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In a fantasy world, humans often aren’t alone. Elves may populate the great forests, Dwarves may carve their halls and mines into the heart of the earth, and Halflings may reside in the comfortable hill-houses of their bucolic shires. By contrast, some fantasy worlds depict an isolated human race pitted against ancient pre-human evils and the grim, savage wilderness of worlds at the dawn (or dusk) of human civilization itself. Some fantasy worlds, as a third example, accentuate the bizarre, with a wide variety of fantasy races available to the players—such worlds are filled with conflict and contradictions, always with a new wonder to be found beyond the next corner. The Referee determines what non-human races, if any, you can choose for your character. In fact, the Referee might permit races that aren’t covered here.
The player-character Dwarf has a +4 on saving throws against any magic, and easily takes note of certain features of stonework: sloping corridors, moving walls, and traps made of stone (in particular: falling blocks, rigged ceilings, and tiny arrow slits designed to release poison gas or darts). There is no established die roll or rule for using these abilities; exactly what the Dwarf does or does not perceive is up to the Referee.
The only character classes available to player-character Dwarves are those of Fighting-man or Dwarven Warrior. Dwarven Fighting-men are normal Fighting-men, but they cannot progress beyond sixth level.
Dwarves that are not player-characters might have completely different limitations or abilities than player-character Dwarven adventurers, as determined by the Referee.
Dwarven Warriors can gain levels beyond sixth, but the progression slows dramatically after sixth level. If the Referee permits the Dwarven Warrior class, there is no game benefit to selecting the more limited Dwarven Fighting-man class unless the referee has created such a benefit.
Establish Stronghold (9th): At ninth level, a Dwarven Warrior character may establish a stronghold and attract a body of loyal Dwarves-at-arms who will swear fealty to him.
| Level | Experience | Hit Dice | Saving Throw |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| 2 | 2,000 | 2 | 15 |
| 3 | 4,000 | 3 | 14 |
| 4 | 8,000 | 4 | 13 |
| 5 | 16,000 | 5 | 12 |
| 6 | 32,000 | 6 | 11 |
| 7 | 110,000 | 7 | 10 |
| 8 | 220,000 | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | 330,000 | 9 | 8 |
| 10 | 440,000 | +3 hp | 7 |
| 11+ | +110,000 | +3 hp/level | 6 |
Referees interpret Elves in all kinds of different ways. Are they the sinister faerie-folk of Irish legend, the Vanir of Norse legend, the human-like Wood Elves or the powerful and alien Grey Elves of Tolkien, or something else defined by the Referee’s own imagination? As one possible game-interpretation of Elves, they are presented here with one possible character class available only to elves, called, for lack of a better term, an “Elven Adventurer.”
As noted for Dwarves, those Elves who are not player-characters might have abilities and limitations completely different from those of an adventuring Elf. The nature of the elven race as a whole is completely the province of the Referee, and might include non player characters of any class.
The “standard” Swords & Wizardry Elf can see in the dark (darkvision) at a range of 60 ft and generally has a 4 in 6 chance to find secret doors when searching (unlike the other races, which have a 2 in 6 chance). “Standard” Elves are also immune to the spells Charm Person and Sleep.
In Sword & Sorcery campaigns where there are ancient pre-human races such as Atlanteans, Stygians, and the like, such races might be substituted for Elves using the same parameters provided for the Elven race.
| Level | XP (Fighter) |
XP (Magic-user) | Hit Dice (Fighter/Magic-user) | Saving Throw (Fighter/Magic-user) | Spells | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16/15 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | 2,000 | 2,500 | 2 | 15/14 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | 4,000 | 5,000 | 3 | 14/13 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 4 | 8,000 | 10,000 | 4 | 13/12 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 5 | 32,000 | 20,000 | 5 | 12/11 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| 6 | 64,000 | 40,000 | 6 | 11/10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| 7 | 128,000 | 65,000 | 7 | 10/9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – |
| 8 | 256,000 | 95,000 | 8 | 9/8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 9 | 350,000 | 190,000 | 9 | 8/7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 10+ | +130,000 | +130,000 | +3 hp/level / +1 hp/level | ||||||
1Advancement past 9th level is possible for an Elven Adventurer. Experience required to advance a level in either class after reaching 9 hit dice is 130,000 per level. Saving Throws and Spells progress past 9th level as shown on the Magic-user and Fighter advancement tables, so this information is omitted here for the sake of brevity.
There are many types of Halflings which appear in literature, and this group could include gnomes, pixies or fairies, small folk from the shire-land, or any other of the “wee folk” which the Referee will allow in his campaign. Halfling characters (if wanted by players and allowed by the Referee) may have the capabilities of up to a fourth level Fighting-man. If the Referee is using a house-ruled system that includes a “Thief” character class, and it makes sense for the Referee’s campaign, he might also choose to allow Halfling Thief characters.