Character class
Character classes are a common concept for character creation and typing in various role-playing systems. A character class represents a certain archetype with its specific advantages and disadvantages. Since each character can only have one character class, a balance between the abilities and weaknesses of the player characters is enforced and the creation of almighty superheroes is prevented. Usually the players choose the character class when creating the character and cannot change it in the further life of the character. The character class system became popular through Dungeons & Dragons and is still used in other systems today. However, since the rigid class division is quite inflexible and thus severely restricts the creativity of the players, modern game systems in particular have repeatedly deviated from this concept. While Shadowrun works with a resource system when creating characters, storyteller systems in particular, such as the World of Darkness games, only provide guidelines and leave the final decision about the playability of a character to the game master's "common sense". It looks different with computer games. "Common sense" is difficult to program, whereas the schemes of the character classes are an easy-to-use control tool and also simplify character creation for the inexperienced. Accordingly, the concept is still widespread here.
In general, the character classes can be traced back to three different prototypes:
- Fighters: Fighters mainly rely on brute force. The fight and the knowledge of weapons and armor are part of their life. For a fighter, physical attributes such as strength and endurance are of particular importance, whereas intelligence and wisdom are rather insignificant.
- Rogues / Thieves: This class relies heavily on stealth. Thieves can sneak, steal and open locks. If they have to fight, then preferably from ambush or with ranged weapons or light melee weapons. Above all, skill is important for such classes.
- Spellcasters: These classes are proficient in magic or similar skills. Especially in D&D and derived systems, a distinction is made between offensive magicians and more defensive clerics , in "unmagical" worlds technicians can fill this position. These classes tend to focus on the mental attributes like intelligence and wisdom.
These prototypes can be adapted to the game world and time and can also be further detailed, divided or combined into "hybrid" character classes. D&D already has the bard as a mixture of thief and magician with additional magic songs, or the paladin as a mixture of fighter and cleric with slightly weaker fighting skills or other small disadvantages, but with some healing or protective spells.
In non-fantasy role-playing games, the spellcaster is often replaced by a psyker or scientist or healer.
Character classes provide direction and limitations for characters. A thief is sure to have very useful skills for detective adventures, but he is weak in open combat. Likewise, a cleric or magician is more likely to do something with ancient scriptures than a mercenary. Some role-playing games limit the character classes available in the game based on their disposition ( paladins can be good or bad, but obey a fixed code of conduct) or race (usually dwarfs cannot become magicians). In role-playing games, it is common for a group of different characters with different strengths and weaknesses to solve a problem together.
Many of the more recently released game systems no longer use character classes. They are replaced by skills-based systems. Here the player can influence the development of his character more freely. Role-playing games that continue to use character classes often soften the concept. The player can often combine these more or less freely (D&D 3) or the class only determines the membership in a group of the game world and some special abilities, but does not otherwise limit the character (the WOD systems).