AD&D saw the release of several hardbacks before 2e came into being. One of which was the first Unearthed Arcana.
The book itself is a mix of new things and compiled Dragon magazine articles. Among many other ideas and rules (several of which are now canon or at least sacred cows in DnD rulesets, although the contents of Appendix T - The Nomenclature of Polearms has mostly fallen to the wayside) was a new method to roll up ability scores and several new PC classes: Barbarian, Cavalier, and Thief-Acrobat.
Writing this out, I suspect that the writers of the DnD cartoon might have been using UA as a resource, as Diana the Acrobat, Bobby the Barbarian, and Eric the Cavalier suggest.
Regardless, I wanted to try out that 'new' method, Method V (p74). The idea behind it is that the PC class comes first, because that dictates how many dice are rolled. Note the first sentence: This method can only be used to create human player characters.
Let's get some good use of the UA with a Human Barbarian. According to the Method V chart, I roll the following dice:
Strength 9, Intelligence 3, Wisdom 5, Dexterity 7, Constitution 8, Charisma 6, and Comeliness 4.
Then I keep the best three of each set. This should be amusing.
S18, I11, W13, D17, C15, Ch13, Co18 An 18 Strength means percentile dice! S18/06
That 18 in Comeliness means more work for the DM! Yay!
+18 to +21: The beauty of the character will cause heads to turn and hearts to race. Reaction for initial contact is at a percent equal to 150% of Comeliness score. Individuals of the opposite sex will be affected as if under a fascinate spell unless their wisdom excess two-thirds of the character's comeliness total. Individuals of the same sex will do likewise unless wisdom totals at least 50% of the other character's Comeliness score. Rejection of harsh nature can cause the individual rejected to have a reaction as if the character had a negative Comeliness of half the actual (positive) score.
Let it stand that while I love many old rules, Comeliness is not one of them.
It appears that this Barbarian walked right out of a Harlequin novel and into a DnD game. So much for my plan to stat up Bobby the Barbarian... unless we pretend the kids never got home and instead grew to adulthood in DnD-land. Nah, we'll go with Harlequin-Barbarian.
S 18/06 - +1 hit, +3 damage, +1,000 weight, open doors 1-3, bend bars/lift gates 20%
I 11 - 2 possible additional languages
W 13 - none
D 17 - +2 reaction/missile attacks, -3 defensive adjustment
C 15 - +1 hp per level, System Shock Survival 91%, Resurrection Survival 94%
Ch 13 - 5 henchmen max, +5% reaction adjustment
Co 18 - see earlier comments
Current XP: 7,500 XP needed for next level: 12,001
AC 3
HP 24
Languages Known: Common, Orc, Tribal
Class Skills: earn XP for destroying magic items, attacks count as magical, saving throw bonuses, climb cliffs and trees, hide in natural surroundings, surprise, back protection, leaping and springing, detect illusion, detect magic, leadership, survival (conditional), first aid (conditional), outdoor craft (conditional), tracking (conditional), one or more of several background-dependent skills. Can associate freely with clerics (2nd level ability).
Equipment: furs, chain shirt, shield, winged helm, dagger (for eating), large battle axe (for fighting and breaking things), adventurer's kit
Goal: see the world, found a tribe, loot and raze the decadent and debauched cities of the southlands
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Note that the Barbarian has several level-based restrictions on magic items and associating with magic using sorts.
A quick glance at this chart means that a barbarian PC is not going to mesh well with the typical adventuring party until at least level 6. That said, the same barbarian PC might be an excellent choice for a solo campaign. Robert E. Howard pulled it off, quite well.
In addition, starting at level 8, a barbarian can summon a Barbarian Horde. There are conditions on this horde regarding where they come from, how long, and composition, much like when Fighters or Clerics build strongholds and attract followers. The difference is that the barbarian's horde goes back home after several weeks.
I was (and still am) tempted to make Hrothgar 8th level, but then I would feel compelled to flesh out that horde, to include the 6 leveled NPCs that come to assist AND any shamans, witch doctors, or clerics (barbarian tribe depending) that are in the horde. So that is for another day.
Perhaps.
To write it up properly, I would need to create the culture and terrain from whence this barbarian comes. I could easily jam it into the Ironguard Campaign, so this may yet happen.
And here I was complaining about how complicated 5e's PCs were with skills and abilities every level. I apologize. Tangentally related to Hrothgar is this deep dive on Barbarians through the DnD rulesets.
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