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Message: <blockquote data-quote="deadsmurf" data-source="post: 5073295" data-attributes="member: 25341">PC classed people are supposed to be rare to begin with - a Fighter can be identified as a Bandit, a Knight, a Paladin (for a devout but not divinely empowered fighter), a Warrior, a Berserker, a Rake, a Samurai... etc It all depends on the character.  The term fighter can easily be used in game to refer to anyone who fights.Yes and no, it's all on how they present themselves to the world.  A rogue could just as easily lead a militia - and a warlord could very easily just be a rank and file swordsman, but who has a great ability to lead people in combat when called to it by life's circumstances.Or thieves, or spies, or scouts or Barons etc etc.There doesn't need to be a ranger organization, and rangers don't need to be natury (beyond the required Nature or Dungeoneering skill)  Stick a two weapon ranger next to a two weapon fighter in hide armour and a regular person couldn't tell them apart - though they would have different fighting styles to a trained eye.The trick with (especially) Martial classes is not to box yourself into the built in concepts of the class - they are just archetypes... and the available builds (especially if you add the martial power books) are toolboxes.  Figure out the fighting style you want your character to have, then figure out which class can do that, rather than the other way around.  I have a player in the game that I DM that can't get past the 'expected' of the classes. He's still hung up that he can't play a fighter that can shoot a bow (well).Educated people can probably tell between the various arcanists, and between power sources, but the average lay-person will call most of them priest (including many primal casters),  or mage (including many non arcanely powered people like psions)Equipment and training is a big portion of it - but the other is calling - Clerics are holy warriors of a diety, Paladins are paragons of the beliefs of the faith- embodiments of the god in the world.That's really up to you!  I tend to like have a number of people that have similar abilities at the PCs, with low-powered clerics relatively common - you're going to see a few at temples in larger cities, though not many of those will have any interest in fighting except in emergencies, and there will be around 5-10 paladins of each deity around the world - so very rare, but enough to have a sort of heirarchy for training and guidance if needed - but they mostly lower level, and will be outshone by a PC paladin in no time.Classes have no inherent meaning to the 'in-game' world I run, though the titles are sometimes used (ie a swordmage is called a swordmage by people who know about swordmagery, a warrior, a gish, a mage etc by others) and there aren't a lot of people who even follow (directly) PC class practices exactly around the world.Also just because a man is called a Wizard doesn't mean he knows all the cantrips and can cast magic missile - Maybe he can only perform a couple rituals and mage hand?</blockquote>

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