Elizabethan character classes and races?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

In sketching out the basics for an Elizabethan England-style setting, I'm trying to decide what sort of character classes would be native to the setting. (I always leave the door open that every character class might be out there SOMEWHERE, but ninjas and samurais would be available to the players once the game gets a lot closer to that side of the world, one way or another.)

The setting would have a few aspects of the "old gods"/Green Man, but they're very much lurking in the shadows, especially since the dominant religion isn't particularly polytheistically minded, lumping in dieties from outside the religion with the returning threat of archfiends. But there are a few legitimate outside/wild gods out there. But overall, the setting has been reasonably tamed, with the dangers players face being things wandering in from Faerie (which would include most giants and humanoids), the Far Realm (much less often), Hell (well, the lower planes), or the ordinary "civilized" threats of bandits, witches and unfriendly nations across the Not-The-English-Channel.

So, with all that in mind, here's my thinking of what classes would be initially available to natives. Scream if something seems out of place or if something seems missing:

Bard*, Cleric, Druid*, Fighter, Marshal, Paladin, Ranger*, Rogue, Sorcerer, Swashbuckler, Wizard

Classes marked with an asterisk tend to be less than respectable, and linked with the fringe elements of society more closely linked with the old gods and Faerie. I might also use the DMG witch as such a class, or just go with making them sorceresses, possibly mystic theurges of an old god (or Grazzt, depending).

For races, one of the basic elements of the setting is that most non-human races are originally from Faerie, and in many cases, move back and forth, either as the seasons change or when the political landscape of Faerie does. So fewer player characters will be non-human as a rule (I'm thinking of mandating that all first characters be human or feytouched, and then other races are available as replacements, which I did before in an all-halfling campaign, and it worked fine).

I'm dropping orcs from the setting entirely (i.e. moving them to the other side of the planet) as I think players tend to associate them with an LotR setting, and I want to emphasize goblinoids (especially those under the direction of evil fey in Faerie) as a real threat. So no half-orcs. On the other hand, ogres as a lesser giant-type wandering in from Faerie are very much in the flavor I'm looking for, and old stories about an ogre having a beautiful human-looking daughter are also part of the folklore I'm drawing from here.

And while halflings could be shoe-horned in, they really don't fill a distinctly different niche than gnomes do, and they're much more fey and help emphasize the magical nature of those from Faerie. So halflings, if they exist on the planet, are on another continent, far away.

So, again, race choices follow. Holler if something seems unnecessary or if something's missing:

Human, Elf, Dwarf, Feytouched (Fiend Folio), Gnome, Half-Ogre

Elves' favored class is changed to Sorcerer. I'm also thinking that cold iron probably does +1 damage to all races not partially human in the setting, although anti-Fey spells and weapons would only work as those creatures with that type. I might be persuaded to go through and alter elves and gnomes especially to make them the actual type, though.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[jmucchiello]

How are you handling religion? One christian-like religion or a D&D-ish multi-deity pantheon?

I'd drop rogue actually in favor of bard/swashbuckler multiclass.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

How are you handling religion? One christian-like religion or a D&D-ish multi-deity pantheon?

Polytheistic, but only barely. The dominant religion in "civilized" society, both in the nation and on the continent is a single LN male diety, very much the crusading force against (perceived) evil and a proponent of the "right" way of living. A secondary diety, his NG mother, serves as sort of a patron of the oppressed and those generally in need of succor. While it would be blasphemous to speak out against her faith, it's generally the province of children, the elderly, the infirm and the like. I'm toying with the notion of having saints cover some of the specific duties that D&D dieties normally cover, but I'm not convinced it's necessary.

At the same time, there are probably six or seven minor "old" dieties, with a Green Man-type figure (or maybe explicitly the Green Man) as the dominant one. The pantheon is worshipped by a druidic faith and by the non-humans.

The archdevils, demon lords and their (rough) counterparts in the BoED (especially the various angels) are also figures of religious interest.

So, yes, it serves many of the same niches as European Christianity of hundreds of years ago, without concrete parallels that might make players uncomfortable. There's always White Wolf games for that kind of thing.

 

[Captain Tagon]

One thing I'd probably do is really play up the fey-ish nature of elves. Maybe even making them THE bad guy race.

 

[JohnSnow]

Interesting setup.

You'll want to factor in some of the elements of Elizabethan society. Elizabethans were horrendously superstitious, while being constantly exposed to scientific and natural discovery. They firmly believed in magic, divinations, astrology, charms, cures, evil spirits and so forth. They also often ascribed supernatural (or extraordinary) properties to natural things. For example, they thought nutmeg could cure the black death.

The inclusion of the extra races is very problematic from the standpoint of Elizabethan society. While they were highly superstitious, they never expected to actually run into or have a conversation with an elf, dwarf, giant, ogre, or faerie. Elves would be the province of the deep woods (there were still lots in England). I dunno, it's complicated, Elizabethans would have been fascinated by it, but the culture obviously would have been a LOT different if those nonhuman races had actually existed. Making them part of "the next world" is a good step - you may want to glance at some of the d20 modern stuff on "outsider" races. Another good sourcebook is Sword & Sorcery's Excalibur book, which, while set in Arthurian times, touches on some of the ideas you're kicking around.

Obviously, you need to decide whether firearms are in use and whether the goblinoids have them.

Looks interesting.

 

[Alhazred]

AEG's Heroes, Villains and Monsters of Theah has, if I remember correctly, NPCs - monstrous and otherwise - which fit quite well into an Elizabethan setting. There was one in particular, the name of which I no longer remember (they may have been called the Sidhe), which was a faerie version of elves. It might be useful to get your hands on a copy.

Otherwise, I agree with your choice of classes and I like how you're handling races. You may want to consider including some sort of court functionnary: William Cecil Lord Burghley (Elizabeth's number one man; No. 2 towards the end of her reign) was a powerful man despite his (relatively) humble origins; many lawyers sought his favour or the favour of his rivals (such as Archbishop Whitgift). AEG's Swashbuckling Adventures has a courtier class, but I didn't care for it - and I no longer have the book, so I can't tell you much about it.

All the best with the campaign.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

One thing I'd probably do is really play up the fey-ish nature of elves. Maybe even making them THE bad guy race.

That's probably one of the main threats of the setting, particularly the different courts of the fey dragging mortals into their schemes against one another, both inside Faerie and without. (Blackguards will be able to use evil fey as their patrons, for instance, instead of only fiends.)

The threat of fiends would also be a recurrent theme, particularly in the behind the scenes corruption way.

And, of course, the dominant religion has a more extreme fringe that is crusading against fiends and fey and worshippers of the old gods. Some of them will certainly be non-evil (usually) antagonists, particularly for cosmopolitan player characters hanging out with fey.

 

[Mark]

In sketching out the basics for an Elizabethan England-style setting, (...)

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

PC backgrounds have to be submitted in iambic pentameter, only young boys can play female characters, and all of your plots have to hinge on a misunderstanding...


(Whenever my day seems dark, I simply say, "Whizbang Dustyboots" aloud and all is cheerful again.)

 

[Arrgh! Mark!]

Mark: Not only do you steal my name, you beat me to the witty suggestion!

Seriously, this sounds cool. But make all humans similar. And things are a bit too nasty for swashbucklers at the early period - we still have large and nasty scots hanging about and being grumpy and such.

Why not be simple? Just say - Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric/Druid. If magic exists, John Dee is Wiz 15/Alienist5, surely.

Superstition is a funny thing. You don't need bards and druids to be frowned upon as a class. You need them to be frowned upon because of their background. Racism is high.

Don't forget the wonderful feeling of Catholics against protestants and vice versa. Religious hate is high.

You can have a catholic (Or LN male god) Druid, who is a hermit. Most biblical prophets had the ability to do a few things with rivers and such.


Oh, and have a read of The Shogun. It's a good book, but it'll show some of the feeling around the joint, especially if your players want to be samurai and such.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I mentioned the Asian classes just to say what wouldn't be part of the starting setting. If, two years into play, the characters had sailed all the way around the world (or taken a REALLY wrong turn in the Plane of Mirrors), that would be one thing. But otherwise, things would be quite parochial.