The multiple choice version... do characters know their (and others) classes?

[tzor]

I run a campaign that was derived from (but has likewise strayed a lot from) the old Lankhmar scenario. As such there are several features that complicate the simple naming of classes.

For example, not all the gods desire clerics as their devoted followers. Some are just happy with fighters or rogues or whatever motivates them the most. The term "cleric" is generally a legal term used by the cannon law courts, but the people have their own term for the cleric class, "white wizard." Adepts are often confused with black wizards, because they have those funny animals like black wizards.

Wizards, tend to be called "black wizards" by the common population. As a strange historical quirk that comes from 1E days, the guild of wizards is known as the sorcerers' guild. Sorcerers on the other hand, have never really bothered to agree to even form a guild, nevermind naming one.

Bucket heads, especially in a urban environment were one has to go through hoops in order to wear heavy armor, are easily known by their appearance, their demeanor, and of course their constant staring behavior, which either comes from too many detect evils or just constant disbelief that people think a paladin can be bribed just like any other official.

Rangers, druids and barbarians are clearly out of their element in an urban environment. Rangers are the most likely to adapt and might be mistaken for thieves and rogues. (A thief is a rogue with membership in the thieves' guild. Everyone else is a rogue - in more ways than one.)

 

[Kemrain]

First off, I play in an odd game in that everyone, PC or not, can have PC Class levels. However, the Paladins of Alerum, Lord of Justice, might very well not have a single level of Paladin; they might be all Fighter. Some people have the blessing of the Gods, some don't. That isn't the deciding factor for membership in a clergy, it's simply a bonus.

Nearly everyone is multiclassed to one degree or another. I'm playing a Rogue 4, Fighter 1, Ranger 1, Mage 1, and I'm a little atypical, but there are soldiers that are Fighter 3, Ranger 1, Rogue 1, And plenty of Paladin types with only a level or two in the 'real' class.

If you call yourself a Paladin, IMC, you are, unless the clergy you claim to belong to renounces you. My character, for years and years, though posessing only Rogue levels, was a recognised and respected member of the Temple of Alerum. (Funny story, that..) So, what it comes down to is that, in my game, your class is completely seperate from your character in the story, and people will refer to you as you show yourself to be. Carry weapons and wear armor, and you'll be called a Warrior... Kill twenty men, and you'll be called a Murderer. Carry a holy symbol, and you could be recognised as a devout man. It might, however, simply be a way to get people to lower their guard around you. Lie, cheat, and steal, and you'll only be called a Rogue behind your back, because to your face, they'll call the guard. The meta-rules part of the game is completely seperate from the characters in this game, and thats what makes it so real to me...
We had a Druid for a while, and the only thing that came close to a class title that she was called was "Witch!"

- Kemrain the Multiclasser.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

but in a sense if i were joe 20th lvl commoner. would i call myself a farmer or a commoner. i think farmer makes more sense.

well, unless you were an innkeeper.

Or a dishwasher in the kings kitchen....

Kahuna Burger

 

[diaglo]

well, unless you were an innkeeper.

Or a dishwasher in the kings kitchen....

which i see as the point of your survey/poll.

are you what you do?

innkeeper is an innkeep b/c he owns an inn.

dishwasher is a dishwasher b/c he cleans and dries dishes.

etc...

so in a world that has adventurers, are they adventurers or mercenaries or are they clerics, fighting men, thieves, and magic-users or are they something else?

 

[stevelabny]

the question was not flavor words entirely, but how much people stuck the classes into social roles and let everyone see them. I can play a Rogue as a damn fine bard, or a very religious Bard who veiws himself as a member of the clergy. The question is whether PCs and npcs alike will still think of them in metagame terms.

Well, I think the answer is YES. If you play your rogue as a bard as he travels around town...everyone from fictional townspeople to metagaming PCS will label him "bard". Of course, if their first meeting is on the battlefield where he uses sneak attacks instead of bardic music and spells, they will label him rogue. If they see both, they might label him rogue/bard. Give him a shovel and some dung-stains and they'll call him a farmhand. Give him a needle and thread and they'll call him a tailor.

I don't consider it metagaming if characters are making LOGICAL assumptions, BUT it is always fun to turn it around. Hide a wizard in (illusionary) armor, hide a monk behind wizards robes,a familiar and a spellbook. And then let the PCs pay the price (or reap the benefits) of assumptions.

 

[Oni]

The way I figure it is the class names are a convenience for players that is all. They may or may not be how that character or others refer to themselves and others. Some classes lend themselves to the books names more than others, like the druid and the bard, but nothing is certain. A barbarian and a fighter might both be called the other (depending on their backgrounds) or warriors or fighting men, and these titles might just as easily be used the warrior class, rangers, paladins, and even monks.

 

[Harlock]

In my game it is hit or miss. Once someone casts finger of death, horrid wilting and entangle, the players pretty much know. Druids are called Druids in the Scarred Lands, but are not likely to advertise the fact, since druids are feared for the most part. Barbarians are regional, mostly, coming from the northern country, but again, an unkempt fighter might fool some folks. Aristocrats are generally, well, titled. Hard to distinguish wizards and sorcerers until someone pulls out a spellbook. Bards are bards, and they know it, and there is a great musical and oratory tradition in the Scarred Lands, but it's not based on Bardic music. Once someone sees a character picking a lock or disabling magical traps, it's fairly spelled out. But folks don;t go around town saying: I'm a Ranger. You might easily guess that however, based upon the gods they follow in the Scarred Lands, and also based upon certain affiliations with guilds, societies, etc. Necromancers of Hollowfaust are easy as all get out for the travelled folks to spot. They have a uniform of sorts. As do a lot of other schools and such.

 

[Angcuru]

I don't view classes as being definitive of the character, name-wise. Classes define what you can and can't do, and hence mixing and matching classes to find the right balance of skills that you're looking for leads to multiclassing. Thus, a Fighter/Sorcerer won't be called that, but rather people on the streets will refer to him as a Warrior Mage, or he may make up a fancy title for himself and demand to be referred to in that fashion. Cleric isn't a universal term, because few people know to call one a cleric, but rather: priest/ess; or in some cases, depending on opinion, "that heathen sonofabitch".

Classes are game-mechanical, I prefer that people think up their own titles.

 

[Altalazar]

It tends not to come up in my games, outside of the PCs trying to figure out what they are up against - and sometimes, even then, they don't really get too particular.

 

[I'm A Banana]

If there eixsted an entire tradition of beings from disparate societies and worlds who had the blood of dragons running through them and cast a lot of spells, there would be a word for them. Sorcerer.

Now to Mr. Mook the Observer, he just sees dude casting spells. If he claims to have blood of dragons, he's a Sorcerer, and probably can do a lot of it (he's heard stories of fields of fireballs before...). If he claims to have the blood of dragons, but also carries around a spellbook, you may be dubious.

Similiarly, something that can heal and bless themselves and their friends and turn undead probably has a certain title.

I mean, the characters identify themselves differently, but the presence of the 'classes' is a reality of the world. It's hard to pretend there's not a vocal minority out there who can Whirlwind Attack. Those who can are probably well-trained warriors, not just guards at the city's gates....