Favorite Classless TTRPGS?

[The Library DM]

Traveller. I’m old school.

I never really played any classless fantasy systems.
Of course, in the end, I’m not sure that classless really makes that big of a difference. Consider Real Life (TM):
I’m a writer and a librarian. My professional skills thus revolve around the written word, literature, and research. I do have other, layman skills in my areas of interest, hobbies, etc., but let’s be honest— where I shine and where I am expected to shine are within my profession, into which I have poured the bulk of my effort, training, and experience. And the same thing goes for any other profession. I wouldn’t expect an attorney to know anything about farming, and even if he did, he’d likely be nowhere near as good at it as a woman who had spent her whole life farming. So, in a sense, reality does indeed wind up with people defined by their professional “classes” (in the D&D sense).

So when you begin talking about adventuring characters in a fantasy world, it’s not that unusual to expect that these would indeed divide into professional categories, with these categories demonstrating superior experience and expertise in the skills which that profession requires. The “class” is just a shorthand way to define what primary abilities an individual pursuing that profession will have.

But if you want a character to possess the abilities of other classes, there have long been routes in D&D to do that, whether dual-classing, multi-classing, or even by simply picking up additional skills (5e does this by creating general categories of skills; other versions such as BECMI actually offered very specific skills). Another way is by establishing a character background which carries with it an expectation of knowledge and skill (such as an Artisan who is a jeweler.) But the rules rightly set it up that doing so produces a slower progression in improvement in the skills being used— just as you would not expect an engineer who has also picked up a law degree to be nearly as competent an attorney as his college dorm-mate who has risen to the judiciary. And, of course, having once apprenticed as a jewelry-maker in your youth, before casting it aside to pursue life as a bard, doesn’t mean you are going to have anywhere near the skill of a full artisan in the Jeweler’s Guild. You can set a stone, judge quality, etc., but make the new coronation crown for the Emperor? No, you’ll never be up to that.

The advantage of a classless system really comes down to character building— you can, essentially, craft the skill choice you imagine your character achieving, and leap into the game fully formed, as it were. (Which is essentially what Traveller does, ignoring that it’s a random generation system. Once you’re done with that element, you have the character you will have, with very little change to her abilities and stats, ever, unless they come directly due to events during play.) There’s no point where you have to switch from one class to another to gain new skills, so that aspect is potentially quicker in play.

I note all of the above not because I dislike or have any objection to classless systems— it’s just an interesting bit of comparison to toss in the discussion.