Character Advancement in 1st Edition AD&D

This is the second of two posts looking at character advancement in D&D. I previously argued that D&D takes a character-centric approach to advancement, with the game-world playing little role in determining the path of this progression. I suggested this went against the tendency in “old school” D&D (OSR) to prioritise the game world over the character. Here I will suggest ways to address this, looking at attempts made to do so in 1st edition Advanced D&D (AD&D 1e).

Last time, I singled out “Oath breaker” paladins in 5e D&D as emblematic of character classes failing to impose constraints on player agency. This subclass effectively jettisons any influence the game world has on a paladin through their religious order and deity. Basically, you get to advance whether you follow the paladin code or not. In AD&D 1e though, paladins got a bit less of free ride. This was literally so in terms of their special warhorse, which develops an “immutable enmity” towards the character if their actions cause them to lose their paladinhood (p18 Dungeon Master's Guide).