Real World Implications

[DraconicVixen]

I spend a lot of time thinking about random things...

This is a thread that I have pooled two such thoughts into, and am wondering if this is a good idea or not.

Idea one:

My interpretation of the D&D universe is that the unlike a computer or a natural environment, despite ideaology supporting that they do, not everything happens at once. All things happens in turn. Consider visiting a merchant and browsing his wares. Normally in most shops the owner might hold conversation with you or other customers, other events folding around you... But that's not how it happens. You act, the world reacts. Not even all of it at once. In theory it all acts at the same time and is in constant motion, but in practical terms, everything that happens is in reaction to the PCs presence.

... Wait a second. This isn't even the point I was trying to get to. What does this have to do with anything!?!?! See what I mean about random thoughts?

Idea 1.5:

Wait- now I know the correlation... Or I did. I kind of forgot again.. Uhm. Right! So if the world reacts to the players, them what happens when the players leave? I mean... In theory, they live their lives and carry on, but their lives are driven through action-reaction...

I guess this is the long way of say this:

What if I stumbled onto a field of my old characters? Would they just be standing around like partially completed templates? I'm imagining running around and jjeyst seeing a husk of a person standing forever guarding a shop door, because that's the last thing I did before I stopped playing that character.

Idea 2: What is a real life rogue, or how would you be one? I think of wizards as highly intelligent individuals, especially those skilled in some form of science. Fighters as athletes, but what of the rogue? Are they reduced to a common criminal?

[Seclora]

Rogues are a more day-to-day kind of smart person. They design and disarm traps, talk to people, pay close attention to their surroundings(not to alter it, but to exploit it), some even utilize the devices wizards create.
Basically, all those non-academic brainy types would be Rogues. Some of them will be criminals, yes, but even more will be engineers and business folks.

Edit:
Gonna be honest, idea 1 looks a little too complicated for me to try and address. but I think this comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0669.html) kind of touches on your thoughts.

[BowStreetRunner]

Rogues are certainly not all criminals. In fact, the appropriate class for a thief-taker like the original Bow Street Runners would be a rogue. Both thieves and thief-takers utilize essentially the same skill set. The difference is not in the abilities, but in how they choose to utilize those abilities.

IRL over the years I have encountered the reflection "you would have made a very good thief" many times when applied to a particularly skilled law-enforcement officer. The same would no doubt be true of many criminals - if they had applied their abilities in a different direction many of them would have made excellent law-enforcement officers.

[redwizard007]

Ok, really?

1/1.5. what does joker do when bat man is fighting penguin? Something else. What is only relevant if it advances the story. This is not a video game, it is a living, breathing world where even minor characters are understood to have motivations and lives outside the sphere of the PCs.

2. play d20 modern. It fits your way of envisioning the base classes perfectly. In actual d&d things are a little different.

Wizards aren't just smart guys. They are smart guys who have learned how to rip the fabric of reality and make you wear it like a skirt.

Fighters aren't jocks, they are more like Seal team 6.

Rogues... James Bond, MacGyver, the super of your apartment building or that guy your sister used to date that seemed to know everybody he ran into.

Bards could be Chris Angel, Paul McCartney, or the chain saw juggler at the fair.

[smcmike]

Although classes have no good correlates in the real world, since the rogue is more flexible than most, he can fit many modern roles. It is easy to build a good businessman or merchant with a rogue. You can also build a performer or actor or diplomat (though the lack of knowledge skills limits the last). Or, obviously, a cop. Also, if you bend the rules of sneak attack a little, a sniper. Basically most professions could be a rogue, though you'd have to drop the sneak attack (just as you'd have to drop most combat skills for almost any profession).

[DraconicVixen]

Ok, really?

1/1.5. what does joker do when bat man is fighting penguin? Something else. What is only relevant if it advances the story. This is not a video game, it is a living, breathing world where even minor characters are understood to have motivations and lives outside the sphere of the PCs.

2. play d20 modern. It fits your way of envisioning the base classes perfectly. In actual d&d things are a little different.

Wizards aren't just smart guys. They are smart guys who have learned how to rip the fabric of reality and make you wear it like a skirt.

Fighters aren't jocks, they are more like Seal team 6.

Rogues... James Bond, MacGyver, the super of your apartment building or that guy your sister used to date that seemed to know everybody he ran into.

Bards could be Chris Angel, Paul McCartney, or the chain saw juggler at the fair.

1/1.5:

In theory that is. What about practicality? What happens when no one is writing the story? No ones knows. We assume he is doing his own thing, but in practical means, he is in a stasis until someone tells us what has happened. Otherwise we can only speculate.

I would like to point out ripping open the universe... No one can do that IRL. I'm trying to fit the closest things I can think of.

I don't think jock fits fighter. I think athlete. Anything from MMA to Cross-country to the everyday-man who enjoys staying fit.

I guess the closest fit I could think of to a rogue would be the definition of a general skill monkey. So... Pretty much anyone who can do a lot of things well- as aforementioned- is just about anyone really. Skill monkeys are highly valued in today's market and even encouraged in children as they grow up.

[Milo v3]

I don't think jock fits fighter. I think athlete. Anything from MMA to Cross-country to the everyday-man who enjoys staying fit.
Those would probably either be a barbarian or a monk (depending on alignment) rather than a fighter.

[DraconicVixen]

That works as well. I was being very general with the uhm... Basic combat triangle, I.e. melee<mage<ranged<melee and so forth

[redwizard007]

I really suggest taking a look at the d20 modern system. They have mundane base classes built off all 6 ability scores and then use prestige classes to specialize.

[DraconicVixen]

I really suggest taking a look at the d20 modern system. They have mundane base classes built off all 6 ability scores and then use prestige classes to specialize.

I'm confused. How does this relate to the original question?

[redwizard007]

I'm confused. How does this relate to the original question?

Part 2 of the original post was asking about class in the real world. That's what d20 modern is built on. They use base classes combined with starting occupation to build realistic(ish) characters using a 3.5 style system.

Asking "what's a real world equivalent of <insert fantasy element> that has never existed in the real world" is just silly. There is no equivalent to a wizard, sorcerer, druid, cleric or other primary caster because there is no real world equivalent to spells. The "modern" system does however detail the real world professions and archetypes likely to be found in the base classes. That seems to be a good source that the original poster can mine for some ideas.

[daremetoidareyo]

I spend a lot of time thinking about random things...

What if I stumbled onto a field of my old characters? Would they just be standing around like partially completed templates? I'm imagining running around and jjeyst seeing a husk of a person standing forever guarding a shop door, because that's the last thing I did before I stopped playing that character.



This would actually be a neat 4th wall campaign idea.

Certain creatures are born as "vessels." Anyone could be a "vessel" but they are very rare. All we know is that they tend to be exceptionally strong or smart or wise.

They live their lives as normal (backstories) but with little sense of direction and then suddenly they go to a tavern and they are "filled" by extra dimensional entities (the actual players), who usually want to start a barfight, go on a quest, unravel the mysteries nearby, endure a pre-occupation with brothels, and begin questing. What happens to these vessels when the entities leave them before they die?

Then add a mechanic where a player can at any moment abandon a vessel and grab a new one. The old vessel just stands there still (it lost its player and taking control of a vessel is like frying an egg made of virginity, it's a one way reaction). As the DM introduces characters into the plot, they delineate who is a vessel and who is not. Maybe throw a point system in there to keep players from grabbing high HD characters, make it cost a standard action. All of a sudden, the players are a force of pure greedy entropy.

Imagine stumbling into a field of pre-gen characters as a PC. Just empty bodies waiting for their rightful players, standing there, breathing and staring. Just cattle waiting for slaughter.

If you set the quest to find the origins of the vessel phenomena while the BBEG is seeking to cut the cord to the alternative dimension of creatures that are possessing and rendering people catatonic. The BBEG is attempting to subvert the campaign by trying to figure out how to cut the PCs away from the players. (His name should be Railroad Jenkins). Players start receiving weird texts during the days from unknown text numbers, saying things that are considered words of power in the campaign asking for their name and title. BBEG cohort truenamers start doing things that cause mechanical faults for the players using PCs (locking them to a single vessel for a day or more or imposing weird hurdles in general). Small cults start worshipping the players (NOT the PCS!) if any responded to the text messages with their names and titles. PCs discover a waypoint of communication to these extra dimensional entities called gehmaildotcom and they use gmail.com accounts to begin making spell list requests asking for spells to be granted. NPCs talk about this astral plane monster known only as spamfolder which can intercept their prayers that are sent to gehmaildotcom to the entities and render their efforts totally useless, or even days late.