D&D General D&D Archetypes that spread out to other settings and media


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Classes - Traveller, by comparison, allowed characters to learn and do about anything. Your initial pick of Service Branch influenced your initial skill set but once you began your Travelling life, any character could learn any skill, if the physical stats were good enough. D&D classes really limited character choices after the class was picked.
Racial profiling - (yes, I know but it really is this). Hobbits were the sneak thieves. Dwarves were the gold greedy underground experts. Elves were the aloof woodland bow experts. Orcs were just plain evil. Humans were often considered an over abundant plague by the other races. This was reinforced by in game stat and ability adjustments. More recent editions have mostly removed this to the point that a racial choice is pretty much just a cosmetic thing.
Vancian spell casting
For those discussing Orcs, the AD&D MM shows the orc as a humanoid with what is best described as a pig head.
Male wizards are old with long beards and heavy robes. Female wizards are young, pretty and scantily clad.
 

Racial profiling - (yes, I know but it really is this). Hobbits were the sneak thieves. Dwarves were the gold greedy underground experts. Elves were the aloof woodland bow experts. Orcs were just plain evil. Humans were often considered an over abundant plague by the other races. This was reinforced by in game stat and ability adjustments. More recent editions have mostly removed this to the point that a racial choice is pretty much just a cosmetic thing.
Vancian spell casting
For those discussing Orcs, the AD&D MM shows the orc as a humanoid with what is best described as a pig head.
Male wizards are old with long beards and heavy robes. Female wizards are young, pretty and scantily clad.
Uh, I think some of that's Tolkien prior to D&D: Burgler Baggins. Dwarves like Thorin affected by dragon sickness. Bow-using elves come from Legolas. Orcs are just plain evil. And the wizards are old with long beards.
 

Where do you start?

I think a better question is whether we are talking in the sense of broad archetypes, or specific implementations.

The warrior/healer/mage/sneak dynamic of classes.

Like here - this only holds if you are considering those roles very specifically - most notably about the healer. The "quartet with different abilities giving them iconic roles and dynamics in conflicts" goes back to the Fantastic Four, at least.

The shape changing druid.

Again, only if you are being very specific. Otherwise, Celtic mythology would like a word.

Death knights.

Ringwraiths. The Witch King of Angmar is not impressed by Lord Soth.

Color coded elemental dragons.

That one I'll give you.
 

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