En Garde!

Adventures in Swordplay, Gambling and Romance 
Once White Box had opened the door and role-playing became a growing hobby, there were several games offering a variety of role-play experiences. Gunslingers, spacemen, superheroes, post-apocalyptic mutants and with En Garde! swashbuckling musketeers. Released in 1975 and revised in 1977, En Garde! was one of the early alternatives to White Box and its imitators. It was also one of the games my friends and I turned to for a break from dungeon delving.
En Garde! is a different kind of role-play game from White Box on several levels. Built around a mechanic for fencing and swordplay, En Garde! adds character history and a mechanic allowing the player to make a number of life choices, roll dice and consult a table to see how the random whims of luck have affected the outcome. Game play as I recall (it's been some number of years ago) consisted of sitting around the table entertaining ourselves with the results from the tables and contriving stories about how exactly the outcomes described might have occurred for our characters. In other words, we treated En Garde! as a story telling engine prompting our imaginations to create stories about the fictional characters we played.
The 48 page journal sized booklet is divided into two parts, the first being rather detailed rules for fencing. Players choose routines which consist of a number of set-up, attack and recover moves. Once committed to, the routine could be aborted in order to make a hasty parry, but generally one had committed oneself. Comparison of the current moves of each combatant gave a result and woe to the swordsman who found himself in an awkward stance when his opponent launched a vicious lunge attack. part guessing game, part luck, I recall it was fun.
Part II of En Garde! gave the rules for character progression from birth to death in 17th Century France. Random tables determine social rank and wealth, whether one is accepted into the regiment one applies to, whether promotion and fame or death result from one's service. Along the way there are plenty of chances to go gambling, wenching and adventuring about Paris. Rise through the ranks, acquire a reputation as a swordsman, marry well and sire offspring, acquire a fortune and lose it through risky investment and lavish living. The choice of what to try is up to the players, the outcome is determined by a roll of the die. The details of how it came to pass are left to one's imagination and presumably to share one's thoughts on the matter with other players. No referee is really required.
En Garde!, Boot Hill, Gamma World and Traveler provided my gaming group the role-play alternatives we briefly sought on those days when White Box just wasn't exactly what we were in the mood for. The draw of Fantasy Role-Play is strong, however, and we always soon returned to our old favorite.

LOTR White Box

Thoughts on a Middle Earth Milieu
The works of J.R.R. Tolkien are listed among many other authors in Appendix N as influences on the White Box game. The early printings (1-5) of the LBBs list Hobbits, Ents and Balrogs just as they appear in Prof. Tolkien's literature. For me there is no denying Middle Earth is connected to White Box, but White Box is not a game of Middle Earth (ME). There have been such, but in my experience even the ones bearing the title seem to miss the mark in one way or another. I ask myself the question many times, can White Box in all its flexibility be used as the basis for a (successful) Middle Earth RPG experience?
Magic is a area where the designers of White Box chose to take the game in a different direction than one consistent with ME. Gandalf and the other Istari are Maia (angels) and can be ignored as player characters, however other magics do exist in ME.  Aragorn seems to practice some degree of "magic" either as a result of being of royal blood, or association with elves, etc. Denethor, Steward of Gondor, and Grima Wormtongue each appear to have their own subtle magics.
ME is a low level setting in White Box terms. There has been expressed on various forums the idea that Gandalf was about a 5th level Magic User in game terms and there is some merit to the argument. Goblins, wolves, orcs, and trolls remain very dangerous creatures in ME. The White Box treatment of the Hobbit as a Fighting Man limited to 4th level seems about right. Elf player characters should be limited to silvan elves, those lessor elves who have not gone west. The elven ability to act as either Magic User or Fighting Men could be converted to race-as-class allowing elves the ability to cast spells via song from their own unique spell list.
Magic Users like Denethor, Grima and the sorcerer, Mouth of Sauron, would have their own specialty areas of magic. The White box spell lists need to be reworked and a school system including at least Divination, Mind Control, and Necromancy be imposed. Each school will require a specialty spell list and generally be of low power, although some longer rituals of higher potency may be allowed. Potions, herbs and astrology type magic seems appropriate to ME and I would include those in building the milieu. Dwarves, like elves should probably be their own race-as-class and that should focus on craftsmanship with some skill in rune magic, perhaps.
Clerics seem inappropriate for a ME milieu. I would replace the Clerics class with Rangers/Dunedain who have some ability to turn undead and some herbal knowledge of healing as well as woodcraft. Ithilien Rangers could be similar or separated out as more straight woodsmen fighters without the mystic abilities of the Dunedain. The Dunedain could even be set up as race-as-class since during the Third Age they are pretty much living as frontier woodsmen.
I see ME as a dark setting with the threat of the Shadow hanging over it. I therefore would include rules for despair and/or corruption. The Shadow forces eat away at the adventurer's resolve, causing despair through wounds, discomfort, fear, fatigue, etc. Eventually it can sap one's will to resist. Corruption is more the effect of giving into the Shadow. Using sorcery or necromancy, committing Chaotic or evil deeds, giving in to greed or cruelty or despair, visiting certain corrupt places and encountering creatures corrupted by the Shadow, all would put the PC in danger of corruption and eventually becoming an agent of the Dark One (and going out of play).
Having previously run some White Box ME sessions and learning a little from each, I am becoming more convinced that it is not an impossible task. A ME White Box requires significant re-design of the core game, but the system is robust enough to handle such as is evidenced by the Empire of the Petal Throne conversion and other less well known adaptations. The way I currently approach and read Supplements I and II, they themselves represent significant alterations of the Original game in order to fit a certain milieu. To paraphrase Mr. Gygax, the rules are written to accommodate a wide range of different campaigns, some requiring significant rule modifications. DIY is part of the fun!

Aragorn is a Cleric

Knight of the Road
OK, I know this isn't a novel observation...even if I had never surfed the web, I think I could guess accurately that gamers have noticed before how some of the abilities of J.R.R. Tolkien's Ranger/King and White Box Clerics overlap. From the turning of the undead wraiths on Weathertop to the healing of Frodo (enough to get him to Elrond's better care) the idea that Aragorn has some Cleric abilities jumps right off the pages of the LBBs.
In addition to the spell Cure Light Wounds, there are several other Cleric spells which seem compatible with the Aragorn character. Protection from Evil, Find Traps, Neutralize Poison, and perhaps Speak with Animals, Remove Curse, Cure Disease and Speak with Plants, all seem possible spells Aragorn might use. This has occurred to others as most iterations of the Ranger class have included the ability to cast at least some of the lower level Cleric spells. Often, the Ranger is given some mastery of Magic User spells as well, but these seem less Aragorn-like to me.
Aragorn's influence with the undead at Weathertop and later in the Paths of the Dead suggest some power over spirits which others do not share. Perhaps this is due to Dunedain or royal blood. It could be that all Rangers are Dunedain. The Dead Men of Dunharrow owe Aragorn and his family a debt, but that may not explain totally his influence with them. It could be his connection with life forces or a mystic thing. There are lots of ways to explain fictional abilities.
The Clerics class as written doesn't fit Aragorn with regard to weapon restrictions, but redefining those and adding some woodcraft we could come up with a Ranger sub-class of Clerics rather than of Fighting Men. The LBBs don't deal a lot with religion or deities, but the name Cleric suggests a religious connection. Aragorn is definitely not a priestly character and perhaps the sub-class would need to make this religious estrangement abundantly clear.  The source of Ranger divine magic abilities being their connection to royalty, or nature or elf-lore or something other than deity worship and prayer.
On another level, that of purpose and principle activity, Aragorn and the Rangers of the North and the historic Knights Templar and Hospitaller military monastic orders, who are arguably the model for White Box Clerics, were devoted to protecting travelers and defending the realm. They would patrol the land and watch and offer aid in the form of physical protection, food, lodging and medicine. Trained in warefare, they were able to use force of arms if needed. Acclimated to the climate and landscape, they could offer survival assistance and advice, act as guide and escort. The analogy is close to the role "Strider" plays in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Ranger Sub-Class

Inspired by Aragorn
The original Ranger Sub-Class was designed by Joe Fischer for White box and appears in The Strategic Review: Vol.1, No.2. As a Sub-Class of Fighting Men, the Ranger shares something with the Paladin, another Sub-Class of Fighting Men. They must always be of Lawful alignment and Strength is their Prime Requisite, but they also have Intelligence, Wisdom and Constitution requirements, making the Ranger one of the most demanding character classes to qualify for.
Having rolled these amazing ability scores and decided you will play a Ranger, you are immediately rewarded with two full Hit Dice for hit-points. Using either the standard d6 or the Greyhawk d8, together with Constitution bonus (remember you must have at least a 15 score to qualify as a Ranger) your hit points are probably impressive. In a system where hit-points are the main way combat prowess is judged, the Ranger starts out relatively powerful.
Experience levels are rather costly, but until 8th level is attained, the Ranger receives 4 experience points for every 3 earned. That's a nice increase! They additionally have the ability to track most creatures in the wilderness or dungeon. They are also difficult to surprise and have tactical advantage (+1 per lvl to dam) on giant class monsters (Kobolds-Giants). In exchange they suffer restrictions regarding hirelings and followers, wealth and items carried and are limited to no more than two Rangers in a party.
Starting at eighth level (Ranger Knight) they begin to use additional magic including Cleric spells and some associated items. At ninth level (Ranger Lord) they begin learning Magic User spells in addition to Cleric spells making them one of the few classes able to employ both types of magic. The Ranger Lord attracts followers, may build strongholds and conceivably become a force in the power politics of the campaign.
Like most "new" character classes, the Ranger seems a bit over-powered compared to the standard classes. White Box is very adaptable and creating new character classes is a great way to shape the campaign towards a desired direction. The addition of the Ranger to the available character classes immediately makes the Wilderness Adventure more interesting and appealing. The Ranger also represents the presence of "higher men" among the milieu. Humans who are a little better than their peers, but makes such men frontiersmen on the fringe of society. Perhaps they are descendants of the "race of kings". The decision to add to or subtract from the pool of available character classes should be done thoughtfully and deliberately. Of course, that is not how we did it "back in the day". We added every new thing to the milieu with little thought given to its impact. None of this means much of anything unless we spend a little time thinking about our characters and campaigns. TSR used to have a slogan, "products of your imagination" which I really like...not their imagination, but ours! There is more to being the referee than drawing up a few maps. Taking the time to imagine the campaign you would like to run, then deliberately planning for it is in the referee's domain. Railroading a story-line is another thing altogether. Once play begins, in the best games I think the referee follows the players' lead, nudging only where necessary. Setting description and character class selection can inspire player imagination along certain paths and greatly influence the collective story which develops through play.

Limited Edition Printings

Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG gets a New Face!
One of the many things I really like about the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game line of products is the fantastic "old school" art that goes into each and every product I have seen to date. Pictured above is the new limited edition silver foil DCC RPG cover. If this doesn't look like a book of esoteric lore, maybe magic tome? Then I am not sure what would.
The rule-book itself remains virtually the same as previous printings. The idea here, crowdfunded I believe, is to give the fans a new cover to look at, the collectors a new item for the hoard, and the artists some work/income? Well, the company, Goodman Games, sells the book and conceivably makes some money (at least enough to pay the artists and printers). Notice to all followers of the business model of a certain British Games Store chain, you don't have to redesign the game to sell a new rule-book...just give the fans some new (collectable!) artwork.
Goodman Games has used the alternative cover gimmick on a handful of modules as well as several previous printings of the rule-book. Gamers generally like novelty and respond well to accessory products. I believe all the previous rule-books have sold out. Who among us can resist buying that pretty new die, even though most of us have bags of dice already. Most of us have filled multiple boxes, bags and other unique containers in which we store our piles of dice, stacks of poker chips, game tokens, fancy writing devices, personal figures, lucky what-evers and are generally open to purchasing even more if a game related bauble catches our eye. Once you understand the sub-culture of hobby gamers, no-one, except maybe golfers, are easier to buy gifts for. From dice jewelry and game attire to a custom, one-of-a-kind dice-bag, anything unusual and game related is a fair bet to amuse or perhaps delight the gamer on your gift list. Having something here-to-fore unseen to bring to the game table and show one's friends is an oft practiced form of adult "show-and-tell". Most of us still enjoy that.

Clerics

Helping Define the Game
According to Vol. I Men & Magic, "Clerics gain some of the advantages from both of the other two classes (Fighting-Men and Magic-Users) in that they have the use of magic armor and all non-edged magic weapons (no arrows!), plus they have numbers of their own spells. In addition, they are able to use more of the magical items than are the Fighting-Men." Being something of a hybrid between spell caster and combatant, the Cleric fills the need of some players to "have it all". Other FRPGs address the same desire with a similar PC class able to cast some spells and still acquit themselves fairly well in combat. The Tunnels & Trolls Rogue class comes to mind as just such a character.
Clerics as a class say something very profound about the implied milieu of The World's Most Popular RPG. Clerics gain their magic power through a deity or deities. Clerics are religious characters inspired by the concept of the crusading military orders of history, the Templars, Hospitlers, etc. The prohibition of shedding blood in White Box seems to directly speak to this connection. In addition to casting divine magic, Clerics are pretty decent fighters and have unique powers over the undead. According to gamer legend, one of the designers of White box was a fan of the Hammer Horror films of his day and certain scenes of clerics boldly presenting the holy cross and "turning away" undead creatures may have inspired the mechanic in White Box.
Regardless of the origin, the power to "turn", or destroy undead creatures is a defining ability of the class of Clerics and virtually assures that the undead will play a significant part in any milieu created using bog standard White Box rules. Clerics must be aligned with Law or Chaos and those aligned with Chaos are termed Evil High Priests, thus connecting Chaos with "evil", at least when it comes to Clerics. It is strongly hinted that PC Clerics are Lawfully aligned. Clerics early on (2nd level) gain the ability to magically heal wounds and eventually gain the ability to resurrect the dead, both abilities greatly impact the implied milieu of the game. White Box is a game of miracles as much as a game of magic and swordplay because of the power of Clerics.
Contrast this with another early FRPG, Tunnels & Trolls (T&T). T&T has Warriors and Wizards as two of its three character classes. Warriors are expert at making use of armor and weapons in combat. Wizards are experts at casting magic spells. There is little overlap between the two classes and they represent distinct arch-types found in many of the source stories for the fantasy genre of literature. Like White Box, the designer of T&T, Ken St. Andre, decided a character class able to use some magic spells, but also better able to use weapons in combat was desirable. Mr. St. Andre therefore included the Rogue class in early editions of his game.  The Rogue is an untutored user of magic, an amateur, who can never equal a Wizard in the use of magic, but has a few spells at their disposal. Untrained natural ability is the source of the Rogue's magic skill. T&T has a default setting, that of its designer called Trollworld in which there are numerous gods, but no divine magic/miracles as such. There are no religious character classes such as Clerics or Priests, Shamans or Druids. The milieu of T&T is therefore quite different from that of White Box.
Clerics have been a part of the White Box from it's beginning and have persevered through the edition changes as one of the principle character classes of the game. Through it all, Clerics have helped define what the game is all about, who the principle players are, what abilities will be key to shaping play including the healing of wounds and disease, resurrecting the dead and turning away or destroying the undead. Many adventuring parties are formed around the leadership of the Cleric, whose Wisdom and access to religious and historic tomes may aid or inspire the undertaking of a great quest. Leaders in the forces of Law and goodness, Clerics naturally seek out the forces of evil and attempt to destroy them. Likewise, Clerics of evil disposition are always plotting some terrible deed and make perfect bad-guys. The result is a very heavy influence on the milieu, one that really only changes if the referee intentionally redefines the Player Character cast by removing Clerics and replacing them with another class.
The above "Cleric" illustration is not from White Box, but rather the later Red Box (still, I bet many recognize it) . Depicted is a cleric named Aleena (you can tell she's a Cleric by her mace!) who helps introduce the reader into role-playing and joins you on your first quest. She is a friendly cleric, seemingly full of goodness (she casts healing on you!). Bargle is the bad guy Magic User in the story shown here about to cast "acid arrow" on our new friend Aleena. Red Box is a great introduction to the hobby written by Frank Mentzer and illustrated by Larry Elmore and Jeff Easley. I ran many a game in the '80s with Red Box sitting on the table as a reference. Honestly, the games were a mix of White Box, the Advanced materials and Red Box, plus a few other ideas I borrowed here and there. It all seemed to smash together pretty well.

Magic Users

The Pointy Hat, Finger Wiggler
White Box is built on the back of Chainmail's Fantasy Supplement and reading both can bring to light many similarities and carry overs. Magic Users are listed as Wizards in Chainmail and many of the abilities and features of the Chainmail Wizard character can be seen reflected in White box. The Chainmail Wizard can become invisible, they are impervious to normal missiles, they can throw fire balls and lightning bolts. Chainmail Wizards can also cast a number of other "spells" including the familiar Phantasmal Force, Darkness and Light, Concealment, Protection from Evil, Moving and Hallucinatory Terrain, Slowness, Haste, Polymorph, Confusion, and Cloud Kill. They can also Summon Elemental, Levitate and create an Anti Magic Shell.
Not all Wizards in Chainmail are of equal rank. Below Wizard rank reside the Sorcerer, Warlock, Magician and Seer, all titles that reappear on the Magic User experience level table in White Box. Magic spells in Chainmail are assigned a complexity rating rather than a spell level as in White Box. A lesser Magic User such as a Seer may attempt the more complex spells, but using an optional rule, must roll for success, delay or failure of the spell. Obviously, more powerful Wizards have an easier time casting the more complex spells. This roll for success mechanic is not repeated in White Box and is replaced with the familiar Vancian spell memorization technique.
Magic Users have been described as "artillery", referring to their ability to blast enemies with powerful damage causing magic, but I have found most of my personal enjoyment playing Magic Users to be in the more subtle use of their less flashy magic. Charm Person is an excellent White Box spell. It creates a "friend" who can show the party lots of traps, secret doors and treasures. Invisibility and ESP are great for finding out secrets. Locate Object is very useful if you have any idea what kind of treasures might be near. Phantasmal Forces has gotten my Magic User out of many a scrape and helped avoid many a fight. Water breathing opens up a whole new world to explore. Knock, Dispel Magic, Levitate, Invisibility and Detect Magic can all be used in burglary. One of my favorite White Box characters was a Magic User (probably inspired by a Jack Vance story) who used his magic to burgle his way to riches.
Merlin changing the Wort into a bird or a fish, the subtle magic of Gandalph the Grey, the many magical adventures of Harold Shea and the wizard's of Jack Vance's Dying Earth - Turjan and Mazirian the Magician - all no doubt were inspiration for the designers of White Box who include the Magic User as one of the three basic character classes there-by setting the game apart from other games by allowing the player some control of in-game "magic". Playing a Magic User allows for a truly unique experience in fantastic imagining. Only the comic book superhero can compare to the Magic User's ability to fly, read thoughts, turn aside missiles and become invisible. With the ability to research and invent new spells, the Magic User can potentially accomplish most any effect that can be imagined. As a vehicle for player creativity, the Magic User is unsurpassed.

Fighting Men

Fighters in the Game
It is a rather odd term for a major character class and it isn't long before White Box's Fighting Men become Greyhawk's  Fighters, but the Fighting Men of White Box remain a powerful icon in my mind, in part due to the dozens of plain Fighting Men characters I played during those early days when the game was new and I had not yet cast about for something new to try. With a d6 +1 hit points on average the Fighting Man will have one extra hit point over Clerics and  Magic Users. That in itself isn't much of an advantage compared to the Greyhawk Fighter with his d8 hit die. Fighting Men can use any weapon which is an advantage once the party starts to accumulate magic items, but when all weapons do d6 damage, even the Magic User's dagger is effective as a non-magic weapon. Fighting Men have a plus one to hit opponents, which amounts to a 5% improvement over Clerics and Magic Users using the alternative combat system. Fighting Men have the advantage of the ability to wear any armor including shield, but so does the Cleric.
The Saving Throw Matrix might convince some to abandon Fighting Men altogether as only against Dragon Breath is their save better than the Cleric and Magic User. Fighting Men have the worst saves against Staves & Spells, which makes them vulnerable to every evil priest and vile sorcerer plotting against them. Against Death Ray or Poison, Wands, Polymorph or Paralyzation, and Stone their save is between the higher and lower scores of the Cleric and Magic User classes. Fighting Men do benefit at a faster rate from advancing gaining to-hit bonuses more frequently, improving in Saving Throws more and adding more hit points per level compared to the other classes.
Perhaps the most compelling draw of playing a Fighting Men is found in the sources from which players draw their character inspiration, real, literary or imagined. Legend is ripe with colorful heroes who best fit the class of Fighting Men, Hercules, Roland, Sir Lancelot and Robin Hood, to name a few. Looking to history, we find Alexander the Great, Harald Hardrada, Bohemond, Richard The Lionheart, and many more. And of course fantastic fiction is full of Fighting Men like Conan, John Carter, and other sword swinging warriors to inspire our imaginations to create player characters in their image.
Fighting Men are likely the easiest of the three White Box character classes to identify with. They have no spell abilities, no magic at their fingertips with which to confront their challenges. Armed with muscle and wit and a steel blade they rescue noble youth in distress, slay dragons and win great treasures. Drawing more on American industrialist tradition than historic medieval institutions, they become barons, build castles and rule as lords.
Most importantly, Fighting Men allow us to play the part of the mighty muscled hero, overwhelmed by crawling inhuman masses, swinging steel right and left, dealing death with every blow, finally to fight our way through...bloody, torn, but standing atop a heap of fallen foes. Yeah, that's the stuff adventure games are made of.

Rolemaster Fantasy

A Legendary Game
Iron Crown enterprises (I.C.E.) released Arms Law as a supplemental combat system for The World's Most Popular RPG way back in the 1970's. Arms Law was followed by Claw Law (monster combatants), Spell Law (the magic system), Character Law (the rest of the rules including character classes, leveling, skills, etc.) and finally Campaign Law (referee guide). Entering the 1980's I.C.E. had a complete, detailed role-playing system, one that competed well in an era of the "more realistic" trend in fantasy rules. The Rolemaster rules have gone through several editions, the above picture is of the 4th Edition core rulebook, which is really all that is needed to start playing Rolemaster.
The system name seems to lend itself to generating nicknames and Rolemaster has been called "Rulesmaster", "Chartmaster" and other clever, or not-so-clever nicknames, all suggesting it may be a more difficult system than it really is. The rules are fairly simple and straightforward. Roll percentage dice and consult a chart. There is a little math involved at times, but it's mostly addition and subtraction such as subtract target's defense from your attack value, roll dice and add what's left. There are some fractions involved in chargen and leveling, but that hardly slows down play.
I have found over 30+ years off and on playing this system that organization of your charts is the key to smooth, uninterrupted play. Grab the maneuvers charts and keep them handy. Make sure the players have copies of the charts for their weapons and spells (including critical/fumble tables) and that should keep the action moving fairly quickly.
At various times in its publication history, Rolemaster drew criticism for being an expensive system to get into. One had to buy multiple products in order to have the complete core system. The 4th Edition is an exception. The Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing book is a complete game as long as you can make your own monsters and treasures. There are some short-cuts taken in order to get a complete game into one 255-page volume, but nine character classes, ten spell levels and a reduced selection of spell lists and skills is the price paid for a complete game in one book.
One of the strengths of the system from the start is the common sense, logical approach the authors have taken to rules design. Everything seems to make sense and seems plausible, almost scientific. The critical tables are elaborate and help players visualize the often dramatic results of particularly good hit or an especially bad fumble. Any PC can learn any spell, but it costs way more for a fighter to learn magic and a magician to learn sword-play since those skills are outside the norm for them.
At this point Rolemaster is an older game available in digital format, but no longer in print. (The copy pictured I picked up second hand at Game Empire in San Diego last summer.) I don't hear of very many people playing it any longer and it has been years since I have done anything with it other than some solitaire play. At its height, Rolemaster and its close cousin Middle Earth Role-Playing (MERP) had a significant presence in the hobby. Is Rolemaster another hobby legend?

The Arcanum

A Gaming Legend
Billed as a fantasy role-playing game supplement, The Arcanum is both the first volume of a complete FRPG system and a supplement for your existing FRPG campaign. Bard Games published the second edition in 1985, but much of the material from this volume began years before as their "Complete" series of FRPG supplements. Starting with The Complete Alchemist followed by The Complete Spellcaster and The Complete Adventurer, the folks at Bard Games presented some 27 supplemental PC classes including a very extensive coverage of the alchemist, a magic system based on ten fields of magical study with 500 new spells and a skill system that allows for some individualization of each PC independent of class. Many of the classes combined elements of two classes and are dual classes. A new combat system including armor that reduces damage rather than chance to be hit and a hit-point system which makes low level PCs more able to adventure with high levels and keeps the system monsters a threat longer are part of the complete system. 
When joined with The Lexicon and The Bestiary, the three Bard Games books make up the Atlantis Trilogy. Each is technically a stand-alone product which can be added to an existing campaign as supplemental material. Together they are described as a complete system themselves. The Arcanum filled a niche in the mid '80s when gamers such as our group, steeped in The World's Most Famous RPG, were looking for something different. The many games on the market by then included offerings that built upon the White Box and its successors (published house rules really) adding detail and variety to the class and level system and there were other game systems which rejected the class and level system in favor of skill systems and a few including The Arcanum, Rolemaster and The Palladium RPG which combined both.
In comparison with other systems lining the game store shelves, The Arcanum resembles The Palladium RPG more than any other I can think of. Both games are set in their own rich unique world (although Palladium would support their world with more books), both draw on The World's Most Popular RPG for mechanical inspiration while in ways dialing it up to 11 - more character classes combined with a basic skill system for specialization; lots of new approaches to magic including some excellent sections on magical signs and symbols, rituals, and summoning added a lot of flavor to the game helping magic to feel "magical".
The Arcanum escaped my notice during the '80s as my group encountered and experimented with other competing products. Over the years I started to take note of the legend of The Arcanum as I would read something favorable about the system, or hear another gamer talk about it fondly. Eventually I added it to my mental list of hobby products to acquire if given the opportunity and began to notice how seldom it was offered for sale on the second hand market and how much $$ it could often go for. It became one of those "hard to find" items which also added to its desirability. So I considered myself fortunate to recently run across the above copy at a local second hand store.
Being new to me, as I read through The Arcanum I can see what appeals to all the games that speak well of this old system. It compares quite favorably with many of the newer "old school" takes on rules. I can easily seeing a group jumping on this as a fresh alternative in 1985 or 2017. It strikes me as amusing that a hobby based on playing at legends is developing a few legends of its own.

Class, Sub-class & Multi-class

Actors on the Stage
White Box introduced the world to a game of fantastic adventure and role-playing of three classes. Fighting men, Magic Users, and Clerics, the latter maybe seeming a bit odd, except that it fits in well with the implied milieu - a quasi European medieval setting. The Cleric also brings some unique abilities verses the undead - those popular denizens of tombs and dungeons - and gives the game a class between Fighting Man and Magic User with some abilities of each. The Fighting Man and Magic User are arch-types of the source fiction. Many, if not all,of the heroes of fantastic fiction can be classed as a Fighting Man or a Magic User based on whether their peculiar strength seems to be combat or magical knowledge. Some even combine both.
The character class is one of the genius concepts in White Box. The class instantly tells you something important about the character. The distinct abilities of each class is a way to ensure that no one PC has all the best answers to every challenge and that each player will get a chance to shine in play by using the abilities of their character. It sets the stage for cooperative play and the adventuring "party" of more-than-one. The character class also helps the new player have some idea how to play the character. For me White Box gets it right with just enough difference between classes to make them distinct without over defining the character. For some this lack of further definition makes each member of a class functionally the same, but I feel it is an invitation to define the character in imaginative ways.  Every aspect of the PC not defined by their class is open for the player to define, through description, backstory, emergent play or any combination. Not only does the PC change through leveling, but may change in all the other ways not defined by the rules as a result of play.
Supplement I Greyhawk introduces a fourth character class, the Thief, and in doing so redefines the game as played in the Greyhawk campaign. Character classes define who the story in the game is going to be about, who the major players are to be. White Box is a game about Fighting Men, Magic Users and Clerics. Greyhawk now includes Thieves as the subject of play. The adventures of a thief can now be the story. Inclusion of the Thief character class also poses certain game play questions such as "can the other classes do thief things like open locks or disarm traps or attempt to move silently?"
Greyhawk also gives us the Paladin, a type of Lawful fighter which is commonly referred to as a subclass, but I rather prefer to think of as the first prestige class. Supplement I indicates that a Fighting Man with a Charisma score of at least 17 may achieve paladin status "IF THEY ARE LAWFUL from the commencement of play with that character". I see this behavior qualification as a per-requisite situation more akin to later prestige classes than the more typical beginning ability score requirements of sub-classes. Supplement I doesn't specify at what point the PC gains the paladin status, but I like to see that come out of play and may even be a first level event if that is the agreement of referee and player. The Paladin class adds considerably to the setting Greyhawk and to me helps define the unique milieu of the campaign.
Best of the Dragon presents reprints of three other early sub-classes, the Illusionist, the Bard and the Ranger. All three would see inclusion in the Advanced Game, although the Bard is still "supplemental" or optional, if you will. One of the goals with any new class is to help define the milieu by establishing who the actors in the campaign will be. Another goal is to keep the classes distinct and balanced so that each player feels an equal part of the team. The referee considering a new class may want to inquire how the class will add to the milieu, whether it fits into the desired cast of actors in a beneficial way or whether the class is perhaps not a good fit. As college kids learning to play White Box I don't recall being this deliberate about introducing new classes, or anything new into the game for that matter. We just smashed it all together and made it work, even though it often had unforeseen consequences on our play.
The Multi-class character is one who belongs to two or even three classes. In the Advanced Game it is an option open to all the non-human PCs, but not to humans. I believe this practice greatly alters the milieu and the way the game works. Multi-class characters can obviously fill multiple roles within the adventuring party, although they advance slowly and have many class level limits. They make more sense to me in solo adventures and very small PC parties.
Creating a "custom" character class is quite fun and one of the best ways to reward certain players who are consistently good role-players. The easiest way to do this is by gently altering an existing class. This generally makes the class a bit stronger by adding new abilities, so increasing the experience needed to level is often necessary. When designing a class for my campaign, I try to avoid stepping on the abilities of another class, rather tying the new class into an organization that operates in the campaign and bestows as many social benefits as mechanical ones.
Over the years I have had many players bring an idea to me as referee for a new class usually based on a character from a book they have read. I generally try to make convince the player they can do what they want using an existing class with some backstory and role-playing. Often this together with maybe offering them a single "signature" ability of the fictional character is enough to inspire them to play the character idea.

Periodical Support

Game Resource
The Dragon, Strategic Review, and finally Dragon Magazine were printed periodicals aimed at sharing ideas related to the hobby of gaming, especially the rapidly growing role-playing game hobby. Early on, the folks at TSR saw the role of such a magazine as supporting and expanding the hobby. Gary Gygax had been active in amateur publishing of "fanzine" products for other gaming and was supportive of the idea. Over the years, he contributed many pieces to the TSR magazine.
The type of article likely to find its way into the TSR magazine varied considerably. Commentary from TSR president Gary Gygax, opinion pieces and editorials, advice on how to play the game, supplemental rules material, fiction and humor all appeared in the pages of Dragon and its predecessors. The above pictured "Best of" contains a selection of articles from the Strategic Review and The Dragon's first two volumes.
This "Best of" contains several articles of particular interest to me. "D&D Is Only As Good As The DM" is a nice advice piece written by Gary Gygax warning potential referees against handing out experience too quickly and too many magic items. This is a period in the game's history when PCs were not defined by the stuff they carried, rather by their in-game accomplishments which largely reflect player skill (and luck). Mr. Gygax notes "it will require considerable skill, imagination and intellectual exercise to actually gain from the course of an adventure." In the same article, Mr. Gygax suggests that playing 50-75 sessions should gain a fair player a 9th to 11th level character, provided character death doesn't intervene. That works out to roughly one level per six sessions.
Gary Gygax also writes on the "Origins of the Game" in which he again recounts the events leading up to the publication of the White Box. Like many of these accounts, this one contains both widely known facts and some trivia which may only appear in print this once. Mr. Gygax states clearly, that the game as published was not Mr Arneson's game system "by any form or measure, he was given co-billing as author for his valuable idea kernels." I am not sure if this was written before or after lawyers for the two got involved.
Many of the early Gygax articles seem to be aimed at helping explain how the game was envisioned by it's creators and are quite informative and helpful in this regard as White box is a bit thin with respect to actually explaining "how to play". I think here-in also resides the beginnings of the idea of "bad-play". As Mr. Gygax points out in his article "The Dungeons & Dragons Magic System", "D&D is, if nothing else, a free-form game system, and it was designed with great variation between campaigns to be allowed for - nay, encouraged!" He goes on to advise that logic must be applied, else the game becomes something other than intended. He speaks at length in several articles about "game balance", a term which he seems to use somewhat differently than it is used in later Editions and other systems. So termed "bad -play" can be assumed as that which is the opposite of desirable play, play which unbalances the game with regard to making a single class all-powerful, that which advances the PCs at a rapid pace and spoils players with too many riches, too powerful magic items and too easy challenges.
In "The Meaning Of Law And Chaos...", Mr. Gygax admits that in the formative days of White Box, he was mostly thinking in terms of Law equals Good and Chaos is the same as Evil. Now this is not the way I prefer to interpret the three alignments, but it explains some things as Mr. Gygax was thinking. The article goes on to lay-out an alignment system separating good and evil from law and chaos, an alignment system which combines these separate concepts in a manner very similar to what is presented in the Advanced game.
Three new character classes or sub-classes as they would come to be known in future publications are presented in The Best of... The Illusionist and Ranger classes would make their way into the Advanced game as standard subclasses of the Magic User and Fighter respectively. The Ranger is a favorite of mine representing a hero based on a combination of Robin Hood, Aragorn, Daniel Boone and all the woodsmen types found in James Fenimore Cooper novels. The Bard class is introduced here as well and although it appears again in the PHB where it remains "supplemental", it will eventually become an "official" character class.
A magazine to publish rule ideas, advice on playing the game, inspiring articles many by the game author himself, clarifications and answers to questions, a magazine with game related art, humor and advertisements, a magazine such as Dragon Magazine really helped the new hobby to get its feet under it. Today internet resources serve many of the same functions and can reach an even broader audience.