Which of the Core Four Classes is Most Easily Forgotten?

Neither group I current run has a thief among them (although the Saturday group does have a S&W Monk, which covers most of the needed bases). Therefore, I find a lot of 10' pole tapping (obviously linked to early dungeon maps being gridded out in 10' hexes), axe hacking at locked doors, crow-barring of locked chests and the like.

Oh, and much finding of traps the old fashioned way - "Ouch! Shit! There's a trap here guys!"

All of which leads to the question - of the current list of 4 core classes, which class can the party do without and still get by? (edit: I realize the Thief was a later addition to the core)

I would lean towards the thief, but in actual play I've seen more groups without a cleric of any sort than a thief. Figure that one out?

Racial Specific Class - Halfling Adventurer (S&W Complete)

Based on yesterday's Halfling discusion and my later post on Racial Specific Classes, I came up with the following for Swords & Wizardry Complete:

Halfling Adventurer

Prime Attribute: Dexterity, 13+ (+5% experience bonus)
Hit Dice: 1d4/level (gains 2hp/level after 9th - maximum level is 10th)
Armor: Chainmail or Leather; no shield
Weapons Permitted: Any, but magical weapons are limited to daggers, swords and bows

Adventurer Class Abilities:

Fights as a Thief of the same level. (No Backstab Ability)

Saves as a Thief of the same level.

Levels as Thief

All thieving skills except Climb Walls. If wearing chainmail armor that is not magical, thieving skill effective level is reduced by 2 levels (Adventurers of 1st or 2nd level can not attempt any thief abilities while wearing chainmail armor)

Dodge Fatal Blow 1/day (2/day at level 5, 3/day at level 10) the Halfling Adventurer can attempt to dodge a fatal blow (physical attack from combat or trap - does not apply to spells, or spell effects - it does apply to breath weapons). The attack in question must have the potential to reduce the Adventurer to 0 HP or less (the DM will state if it does if the player asks). 

After the roll to hit against the Adventurer is successful, but before damage is determined, the player of the Adventurer must decide if he will attempt to use his Dodge Fatal Blow ability. If he decides to use Dodge Fatal Blow, he rolls a saving throw, and if successful, no damage is taken (nor is it rolled). If he fails his saving throw, he takes damage as normal and loses his next attack due to disorientation from attempting to dodge the blow that landed.

What's Your Class?

Most people have a default template / character class that they default to.

When I first started playing, it was usually a Paladin. What can I say? I was a teenager and I saw it as the power class. Besides, we usually had inflated stats back then.

When AD&D 2e was released, I gravitated to the Bard. It was a versatile class and a jack of all trades. Not all that powerful, but it filled in holes when the party needed it.

When I started playing Castles & Crusades, I settled on the Cleric. Dwarven, if you need to know. He made a decent warrior and a decent healer... again, filling more then one role. In a way, it was a natural progression from the old bard class.

What's your default class?

Where's the REAL Magic in Your Campaign?

As I was driving thru the streets of Manhattan earlier tonight I let myself soak in the wonders of a modern city.  Traffic lights, cars, trucks, public transportation, running water, sewers, phones, electricity, paved  streets - the list goes on.  It struck me.  Where are these conveniences in the fantasy campaigns we run?

I know that, for the most part, I've never had a chamber pot hap-hazardly dumped on a party member that just happened to be walking down a street, but it used to be fairy common before indoor plumbing.  So what takes care of the stuff that we take for granted in the real world in our fantasy worlds?

Magic.  The real stuff.  Not the stuff of adventuring.  The stuff that lets a city thrive.  It helps take care of the sewage and water supply, keeps disease under control, allows for the city's refuse to be dealt with... all the things we take for granted in a modern word we take for granted in our fantasy worlds.

When we game, we look at the world thru the eyes of our adventurers.  We look for adventurer supplies, and adventurer magic.

The magic that keeps the wealthy lord comfortable will not be the same as the magic that keeps him safe.

The question then becomes, are there spells that our PC casters never bother with, because they have little to no application in the adventuring professions, or is the magic that makes the world truly move belong to a whole other class or classes?

Amazing what comes to mind as you sit in traffic on a Sunday evening.