Some Solutions to the Demihuman Advancement Problem

Demihuman advancement limits are a fact of life in any AD&D game world. Nevertheless, the DM can solve the problem in several ways without forcing demihuman characters out of the game:

A demihuman character can use a wish or 10th-level transformation spell to become human. Such a character might still look and act like a demihuman, but has put aside the racial characteristics—and special racial abilities—that have held the character back.

A demihuman character can use a wish or 10th-level imbue spell to gain one level beyond the normal racial maximum. The character in question must have earned enough experience to actually gain the level. Each level gained beyond the maximum requires one wish or 10th-level imbue spell.

The DM can use the Slow Advancement rule from Chapter 2 of the Dungeon Master Guide. At low levels, slow advancement doesn’t have much affect on play, but humans begin to pull ahead fairly rapidly once the characters reach 10th level or so.

The DM can apply the Slow Advancement rule only after demihuman characters reach their maximum levels. This represents their struggle to stay focused on their professional skills despite the distractions and difficulties of being a demihuman. To reflect a demihuman character’s nonhuman viewpoint, it’s a good idea to also require the character to complete some heroic task that furthers the interests of the character’s race each time the character advances a level beyond the usual maximum. For example, an elf wizard might undertake a quest to protect a tract of virgin forest and perhaps establish a colony there. This kind of effort marks the character as a racial hero instead of a demihuman with human interests.

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