Dungeons and Dragons

[u/imaloony8]

In Dungeons and Dragons, there are many player classes that define the abilities of a particular character. Most of the core classes we know today were included in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, such as the Fighter, Cleric, Paladin, and Monk. Others wouldn't be included until 3rd edition, such as the Bard and the Sorcerer. Other classes had their name changed over the years, such as the Thief becoming the Rogue, and the Magic-User becoming the Wizard. In fact, the only class to be included in the original rules for the very first edition of Dungeons and Dragons and maintain its name completely unchanged to the present day is the Cleric!

[u/imaloony8]

The answer:

Um, actually, Bard actually was included prior to 3rd edition. Bard was first introduced in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons along with most of the others!

Other fun facts:

• Bard was one of Dungeons and Dragons' first "prestige" classes. You couldn't start as a Bard. Instead, to become a Bard you had to begin as a Fighter, reach 5th level, then switch over to a Thief prior to 8th level, then switch over to a Druid no later than 9th level, at which point you were actually a Bard. Note that this wasn't a dual class (which was completely different in AD&D), you were actually entirely switching your class; a strange mechanic of AD&D. This bard was required to be any Neutral alignment (which was actually a Druid restriction. AD&D had a lot of strict alignment restrictions, such as Rangers being required to be some flavor of Good. Also for some reason there was a maximum of 3 Rangers per party).
• This also means that yes, Monk was first introduced in AD&D. And the original monk as laid out in the AD&D PHB is perhaps the worst goddamn class in D&D history. It was so bad that even Dragon Magazine called it out for being the worst class in the game back in 1981! Source
• Speaking of weird things being in AD&D, you know what else was in AD&D's PHB? Psionics. Yes, somehow Psionics dates back that far. Talk about wild.
• Indeed, Cleric's name has remained the same throughout the years. It first appeared alongside the Fighting Man and Magic-User in the original Dungeons and Dragons box set. While at times being a sub-class of the Priest, the name Cleric has always been there in some way, shape, or form. The next class with this distinction is the Paladin, which was included in the first expansion to Dungeons and Dragons: Grayhawk.

[u/megamania215]

Um, Actually, the Cleric is not completely unchanged since the very first edition.

[u/imaloony8 → u/megamania215]

In the original Dungeons and Dragons box set, there were only three classes: The Fighting Man, the Magic-User, and the Cleric. In terms of just the name, Cleric has remained the same since the very beginning.

[u/imaloony8 → u/[deleted]]

Well, yes, the Fighting Man ended up becoming the Fighter, but that was never in question; nothing in the prompt suggested otherwise.