Anything other than the Monk that you think could have made it in?

[Blue Orange]

The Monk is a classic D&D archetype that exists in a largely European-medieval game because Hong Kong kung fu films happened to be popular at the time the game came out. I can't see disco, truckers, or vigilantes (to take the 3 other examples from the 70s version of Smash Up) getting in due to tech issues (though PCs are often vigilantes), and for some reason ninja and samurai, from across the East China Sea, didn't become major classes despite a slew of adaptations. Is there any other historically-inappropriate class that you think should have made it in or would have been fun?

 

[Jer]

Is there any other historically-inappropriate class that you think should have made it in or would have been fun?

Gunslinger. And it could have been in there since Don Kaye had Murlynd with his magical six-guns in the very first campaign Gygax ran.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think that in an alternate universe, you could easily have seen samurai appear alongside the monk as a core class before OA, drawing from Kurasawa and Chanbara cinema. Ninjas, however, wouldn't really have their pop culture boom until the 80s (I say this as someone that filled up countless sheets of paper with bad drawings of ninjas).

And while we might not have seen a vigilante class, but the 70s were filled with private detectives, so I could also postulate an investigator-type class, perhaps as a subclass of the thief.

 

[Jack Daniel]

Tinkers, chemists, and inventors. It's an archetype that goes back at least to the ancient world (think Dædalus) but also suits antediluvian sword & sorcery settings. In D&D terms, the first alchemist class appeared in issue #2 of The Dragon, and there was a "techno" class in the Arduin Grimoire. Yet even in 5e, artificers are only semi-core.

 

[Dioltach]

A good DEX-based melee fighter. Either a swashbuckler or a knife-fighter (preferably two-handed).

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

With the arquebus having appeared eventually in second edition, and how big Westerns were when Gygax was growing up, it's not too far of a step to where Boot Hill and D&D meet.

Gunslinger. And it could have been in there since Don Kaye had Murlynd with his magical six-guns in the very first campaign Gygax ran.

Likewise, with the swashbuckling feats of Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks also appearing write large across movie screens in Gygax's youth, such a thing could have been. Heck, even closer to D&D's era, in 1973 there was an absolutely star-studded Three Musketeers movie.

A good DEX-based melee fighter. Either a swashbuckler or a knife-fighter (preferably two-handed).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Tinkers, chemists, and inventors. It's an archetype that goes back at least to the ancient world (think Dædalus) but also suits antediluvian sword & sorcery settings. In D&D terms, the first alchemist class appeared in issue #2 of The Dragon, and there was a "techno" class in the Arduin Grimoire. Yet even in 5e, artificers are only semi-core.

I’m all for “Alchemists” and other educated archetypes beyond wizards getting included either as classes or some kind of supported subclass/build/whatever. I’ve been making PCs with alchemical bombs since 2Ed at least, and before that in other FRPGs. Some were more akin to summoners who would trap powerful beings in containers to be released at opportune moments…

 

[niklinna]

A good DEX-based melee fighter. Either a swashbuckler or a knife-fighter (preferably two-handed).

I remember a Duelist "NPC" class (with XP/level chart and all) in Dragon magazine, May 1983. It was definitely DEX based and had a two-weapon fighting ability. Not really designed for general combat, of course.

This Dragon index page has a comprehensive section on "character classes". Knock yourself out!

 

[Blue Orange]

Hm, nifty.

I remember a Duelist "NPC" class (with XP/level chart and all) in Dragon magazine, May 1983. It was definitely DEX based and had a two-weapon fighting ability. Not really designed for general combat, of course.

This Dragon index page has a comprehensive section on "character classes". Knock yourself out!

Hm, nifty. The alchemist, bounty hunter (thanks Boba Fett!), jester, and witch (as seen elsewhere on this board) all seem to have had multiple attempts.

 

[Jer]

I remember a Duelist "NPC" class (with XP/level chart and all) in Dragon magazine, May 1983. It was definitely DEX based and had a two-weapon fighting ability. Not really designed for general combat, of course.

This Dragon index page has a comprehensive section on "character classes". Knock yourself out!

I love how back in the day they'd publish "NPC" classes - which was code for "we haven't and aren't going to do anything to check to see if this class breaks your game if you allow a player to play one - use at your own risk".