Thoughts on equipment restrictions
Weapon and armor restrictions by class are some of the most iconic features of D&D (particularly older editions. I'm not well-versed in 3e and beyond.) There are a few reasons for it, primarily game balance, but also in-fiction flavor, to depict a particular archetype in a class. Weapon restrictions are consequential in a few ways. In editions with variable weapon damage (or with optional rules for such in use) they limit the amount of damage a character can do in battle. A magic-user limited to dagger only is also limited to d4 damage, where other classes have access to d6, d8, or even d10 weapons. A cleric's restriction to non-edged weapons effectively eliminates the d10 and d8 weapons (those dice being mainly used for swords, polearms, and battle axes) and the d6 missile weapons, leaving only the d4 sling. Even if you're playing d6 damage for all weapons, weapon restrictions still have one important effect, as many others have already noted: it sharply limits who ma