Post by Aliton on Dec 20, 2008 22:41:19 GMT -5
Barbarian
A barbarian is seen as the archetypal warrior who uses brute strength and raw fury to excel in combat.
The barbarian's typical role within an adventuring party is as a straightforward front-rank tank. Barbarians make both good primary combatants as well as heavy scouts, owing to their survival skills. Their ability to absorb damage and shrug it off lightly while delivering shattering blows to opponents makes going toe-to-toe with one an extremely bad idea. With proper support from other party members by way of healing and spell counters, a well-built barbarian will prove immensely useful. In addition, the barbarian has some basic wilderness skills such as listening, and survival that help keep him aware of his surroundings and enable him to survive in a wilderness environment for long periods without supplies. However, they lack the tactical versatility of fighters with their plethora of feats, and many of their skills and abilities favour lighter armours, which, combined with their rage, weakens their defence.
Moreover, if a barbarian adventures alone and encounters magic-wielding foes that he cannot charge and take out personally, he will most likely be defeated. The weakness of the barbarian is an inability to adapt to situations such as these - in aspects other than melée, the barbarian is often ill-prepared and ill-suited.
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Bard
A bard is seen as a wandering minstrel who is skilled in weaving tales and singing songs. They are also seen as a rogue, for they can easily bluff people. Bards are also known for their knowledge in stories and legends.
The bards role in the party is to use their charisma to get the party out of tight situations. The bard can also be the secondary rogue of the party. The bard is bascly a jack-of-all trades. Is good at melee and ranged combat, at stealth, and can use some minor magic. Due to the many things a bard can do, they tend to like to wear lighter armor.
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Cleric
Clerics are a primary caster class with a strong selection of useful spells, but their healing and buffing powers are the most valued in a typical party. With a strong selection of arms and armour, and respectable melee skill, Clerics can also make capable front-line tanks. This role is often necessitated by healing allies in the fray, as most of their spells have limited range. In many ways, the Cleric closely rivals the Bard in sheer versatility. Because many players find themselves spending more time helping others rather than acting themselves, they receive a bad rap as being the least favorable class to play - rather than arguably the best.
Good clerics can also act as a softer voice of conscience for the party like their Paladin brethren, and like Paladins or Bards they can possess the occupationally useful amount of charisma to speak for the party in situations calling for tact or diplomacy.
Evil clerics rarely feature in adventuring parties, but their ability to raise and command undead can eventually allow them to command legions of disposable cannon fodder.
Additionally, all Clerics can bring to the party advantages of economic and political connections, ties to sheer divine power/intervention, an innate power of some sort over undead opponents, and possibly an associate capable of reviving dead comrades.
Clerics can easily become the most powerful fighter in the group, due to the fact that they can select a large number of spells that enhance their defense and their strength. And also these spells give other benefits. The divine power of a spell can give them a strength equal to a fighter's, and their various buffing spells and the fact that they can qualify for almost any feat a fighter can makes fighters average much weaker than a cleric in the group, provided the cleric has a few minutes of preparation time before a fight and the fight will last only a few minutes. In general, a fighter is better at protracted fights or fights that start right away, a cleric is better at combat which allow for preparation time and where the combat lasts only a few minutes and the enemy has no means to prematurely end all his buffing spells. Although such circumstances can be rare, under them a cleric is a formidable combatant due to the large range of magical enhancement available.
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Druid
The Druid is a versatile class, capable in combat and of casting divine spells. They gain divine magic from being at one with nature, or from one of several patron gods of the wild. Unlike the cleric, druids do not have special powers against undead and cannot use metal armor. Druids have a unique ability that allows them to change into various animal forms, and various other qualities that assist them in natural settings. Druids work very well with animals, and can try to improve a wild creature's attitude the same way they would improve a person with diplomacy. Druids gain a greater control of their body and at higher levels they can change appearance at will, become immune to natural poisons and even stop ageing.
Druids and rangers both play a role of wilderness adventurer in the party, but a ranger is more martially inclined, while a druid has more magical skill. Druids are typically less suited to front-rank combat than divine casters such as Clerics or Paladins, (as they cannot make use of metal armor,) nor are their overall healing powers as strong. They excel, however, in marshalling large groups of summoned allies and are perhaps the most self-sufficient of all classes.
Druids work well as supportive characters, being both versatile primary spellcasters and capable fighters. Druids can cast transportation, augmenting, defensive, destructive and recuperative magic, while spontaneous casting allows them to summon animal allies to their side. If strong enough, Druids become increasingly powerful; the wild shape ability allows them to assume the form of animals specialised for differing purposes- they can become a hawk to scout, a cat for stealth, a horse for transport, a snake to climb, or a bear for combat.
Their animal companions can also fill some of these functions to a lesser extent, and like most primary casters, they benefit greatly from advance notice of their enemies' plans and time to prepare, which makes recon abilities especially useful.
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Fighter
A fighter is a versatile, weapons-oriented warrior class. The fighter is an adept warrior who fights using skill, strategy and tactics.
Fighter is a generic and broad class; individual fighters have diverse backgrounds and different styles. Bodyguards, adventurers, former soldiers, invading bandit kings, or master swordsmen are all fighters, yet they come from all walks of life and backgrounds and often find themselves on very different alignments, goals, and sides in a conflict.
The fighter's role in the party can vary. From a defender of the weaker party members, to the front-line attackers. Fighters are common around Azaron, and are very useful in a party.
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Paladin
The paladin is a holy knight, crusading in the name of good and order, and is a divine spellcaster. Paladins are always of the Good alignment.
In addition, compared to other classes the paladin class has one of the most restrictive codes of conduct in their single-mindedness and utter devotion to good. Paladin characters are expected to demonstrate and embody goodness. It is taboo for a paladin to lie or use poison, and some interpretations say they should only use stealth as a last resort. Other restrictions are sometimes laid on the paladin depending on their faith, ranging from restricting the class to the point of making it comically unplayable to a class that only differs from other warrior classes in its additional divine powers.
Paladins exist primarily as a melee combatant with limited divine spellcasting options. Also, apart from being melee combatants, paladins are also often found to function as a diplomat or negotiator due to their high Charisma.
Paladins are usually also very effective at fighting undead opponents, this is due to their ability to turn undead, their immunity to diseases, and their strong resistances to mind control, and other harmful effects. Paladins often also able to do tremendous damage to undead and evil opponents, and in some cases can even dispel the magic of evil spellcasters. Paladins also have access to a magically powerful mount, often a warhorse, but sometimes a more exotic animal such as a griffon or eagle, or even a dragon. This enables them to be more mobile, and they often act as cavalry in combat.
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Ranger
Rangers are protectors of nature, skilled woodsmen, and often live reclusive lives as hermits.
Rangers are skilled in fighting with two weapons and at ranged combat. They are quite dextrious for that reason. Rangers are good at communicating with animals, like Druids, but can rarely cast any magic.
The ranger's role in a party is that of a fighter or scout. They are also skilled marksmen, and usually are left to defend the weaker people of the party in combat.
Rangers can have an animal companion, usually one that is found in the climate that the ranger calls home.
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Rogue
A rogue is a versatile character, capable of sneaky combat and nimble tricks. The rogue is stealthy and dextrous, and is capable of finding and disarming many traps and picking locks.
Spies, scouts, detectives, pirates, and sundry ne'er-do-wells, as well as thieves and just about any other character who relies on stealth or a broad range of skills, are stated to fall under the rogue class. In fact, the character class still bears only three large divergences from other character classes, namely their superior aptitude for skills and their capacity to notice traps.
Rogues are deadly but somewhat vulnerable physical combatants. Rogues are not typically intended to act as front-line tanks, but in a support role can be invaluable while flanking or to finish off wounded foes doing a sneak attack.
One effective way of using a rogue's combat abilities is to position him or her in the back of the party, in the shadows at the fringes, or a like position with a bow. Outside of combat, however, the rogue's role is determined largely by their skill selection. For example, although most rogues disable locks and traps, one rogue might be a thug who relies on intimidation, while another might rely on diplomacy.
Quite aside from their combat ability, having a rogue in the party is often essential in order to deal with traps, secret doors, and other mechanical contrivances that may impede the party's progress. Of course, some people can be trapped into believing that this is the sole reason for the class and neglect other benefits rogues can offer. They can be employed in scouting and intel and persuasion and barter (friendly or otherwise).
The value of rogues lies in the fact that they are versatile in numerous situations, including the cunning circumstances other characters may not be equipped to exploit.
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Sorcerer
A sorcerer is born with the ability to cast magic, and can is the main magic-user in a party.
A sorcerer can cast deadly arcane spells and must train extensively in the art of magic. The downfall of a sorcerer is the fact that the magic weakens their bodies, so they have a low tolerance to physical attacks. Sorcerers are usually in the back of the party, fireing spells into their enemies. Rarely do they get into melee fighting, but they have been known to use ranged weaponry when their magic was exhausted.
A barbarian is seen as the archetypal warrior who uses brute strength and raw fury to excel in combat.
The barbarian's typical role within an adventuring party is as a straightforward front-rank tank. Barbarians make both good primary combatants as well as heavy scouts, owing to their survival skills. Their ability to absorb damage and shrug it off lightly while delivering shattering blows to opponents makes going toe-to-toe with one an extremely bad idea. With proper support from other party members by way of healing and spell counters, a well-built barbarian will prove immensely useful. In addition, the barbarian has some basic wilderness skills such as listening, and survival that help keep him aware of his surroundings and enable him to survive in a wilderness environment for long periods without supplies. However, they lack the tactical versatility of fighters with their plethora of feats, and many of their skills and abilities favour lighter armours, which, combined with their rage, weakens their defence.
Moreover, if a barbarian adventures alone and encounters magic-wielding foes that he cannot charge and take out personally, he will most likely be defeated. The weakness of the barbarian is an inability to adapt to situations such as these - in aspects other than melée, the barbarian is often ill-prepared and ill-suited.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Bard
A bard is seen as a wandering minstrel who is skilled in weaving tales and singing songs. They are also seen as a rogue, for they can easily bluff people. Bards are also known for their knowledge in stories and legends.
The bards role in the party is to use their charisma to get the party out of tight situations. The bard can also be the secondary rogue of the party. The bard is bascly a jack-of-all trades. Is good at melee and ranged combat, at stealth, and can use some minor magic. Due to the many things a bard can do, they tend to like to wear lighter armor.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Cleric
Clerics are a primary caster class with a strong selection of useful spells, but their healing and buffing powers are the most valued in a typical party. With a strong selection of arms and armour, and respectable melee skill, Clerics can also make capable front-line tanks. This role is often necessitated by healing allies in the fray, as most of their spells have limited range. In many ways, the Cleric closely rivals the Bard in sheer versatility. Because many players find themselves spending more time helping others rather than acting themselves, they receive a bad rap as being the least favorable class to play - rather than arguably the best.
Good clerics can also act as a softer voice of conscience for the party like their Paladin brethren, and like Paladins or Bards they can possess the occupationally useful amount of charisma to speak for the party in situations calling for tact or diplomacy.
Evil clerics rarely feature in adventuring parties, but their ability to raise and command undead can eventually allow them to command legions of disposable cannon fodder.
Additionally, all Clerics can bring to the party advantages of economic and political connections, ties to sheer divine power/intervention, an innate power of some sort over undead opponents, and possibly an associate capable of reviving dead comrades.
Clerics can easily become the most powerful fighter in the group, due to the fact that they can select a large number of spells that enhance their defense and their strength. And also these spells give other benefits. The divine power of a spell can give them a strength equal to a fighter's, and their various buffing spells and the fact that they can qualify for almost any feat a fighter can makes fighters average much weaker than a cleric in the group, provided the cleric has a few minutes of preparation time before a fight and the fight will last only a few minutes. In general, a fighter is better at protracted fights or fights that start right away, a cleric is better at combat which allow for preparation time and where the combat lasts only a few minutes and the enemy has no means to prematurely end all his buffing spells. Although such circumstances can be rare, under them a cleric is a formidable combatant due to the large range of magical enhancement available.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Druid
The Druid is a versatile class, capable in combat and of casting divine spells. They gain divine magic from being at one with nature, or from one of several patron gods of the wild. Unlike the cleric, druids do not have special powers against undead and cannot use metal armor. Druids have a unique ability that allows them to change into various animal forms, and various other qualities that assist them in natural settings. Druids work very well with animals, and can try to improve a wild creature's attitude the same way they would improve a person with diplomacy. Druids gain a greater control of their body and at higher levels they can change appearance at will, become immune to natural poisons and even stop ageing.
Druids and rangers both play a role of wilderness adventurer in the party, but a ranger is more martially inclined, while a druid has more magical skill. Druids are typically less suited to front-rank combat than divine casters such as Clerics or Paladins, (as they cannot make use of metal armor,) nor are their overall healing powers as strong. They excel, however, in marshalling large groups of summoned allies and are perhaps the most self-sufficient of all classes.
Druids work well as supportive characters, being both versatile primary spellcasters and capable fighters. Druids can cast transportation, augmenting, defensive, destructive and recuperative magic, while spontaneous casting allows them to summon animal allies to their side. If strong enough, Druids become increasingly powerful; the wild shape ability allows them to assume the form of animals specialised for differing purposes- they can become a hawk to scout, a cat for stealth, a horse for transport, a snake to climb, or a bear for combat.
Their animal companions can also fill some of these functions to a lesser extent, and like most primary casters, they benefit greatly from advance notice of their enemies' plans and time to prepare, which makes recon abilities especially useful.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fighter
A fighter is a versatile, weapons-oriented warrior class. The fighter is an adept warrior who fights using skill, strategy and tactics.
Fighter is a generic and broad class; individual fighters have diverse backgrounds and different styles. Bodyguards, adventurers, former soldiers, invading bandit kings, or master swordsmen are all fighters, yet they come from all walks of life and backgrounds and often find themselves on very different alignments, goals, and sides in a conflict.
The fighter's role in the party can vary. From a defender of the weaker party members, to the front-line attackers. Fighters are common around Azaron, and are very useful in a party.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Paladin
The paladin is a holy knight, crusading in the name of good and order, and is a divine spellcaster. Paladins are always of the Good alignment.
In addition, compared to other classes the paladin class has one of the most restrictive codes of conduct in their single-mindedness and utter devotion to good. Paladin characters are expected to demonstrate and embody goodness. It is taboo for a paladin to lie or use poison, and some interpretations say they should only use stealth as a last resort. Other restrictions are sometimes laid on the paladin depending on their faith, ranging from restricting the class to the point of making it comically unplayable to a class that only differs from other warrior classes in its additional divine powers.
Paladins exist primarily as a melee combatant with limited divine spellcasting options. Also, apart from being melee combatants, paladins are also often found to function as a diplomat or negotiator due to their high Charisma.
Paladins are usually also very effective at fighting undead opponents, this is due to their ability to turn undead, their immunity to diseases, and their strong resistances to mind control, and other harmful effects. Paladins often also able to do tremendous damage to undead and evil opponents, and in some cases can even dispel the magic of evil spellcasters. Paladins also have access to a magically powerful mount, often a warhorse, but sometimes a more exotic animal such as a griffon or eagle, or even a dragon. This enables them to be more mobile, and they often act as cavalry in combat.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Ranger
Rangers are protectors of nature, skilled woodsmen, and often live reclusive lives as hermits.
Rangers are skilled in fighting with two weapons and at ranged combat. They are quite dextrious for that reason. Rangers are good at communicating with animals, like Druids, but can rarely cast any magic.
The ranger's role in a party is that of a fighter or scout. They are also skilled marksmen, and usually are left to defend the weaker people of the party in combat.
Rangers can have an animal companion, usually one that is found in the climate that the ranger calls home.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Rogue
A rogue is a versatile character, capable of sneaky combat and nimble tricks. The rogue is stealthy and dextrous, and is capable of finding and disarming many traps and picking locks.
Spies, scouts, detectives, pirates, and sundry ne'er-do-wells, as well as thieves and just about any other character who relies on stealth or a broad range of skills, are stated to fall under the rogue class. In fact, the character class still bears only three large divergences from other character classes, namely their superior aptitude for skills and their capacity to notice traps.
Rogues are deadly but somewhat vulnerable physical combatants. Rogues are not typically intended to act as front-line tanks, but in a support role can be invaluable while flanking or to finish off wounded foes doing a sneak attack.
One effective way of using a rogue's combat abilities is to position him or her in the back of the party, in the shadows at the fringes, or a like position with a bow. Outside of combat, however, the rogue's role is determined largely by their skill selection. For example, although most rogues disable locks and traps, one rogue might be a thug who relies on intimidation, while another might rely on diplomacy.
Quite aside from their combat ability, having a rogue in the party is often essential in order to deal with traps, secret doors, and other mechanical contrivances that may impede the party's progress. Of course, some people can be trapped into believing that this is the sole reason for the class and neglect other benefits rogues can offer. They can be employed in scouting and intel and persuasion and barter (friendly or otherwise).
The value of rogues lies in the fact that they are versatile in numerous situations, including the cunning circumstances other characters may not be equipped to exploit.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sorcerer
A sorcerer is born with the ability to cast magic, and can is the main magic-user in a party.
A sorcerer can cast deadly arcane spells and must train extensively in the art of magic. The downfall of a sorcerer is the fact that the magic weakens their bodies, so they have a low tolerance to physical attacks. Sorcerers are usually in the back of the party, fireing spells into their enemies. Rarely do they get into melee fighting, but they have been known to use ranged weaponry when their magic was exhausted.