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Grinner
2014-02-23, 07:52 PM
I spent some time today thinking about classes. When we ask what something is, we are often trying to discover its purpose, its function. So here, it's better to ask "What function do classes serve?"

Some, like the wizard, the fighter, etc are generic archetypes. They serve as foundations to build a character from. Others, like many prestige classes and perhaps the druid and the paladin, inform the character concept to a larger degree by imposing certain requirements or descriptions.

In theory, players pick a class and stick with it, branching out only to pick up abilities important to the character's intradiegetic development. In practice, only some players do that, while others jump around, cherry-picking classes for easy and synergistic gains and handwaving away all intradiegetic connotations.

When you design a class, what do you aim to accomplish? Do you want to implement some cool mechanic? Are you trying to make more viable a particular concept? Do you worry about how wide or narrow that concept is? Do you stop to wonder whether the player will actually care about the concept, should they decide to play this class?

Kane0
2014-02-23, 08:21 PM
I believe that base classes were intended to be generic foundations, allowing for a character to branch out, and prestige classes focused on more specific character types which provide a character with a means of specialization. A lot of both base and prestige classes break that mold and often are less well regarded because of it.

On the other hand there are plenty of successful examples that disagree with that idea, and go on to prove it wrong.

It's a mix of fluff and crunch that makes or breaks a class. Too limiting and it's useless (like the samurai), too broad and applicable and it's extraordinarily difficult to account for over time (like the wizard).

When designing a class (at least from a homebrew perspective) your aim is to fix/improve something that already exists (such as a fighter fix with a cool new mechanic), provide alternatives for already existing content (such as making ACFs/Archeypes or sub-classes like the swashbuckler or scout) or create all new content for an unfilled niche.

In general the more you create the more you get a feel for it and what works best. Depending on how you go about creating it might be a better idea to start with a clear goal rather than a neat idea, for instance.

One of the more important things is to be ready to butcher and reassemble your creation following critique though. If something just doesn't work you have to be able to deal with that, no matter how much you like it.

Xefas
2014-02-23, 09:00 PM
What is a class?

A miserable little pile of mechanics! (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-is-a-man)


But more to the point, you seem to be coming at the idea solely from a (~3.5e) D&D perspective. If you're looking to explore the concept further, an easy way to get different perspectives is to look at other games that have classes, but implement them in a different way from D&D.

For example, in Apocalypse World, your class is a statement about who you are in the (post-apocalyptic) world and why you're important. If you're The Gunlugger, you are the dude with all the guns and all the bullets and all the disregard for human life. How good are you with guns? Better than everyone else. If you meet someone, and they're really good with guns, you're better, period. If you meet someone, and they have a big gun, your gun is bigger, period. No one else is allowed to be the Gunlunger, because you are The Gunlugger. You are the metric by which all other violence in the world is judged.

Since no one can be the same class as anyone else, multiclassing works by grabbing a power from another class when you level up (but not emulating their chassis), rather than one of your own, which can be done twice (out of ~16 level-ups, though you're not really expected to use all of them).

In Burning Wheel, you all but must multiclass, as each class is a stage in your life. Your first level is always what level of society you were born in (noble, peasant, street urchin, etc), but then you have to multiclass out - maybe you were noble-born and then began studying to join the clergy. Then your third level, you join the clergy. For your fourth level, you remain in the clergy, taking another level for that. Then, for your fifth level, you're caught in a scandal, defamed, excommunicated, and reduced to being a ditch-digger just to get by. So, the game starts with you at fifth level (and however many years old, based on your class choices), with a mish-mash of intellectual skills with just a touch of filthy undesirable traits; Noble Born 1/Cleric-to-Be 1/Cleric 2/Ditch-Digger 1. The core book has a ludicrous number of classes to choose from, representing all walks of life in the campaign world. It's a character builder's dream.

In Mouse Guard, your class is your rank in the Guard. If you're a Tenderpaw, you're a new recruit, with more traits and Health, but less skills and Will than older mice (as well as having the skills you can choose from skew slightly towards menial tasks, IIRC). If you're a Guard Captain, you've got loads of experience (and a skill set slightly skewed towards talking, IIRC), but you're old, and have the disadvantages that come along with it. Multiclassing isn't a thing.

In Exalted, your class gives you one minor ability and says nothing about you whatsoever.

The list goes on! There's no single way of doing things.

erikun
2014-02-23, 11:25 PM
To me, a character class is a simple way to provide stats for a character, in a thematic. It provides the base abilities that a character of X level needs - so that you don't run into instances of building a character only to find them easily dominated because you didn't put any points into their Willpower attribute.

Ideally, I'd say that the class should provide the basics that you would expect the class to have, along with some "points" to spend on outside-class abilities. The Wizard, for example, would get spellcasting and the manditory BAB/HP/save bonuses, along with increased knowledge in spellcasting. Then they'd have some points to spend on learning additional skills, or becoming good with a weapon, or whatever else the player would want.

Just to Browse
2014-02-23, 11:57 PM
A class is a set of mechanics necessary for a character's baseline competency in an adventure. Includes numerical values (saves, BAB, etc), out-of-combat contributions (skills, utility spells), and level-appropriate combat actions.

Classes can fail at doing that, and many certainly have. Classes can also be devoid of flavor or logical consistency, though it's not desirable.