Character Class

Basic Information

Character Class is an RPG mechanic that defines a PC's skill set in terms of a specific, defined group of abilities - often derived from a hypothetical occupation¹.

Most RPGs at least attempt to balance skill sets between classes - mileage may vary in all cases and it is quite common for any RPG system to have a known gradient of classes (usually based on their killing power), especially taking into account development and progression of powers within the various classes. (See the trope Linear Warriors Quadratic Wizards).

Arguably the main advantage of a class system is that it allows inexperienced players in particular to have a "walk up" character concept which comes with all the skills that it needs to fulfill a given niche in a group and doesn't omit key skills which might otherwise be forgotten and leave a glaring gap in the character's repertoire.

The "hardest" class based systems (such as early editions of (A)D&D) make it very hard for a character to progress in more than one class - or otherwise develop skills from outside their set. This has the advantage of allowing the designers to preserve class skill niches and class vs. class balance for much longer (only the cleric heals, only the thief can climb walls, pick locks etc.), but can lead to ridiculous incongruities including it being literally impossible (within the rules as written) for someone to attempt something outside their skillset (fighter cannot climb tree - only the thief has the climbing skill) and no-one having any skills that aren't directly related to their class's ability to kill things. These incongruities are usually softened by "cross class skills", background skills and the ability to pursue multiple classes - although such things took a long time to develop historically - but only at the cost of added complication².

At its softest "classes" may appear in what are effectively skill based systems, purely as a descriptive template³. Even a fully skill based system may include class like "kits" or "lenses" that serve as a guide to building specific character concepts.

In general, the harder the class system, the more gamist the style of play to be expected - a less gamist approach undermines many of the advantages of class differentiation.

Where character progression is measured in discreet levels of power, this feature can be part of a class and level system.

Sources

Bibliography

1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

• The idea of tiered character classes can be very easily scrambled by running a campaign where killing power is less of an issue. A "top tier" class rated for killing things in dungeons is highly likely to be a liability in a politics based urban campaign.
  • Best to make sure that your players know what sort of campaign you are planning in advance - players who want to play slaughter-hobos will not be happy in a roleplay based campaign, whilst others will still want to take the theme of the campaign into account in their choice of class.
• Realistically, character class can be a marmite mechanic - and if you don't like it, you may be better off playing a system that runs on a no-class or soft-class basis.
• Worth noting that the class system actually flies in the face of many of the traditional "sword and sorcery" narratives that fed modern fantasy - Conan, for example (probably the ur-example) possesses all manner of stealth and climbing skills ("thief class" … he is even described as a professional thief in some stories) and yet is also a combat monster ("fighter class"). Granted, he is also a "solo character" for most of his adventures, but still…

Footnotes

1. Or, in some egregious cases, their species.

2. For example in its lifespan, (A)D&D changed the rules for pursuing multiple classes repeatedly between editions, going from a situation where it was basically not worth the effort to one where it was an expected part of play but exceedingly complicated.

3. The Elder Scrolls series cRPGs are a good example of this - Elder Scrolls uses a skill and level based system, in which a character's class is more or less cosmetic and mainly serves as a template for setting up character skills at the point of generation.