D&D General Is character class an in-world concept in your campaigns?

[Giltonio_Santos]

I'd also point out that just because that bard is being mistaken for a cleric doesn't actually mean that classes are not an in-world thing. After all, he's being mistaken for a CLERIC.

Only if we consider that all priests who wield magic power should be clerics. I prefer to think that not all clerics are on priestly duties (or even consider it!) and also that a magic-wielding priest could actually be a bard, or even a sorcerer. In a "gods are distant and silent" kind of setting that would be a possibility, one that blurs the line on class recognition, even for those who are not "common folk".

 

[Maxperson]

Only if we consider that all priests who wield magic power should be clerics. I prefer to think that not all clerics are on priestly duties (or even consider it!) and also that a magic-wielding priest could actually be a bard, or even a sorcerer. In a "gods are distant and silent" kind of setting that would be a possibility, one that blurs the line on class recognition, even for those who are not "common folk".

Can a priest of Mystra be a bard and lead church gatherings, preaching the word? Sure. But he would be a bard that is doing so, not a cleric. The classes have meaning in the game world. A bard cannot use the abilities of a cleric just because he calls himself a priest and dresses up like a cleric.

I don't usually let people tell what class someone is just by a visual. Non-clerics/paladins do wear holy symbols and has been repeatedly pointed out, looks can be deceiving. However, that doesn't change the absolute fact that each class has distinct abilities and features, making class an in world thing. Use those features and someone with the knowledge will be able to tell that you are that class.

 

[Garthanos]

As defined by the OP? No.

NPCs don't have classes, only PCs do. So we're not talking about enough characters to categorize.

This exactly.... There has been Guards and Berserks and others in monster manuals since yea old days they are not classed characters and forcing them to be only complicates the game... The hero might be THE FIGHTER.... an embodiment of combat ability able to use every weapon the world has to offer, in real life its impressive but has so little impact on story its hard to make impressive though LOL. Point being the PC mechanics are allowed to be distinct and have their own abilities others do not.

 

[Garthanos]

The norse are one of those cultures that basically always seemed less advamced than they were when in fact they were typically more advamced than most. Its a thing.

That much has definite historic backing for one they were travellers who brought tech back from the middle east.

 

[Maxperson]

This exactly.... There has been Guards and Berserks and others in monster manuals since yea old days they are not classed characters and forcing them to be only complicates the game... The hero might be THE FIGHTER.... an embodiment of combat ability able to use every weapon the world has to offer, in real life its impressive but has so little impact on story its hard to make impressive though LOL. Point being the PC mechanics are allowed to be distinct and have their own abilities others do not.

By 5e RAW there are NPCs with PC classes. As many as the DM wants.

 

[Garthanos]

By 5e RAW there are NPCs with PC classes.

Yeh min person... is this thread about 5e RAW is it about your personal game only ... .go away.

Trap like multi-classing and level dipping from 3e ftw was brought back along with that ... sorry no thanks.

 

[Umbran]

Yeh min person... is this thread about 5e RAW is it about your personal game only ... .go away.

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[Giltonio_Santos]

(...) The classes have meaning in the game world. (...) However, that doesn't change the absolute fact that each class has distinct abilities and features, making class an in world thing.

Well, this is exactly what we've been discussing in this thread! The number of "hell, no" answers makes me believe this could hardly be considered an absolute fact about game settings. While this is not my own approach, I find it perfectly reasonable, for example, to consider each PC to be the sole representative of a given skill set described as a class in the Player's Handbook.

 

[BookBarbarian]

By 5e RAW there are NPCs with PC classes. As many as the DM wants.

Thank you for pointing this out. I think this may be the source of our disconnect. Or I may just be obstinate.

For me as the DM this number would be 0. Any number of NPC magical priests might have some cleric spells baked into their spell block, but they still would be completely unrecognizable as Clerics with the class.

For me deities grant power in whatever fashion they want to whom they want. So It might (and most likely would be) be a spell here or there completely divorced from the package of features that it the Cleric class. Those who get that Clerc class are heroes (run by players at the table) with special relationships and callings from their deities. So other members of the faith would absolutely recognize the Cleric as having divine power, but they wouldn't recognize the class "stamp" on those powers.

All that being said I do recognize that I run the game a very specific way. A way that doesn't give a flying flip about consistency between PCs and NPCs and that's probably blasphemy to a lot of other DMs.

 

[DammitVictor]

In a "gods are distant and silent" kind of setting that would be a possibility, one that blurs the line on class recognition, even for those who are not "common folk".

Or even a setting in which the gods are vocal and active, but divine investiture is separate from ecclesiastic authority. Think of 4e or 5e, where there aren't really rules for a god withdrawing their investiture and the former explicitly stating that what's done is done-- a heretic might still wield their god's power while acting in defiance of their god's authority.