What does it take to be a...

[Stormborn]

I have seen some mentions of this here and elsewhere, but in your mind what does it take to be a 1st level PC in DnD? What training or background do you have to have?
Here are some ideas, I'd love to hear more:
Barbarian: A life time lived inthe wilds, or in some uncivilized part of the world (the really bad part of town? the city dumps maybe?) and one dedicated to survival, in most campaigns you would have needed a reason to leave home.
Bard: While a few trully talented individuals might find that after changing majors a dozen times (or the campaign equivalent) they are most suited to be bard, most people would have spent a good portion of their life at it. A school, a mentor, something. Jack of All trades usually requires more effort and less direction than Master of One.
Cleric: A wide range of possibilites, depending on the god. Road side conversion is a possibility, with divine schooling along the way, meaning little or no time in training; but more likely the average cleric went to school. In the US that means at least 7 years for most denominations, 4 for undergrad and 3 for a MDiv. Considering the power of most clerics I'm thinking thats a pretty rough 7 years.
Fighter: Anything from a few weeks basic training to growing up in a tough neighborhood. Probabally the least amount of work.
Monk: One of the hardest ones. A life time of dedication? Several years at the least, and in some school that would allow you to continue training after you left the monastary.
Paladin: Another big one. Probablly even more than the Cleric and Monk the Paladin would need special trianing, extensive special training. Either a Mentor system, rising through the ranks of squires to knighthood for example, or an entire martial school.
Rogue: Another one with lots of training, and depending onthe skills different kinds. Typically, rouge would learn it fromt he streets, but a mentor would be likely as well. Millitary scouts might get boot camp and special school afterwards, lets say a year for that and a few years minimal service.
Sorcerer: Basically self taught from the moment of power manifestation. A quick learning curve might only take a year or two from the first spell cast to adventurer status, other might have had to devote themselves to spell mastery their entire life. Xavier's School for the Gifted anyone?
Wizard: This one screams study and devotion. Schooling from an early age, maybe as an apprentice, serious devotion to the arcane arts for several years at least.

So, most 1st level adventuers have had a lot of work behind them.
What do you think? Can you give examples from your campaigns? Or even the WoC books?
What about other "base" classes that aren't "core"?

 

[LGodamus]

I dont agree with the assesment of the fighter...if you were just some guy with a few weeks of training or that grew up in a tough neighborhood you would be a warrior class. Fighter is someone who either went to a fighter academy or was enrolled in the military or had a private tutor....its not as easy as just sticking the pointy end of the sword in the other man , you know.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

the only diffrence between a fighter and a warrior is feats.

they have the same BAB, same saves, same HP.

they certianly can start out the same.

 

[jmucchiello]

I have seen some mentions of this here and elsewhere, but in your mind what does it take to be a 1st level PC in DnD?

It varies completely by individual, town, city, country and plane. Even a Wizard could be self-taught IMO. Clerics can just wake up one morning after a vivid dream wherein their deity told them, "I want you" to be my cleric. Monks may need monestaries, but hermetic monkism is possible.

A better question might be "What does it take to be a 1st level PC adventurer in D&D?" But that's not what you asked.

 

[Cedric]

Reposted for easy reading...

I have seen some mentions of this here and elsewhere, but in your mind what does it take to be a 1st level PC in DnD? What training or background do you have to have?

Here are some ideas, I'd love to hear more:

Barbarian: A life time lived inthe wilds, or in some uncivilized part of the world (the really bad part of town? the city dumps maybe?) and one dedicated to survival, in most campaigns you would have needed a reason to leave home.

Bard: While a few trully talented individuals might find that after changing majors a dozen times (or the campaign equivalent) they are most suited to be bard, most people would have spent a good portion of their life at it. A school, a mentor, something. Jack of All trades usually requires more effort and less direction than Master of One.

Cleric: A wide range of possibilites, depending on the god. Road side conversion is a possibility, with divine schooling along the way, meaning little or no time in training; but more likely the average cleric went to school. In the US that means at least 7 years for most denominations, 4 for undergrad and 3 for a MDiv. Considering the power of most clerics I'm thinking thats a pretty rough 7 years.

Fighter: Anything from a few weeks basic training to growing up in a tough neighborhood. Probabally the least amount of work.

Monk: One of the hardest ones. A life time of dedication? Several years at the least, and in some school that would allow you to continue training after you left the monastary.

Paladin: Another big one. Probablly even more than the Cleric and Monk the Paladin would need special trianing, extensive special training. Either a Mentor system, rising through the ranks of squires to knighthood for example, or an entire martial school.

Rogue: Another one with lots of training, and depending onthe skills different kinds. Typically, rouge would learn it fromt he streets, but a mentor would be likely as well. Millitary scouts might get boot camp and special school afterwards, lets say a year for that and a few years minimal service.

Sorcerer: Basically self taught from the moment of power manifestation. A quick learning curve might only take a year or two from the first spell cast to adventurer status, other might have had to devote themselves to spell mastery their entire life. Xavier's School for the Gifted anyone?

Wizard: This one screams study and devotion. Schooling from an early age, maybe as an apprentice, serious devotion to the arcane arts for several years at least.

So, most 1st level adventuers have had a lot of work behind them.
What do you think? Can you give examples from your campaigns? Or even the WoC books?

What about other "base" classes that aren't "core"?

 

[Moe Ronalds]

the only diffrence between a fighter and a warrior is feats.

they have the same BAB, same saves, same HP.

they certianly can start out the same.

Actually, they have a d8 HD.

Still, at first level the only difference is 2 hp, and if all feats are created equal then a feat would likely be equal to three hp in value (if tougness is any indication). 1 2/3 feats does seem like it would indicate one of these is an "elite" and the other is not.

 

[S'mon]

the only diffrence between a fighter and a warrior is feats.

they have the same BAB, same saves, same HP.

they certianly can start out the same.

Fighter also gets more hp - d10 vs d8 - and in most campaigns the Fighters will be elites - max hp at level 1, 25-points or better - while the warriors are average joes with d8 hp (average 4) and 15-points or so.

So the typical Ftr-1 (ca STR 15 & around 12 hp) is vastly better than the typical Warrior-1 (ca Str 13 and 4-5 hp).

YMMV, but I see Fighters as elite, highly trained warriors - knights, samurai, crack shock troops - while Warriors are just, well, warriors, and the DMG seems to enforce this distinction.

 

[Tonguez]

Reposted for easy reading...

I have seen some mentions of this here and elsewhere, but in your mind what does it take to be a 1st level PC in DnD? What training or background do you have to have?

Here are some ideas, I'd love to hear more:"?

Barbarian: The Elite Warriors of a 'primitive culture'. All members of Barbarous cultures are NOT Barbarians and the focused Rage is a specialised skill require dedication and possibly some kind of ritual

Bard: Bards and Minstrels are NOT the same thing. 'Classic' Bards all belong to the Omaan (College of Bards) IMC - its pretty much a guild - and can either be trained directly at the Omaan or by an independent Master.
I'll also use this class to create military strategist types (by giving Perform(Oratory) and some Military Skills however
Orbril the Gnome, Master of the Circus Maximus (a key chracter in a Circus Campaign I once played was an Independent Master and Member of the Omaan Council)

Cleric: Generally trained from Youth (perhaps 12?) as Neophytes in the Temple before emerging as Clergy. A few go on to become the militant cleric-type 'Templars/Knights Crusaders' (see below) but many maintain the cloth as priests.
Other Clergy might arise through Divine selection (but these are rare and usually refered to as Prophets)

Fighter: A fighter is a Warrior who has been given extra training - in the military, by the village warchief, by Old Ben who lives in the Barrens outside of town etc etc - ie various possibilities but all requiring 'extra training'

Monk: Monastary from youth and extreme dedication. Some orders send members out into the World when they come of age inorder to test their resolve.

Paladin: IMC Paladins begin as Knights-Crusaders (Knights of the Holy Church). A few are then specifically selected by the High Archon (Leader of the Heavenly Host) as Paladins

Rogue: Theives usually have a background like the Artful Dodger (Oliver Twist) - ie honed in the streets with a mentor at hand. Scouts might be raised in the wilds types and then used by the military for their tracking skills etc etc

Sorcerer: Basically self taught from the moment of power manifestation - agreed. Except that I also use Scorcerer as my Wizard

Wizard: Dont have one but Training sounds most likely (Arcane Academies or Apprenticeships)

Ranger - the Grizzly Adams way. Lives in the wilderness with little contact with 'civilisation' some training by the enigmatic old fur trapper with the donkey.

Shaman Inspired by some Spirit to become its personal medium, and gains training either from the Spirit directly or more constructively from an existing Shaman.

 

[Henry]

It really depends on your view of multiclassing in the game, too.

I don't see the core rules default assuming really lengthy training periods for becoming a fire level ANYTHING. It's just in that first character level, where the PC is bouncing from calling to calling, or learning the basics in the field he decides, where he gets all that big bounty of skill points (the x4 skill points he starts with). To pick up the rudiments of another class, I don't see it taking that much training a study - certainly not 10 years worth, maybe somewhere between one month to one year, at worst.

If, however, Multiclassing into a new class is forbidden or severely restricted in your campaign, it jibes perfectly well with assuming countless hours of learning and instruction in the profession you decide.

My one pet peeve with the assumption that training MUST occur is the following: What did the first fighters do to get trained? Who trained the first monks in unarmed combat, or how to resist disease? Was it handed down by the gods? was it self-taught? Somebody in the world HAD to be the first Wizard, and had to teach himself greater and greater spells. Even in the case of incremental learning, where the student learns, adds a little, and passes it on, Self-teaching is just as valid as instruction, because otherwise the first-second-third generation of classes would never have learned and passed on what they did.

In short, the case can be made either for slow incremental instruction, or fairly fast advancement in the face of real-world experience.

 

[Stormborn]

I think that either "instruction" or "real world experiance" take the same thing: TIME. Even self directed study is training.The extra skill points and feats at first level seem to imply some sort of training. Of course this training will be different from one race to another, and even one individual to another. Even though you have 0 XP as a 1st level character, there are some assumptions being made about what you did before you took up the life of an adventurer.

Oh, and as far as the first wizards: I imagine the first arcane magic users were sorcerers.The wizards saw it was possible and then spent the time and effort in research and study to copy what others could do naturally. It probablly took a long time for any Wizard to approach the levels of power of a Sorcerer.

I agree about Barbarians being more than simple "barbarians." The rage ability alone is certainly and indication of that.