The Evolution of the Fighter – Part 1: OD&D

What follows is a by-the-number comparison of your average first level Fighter found in the various versions of D&D. The ground rules followed for this comparison were: Human Fighter with the stats that would be expected from using the standard stat generation method for a given edition. Equipment would be long sword, shield, and the best armor that average starting money would allow. After generating the fighters for each edition, they would then be paired up against an unending stream of Goblins (also from that edition), one at a time, to see how effective they were. These combats were run at least 1,000 times each by a Javascript simulator program.

First up, the fighter from the little brown books-

OD&D Fighter
Stats - rolled 3d6 with highest roll in Str and then descending in this order: Con, Dex, Int, Wis, Cha.

AC- 17 (platemail and shield)
HP- 1d6+1
Damage- 1d6

OD&D Goblin
AC- 13
HP- 1d6-1
Damage- 1d6

FIGHT!
It will take the Goblins an average of 9.2 rounds to kill this Fighter.
The fighter will take down an average of 2.7 Goblins with him.

Notes: The only combat bonus (usable in this test) that the OD&D Fighter can get from his stats is +1 to hit points from a Con of 15 or higher. All AC's given here have been stated in ascending AC's to make comparisons easier.

• The Evolution of the Fighter - Part 2: BD&D
• The Evolution of the Fighter - Part 3: AD&D1
• The Evolution of the Fighter - Part 4: AD&D2
• The Evolution of the Fighter - Part 5: D&D 3e
• The Evolution of the Fighter - Part 6: D&D 4e
• The Evolution of the Fighter - Summary