So before I make this post I'd like to give a little back story so it all makes sense. I started playing D&D with my uncle in his homebrewed AD&D game. He updated his games on this site and currently updates rules and posts logs on this forum. This post is in regards to the Archer class used in his world, originally published in Dragon 45. You can read it here.
It sucks.
I feel that this class encapsulates many of the frustrations that I have with the system I first learned on. It embraces the boring, number-y aspect of the game while ignoring anything fun and interesting that could go along with the concept. In addition, it sets a precedent for more and more boring uninteresting classes which only serve to complicate the game and make it more focused on numbers and die rolling and less on the fantasy of the world and role playing.
The Archer is a Fighter who is really good at bows. That's all. Conceptually this class should be taken by characters who like to kill things with bows. The difference between a Fighter who uses a bow and an Archer is just that the Archer likes using bows so much that he is better at it and looses xp if he doesn't fire any arrows in an adventure. This brings about nothing interesting. A Druid embodies a different world view from a Cleric and is part of an archaic order, defining properties about the world they exist in and providing additional opportunities for adventure. Though an Alchemist (found here) is just a Wizard who is really good with potions, they open up a whole new realm of powers, salves, and potions to be explored by the player. An Alchemist plays drastically different to a Wizard, changing the perspective of the party as they find new monsters to exploit for their body parts to put in new and wonderful concoctions. An Archer just shoots monsters really really well.
There is even already a class for characters who wish to become masters of one weapon: The Kensai. In order for a class to be worth making it has to fill a conceptual space which is interesting and not covered by other classes adequately. Though the character concept of a master bowman has merit, it can already be made by either a Fighter who specializes in bow or a Kensai who chooses their specialty to be in the bow.
You may argue that more options are always good and worth having, even if some of the options are bad, but I don't think that is true in this case. First, having multiple classes crowding one concept makes the game world more confusing. Is that Dwarf wielding a cross bow a Fighter or a Dwarven Arbalist? Is that captured human forced to fight in the Colosseum a Fighter, a Pit Fighter, a Gladiator, or a Barbarian?I find it difficult to relate to a world where I can't understand what different characters are and what they do. Seeing a nature priest and knowing what to expect helps me get into character and think of the world as a real place instead of a giant unorganized hodgepodge of different ideas that don't fit together. Having a class like the Archer just sets the precedent to have tons and tons of niche classes that only take away from the game.
But all of these sins could be forgiven if the class was good, if it provided something unique, interesting, and fun when it was played, but the Archer is none of those. This is the main feature of the Archer:
You are good at shooting things. Really good. In addition, magic bows make you even better at shooting things. You can specialize in long bow, making your shooting faster and better. The most interesting thing you can do is making your own bows and arrows, which has so much potential. Unfortunately, the only cool bows you can make are pull bows which let you shoot things better if you have strength. At high levels you also get to cast a few lame spells with no explanation besides, "Eh, I guess Magic Missile is sort of arrow-y."
The Archer focuses on doing one thing: shooting things better. There are no powers which give you roleplaying opportunities, nothing which allows for a character to be clever or innovative in combat, no possibility for fun effects, just lots of high damage arrows. AD&D has so many wonderful things about it and so many cool games can be played using it, but the Archer class highlights the most boring and un-fun parts of the system.
