Now I wasn't actually around back then, but I looked into some old AD&D stuff recently because I was playing Baldur's Gate for the first time and because DnD circles are abuzz about the new edition playtesting and class balance and such. My brain couldn't help but wikiwalk to it from this post.
From AD&D 2nd Edition Player's Handbook:
When a fighter attains 9th level (becomes a “Lord”), he can automatically attract men-at-arms. These soldiers, having heard of the fighter, come for the chance to gain fame, adventure, and cash. They are loyal as long as they are well-treated, successful, and paid well. Abusive treatment or a disastrous campaign can lead to grumbling, desertion, and possibly mutiny. To attract the men, the fighter must have a castle or stronghold and sizeable manor lands around it. As he claims and rules this land, soldiers journey to his domain, thereby increasing his power. Furthermore, the fighter can tax and develop these lands, gaining a steady income from them. Your DM has information about gaining and running a barony.
In addition to regular men-at-arms, the 9th-level fighter also attracts an elite bodyguard (his “household guards”). Although these soldiers are still mercenaries, they have greater loyalty to their Lord than do common soldiers. In return, they expect better treatment and more pay than the common soldier receives. Although the elite unit can be chosen randomly, it is better to ask your DM what unit your fighter attracts. This allows him to choose a troop consistent with the campaign. See Table 16: Fighter's Followers.
It's interesting to see that the way they handled the "Martial/Magical disparity" back in that day was that being a powerful enough Fighter implied that you were also becoming a leader of men, a war hero whose very name held sway among the common people. You would have a retinue of troops following you as their Lord. Sounds like a fucking nightmare to actually play though. I suppose the idea was that back in the Lethal Gygaxian Age, if a character actually reached such a point, it was a genuine achievement and you'd probably end up retiring them to become part of the backdrop of the setting, your actions having truly shaped the world. Roll up a new dirt farmer to start from level 1.
A much funnier example of this kind of world-attached progression is that Druids had to ritually fist-fight up the Druid Ranks because otherwise their level was literally gated by the number of Druids in any given geographical area.
At 12th level, the druid character acquires the official title of “druid” (all druid characters below 12th level are officially known as “initiates”). There can be only nine 12th-level druids in any geographic region (as defined by oceans, seas, and mountain ranges; a continent may consist of three or four such regions). A character cannot reach 12th level unless he takes his place as one of the nine druids. This is possible only if there are currently fewer than nine druids in the region, or if the character defeats one of the nine druids in magical or hand-to-hand combat, thereby assuming the defeated druid's position. If such combat is not mortal, the loser drops experience points so that he has exactly 200,000 remaining—just enough to be 11th level.
