better (for me) basic class titles
So, in old-school D&D – prior to AD&D Second Edition – every class had a different title at each level until “name level,” which was always 9th level. Some of these made more sense than others. If the priesthood controls your access to your priestly powers, maybe there really are well-known titles for different ranks. Others are sillier: when a thief reaches 7th level, he’s still just “pilfering?”
There are two kinds of things that bug me about these class titles. First, some of them are too specific. Why is my 3rd level fighter, who uses a club, a “swordmaster?” Why is my straight-arrow 8th level magic-user a “necromancer?”
Second, the non-human class titles stink. They’re just the human ones recycled, which is a much sadder thing than level caps.
I think level titles are fun. I especially like that they give everyone a ready-made epithet, and that by replacing the stock epithet with a cooler one, you can reward a character. Even at level one, Mero the Halfling clearly earned “Mero the Deadly,” which will remain cooler at every level than whatever the stock epithet might be. If I didn’t want to futz with having these tables, I would still like giving everyone an epithet and cranking up its awesomeness as they level up.
I also think I will want to tweak level titles for each campaign I run, and probably have several progressions within that. Like, clerics of the Army of Saints will end up with different titles than clerics of Thrul Victorious. I’m just going to have a first go at better titles for my Beyond the Temple of the Abyss campaign.
The Basic D&D Titles
These are the stock titles from Cook’s blue book:
| Level | Cleric | Fighter | Magic-User | Thief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acolyte | Veteran | Medium | Apprentice |
| 2 | Adept | Warrior | Seer | Footpad |
| 3 | Priest | Swordmaster | Conjuror | Robber |
| 4 | Vicar | Hero | Magician | Burglar |
| 5 | Curate | Swashbuckler | Enchanter | Cutpurse |
| 6 | Elder | Myrmidon | Warlock | Sharper |
| 7 | Bishop | Champion | Sorceror | Pilferer |
| 8 | Lama | Superhero | Necromancer | Thief |
| 9 | Patriarch | Lord | Wizard | Master Thief |
| Lv. | Elf | Dwarf | Halfling |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medium/Veteran | Dwarven Veteran | Halfling Veteran |
| 2 | Seer/Warrior | Dwarven Warrior | Halfling Warrior |
| 3 | Conjuror/Swordmaster | Dwarven Swordmaster | Halfling Swordmaster |
| 4 | Magician/Hero | Dwarven Hero | Halfling Hero |
| 5 | Enchanter/Swashbuckler | Dwarven Swashbuckler | Halfling Swashbuckler |
| 6 | Warlock/Myrmidon | Dwarven Myrmidon | Halfling Myrmidon |
| 7 | Sorceror/Champion | Dwarven Champion | Halfling Champion |
| 8 | Necromancer/Super-Hero | Dwarven Superhero | Sheriff |
| 9 | Wizard/Lord | Dwarven Lord | - |
The Beyond Titles
These are the titles as I plan to use them:
| Level | Cleric (Ibrim) | Cleric (Thrull) | Fighter | Magic-User | Thief |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acolyte | Aspirant | Soldier | Medium | Apprentice |
| 2 | Adept | Wayfarer | Man-at-Arms | Neophyte | Specialist |
| 3 | Knight | Evangelist | Veteran | Magician | Footpad |
| 4 | Templar | Herald | Warrior | Arcanist | Burglar |
| 5 | Crusader | Uprooter | Weaponmaster | Enchanter | Outlaw |
| 6 | Apostle | Iconoclast | Hero | Conduit | Cutthroat |
| 7 | Presbyter | Scourge | Champion | Sorcerer | Scoundrel |
| 8 | Scion | Chiliast | Commander | Magus | Charlatan |
| 9 | Paladin | Harbinger | Warlord | Wizard | Rogue |
| Lv. | Elf | Dwarf | Hobbit (Halfling) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elf | Dwarf | Hobbit |
| 2 | Adventurer | Delver | Wanderer |
| 3 | Pathfinder | Delver | Drifter |
| 4 | Guardian | Journeyman | Seeker |
| 5 | Warden | Engineer | Quester |
| 6 | Pledge | Artificer | Ranger |
| 7 | Pactsworn | Master | Homefellow |
| 8 | Hexblade | Elder | Sheriff |
| 9 | Swordmage | Lord | - |
Table Support!
I added MultiMarkdown support to Rubric just for this post. Isn’t that exciting?