Digging around online just now it looks that may have been a 1st ed. rule.
Joel Send a noteboard - 25/01/2012 08:40:13 PM
Ability charts, especially. Humans couldn't reach 19 strength, but they could do increasing fractions? So, a human barbarian with 18 1/2 strength. I don't even remember some of the other stuff, but I remember obsessing over the back of the BG manual, trying to figure out the best way to configure my stats. It was like doing calculus.
Others have already addressed this, but that is basically a result of how important strength is to fighters. In BG it usually only manifests in higher bonuses to hit/damage and encumbrance but, yes, 18/00 strength is MUCH better than, say, 18/23. What was amusing Baldurs Gate is that in P&P AD&D demi-humans had caps to percentile strength (to balance racial advantages) so 18/00 strength WAS restricted to human fighters (just as only humans can be specialist mages.)
Where are those strength rules? I've got the PHB in front of me, and can't find a reference to that in either the Strength section or the Racial Ability Adjustment section, though knowing 2nd Edition, they could be anywhere in either the PHB or DMG.
As for specialist wizards, that's not entirely correct. Demi-humans had their specialisations restricted, but they still had access to some of them. Elves could be Diviners and Enchanters, Half-Elves could be those two as well as Conjurers or Transmuters, and Gnomes could be Illusionists.
I could be wrong though; I never played 1st ed. It must have been in there at some point because the Gold Box AD&D games from SSI capped demihuman percentile strength (and preserved demihuman level limits, which BG did not, mercifully.)
In the case of specialist mages, I was thinking of Invokers, 'cos the min/maxer in me always knew that was the only specialist I would ever play.
In practice, I almost invariably played rangers or thieves; can you tell?
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Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
D&D 5th Edition... Hard to believe how many years this has been going.
- 09/01/2012 10:47:30 PM
1477 Views
seriously? 4.0 hasn't even been out that long!
- 10/01/2012 12:28:09 AM
857 Views
4th Edition has been a commercial failure. 5th Edition wasn't originally due for several years yet.
- 10/01/2012 01:37:47 AM
1015 Views
No, the future of D&D has resided with Pathfinder for a while. 
*NM*
- 10/01/2012 05:24:10 PM
473 Views
*NM*
- 10/01/2012 05:24:10 PM
473 Views
Re: No, the future of D&D has resided with Pathfinder for a while.
- 10/01/2012 08:09:11 PM
897 Views
- 10/01/2012 08:09:11 PM
897 Views
Re: D&D 5th Edition... Hard to believe how many years this has been going.
- 10/01/2012 08:23:59 AM
862 Views
I found this blog entry enlightening:
- 10/01/2012 01:41:12 PM
979 Views
Dunno about the "Old-School Revival," but Pathfinder is definitely pretty popular
- 10/01/2012 02:21:37 PM
883 Views
Re: Dunno about the "Old-School Revival," but Pathfinder is definitely pretty popular
- 10/01/2012 04:34:39 PM
911 Views
Re: Dunno about the "Old-School Revival," but Pathfinder is definitely pretty popular
- 11/01/2012 02:56:23 AM
867 Views
I can't wait to see the Edition Wars™ flare up again.
- 10/01/2012 02:55:27 PM
1054 Views
True story:
- 10/01/2012 04:39:47 PM
966 Views
I felt like that was the whole goal of 4E...and I think that goal was accomplished.
- 10/01/2012 05:19:14 PM
878 Views
I think we'll probably see the pendulum swing back the other way a bit
- 11/01/2012 03:46:00 PM
815 Views
The last time I played an AD&D CRPG, it had THAC0.
- 10/01/2012 07:47:47 PM
895 Views
Baldur's Gate, woo!
- 11/01/2012 03:49:49 PM
826 Views
That was a Warrior trait, not a human one.
- 11/01/2012 07:18:09 PM
979 Views
That sounds insanely unintuitive. *NM*
- 11/01/2012 07:37:37 PM
494 Views
That's 2nd Edition.
- 11/01/2012 10:59:34 PM
798 Views
A fine example of a mechanic that seems lifted whole sale from GURPS 3rd ed.
- 25/01/2012 05:40:58 PM
1261 Views
Incidentally, I am currently about halfway through replaying the BG series; great fun.
- 25/01/2012 06:41:53 PM
929 Views
Re: Incidentally, I am currently about halfway through replaying the BG series; great fun.
- 25/01/2012 07:52:29 PM
834 Views
Digging around online just now it looks that may have been a 1st ed. rule.
- 25/01/2012 08:40:13 PM
1009 Views
AD&D represent! *throws up half-orc gang signs* *NM*
- 13/01/2012 01:50:06 AM
565 Views
Throwing up a half-eaten rat is not throwing up a gang sign... *NM*
- 13/01/2012 05:26:47 AM
486 Views
What about a half-eaten halfling?
- 13/01/2012 02:41:06 PM
915 Views
Been re-reading The Sleeping Dragon, have you? 
- 25/01/2012 05:29:15 PM
906 Views
- 25/01/2012 05:29:15 PM
906 Views
*hollas*
- 25/01/2012 05:30:45 PM
813 Views
GURPS is still in 4E.
- 25/01/2012 05:58:34 PM
858 Views
Thank God for small blessings; it is almost like those guys do not know HOW to milk a consumer base.
- 25/01/2012 07:02:44 PM
784 Views
They really don't, do they?
- 25/01/2012 09:12:07 PM
778 Views
They focused on rigorous rules that let people run games in the setting of their choice.
- 26/01/2012 08:59:59 AM
876 Views
I love Pathfinder and 4th edition. They're great, for different reasons. I'm excited to see 5th ed. *NM*
- 11/01/2012 04:58:28 PM
446 Views