Playing with Dex

In the beginning, there were only three character classes: fighting-men, magic-users, and clerics. Each had their own special stat (Strength, Intelligence, and Wisdom respectively) and if you had a high score in your class' stat, you got a bonus to your earned experience points. In addition, at that time, those three stats didn't give you any other bonuses. (For those of you who were wondering, this is why the stats back then were listed in order of STR, INT, WIS, DEX, CON, CHR.) The remaining three stats gave you useful bonuses, like extra hit points or a greater number of henchmen. In those days, a fighting-man was far more likely to use Intelligence as a dump stat than Charisma.

But as time went on and folks added cool additions to the game, this elegant system grew unwieldy barnacles. The thief was, I believe, the first of these. Thieves used Dexterity as their prime requisite, meaning that thieves not only got the benefits that normally came with Dexterity, but also an XP bonus as well. This, of course, threw the whole system out of kilter.

By the time the Moldvay Basic D&D rules were published in '81, every stat offered bonuses or penalties to your character. But not every stat had a class associated with it. Some had more than one class using it as a prime requisite. Now, this isn't really a problem, but my desire for symmetry, of a sort, balks at this. And so, in my Moldvay/Cook/LL hack, I've set out to make sure every stat has at least one class that uses it as a prime requisite. In some cases, this was a simple matter of moving a class from one stat to another. Specifically, I've changed dwarves from using Strength as their prime requisite to using Constitution, which I think fits their tough and rugged image.

That was the easy one. Others I made more difficult for myself, because I apparently can't stand for things to be too easy.

I've already expressed my dissatisfaction with thieves. I like the idea behind the class, but many of the mechanics don't work for me, or the way I prefer to game. But I still want a class that uses Dexterity as a prime requisite. To fill that need, I've invented a class I'm calling, for lack of better inspiration, the rogue.

Obviously, the prime requisite is Dexterity, and a Dexterity score of 13 or greater will earn the rogue a bonus on earned experience points.

RESTRICTIONS: Rogues use six-sided dice (d6) to determine their hit points. They may not wear any armour or use shields. They may use any one-handed weapon, spears, and staves. They may also fight with a weapon in each hand.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: When striking unnoticed from behind, the rogue gets a +4 to hit and inflicts twice the normal damage. Rogues roll on their own to-hit table. Here’s a sample from levels 1 through 4, since the whole thing won’t fit here easily:

AC	To Hit
9	10
8	11
7	12
6	13
5	13
4	13
3	13
2	13
1	18
0	19
-1	20
-2	20
-3	20

The rogue also acquires magic-user/elf spells according to the following table:

	Spells
Level	1	2
1	1	*
2	2	*
3	2	1
4	2	2
5	3	2
6	3	3
7	4	3

And here’s the XP chart:

			Spells
Level	XP	Hit Dice	1	2
1	0	1d6	1	*
2	1,802	2d6	2	*
3	3,602	3d6	2	1
4	7,202	4d6	2	2
5	14,402	5d6	3	2
6	28,802	6d6	3	3
7	57,602	7d6	4	3
8	112,500	8d6	4	3
9	230,000	9d6	4	3
10	337,500	9d6+1	4	3
11	450,000	9d6+2	4	3
12	562,500	9d6+3	4	3

Obviously, the model for this class is the Gray Mouser. But it also works for rangers, bards, wizard-school dropouts, charlatan magicians, and the like.

The attack matrix is predicated on the rogue fighting like a swashbuckler. More than simply trying to be faster, they use the cumbersome armour of their foes against them. Thus, the plateau of to-hit numbers between ACs 5 (chain mail) to 2 (plate + shield). Below 2, you’re getting into the realm of high Dexterity bonuses and magic, which counters the rogue’s speed and agility. Fighters, however, maintain their status as the best in combat through better hit dice as well as greater options in armour and weapons.

Still, on the recommendation of others, I'm considering replacing the funky to-hit progression with stating that the rogue gets to use their Dexterity bonus on to-hit rolls. That might actually make them more dangerous in certain zones, however, especially with a +2 or +3. On the other hand, using the table I have now and combining it with a high Strength would be incredibly deadly. Does this make the rogue too dangerous? Or is it properly balanced by the lack of armour?

Obviously, the smart rogue is going to use magic to make up for a lack of armour. Shield, invisibility, and mirror image will, I’m sure, be very popular choices.