Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
"Your Class is Not Your Character": Is this a real problem?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 7923922" data-attributes="member: 6801228"><p>And yet you have not told me which rules I am breaking.</p><p></p><p>Variant Human, Ancestral Guardian Barbarian, Noble (Knight).</p><p></p><p>What rule am I breaking? How am I playing this character wrong? You know nothing else about them accept that they wear armor (barbarians get medium armor proficiency), use a shield and a longsword (barbarians get shield proficiency and martial weapon proficiency), they are well read, literate, polite in polite company (we rolled for stats at the DMs insistence, I had a 12 Intelligence, 12 Charisma, and 14 Wisdom on top of my impressive physical scores. He wanted a high powered game and so the DM was happy. And we rolled digitally, so there was no cheating before you decide to accuse me of that).</p><p></p><p>He was a questing knight, looking to commit deeds of heroism and strength to honor the Princess who was his Lady, following the ideals of Courtly Love.</p><p></p><p>When battle started he would enter a battle frenzy, calling to the spirits of his ancestors to guide his sword, and I used all of the barbarian abilities granted to me by my class. I generally charged into the thickest section or the enemy spellcaster, knocked them down with my shield master feat and attacked them with my sword.</p><p></p><p>What rule did I break? Why would I be unwelcome at your table, because I refused to play an illiterate brute? Because I refused to be rude, quaff ale and belch? Because I wore nice clothes?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I did.</p><p></p><p>You still say I broke the rules. That my character wouldn't be accepted by the table. Why? What did I do wrong?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I like how people can say one thing right, and be so wrong on the rest.</p><p></p><p>You are right, working within limits can lead to interesting stories. Just breaking the rules for the sake of breaking the rules is not interesting.</p><p></p><p>Of course, playing a noble with the barbarian class is not a gimmick either. Beowulf, Prince of the Geats who fought a monster barehanded and ripped its arm off, who constantly shattered his own weapons, would probably be a barbarian. I doubt we can call it a "gimmick" to copy a two thousand year old famous text. Seems really like a strong classic archetype. Kind of like a wood elf ranger, that has been a thing for 60 years?</p><p></p><p>And that is the crux here. You have stood upon the mountain and made a value judgement on other people's stories. Without actually caring if they are making an interesting character.</p><p></p><p>Are Shifters interesting? How about a young girl banished and excommunicated from her tribe for learning the dark secret of a shaman, forced into a world she doesn't understand, falling into vice as an escape from the depression of losing her people?</p><p></p><p>Paladin Criminal is a "gimmick"? You think a character who was a smuggler, getting caught up in a demonic betrayal of a cult, and was granted power through his overwhelming desire for Vengeance against that cult is going to have no desire to adventure? No interesting stories?</p><p></p><p>Unless you have a superpower to judge a character from across time and space from only their name, how can you stand there so smug in your superiority and declare what the rest of us are doing as drivel?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Chaosmancer, post: 7923922, member: 6801228"] And yet you have not told me which rules I am breaking. Variant Human, Ancestral Guardian Barbarian, Noble (Knight). What rule am I breaking? How am I playing this character wrong? You know nothing else about them accept that they wear armor (barbarians get medium armor proficiency), use a shield and a longsword (barbarians get shield proficiency and martial weapon proficiency), they are well read, literate, polite in polite company (we rolled for stats at the DMs insistence, I had a 12 Intelligence, 12 Charisma, and 14 Wisdom on top of my impressive physical scores. He wanted a high powered game and so the DM was happy. And we rolled digitally, so there was no cheating before you decide to accuse me of that). He was a questing knight, looking to commit deeds of heroism and strength to honor the Princess who was his Lady, following the ideals of Courtly Love. When battle started he would enter a battle frenzy, calling to the spirits of his ancestors to guide his sword, and I used all of the barbarian abilities granted to me by my class. I generally charged into the thickest section or the enemy spellcaster, knocked them down with my shield master feat and attacked them with my sword. What rule did I break? Why would I be unwelcome at your table, because I refused to play an illiterate brute? Because I refused to be rude, quaff ale and belch? Because I wore nice clothes? I did. You still say I broke the rules. That my character wouldn't be accepted by the table. Why? What did I do wrong? I like how people can say one thing right, and be so wrong on the rest. You are right, working within limits can lead to interesting stories. Just breaking the rules for the sake of breaking the rules is not interesting. Of course, playing a noble with the barbarian class is not a gimmick either. Beowulf, Prince of the Geats who fought a monster barehanded and ripped its arm off, who constantly shattered his own weapons, would probably be a barbarian. I doubt we can call it a "gimmick" to copy a two thousand year old famous text. Seems really like a strong classic archetype. Kind of like a wood elf ranger, that has been a thing for 60 years? And that is the crux here. You have stood upon the mountain and made a value judgement on other people's stories. Without actually caring if they are making an interesting character. Are Shifters interesting? How about a young girl banished and excommunicated from her tribe for learning the dark secret of a shaman, forced into a world she doesn't understand, falling into vice as an escape from the depression of losing her people? Paladin Criminal is a "gimmick"? You think a character who was a smuggler, getting caught up in a demonic betrayal of a cult, and was granted power through his overwhelming desire for Vengeance against that cult is going to have no desire to adventure? No interesting stories? Unless you have a superpower to judge a character from across time and space from only their name, how can you stand there so smug in your superiority and declare what the rest of us are doing as drivel? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
"Your Class is Not Your Character": Is this a real problem?
Top