’s arguable over-generous XP table.
• Catch missiles: Flavor. At level 1 with 18 DEX, the chance is only 30%.
• Thief and Ranger skills: a worse chance to hide in shadows than a thief wont see it used much, climb sheer surfaces at about 80% is more impactful while ranger tracking can be fantastic or irrelevant depending on the DM.
• Sense danger: Starts at a 1-in-6 chance. Feels borderline overpowered, though it's in the the same ballpark as a paladin's detect evil. Requiring concentration could keep it in check.
• First-Attack Ferocity: The signature ability. The barbarian gets an 'alpha' strike once per combat and always on their first attack only. At level 1 it most likely means a +1 to hit and x2 damage. First-Attack Ferocity scales as they level. I looks fun though I would need to see it in play.

The Downside

• Poor armor. Levels 1–5: No armor, shields only. This gradually improves, capping at chainmail by level 11.
• +1 AC from reflexes offers little consolation—they’ll still be easy to hit.

Why add the class?

The Barbarian fills a niche in AD&D as a Conan-style, lightly armored fighter. I think there's some great ideas in here and would be happy to give the class a go.