I liked the lower ability score modifiers of Swords & Wizardry, and OSRIC is more of the same. Most characters won't have modifiers to to-hot or damage, AC, or many other freebies that many modern games, and a fair proportion of OSR games, freely hand out. I also enjoy level limits and high ability score requirements for classes.
In Swords & Wizardry, there are no ability score requirements for being a paladin; alignment must be lawful, though a STR 13 or higher gives you an XP bonus. Anyone can be a paladin, just like in 5E. I love S&W; it is another A-Tier game with the softness and accessibility that many modern games have. I get why the game has to sell and deliver on player fantasy, but this puts it more in the mainstream genre than an OSRIC.
In OSRIC, you must have minimum ability scores: STR 12, DEX 6, CON 9, INT 9, WIS 13, and CHR 17 to be a paladin. You must be lawful good. With a 3d6 generation method, that charisma requirement will mean 11% of characters will qualify for this at a minimum since that 17 is a 1.85% chance to roll, assuming you can place scores where you want. Rolled straight, this drops to less than 1.85% of characters.
AD&D 2nd Edition was similar: STR 12, CON 9, WIS 13, and CHR 17.
Swords & Wizardry is a great game; it is easier on requirements and accessible while still delivering the old-school feeling. Something feels missing, though.
By the time we get D&D 3.5E from Wizards, a paladin is just a WIS requirement of 11 to cast spells and 14 to get the highest spells. Anyone can be a paladin. Wizards D&D ceases to be D&D at this point. It may have all the same pieces, but the soul is missing.
How does letting everyone be everything make a game lose its soul?
So, can only one percent of characters created be paladins? Yes. If you manage to roll one, it will be memorable, a highlight of your experience with that campaign. Being a paladin in OSRIC automatically means more than being one in S&W or 5E. You pulled a golden ticket. You get to play one; even if that wasn't your original idea, you now have that choice.
As a result, there are very few paladins in the world. If people see one, they may be in awe of this rare person walking among them. You are guaranteed to attract attention, good or bad.
In OSRIC, the answer to the question, "Shouldn't everyone be entitled to play the character they want?" is no.
You will never understand old-school gaming if you don't understand why that fact exists.
You will also be blissfully unaware of what modern gaming has become.
This isn't gatekeeping, exclusionary, or for any other negative social reason. It used to be only the top 1% of applicants get into a prestigious university, and this sets you up for life - given you use what you have been given and make good choices. Old school games simulate this too; it is a part of life for your average Midwestern kid, growing up, and knowing most of them will never make it to the pinnacle of the prestige classes or get into the best schools.
But there are other ways to make it, given what you have, hard work, determination, and smarts.
You accept inequality exists.
The measure of your success in life is finding the other way around.
This isn't a game about letting everyone be anything they want. This is a game about dealing with the hand you are dealt. The former is childish escapism, while the latter is life.
You may never be a level 24 paladin, but you can be a level 24 fighter or thief. You can impact the world just as much, or even more, without being born into privilege or raw talent. That paladin who rolled well may get there, too. Or they may fail along the way, sacrifice themselves for the greater good, and become a legend.
Having a guaranteed 18, no score lower than a 14, any class you want, any race you imagine, free player housing safe spaces the referee can't touch, and being given success on a platter with zero fear of death and failure is a game I don't want to play. It is a game that teaches you nothing about adversity and the difficulty of life.
And also, if you are paying attention, this is another huge difference between old-school and modern gaming.
Old-school gaming wasn't escapist entertainment.
It was preparation and training for how to live a meaningful life, get ahead, and survive hardships, given whatever you started out with.
This is also why religion used to hate D&D; it replaced them as values and morals teachers. D&D, in the old days, when it was hardcore old-school, was a religion. Demons and devils tempted your soul. Lucifer was there. Orcus's minions ravaged the land. The succubus was there. Greed, stealing from the innocent, and being evil were options. You couldn't be a half-demon "Tiefling" with Satan's blood in your veins, a vampire who feasts on blood, and say you are just "misunderstood."
You were asked, "What would you do?" and you had to answer in front of people you knew.
When D&D went "escapist," religion quieted down pretty quickly.
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