Classes for Races

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We all know what the Favoured Class for each sub/Race is. The list:

• Human: Any
• Aasimar: Paladin
• Tiefling: Rogue
• Half-Elves: Any
• Half-Orcs: Barbarian
• Shield Dwarf: Fighter
• Gold Dwarf: Fighter
• Duergar: Fighter
• Moon Elves: Wizard
• Drow: Wizard (Males) and Cleric (Females)
• Wild Elf: Sorcerer
• Rock Gnomes: Illusionist (Specialist Wizard)
• Svirfneblin: Illusionist (Specialist Wizard)
• Strongheart Halflings: Rogue
• Ghostwise Halflings: Barbarian

But which of the 11 classes would you give, or not give, to a particular sub-race.

• Bard
• Barbarian
• Cleric
• Druid
• Fighter
• Monk
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Sorcerer
• Wizard

Example:
Shield Dwarf gets Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Rogue, Sorcerer, Wizard classes.
But I would not give Bard, Barbarian, Druid, Monk, Ranger to one.

Give your list of preffered and restricted classes for each race.
NOTE: This has nothing to do with powergaming preferences Just consider RP.

 

See 2e rules; 'nuff said.

EDIT:
One not commonly known exception is that some derro (deep dwarves) can become mages.

 

I would probably say that bard and paladin has most restrictions: A half-orc, Dwarf (especially the Duergar) and the Svirfneblin would seem strange as bards and the Svirfneblin and maybe some other races don't fit the role of a paladin very well. Some other combinations may seem strange but almost every race-class combination works well in an RP:ing point of view unless you only like those booring standard-types.

 

@Felinoid: What's the difference between derro and duergar? I think I might have seen both in one game, suggesting it isn't the same race. Would deep dwarves be different from grey (dark) dwarves?

Bard: Any race has some. There is only some problem with the drow, or rather the normal drow who live in the Chaotic Evil Underdark cities. Eilistraee's followers are a natural background for a bard, especially something in the style of the 2E Blade kit.

Barbarian: Tieflings could be thrown out of the tribe as freaks but then they would have to survive on their own in the wild, implying ranger or... barbarian. But careful here. Moon elves and dwarves don't seem to work. Svirfneblin and duergar don't look like a good idea of a race for a barbarian. Dwarves are often chosen by players, but I would be careful here, as dwarves tend to be lawful and orderly. However, they have a clan-based structure, tribal tradition etc, so they are somewhat close to barbarians in certain social aspects.

Clerics: All, really. There are deities of all alignments in the game.

Druid: It's a human concept. Half-elves, aasimon, tieflings (well...), why not. Perhaps moon and wild elves, although this would naturally require a somewhat different druidic tradition, more native to elves. Given the special relationship with nature, that is not hard to imagine, though. Perhaps a halfling druid wouldn't be so very odd. But dwarven, half-orc, drow (except NE Underdark sort of druid, which is already odd by himself)...

Fighter: All. All classes have fighters. Gnomes other than deep gnomes aren't perhaps your typical fighters and you wouldn't really expect a moon elf to be a single class fighter (i.e. not a spellcaster of any kind), or a tiefling (tiefling without rogue levels?), but that's about it. Orcs for brutal massive strength, dwarves for more concentrated brutal massive strength ( ), halflings for the dual-wielding swashbuckling fun, humans for all-roundness.

Monk: It's a human concept. Aasimar looks good, as well. Tieflings and half-elves could be expected to have a less ordered nature than your average human, given their ancestry, and your average human isn't a monk material yet. It really doesn't fit elves and the idea of a dwarven monk is simply funny but not in a very funny way, if you catch my drift (think a dual-wielding Finessed half-orc). Gnomes... well, funny. Gilette, anyone?

Paladin: They say all races have something sacred. Okay, there are many ethoi that could reflect in having those special warriors, but I still don't see some of the races having them, unless a particular member of that race is brought up by a different one. Human is your natural choice and aasimar even has it as favoured race. There are some rare elven paladins and I don't see a reason why a half-elf shouldn't be a paladin, anyway (supposing he's brought up by the human part of his family). If your father was a paladin and his father before him and the father of his father but your father married an elven princess, why shouldn't you be a paladin like your father and his father before him?

Ranger: All races fit in the 3E description but I still tend to think it's somewhat elven-style. Humans brought up by elves. Elves themselves maybe. I don't really see a dwarven ranger. Gnomish? Perhaps. Halfling? Well, they are close enough to humans, I suppose.

Rogue: All. Perhaps aasimar isn't your first choice, though, but why not, anyway. And the dwarven rogue is funny in the same way as the dwarven monk.

Sorcerer: All races, I think.

Wizard: Again, all, except maybe half-orcs (typically too stupid), wild elves (would they study?) and the wilder breeds of halfling.

Fighter/cleric: Typical of dwarves and some human cultures, not unheard of in the elven society.

Fighter/wizard: Say e. Say l. Say f.

Rogue/wizard: Tiefling, I think...

Fighter/rogue: Tiefling, human, maybe half-elf (the social outcast kind, child of the street and all).

 

Hey Feli, I have only ever played the games and read a few books in the Faerun setting. I sure as hell don't have any rulebooks. So for all I know 2e rules say noting about Tiefling, Drow, Ghostwise Halflings, etc.

AFAIK:
* Bard - Perhaps all but Dwarves & Gnomes (Clerics handle vaults of lore in these races).
* Barbarian - Perhaps all but Dwarves, Moon Elves, Drow & Gnomes, since they are pretty regimented races with hardly any loners.
* Cleric - All races.
* Druid - Perhaps all but Dwarves, Drow & Gnomes.
* Fighter - All races.
* Monk - Human, Aasimar, Tiefling, Half-Elves & Half-Orcs only. I don't even want to think about Halfling Monks
* Paladin - All Human based races (as with Monk) & Dwarves only.
* Ranger - Human, Tiefling, Half-Elves, Half-Orcs, Wild Elf & Moon Elf only.
* Rogue - All races.
* Sorcerer - All races.
* Wizard - All but Half-Orcs & Halflings.

 

I am amused that you all list Dwarf Wizard as a "okie combination". Dwarves have a very long tradition of ill will against magic (hey they get +2 bonus saving throw against all spells and spelllike abilities anyone). And Second Editon lists dwarf as unable to become wizard at all.

Well, ironically enough i am actually playing a Dwarf Wizard myself. but he is very much based on overcoming the stigma etc (and the fact that he start with INT 7 doesn't help).

 

/me pokes head back into unfamiliar forum

Monstrous Manual, pp. 96-97

Derro are more CE while Duergar are more LE; duergar may be evil, but derro are downright vomit-inducingly cruel. And the Derro 'savants' have only a few wizardly powers, but it's a decent reason to assume the possibility of mages, should a savant get good enough (duergar have no such things as savants). They are most definitely different sub-races, and if I were a duergar called a derro, I'd kill the speaker for the insult. *shudder*

@Shrikant:
Drow are part of regular 2e as well (driders too), but Tieflings are an FR invention and the only halfling sub-races I know of are Hairfoot, Tallfellow, and Stout. I'm not sure if Ghostwise are based on one of those or not, having not read any FR books.

@raptor:
Derro savant. Zing!

 

I thought they hailed originally from Planescape ? i can of corse be completelly wrong.

Ghostvice halflings should be FR specific, if memory serves.

 

Duergar Paladins are cool and so are Drow Paladins. I think that Half-orc and dwarven bards rock. Moon elf barbarians are excellent and deep gnome monks are killing machines. My favourite half-orc sorcerer appeared for a while in NWN and I had a cool dwarf wizard that owned the game.

It's the options that make this game so good. I can have whatever I like and it works.

I thought that it was great that barbarians live in a rather organised and regimental type lifestyle (which indicates order and lawfulness) but a barbarian can't be lawful? Mud. I truly think that the only class that should have any class restriction at all is the paladin, otherwise it's meaningless.

I love halfling wizards and deep gnome rangers. Drow make fantastic monks too. It's so juicy that I have to make 25 parties to experience the entire game. I love it death.