What are some alternate ways to think about archetypes?

[Reynard]

I guess I am not being very clear. I am talking about ways to define and/or differentiate characters by something other than what they DO. The Fate Accelerated use of approaches is a good one, though: I can imagine making the TMNT, all of whom are martial artists, distinct by way of their approaches.

 

[kronovan]

I prefer Archetypes that are defined by cultures or regions. As an example, I'm currently queuing up a SWADE campaign from a prewritten setting, and the archetypes for it are built upon cultures, regions and even factions. The archetypes for sure entail an occupation, but for a number the cultures is every bit, if not more important. From a few tests builds, they've proven to work well at differentiated PCs, which is important for this TTRPG, as player's PCs without some GM nudging can fall victim to the "same-eness" factor. This particular group of players have little experience with the rules & necessity means they have to build their PCs on their own. So having solid Archetypes is good.

There's also a few archetypes that are defined by religion/faith or cult, which are interesting. The 1 caveat is that archetypes are based upon Seasoned rank (about level 5 D&D) PCs - I prefer PCs coming up through the lowest ranks too.

 

[Blue]

One thought is "Who do you want to become?" or it's close cousin "Why do you do what you do?"

Picture archetypes like The Righteous Hero, The Devout, Seeker of Knowledge, Reformed Zealot and the like. Not that give D&D-like class features, but maybe that give you ways to create the meta-currency that fuels features you can pick a la cart.. The Devout isn't locked into cleric or paladin type character. Her strength of belief keeps her on her feet when others would drop or other options. Robin Hood could be a Righteous Hero who has archery and banditry features. And it's outsmarting the tyrant Sheriff that inspires him, giving him the meta-currency to boost those.

Which also means you can tailor the expectations of the players simply by what's included. If there's a Lone Wolf sort of archetype, that's not just giving permission to play that type of character but saying it's one of the big six or ten or however many you have. Exclude it though and it's at best a character trait, not a defining feature.

 

[Blue]

Another thought is that archetypes that can represent the types of issues and hazards the players are interested in exploring, though that is a godsend with some GMing styles and a showstopper for some others.

If you're playing "The Rebel", that means there's something that you want to be rebelling against, some machine against which to rage. "The Unfettered" might have great power in their chosen directive but little control, like a wild mage or a barbarian.

Am I on the right track for the types of things your looking for?