Less Class And More Kits In DnD

I’ve been thinking about Dungeons & Dragons classes lately. And I think fewer classes is better for the game.

Instead, I’ve reinvented Kits (from D&D 2nd edition but without the bloat) to give various classes flavour and the character some backstory. 

I’ve been adding these in various forms in my d12 Monthly zines for some time now, starting with Issue 32 (all about Classes). I’ve also added more kits in Issue 33, Issue 34, Issue 35, and Issue 36 (based on the various classes), plus Issue 38 (Wilderness Kits), and Issue 39 (Urban Kits).

Classes

I think it can be fine to have a dozen or so classes in old school D&D, but reading a blog post recently which created yet another one (which I have done in the issues of d12 Monthly, as well), I started thinking that maybe that’s not the way to go.

You can easily have four classes in D&D – Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, and Magic-User – and create whatever character you want from those four classes by merely giving the character a good description.

Even more so, if you allow multiclassing.

A knight? Merely a fighter from a noble family with good armour and a chivalrous code.

A paladin? A fighter/cleric who follows a particular deity and is lawful (good).

A thief-acrobat? A thief who focuses their skills on break-and-enter type skills (by using the D&D 2nd edition rules, or my own rules, for giving variety to a thief’s skills).

And I could go on.

The Ranger

A couple of people pointed to the ranger class, over on the socials, as one that could not be easily replicated with the four standard classes.

This is a thorny one (pun intended).

You could easily add the ranger class as a fifth option.

Instead, I am looking at a fighter/thief with some sort of wilderness warrior kit, which would change some of the thief skills, swap others out others, and which would give the class some more ranger-like abilities.

(This is assuming you have a spell-less ranger, which I prefer).

Racial Variants

This also makes another idea of mine (for another post) to handle racial variants for each of the classes. Instead of needing to do this for a dozen or so classes for half-a-dozen races, I could just create variants for the four classes for each race (assuming each race even have all four of the base classes).

This could also change the kits for each race as well, adding to the diversity of the campaign world, and making the races feel different using rules (and not just fluff).

Kits

I do like kits though.

Even back in 2nd edition days, I allowed many players to take kits that inspired them.

And I still like them. Probably not all the 2nd edition ones these days, but I do like, and use, my reimagining of them for Old School Essentials (and therefore most old school D&D games).

They use a similar format, but they are must more streamlined with less bloat.

I combine these kits with Secondary Skills, which I also allow (and have added to several Issues of d12 Monthly), to produce characters with, well, character.

You can then, if you want to (it’s totally optional), add one of these kits at character creation to your race and class for a very well-rounded, easy-to-create character.

Kits Structure

Kits are made up of seven entries:

Description
This is a basic overview of the kits.

Requirements
Any special racial, ability score, or alignment requirements are listed here.  Characters cannot take the kit if they don’t meet the requirements.

Role
The basic role the character plays in the world and in the party.

Secondary Skills
If you use secondary skills, then any suggestions are listed here. The GM can either allow the player to choose from this list, or roll randomly.

Equipment
Any equipment the character would likely have is listed here.

Special Benefit
The special benefit the kits provide the character is listed here.

Special Hindrance
The special hindrance the kit provides the character is listed here.

How I Use Kits

I use kits in D&D the same way Prestige Classes were supposed to be used in D&D 3.0e (again, before the bloat).

If you want to learn more about how they were supposed to be used, see my post on using them for worldbuilding, which includes some links to how Monte Cook envisioned them.

That is, I use kits to world build. To add lite rules to make my world different.

For example, I try and keep away from too many generic kits (even though I have added them to my zines) as I want the kits to help explain what my campaign world is like.

Halfling fighters have their own kits:

• • • Hearth Defenders, who protect their settlements and rally and train other halflings to help them
    • Bladewhirler, who wield twin blades very skilfully
    • Spearsworn, who focus their combat tactics on using spears and other polearms sized especially for halflings

These names alone are enough to evoke a sense of what the character will be like – they are not just a halfling fighter, but a halfling bladewhirler!

Restrictions play an important part with kits.

As mentioned above, if the character doesn’t meet the requirements for a kit, then that kit cannot be taken by the character.

For example, all the kits mentioned above are for halflings only. You need to be a halfling to be able to take it.

In addition, as an example, Hearth Defenders also require a CHA of at least 12.

How Many Classes?

So, given all this, how many classes do I use?

In the past, I have used all of them, but I am looking at just moving back to the classic four: fighter, cleric, rogue, and magic-user.

I would also allow multiclassing for every character, no matter what race (humans included). Or perhaps, if there is a valid reason, restrict some combinations to only certain races.

And then use kits to round them out.

Too Many Kits?

You could argue that I am merely swapping a heap of classes for a heap of kits and so why bother. However, I would counter this on two points:

1. 1. 1. Kits are better at world building, as mentioned above; and
      2. Kits aren’t as cumbersome as classes and are much easier to handle in the game.

Over to You

Do you use all the classes available? Or do you restrict them? Let me know in the comments below.

While You’re Here…

Since 2021 I have been publishing d12 Monthly, a monthly zine, which has a ton of articles for any edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

Printed copies are available in my store. The PDF is available on DriveThruRPG and you can get both, plus support my work, via my Patreon.

I will also be releasing some more products in the near future.

Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or my contact page any time.