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D&D character classes and races are inevitably linked to characterization and stereotyping

glennmagusharveyglennmagusharvey
edited 2011-05-26 17:25:47 in Media
Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human
Druids are mostly tree-hugging hippies.  Rogues are expected to be pickpockets.  Clerics are supposed to name-drop their deity and doctrines every so often.  Paladins are ridiculed for being inflexibly hellbent on smiting evil.  Wizards like dabbling in weird crazy half-evil arcane shit.

It's even worse for races.  Humans escape this by being the mental default for players.  Elves are stuck-up hippies, dwarves like mining and minerals too much, and orcs/half-orcs are dumb muscle.

Why can't we have class abilities be UNRELATED to characterization?  Or less related, at least?
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Comments

  • IanExMachinaIanExMachina
    I am Dr. Ned who is totally not Dr. Zed in disguise.
    Well surely rogues are pick pockets as it is partly their speciality. 
  • BlackHumorBlackHumor
    A ninja is a type of rogue.

    Merry from LOTR would probably have been a rogue as well. For that matter, Frodo probably would've been too, and Bilbo was explicitly.

    For that matter, Legolas and Gimili both would've been fighters, while Aragorn was explicitly a ranger, even though by current stereotypes Legolas fits ranger better and Aragorn fits fighter better.
  • CommandoDudeCommandoDude
    CRIMINAL SCUM!
    You must not play 4e. Rouges aren't expected to be pickpockets, that's the Thief class. Paladins can be evil or good, but they call the evil ones Blackguards. And there's more types of wizards then I care to count. You don't have to play with stereotypical motivations like those.


  • snowbullsnowbull
    Cue-bey
    ^I thought it was known that only mouthbreathing wow playing retards play 4e

    Are there 4e purists yet who are gibbering about how the newest edition is total shit and will ruin everything that made the game good?
  • All NinesAll Nines
    Has friends besides tanks now
    ^ People keep going on about how much 4e sucks, yes, but it's actually fairly good. I DM a 4e game in meatspace, and it's loads of fun when a certain player isn't being an asshat. The only real gripes I have that I can think of are the names of the powers used, the uselessness of solo monsters as written, and the gap between PC health and monster health that increases over tiers.
  • glennmagusharveyglennmagusharvey
    Creature - Florida Dragon Turtle Human
    I hear that 4e is...simply different.  I hear that the previous versions, in comparison, focus more on simulationism while 4e focuses more on streamlining gameplay.
  • TheMightyAnonymTheMightyAnonym
    edited 2011-05-26 21:51:28
    ~♥YES♥~! I *AM* a ~♥cupcake♥~! ^_^
    "Wizards like dabbling in weird crazy half-evil arcane shit."

    But what if I *like* dabbling in weird crazy half-evil arcane shit?
  • GLORIOUSLeaderGLORIOUSLeader
    When in Turkey, ROCK THE FUCK OUT
    Then heathen, burn witch, etc.


  • DonZabuDonZabu

    Pick a race-

    DWARF!

    Okay, pick a class-

    SORCERER!

  • TheMightyAnonymTheMightyAnonym
    edited 2011-05-26 21:52:21
    ~♥YES♥~! I *AM* a ~♥cupcake♥~! ^_^
    ^^But the other half is good though; do neutral people get burned too?
  • MoeDantesMoeDantes
    no longer cuddly, but still Edmond
    The OP explains one-fourth of the reason I dislike D&D right there.
  • VorpyVorpy
    ☭Unstoppable Sex Goddess☭
    Fighter = Anyone who can do anything with a weapon, whether it be improvised or not (master of Chairs)

    Avenger = Batman with Holy Symbols

    Bard = Giant ham that likes music and singing.

    Rogue = Flexible passive aggressive dudes.

    Wizard = Gender Inverter and Applied Phlebotinum Superdick

    Sorcerer = Arcanamaniacal Superdick.

    Druid = The Awesome Wise Furries with Street Cred

    Monk = Punch U in Da Face Bro
  • NovaNova
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    Bards can cast spells, too.
  • VorpyVorpy
    ☭Unstoppable Sex Goddess☭
    Bards are gay, in the bad way. As in there are no emo/goth Bards that sing songs of despair and moodiness.
  • NovaNova
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    Make one then.
  • BobBob
    I WANNA BE AVENGER
  • VorpyVorpy
    ☭Unstoppable Sex Goddess☭
    I JUST DID

    UH, OH YEAH, DEAL WITH IT, PUNK. IM SO GANGSTA, IM A BADASS RAPPER BARD WITH A GOLDEN CROSSBOW, BIATCH
  • NovaNova
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    A golden crossbow would be so inconvenient.
  • BobBob
    edited 2011-05-27 19:33:19
    Not a hollow golden krossbow.

    Filled with jhokolate.
  • VorpyVorpy
    ☭Unstoppable Sex Goddess☭
    A golden crossbow would be so inconvenient.

    Not if you tilt it gangsta style and shoot it with Quick Reload.
  • NovaNova
    edited 2011-05-27 01:55:20
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    You'd need a high Strength rating, inconvenient for a Bard.
  • BobBob
    edited 2011-05-27 19:33:07
    Why not just have a bag of tiny, sharp, golden pebbles that you throw at people? That kould work.
  • NovaNova
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    Only deal 1d4 damage, not worth it.
  • BobBob
    Hmm...

    Heavy metal songs that make your enemies explode?
  • VorpyVorpy
    ☭Unstoppable Sex Goddess☭
    Why not just fail Charisma checks and sing so badly it makes enemies want to kill the Bard first over the Wizard?
  • NovaNova
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    It doesn't work that way...
  • VorpyVorpy
    ☭Unstoppable Sex Goddess☭
    Goddammit girl.

    -goes into serious mode-

    Other than good CHA based effects, Bards don't have much good going for them later on in the game due to the later enemy's high resistances, and those such as Juiblex which are deaf or immune to charm effects, or Orcus who resist most non-elemental damage, they become more of a buffer than anything, and once they are done they have to rely on melee or ranged weapons to do damage.
  • NovaNova
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    Bards do a lot better out of combat. They have a good Charisma score, which means they have natural bonuses to Diplomacy and Bluff. Any Bard worth his salt will always prepare Glibness; a +30 bonus to Bluff, and gives you immunity to magical lie detecting. They have spells like Greater Invisibility, Zone of Silence, Legend Lore, Animate Object, Greater Scrying Cure Critical Wounds/Mass Cure Moderate Wounds, and Find the Path.

    A Bard who seriously tries to go into combat will find themselves out of their depth, yes. That's why Bards aren't meant for combat.
  • VorpyVorpy
    ☭Unstoppable Sex Goddess☭
    ...are we talking about 4e?
  • NovaNova
    If you must eat a phoenix, boil it, do not roast it. This only encourages their mischievous habits.
    No... I play 3.5e.
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