D&D 5E Which classes have the least identity?

[Tonguez]

Being able to come up with lots of examples is a marker of a weak identity, not a strong one.

Identity is rooted in specificity. "American" is a weak identity, "New Yorker" is a little stronger, "24 year old barista raised in Alphabet City" is very strong.

Note that for classes, which are intended to be used for a broader group of characters, too strong of an identity is absolutely a weakness. Fighter's lack of identity is a strength if you want to have a class capable of representing a very broad swathe of somewhat-related characters.

As a Non-American I have no idea how a Barista from North Dakota differs to Waitress from Nevada - those identities are meaningless subcategories. I absolutely know what an American is however

 

[CleverNickName]

As a Non-American I have no idea how a Barista from North Dakota differs to Waitress from Nevada - those identities are meaningless subcategories. I absolutely know what an American is however

This is an excellent example of the difference between an identity ("American") and a niche ("barista," "waiter.")

 

[Not a Decepticon]

Why bother. Just make them point buy whatever features they want at that point.

Which would be better. Or some hybrid system, like 4 roles - meele, skill, support, control - with thigns they get each level and then on top of that things you buy or select to custom-made your character. you wanan be a meele wizard or support fighter, you can.

 

[TwoSix]

As a Non-American I have no idea how a Barista from North Dakota differs to Waitress from Nevada - those identities are meaningless subcategories. I absolutely know what an American is however

Identity has two major characteristics; how recognizable it is and how distinct it is.

"Recognizable" is also not a synonym for "strong". A strong identity is both distinct and recognizable.

It's no accident that the two classes with the least votes, Druid and Paladin, are classes that have strongly recognizable features, and are also very easy to determine whether any character does or does not belong to the class, i.e., they are quite distinctive.

 

[Tonguez]

Identity has two major characteristics; how recognizable it is and how distinct it is.

"Recognizable" is also not a synonym for "strong". A strong identity is both distinct and recognizable.

It's no accident that the two classes with the least votes, Druid and Paladin, are classes that have strongly recognizable features, and are also very easy to determine whether any character does or does not belong to the class, i.e., they are quite distinctive.

yeah thats probably where my further comment comes in

Due to TV and films New Yorker is both recognizable and distinct, whiles also being a major component of American "Yankee" Identity. "New Yorker" v "American" is probably akin to Barbarian v Fighter - Barbarian is quite obviously a Fighter derived martial, with some clearly identifiable distinctiveness. Conversely "Kid from Queens" is too narrow from a class concept (but a cool character trait)

 

[TwoSix]

This is an excellent example of the difference between an identity ("American") and a niche ("barista.")

yeah thats probably where my further comment comes in

Due to TV and films New Yorker is both recognizable and distinct, whiles also being a major component of American "Yankee" Identity. "New Yorker" v "American" is probably akin to Barbarian v Fighter - Barbarian is quite obviously a Fighter derived martial, with some clearly identifiable distinctiveness. Conversely "Kid from Queens" is too narrow from a class concept (but a cool character trait)

Sure. Like I said in an earlier post, having too strong of an identity isn't actually good for a character class. "Class" needs to be a category; having too strong an identity is essentially narrowing down to a specific individual.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Too Complicated!

Just have the Guy class!

What about Gals?

 

[CleverNickName]

All joking aside, I think a "classless" system could be interesting.

 

[Yaarel]

All joking aside, I think a "classless" system could be interesting.

The classless system can itself be a class.

Call it the Hero class, or whatever. It picks its features via a point system. The other classes, Fighter, Wizard, Rogue, etcetera are still around.

 

[MGibster]

As a Non-American I have no idea how a Barista from North Dakota differs to Waitress from Nevada - those identities are meaningless subcategories. I absolutely know what an American is however

We are aarakocra of course.