An Exercise in Nostalgia

While Beyond the Wall has quite a bit of flexibility with regard to character creation and multi-classing, I have to confess that I've wanted to model some of the AD&D/D&D classes and sub-classes in terms of multi-classing. Not all of the classes are represented in this writing, however. AD&D classes like the barbarian and druid are easily covered with the warrior and mage classes, respectively. Classes from Oriental Adventures like the kensai, sohei, shukenja, and wu-jen (and even the OA versions of the barbarian and monk) may take some additional fine tuning with regard to cultural differences.

The archetypes below are modeled more on the first edition AD&D and BECMI D&D classes than their counterparts in Pathfinder and newer editions of D&D. Despite the fact that the old BECMI D&D and first edition AD&D classes had alignment and race restrictions (rangers being non-evil, bards being humans or half-elves, etc.), I have not included those restrictions here. Overall, I've tried to follow both the spirit and word of the BtW multi-classing rules; hit dice, saving throws, armor, special abilities and the like were prioritized in the order the classes are presented in the combinations.

In most of the archetypes there's some flexibility with regard to special abilities. A character's special abilities will either be split between the two base classes or centered in one class. You'll also note that two of the archetypes – namely the monk archetype and the warden sub-archetype for rangers – are actually triple-classed archetypes. Again, I've tried to hold to both the spirit and word of the multi-classing rules.

As this a first draft (and an exercise in nostalgia, to boot), I cannot vouch for “balance” in any of these archetypes. Oftentimes, I've found that one person's concept of balance is another person's idea of munchkinization. Feedback is welcome on these archetypes and tinkering will surely ensue. 

Assassin

Classes: Rogue/Warrior 
Base Attack: As warrior 
Hit Dice: As rogue 
Saving Throws: As warrior 
Armor: As rogue 
Initiative: As rogue 
XP: As warrior 
Special Abilities: Player chooses one special ability from each class or both abilities from one class.

Bard 
Classes: Rogue/Mage

Base Attack: As mage
Hit Dice: As mage
Saving Throws: As rogue
Armor: As rogue
Initiative: As rogue
XP: As mage
Special Abilities: Spellcasting, Highly Skilled. 

Cleric
Classes: Mage/Warrior
Base Attack: As warrior
Hit Dice: As mage
Saving Throws: As mage
Armor: As warrior
Initiative: As warrior
XP: As mage
Special Abilities: Spellcasting, Sense Magic. 

Notes: Clerics are a subjective situation. Some play them as priestly healers, others more as combat-oriented crusaders. In this case, I've opted to portray them as crusaders, firmly double-classing the cleric as a mage/warrior. Priests, the cloistered cousins of clerics, are better defined as mages. In earlier editions of D&D and AD&D, clerics were only able to use blunt weapons. This restriction may apply at the discretion of the player and the GM based on the setting and the character's religion. 

Monk
Classes: Mage/Warrior/Rogue
Base Attack: As warrior
Hit Dice: As mage
Saving Throws: As warrior
Armor: As mage
Initiative: As rogue
XP: As mage
Special Abilities: For a combat-oriented monk, the player chooses one special ability from the warrior class and the other from the rogue class or both abilities from one class. For a more mystic archetype, the character receives the mage's Sense Magic ability and the remaining special ability is chosen from either the warrior or the rogue class. 

Notes: I've included monks in this post to cover all the bases; normally, I don't include monks in my games unless they're of the Oriental Adventures variety. At any rate, the monk is a tricky balancing act. Mind you, this is my own concept of the monk. It may not fit everybody's ideal, and I'm certainly open to changing it if absolutely necessary. 

Paladin
Classes: Warrior/Mage
Base Attack: As warrior
Hit Dice: As warrior
Saving Throws: As warrior
Armor: As warrior
Initiative: As warrior
XP: As mage

Special Abilities: Player chooses one special ability from each class or both from one class. 

Notes: Like clerics, paladins are another one of those subjective archetypes. Traditionally, they've been divinely-empowered warriors in AD&D, but in holding true to the spirit of BtW, the player has a decision to make with regard to how their character's abilities are defined. The tenets of the character's religion may also have something to do with how their abilities are defined. For example, a paladin devoted to a saint or deity opposed to spellcasting may be granted the ability to sense magic, but barred from casting spells. As such, the character's second ability would have to be drawn from the warrior class. 

Rangers

The ranger is one of those classes that is split between the image of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, and the image of the spell-casting warrior-sage in D&D. As such, I've endeavored to define each type, just as some third party companies have done with “spell-less” rangers for Pathfinder and D&D. 

Ranger, Scout 

Classes: Rogue/Warrior 

Base Attack: As rogue 

Hit Dice: As rogue 

Saving Throws: As warrior 

Armor: As rogue 

Initiative: As rogue 

XP: As warrior

Special Abilities: Player chooses one special ability from each class or chooses both from one class. 

Ranger, Green Warden 
Classes: Rogue/Warrior/Mage 

Base Attack: As warrior 

Hit Dice: As rogue 

Saving Throws: As warrior 

Armor: As rogue 

Initiative: As rogue 

XP: As mage 

Special Abilities and Restrictions: Spellcasting and one other special ability from either the warrior or rogue class.