Races and Classes in a Paragraph

[Rechan]

I'm planning on putting a group together soon. So far, only one person I've met has real familiarity with 4e. Another has read the books, but not played. Others played 3.5, and others have barely played before.

Thus, I am making up some documents to detail what each race and each class is, without getting into the details of rules. The players should be able to look at the little blurb and get an idea of what it's about and what it does, without needing the raw numbers.

This way I can send it via email, ask them what sounds interesting to them, and bring the relevant info to the game (instead of trucking everything and overwhelming them with books and details).

Here's what I have so far:

[sblock]Disclaimer: I adjusted some based on fluff I prefer or that seems easier, over what's in the book. But don't let that stop you in terms of coming up with stuff.

Changelings: Pale, almost featureless people, known as Doppelgangers to the world at large. They are oft hidden in societies at large, using their abilities to disguise themselves. They are charming and either agile Or smart, and can change their appearances easily.

Deva: Angelic entities continually reincarnated through the ages. They hold angelic trappings, like eyes of pure light, with hair gripped in an eternal wind. They are smart and wise, resistant against holy or decaying energy, and are aided by memories of lives past.

Dragonborn: Once the vassals and spokesmen of dragons, these scaled nomads are great warriors, sages and diplomats. They are strong and charming, tough to wound and a terror when wounded, and like their draconic forefathers they have a breath weapon.

Eladrin: Noble stock from the Faerie Realms, although they look elven in appearance. They are agile and smart, skillful and can teleport.

Gnomes: Sly and sneaky once-slaves from the Faerie Realms. Short, slight and pixie-ish. They are smart and charming, exceedingly stealthy, and can become invisible if struck.

(I don't particularly like what I have with the Eladrin and Gnome, but can't think of anything better.)

Revenant: Restless souls reanimated into a strange body to fulfill a purpose, one foot in the grave with only glimpses of their past life. They are agile and tough, stubborn in death, do not need to breathe or eat, and other sundry death-related effects.

Shadar-Kai: Humans who once fled into the Realm of the Dead, now these ghostly pale people are driven to the extremes of pain, pleasure and thrills in order to feel alive. They are agile and smart, resistant to dying, and can temporarily teleport to become ghost-like.

Shifters: Humans once bound with animal spirits, giving them animalistic features and a primal soul. They are wise, and depending on their animal nature, are strong or agile. When wounded they can summon the beast to heal quick or dodge and move fast.

Tieflings: The descendants of mortals corrupted by pacts made with fiends. Their appearance depend on their lineage, but all have devilish features. They are smart and charming, resist fire, punish those who hit them, and hit the wounded easier.

Warforged: Golem-like constructs of wood, stone and steel, imbued with a soul. They are strong and tough, can never die, shrug off dehabilitating effects, do not need to eat or breathe, and can have items implanted or attached to their bodies.[/sblock]
I was hoping some folks might assist. Especially in terms of classes.

I'm also kinda stumped how to really sum up the Kalasthar in a blurb; their racial abilities are really neat (free telepathy!) but how to repackage their fluff to be setting neutral?

 

[jasonbostwick]

I wrote up something like this for classes a few weeks ago when I was introducing some new players. I never ended up finishing it, because they had a pretty good idea of what they wanted to play. The Martial and Arcane classes are done, though.

Hope this helps!

[sblock]
Fighter – A resilient melee combatant, and a weapon expert. Fighters protect their allies by making it impossible for enemies to ignore them, and they can soak up incredible amounts of damage with their armour.

Ranger – A focused hunter at home in the shadows of both forest and slums. Rangers can take down their quarry with a bow at long range, or up close with dual blades, and some flank their prey with a beast companion.

Rogue – A nimble thief or brutal thug who uses stealth, slyness, and dirty tricks to outwit his foes. Rogues are as adept on the streets as they are in combat, able to pick both locks and pockets, and talk their way out of trouble when they get caught.

Warlord – A battle-hardened commander who leads from the front lines, urging his allies onward with blade drawn. Through inspirational words the Warlord can rally fallen, and his tactical prowess leads his party to victory.

Arcane
Bard – A cunning illusionist and swashbuckler who leads his allies with sheer charisma. The bard is a jack-of-all-trades, as comfortable on the battlefield as he is a tavern or a King’s court.

Warlock – A clever, secretive mage who has pledged oaths to dark, supernatural entities. The Warlock’s Pact lets him blast and curse his foes from afar, while enabling him to sneak and deceive when the situation demands subtlety.

Wizard – A scholarly mage with the ability to control and shape the battlefield , The Wizard’s grasp of magic is extremely versatile, letting him blast with fireballs, weave illusions, and stand back while his summononed creatures fight for him.

Sorcerer – A brash, impulsive spellcaster with powerful magic that flows through his veins. Sorcerer’s weave powerful blasts from the fury of a storm, the power of the cosmos, the twisting of fate, or the breath of a dragon.

Swordmage – A talented duelist who channels magic power through his blade. A swordmage protects his allies by teleporting around the battlefield or summoning force fields to shield against attacks.
[/sblock]

 

[Rechan]

Some of those are really useful. Thank you.

 

[Rechan]

Anyone else?

 

[fba827]

i think what you have so far is pretty decent. i can't think of "cleaner" ways of saying it without being overly redundant.

which ones are you still unhappy with (or missing that you want to include)?

 

[Rechan]

which ones are you still unhappy with (or missing that you want to include)?

Eladrin, gnomes. And I still need to handle the classes.

But this isn't just for me, necessarily. This is also just 'how would You distill the classes/races down to their essence?"

 

[deadsmurf]

Here's a few more:

Primal:
[sblock]
Barbarian: A mighty melee combatant who eschews protection of herself to channel her rage to deal massive blows to enemies. They are strong, moving about about the battlefield quickly with massive two-handed weapons.

Druid: Nature priests who can call on the forces of nature to fight her enemies. They prefer standing back and attacking multiple creatures at once, often with the weather itself. When the going gets tough though, she can transform into a vicious animal and take care of herself.
[/sblock]

Divine:
[sblock]
Cleric: Champions of a diety, channeling their gods to heal their flock and smite their foes. Some Clerics fight by pelting their enemies with radiant energy from afar; others prefer to get their gods message for directly- at the end of their Mace.

Paladin: Protectors of the faith, Paladins defend the flock with their sword, and heal them, with their touch. Their power compels enemies to attack them or face divine retribution, but once they do the enemy shall be smited.
[/sblock]

Races:
[sblock]
Genasi: A stronge and smart, but diverse race of elemental humanoids, who take power from the Wind, water, fire, earth or storm, and gain abilities to match. Their mood and appearance often matches their elemental manifestation.

Drow: A black skinned, white haired race of corrupted elves. They are quick and have a strong force of personality, and are usually considered evil in most worlds. They have inate powers to see in and control the darkness.

Kalashtar: An amalgam race with a human body sharing it's soul with a spirit of dreams. Innately telepathic, wise and forceful, a kalashtar can help protect his allies' minds from attack. Kalashtar usually have an unearthly beauty and calm about them.

Dwarves: A short and stout race of hardy and wise people. They're hard to knock around, and hard to take down. Dwarves love the stone, and often mine or work ore. Few races are more suited to the Axe or hammer.

Elves: Lithe and wise forest dwelling fey. All elves learn the use of a bow from an early age, and become very accurate. They move quickly, even when others feet are hampered, and use this advantage when defending their forest homes.

Half-Elves: Born of Humans and Elves, half-elves are a race on their own, combining the best of both. Hardy and amiable, Half-elves are able to get along with nearly anyone they come to meet, and learn skills that would normally not be available to them.

Halfling: Small, quick and charismatic, these nomadic people make for the perfect thief. Bold and lucky, many go for this path, sometimes ruining the races name in others eyes, but most are good natured and friendly, and able to get into the good graces of just about anyone.
[/sblock]

 

[Rechan]

Gracious. I was wary about the genasi, what to put. The kalasthar is better than what I had:

Kalasthar: Humans whose souls merged with god-like entities of Dreaming. They have innate telepathy, great resistance against domination or beign mentally staggered (important), and can assist everyone around them in resisting attacks against their will.

 

[Bluenose]

While I haven't got anything like this yet for 4th edition (and am madly cribbing from what has already been posted), I used to run a game at a local school for beginner's to RPGs. One thing I found useful was to give a few examples of characters from fiction, myth, films or elsewhere that would fit into a character type. So after a basic explanation of their abilities similar to those already posted, I'd say something like:

Fighters include fictional characters such as Gimli, Lancelot, or D'Artagnan, or many types of historical warrior such as Japanese Samurai or Spartan hoplites.

Robin Hood, Tarzan, Legolas and Davy Crockett are all characters who would be best described as Rangers.

All sorts of characters could be treated as Rogues, including James Bond, the Artful Dodger, Philip Marlowe, most historical ninja, and Moriarty.

Wizards include individuals such as Merlin, Circe (from the Odyssey), and Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer's Apprentice.


I'm not sure what I'd use for some of the new classes. Though I did find a use for computer game knowledge in explaining clerics as similar to various White Mages in JRPGs.

 

[Mallus]

Our racial write-ups are specific to our homebrew setting, I don't think they'd be much use to you. In fact, the Dragonborn write-up might make you laugh, throw up a little in your mouth, or both!