OD&D's Classes as Social Position

I have long been fascinated with Original Dungeons and Dragons, but I've also long found it confusing. Late last year, I decided to put my head down and figure it out — by running my own solo game. 

Honestly, this has been more difficult than I originally imagined. Much is left up to interpretation, but I've been trying to meet the game where it's at.

In that vein, I've been thinking a lot about the game's classes. How does one change class if they aren't an elf? Why is it not recommended, aside from the prime requisite requirement? Why can clerics not use bladed weapons? Why can't human magic-users wear armor, but elves can "use magic armor and still act as Magic-Users"?

Looking closely at the elf type description, I get even more confused. They can freely switch class between adventures, but they gain the benefits of both classes? Then... why would they need to switch class at all? 

I've seen this interpreted as elves needing to choose which class gains experience during an adventure. That doesn't make much sense to me. Why would they gain experience only in one area if they are doing actions associated with both? 

I know that's how its been interpreted in the past, but here I propose a different reading, one that likely wasn't intended, but that's okay to me. 

Character class in Original Dungeons and Dragons is not only about a character's skillset — it is also their role in society. Their literal social "class." 

In my opinion,  this shores up many of the gaps left by the game text. Here's a few examples, although there are many more.

Why can't clerics use bladed weapons? Perhaps it is a constraint of their religion. They aren't allowed to "spill blood" which has been interpreted to mean "don't use blades" rather than "don't do violence" because of course it was. This not only brings some interesting worldbuilding, but also is immediately gameable. A cleric loses his mace and there's a sword nearby; does he grab it and use it to defend himself, breaking his religous laws and the social expactations of his class, or does he surrender to his foe?

Similary, why can't mages wear armor? Well, it clearly isn't because their magic prevents this, otherwise elves couldn't do it (unless elves use a different type of magic). It must be that human society doesn't expect magic-users to be wearing armor. They more expect them to dress in robes, funny hats, and the like, since that is what magic users of legend supposedly did.  

 

Two Knights (1628) by Jacques Callot. Licensed under CC0 by the National Gallery of Art

Another example already mentioned is that elves "gain the benefits of both classes" (fighter and magic-user) and can "freely switch class whenever they choose, from adventure to adventure, but not during the course of a single game." But, why would they need to switch if they gain the benefit of both? And also, what exactly are they "switching" within the fiction itself? It must be their behavior and broader social presentation that changes. This would be a jarring change minute-to-minute, and an unsustainable one, but in between periods of downtime would be written off as "just the way elves are" by their human companions. Again, interesting piece of worldbuilding, but also gameable. Need to present more as a scholar or mystic during this adventure? Act as a magic-user. Need to appear tough and militaristic for the next? Switch to acting as a fighter. 

The question follows, then... what happens if a character breaks out of these social norms? To me, the answer is obvious: not following a social norm is a "chaotic" action. If a character does this enough, they must switch their alignment to chaotic, with all the penalties (social or otherwise) that may come from this.

So, not only does this explain many of the strange aspects of the game (like, why can clerics not build a stronghold until top level, even if they have the money?), but it also gives a way for players to defy those rules, if they are willing to accept the consequences. In my opinion, this makes for a much more interesting play style.  

For example, magic users are not allowed to use most weapons. But what if they use their dagger to try opening a chest, and it breaks? Are they physically incapable of picking up a dead orc's shortsword and swinging it around? Of course not. But the magic-users' lawful party members may find this a breach of the natural order, and so the cost may well outweigh the benefit in some situations. That's just one example of where interesting play can arise. 

I think more games should be playing in the space of "rules imposed by society" as opposed to hard "rules about the mechanics of the world" when it comes to class restrictions. I know others have written on this topic before, but hopefully none have articulated it about OD&D as I have above. 

If I accidently copied someone else's ideas, I'm very sorry! Let me know and I'll add in a reference. It's certainly possible I read this idea somewhere else.  

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