Xuc Xac
2015-08-02, 04:46 AM
Inspired by the Mage-hunters abilities thread, I started wondering about what the quintessential fantasy class abilities really are. If you pick up a new fantasy RPG that has classes like Warrior, Wizard, Cleric, etc., what abilities do you expect them to have? What's mandatory and what are the must-have options? What kind of skills, knowledges, and special abilities? For example:
Every Warrior can:
Competently use any melee weapon common to his culture.
Competently use any ranged weapon common to his culture.
Properly maintain standard issue military equipment.
Every Warrior knows:
Basic tactics to operate as part of a phalanx, skirmishing line, platoon, or other basic military unit common to their culture.
How to judge the quality of a piece of military equipment (i.e. the balance of a sword, the reliability of a rifle, etc.)
How to identify the most common coats of arms, flags, or other military insignia common in use in their culture and among their enemies (e.g. recognizing a man-at-arms by his livery, knowing an orc tribe from its totems).
How to recognize whether another warrior was formally trained and in roughly what style (attended a fencing school, spent years as a spear-carrier in the legion, got into a lot of brawls and knife fights down by the docks, etc.)
Warriors can train to:
use specialized military equipment (exotic weapons, cavalry training, demolitions)
use special or secret fighting techniques (how to fight in and against heavy armor, how to hamstring giants, how to kill a man with a rolled up newspaper, etc.)
Lead a bootcamp to turn a peasant levy into a unit of spearman.
effectively lead a small group of other warriors in combat situations (a pirate captain, an army sergeant/lieutenant, chief of an orc raiding party, etc.)
Perform impressive feats of strength like bashing down doors and flipping over wagons
Anything you disagree with or you think I missed? What about Wizards, Priests, Thieves, and other fantasy archetypes?
Every Warrior can:
Competently use any melee weapon common to his culture.
Competently use any ranged weapon common to his culture.
Properly maintain standard issue military equipment.
Every Warrior knows:
Basic tactics to operate as part of a phalanx, skirmishing line, platoon, or other basic military unit common to their culture.
How to judge the quality of a piece of military equipment (i.e. the balance of a sword, the reliability of a rifle, etc.)
How to identify the most common coats of arms, flags, or other military insignia common in use in their culture and among their enemies (e.g. recognizing a man-at-arms by his livery, knowing an orc tribe from its totems).
How to recognize whether another warrior was formally trained and in roughly what style (attended a fencing school, spent years as a spear-carrier in the legion, got into a lot of brawls and knife fights down by the docks, etc.)
Warriors can train to:
use specialized military equipment (exotic weapons, cavalry training, demolitions)
use special or secret fighting techniques (how to fight in and against heavy armor, how to hamstring giants, how to kill a man with a rolled up newspaper, etc.)
Lead a bootcamp to turn a peasant levy into a unit of spearman.
effectively lead a small group of other warriors in combat situations (a pirate captain, an army sergeant/lieutenant, chief of an orc raiding party, etc.)
Perform impressive feats of strength like bashing down doors and flipping over wagons
Anything you disagree with or you think I missed? What about Wizards, Priests, Thieves, and other fantasy archetypes?