Let's collect the fantasy archetypes

[GMforPowergamers]

The past week with my nephew has been an eye-opener, as he is a teenager with almost zero exposure (or interest) in traditional fantasy but who LOVES playing D&D (in our case, a very modified version of a retro-clone). I asked him about some character types he could use in D&D and here's what I recall:

Harry Potter
Ghost Rider
Dragon Age
World of Warcraft
the fire guy from Last Airbender
Wolverine
Jeff Bridges from Tron 2.0 (we watched it last night. "He's totally a wizard")
Naruto (had to look that one up)

my neice and nephew bring up those things alot. They want to play Thor, Transformers, and my neice is the biggest one...

she likes these new faires, the winex club, and the pixy hollow stuff, agent P for Phenius and ferb.

I will add in the sherlock homes archtype (super perceptive) in modern takes that is Dr House, Sean spencer from psych, and Monk (tv detective)

I will then add my new fav comic book character Midnighter. He can be sherlock homes, but he is so smart (it might be a superpower) that he predict the next few moments and can see the 'fight' before it happens.

 

[Wormwood]

Tracker
Defined by: tracks and hunts people and individuals
In D&D: Rogue (some builds), Ranger
Examples: can't remember any primary characters, but is often a secondary character

"Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall."

 

[Jawsh]

Gunslinger
Defined by: he or she has a gun.
In D&D: fighter or ranger under optional firearms rules. Pathfinder's gunslinger class.
Examples: Roland from Stephen King's Dark Tower series

Dragon Rider
Defined by: he or she rides a dragon. This is different from the horse/other steed rider because handling a dragon is a very different set of skills.
In D&D: some classes from the Draconomicon
Examples: Eragon, How to Train Your Dragon

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Otherwordly Enchanter
Defined by: A mix of magical abilities, often charms or lore, frequently topped off by social skills and even amazing looks.
In D&D: A fey or nymph or similar sorcerer or similar, but no "corruption" magic. Or sometimes a demon-blooded variant with the corruption.
Examples: Merlin in darker Authurian legends, Circe, various fairy tale "good witches".

 

[Greg K]

Bard
Defined by: Music-based magic; social skills, thievery and deception; swashbuckling fighting style
In D&D: Bard
Examples: Elan

I disagree about thievery,deception and swashbuckling fighter style and even the bardic music.
Other variants:
Arcane Sage: Arcane lore masters
Divine Bards: Lore keepers with divine magic
Nature Bards: Lore keepers with nature/spirit magic
Skalds: Warrior Poet
Troubador: Roguish Bard

Archer
Defined by: Bow; Can be soldier type, wilderness-oriented, sneaky type or arcane
In D&D: Ranger, Fighter variant, Arcane Archer PrC, Elf
Examples: Thief PC game, Kagome (Inuyasha), Legolas (LOTR)

In D&D, the 3e martial rogue variant could fit

Barbarian
Defined by: Rage; big and tough; 2h weapon or dual wield; wilderness skills; light or no armor
In D&D: Barbarian, Warden
Examples: Conan

1. Conan is considered the quintessential 4e Fighter. Mearls based it upon him.
2. It is does not have to be rage. The official 1e Barbarian did not have rage as a class. It was simply a wilderness warrior with basic weapon: knife, handaxe, and spear + additional weapons and proficiencies based upon the home enviroment. The second edition had a berserker kit (and a non-raging barbarian kit) in the Complete fighter's handbook. A later supplement reintroduced the barbarian class and, again no rage.
3. One of the three musketeers was prone to rages (I can't recall which one)

Wizard
Defined by: learns spells from books; powerful magic effects; starts weak and becomes invincible; magic school variants
In D&D: Wizard
Examples: Raistlin (Dragonlance), Gandalf (LOTR), Black Mage (FF), Harry Potter

Gandalf was the equivalent of an angel. That is where he got his powers.
Often there is overlap with sorcerers in that they have magical bloodline that gives them the ability to cast spells, but need the training to do so.

Sorcerer / Witch / Warlock
Defined by: Source of power, either innate (dragon blood etc.) or outside (pact with dark entitity): spontaneous caster
In D&D: Sorcerer, Warlock
Examples: Hennet (3rd ed), Esme Weatherwax / Nanny Ogg (Discworld)

Not all witches make pacts with dark entities. Some are priests/priestesses
of "Old Ways" making pacts with fae or other spirits.

Druid
Defined by: Nature-based magic; summon animals; healing
In D&D: Druid
Examples: Merlin (Arthur legend), Druid (Diablo)

The D&D druid is an animist and more of a dnd construct

From the writings of Julius Caesar, we know the druids were:
1. Concerned with the affairs of the gods and the other world (i.e. they would be priests/clerics)
2. They were historians, teachers, scholars, judges in disputes and criminal affairs, astronomers
3. They liked riddles and enigmas

To become a Druid, you were trained as a bard, then an ollave (priest) all of whom were trained as bards. The final step to becoming a Druid was being chosen from the ollaves based upon your discoveries and insights.
Therefore, in 3eD&D, Druid might be better as a PrC requiring levels in bard, cleric and, possibly, wizard

For a different than nature priest, take look at the Mists of Avalon, the Once and Future King (and the sequel, the Book of Merlin). For rpgs, look at GURPS Celts (Steve Jackson Games), Nation book: Avalon for 7th Sea.

As of Merlin being a D&D druid, it does not fit.
In some tales he is of half-demon blood sorcerer in others he is a priest of the old ways. Depending upon source, he is portrayed closer to what 3e D&D would call a bard, priest, and or wizard: He casts charm, healing, illusion spells, polymorph others, polymorph self etc. He has the gift of sight (or divination spells) and, in at least one instance he is portrayed as a skilled musician whose performance is

I'd look at the works of both Malory and Tennyson, TS White's Once and Future King (and the sequel, the Book of Merlin), Mists of Avalon.

Monk / Martial Artist
Defined by: Melee combatant; Asian theme; mystic powers (Ki); unarmed; "monk weapons"
In D&D: Monk
Examples: Feng Shui RPG; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon / Wuxia movies in general

I'd also add the martial artist priest
Defined by being holy men with priestly duties, dealing with spirits and skilled in martial arts
In D&D, the 3e OA Shaman (or a class variant that makes a few changes to be more divine than shaman (e.g., removing the spirit companion).
ex. Buddhist Priests, Shinto Priests

 

[drothgery]

Dragon Rider
Defined by: he or she rides a dragon. This is different from the horse/other steed rider because handling a dragon is a very different set of skills.
In D&D: some classes from the Draconomicon
Examples: Eragon, How to Train Your Dragon Pern

Kids these days.

Anne McCaffery, RIP.

 

[Aldarc]

Mage
Defined by: uses advanced magic and arcane lore.
In D&D: Magic-User.
Examples: Gandalf, Merlin, Melisandre the Red Priest.

Rogue
Defined by: dexterous mobility and skillful cunning.
In D&D: Thief/Rogue.
Examples: Bilbo Baggins, The Grey Mouser, Locke Lamora.

Warrior
Defined by: advanced arms and combat training.
In D&D: Fighter.
Examples: Aragorn, Conan, Jaime Lannister.

I'm a reductionist at heart.

 

[Nivenus]

I think you've got most of everything covered, but I might narrow it down. I did a bit of a look into this myself earlier and here's what I found, in order of how frequently the archetype seems to come up:

Warrior
Defined by: They're really good at hurting/killing things
In D&D: Fighter, obviously, though Paladins, Swordmage, Rangers, and even Rogues get in on the action a bit
Examples: Gimli (LotR), Lloyd (Tales of Symphonia), Sten (Dragon Age)

Mage
Defined by: They can use a wide variety of magic and often exclusively to other abilities
In D&D: Wizards, though sorcerer also more or less cover this territory as well, with a few alterations
Examples: Merlin, Ged (Earthsea), Edwin (Baldur's Gate)

Rogue
Defined by: They're not particularly tough or magically gifted, but they think fast and are skilled in many other ways
In D&D: Rogues, though bards get in on this territory a little bit
Examples: Bilbo (The Hobbit), Imoen (Baldur's Gate), Tyrion Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire)

Ranger
Defined by: They use bows, prefer the wilderness to large settlements, and generally have excellent survival skills
In D&D: Rangers obviously, though minus the bows aspect, barbarians also get in on it a little bit as do druids and wardens
Examples: Aragorn (LotR), Drizzt (Forgotten Realms), Ashitaka (Princess Mononoke)

Healer
Defined by: They provide a support role for the party, healing the injured and sometimes the dead as well; it's noteworthy that the healers don't always use magical healing
In D&D: Clerics, although warlords, bards, and artificers also play with this concept
Examples: Raine (Tales of Symphonia) Durkon (OotS), Wynne (Dragon Age)

Barbarian
Defined by: They're rough (but not necessarily crude) warriors from savage lands who have an elegant but brutal simplicity
In D&D: Barbarians
Examples: Beowulf, Conan the Barbarian, Minsc (Baldur's Gate)

Knight
Defined by: They follow a code of honor, wear shining armor, and probably have a horse as well; may or may not use magic
In D&D: Paladins obviously, although samurai and certain kinds of fighters get in on the action too
Examples: Lancelot, Loras Tyrell (A Song of Ice and Fire), Alistair (Dragon Age)

Noble
Defined by: Sociable types, skilled in speaking and carousing as well as inspiring others to action
In D&D: Bards, sort of, as well anybody with a high Charisma and training in the Diplomacy and Bluff skills
Examples: King Arthur, Vetinari (Discworld), Anora (Dragon Age)

Swordmage
Defined by: Wielders of magic and blade (or some other weapon)
In D&D: Swordmage, though hexblades and eladrin wizard get in on the action as well (and bards, kind of)
Examples: Elric of Melnibone (The Elric Saga), Kratos (Tales of Symphonia), Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher)

Druid
Defined by: They worship nature or at least venerate it in some way and usually can communicate with (or become) animals
In D&D: Druids, along with Shamans, Wardens, and Rangers to a certain extent
Examples: The Beastmaster, San (Princess Mononoke), Morrigan (Dragon Age)

Assassin
Defined by: They kill for money or some cause and are sneaky about it, unlike those boisterous warriors
In D&D: Assassins, combat-focused rogues, rangers to a degree
Examples: Hattori Hanzo, Artemis Entreri (Forgotten Realms), Altair (Assassin's Creed)

Brawler
Defined by: Like warriors they fight - but they prefer their fists and legs to a sword or a mace
In D&D: Monks
Examples: Wong Fei-Hung (Drunken Master), Kirin (Dragon Ball), Sagacious Zu (Jade Empire)

Bard
Defined by: They're performers who also know just about everything and sometimes dabble in a bit of espionage on the side
In D&D: Bards, rogues from 3e with the Perform skill
Examples: Gabrielle (Xena), Dandelion (The Witcher), Elan (OotS)

Warlock
Defined by: Practitioners of the dark arts, often achieved (but not always) through some Faustian deal
In D&D: Warlocks
Examples: Faust, Thulsa Doom (Conan the Barbarian), Ammon Jerro (Neverwinter Nights 2)

A few other archetypes popped up but they scored much lower or were easily incorporated into the above.

 

[mkill]

I disagree...

You're right, of course. Often, characters are archetype for something, even though they are technically something completely different. What is called XY in one game or work of fiction may be YZ in another.

Conan might be the prime example. His title is "the Barbarian", but when players want to model a character after him, a D&D Fighter fits better, especially in 4th edition. Similar, Minsc matches the Barbarian archetype well, but in game terms, he's a Ranger. Compare him to two other iconic rangers, Drizzt and Aragorn...

For the sake of this thread, let's not get too bogged down in the details. There will always be some ambiguity. A good D&D class should be flexible enough to accomodate different ideas about what a "Ranger" or a "Barbarian" is.

 

[LurkAway]

I'm looking for types of characters that show up in many works of fantasy (and even outside of it), even if they were never covered by D&D before (or not very well).

Intellectual Windbag
Defined by: an intellectual (sometimes pacifist) talker who automatically gains initiative and compels opponents to hesitate and listen to his ramblings
D&D: Please God, no
Examples: Doctor Who, Bond villians