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<blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 8249294" data-attributes="member: 6775477">D&amp;D is fairly unique in this problem. Most other RPGs are either built around a setting, or they're specifically generic. D&amp;D started with a general setting concept (medieval fantasy), but now there are tons of settings, plus lots of homebrew, so the core concept has been completely lost. However, several of the original class mechanics and concepts are still tied to those original tropes, without the corresponding connection to the setting. This is why &quot;priests&quot; (clerics) are all trained in the use of medium armor; the original cleric was armored because of its historical basis. While some don't care about this, others find this disconnect problematic.This is why I feel that when designing a setting, putting a discussion about how the classes generally relate to the world is important. For example, in my Greyhawk campaign clerics are not just priests, but specifically holy agents given power and knowledge by their deity. Thus if a character is a cleric who would never have had an opportunity to learn how to wear armor, this would have been magically instilled within them anyway. There are NPC priests in the setting who can cast spells like clerics, but since they're not clerics, they lack those class abilities. Very few NPCs actually have a class, instead having various abilities tailored to my needs.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Shiroiken, post: 8249294, member: 6775477"] D&D is fairly unique in this problem. Most other RPGs are either built around a setting, or they're specifically generic. D&D started with a general setting concept (medieval fantasy), but now there are tons of settings, plus lots of homebrew, so the core concept has been completely lost. However, several of the original class mechanics and concepts are still tied to those original tropes, without the corresponding connection to the setting. This is why "priests" (clerics) are all trained in the use of medium armor; the original cleric was armored because of its historical basis. While some don't care about this, others find this disconnect problematic. This is why I feel that when designing a setting, putting a discussion about how the classes generally relate to the world is important. For example, in my Greyhawk campaign clerics are not just priests, but specifically holy agents given power and knowledge by their deity. Thus if a character is a cleric who would never have had an opportunity to learn how to wear armor, this would have been magically instilled within them anyway. There are NPC priests in the setting who can cast spells like clerics, but since they're not clerics, they lack those class abilities. Very few NPCs actually have a class, instead having various abilities tailored to my needs. [/QUOTE]

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