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Malifax · 05-23-2007, 07:21 PM

I would argue that "vampirism" is an affliction that turns you into a vampire, a member of a race of undead beings.

I agree. I wouldn't call that "classless" either. You still have a name defining what skills you can and can't learn.

I don't think I'm being clear in my explanation. Yes, you can name a class "dwarf" and give it warrior skills. You can name a class "elf" and give it magical skills. I just like keeping race and skill separate in an environment where characters of various races have strengths and weaknesses, but they can learn any set of skills that they want.

Elves con see in the dark. Drakin develop natural armor. Pixies have wings and can fly. Dwarves are very hearty with natural resistence to poison and disease. Some races are naturally smarter than others, some stronger, some more empathic and some more agile, attributes that have some effect on skills. Each race hase natural abilities and traits, but they all get to choose what they want to learn, whether it's weapons, magic or a combination of both.

I agree that magic can be a natural or racial ability that doesn't need to be actively cultivated. Heck, magical or any other ability can be sold in different flavors of taffy or as something you inhale at different places in a gaming world. If you're building a game you can design ability acquisition any way you want. I'm just saying I don't want to choose a "class" that determines what abilities my character will have. I want to choose a race that gives my character certain traits , not a rigid set of abilities. I want the freedom for my dwarf to become a blademaster or a cleric or a mage or whatever. The difference is that thie skills I choose defines his "class" instead of the class I choose determining his skills.

A classless game with a wide variety of available skills allows for flexibility and precludes the cookie cutter syndrome that plagues so many games. The emergent nature of such a system allows players to mix and match different sets of skills for characters of different races, an aspect of games that lots of people really enjoy, including me.

Take a game with three types of weapon skill: one-handed (swords, axes and clubs), two-handed and ranged, a combat maneuvers skill that teaches a myriad of offensive and defensive moves, an ambush skill that gives a well-trained swordsman a devastating surprise attack, a two-weapon skill that teaches the wielding of a weapon in each hand, a shield-use skill, a dozen different magical schools that each include 30 spells of varying utility and power, a rune skill that teaches how to invoke spells from symbols embedded in pieces of paper and a skill that gives the learnee the knowledge required to coax balls of ice and fire from the tips of wands, rods and staves. You can't learn it all, but imagine the cool combinations.

05-23-2007, 07:21 PM	#24
Malifax Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 108	I would argue that "vampirism" is an affliction that turns you into a vampire, a member of a race of undead beings. I agree. I wouldn't call that "classless" either. You still have a name defining what skills you can and can't learn. I don't think I'm being clear in my explanation. Yes, you can name a class "dwarf" and give it warrior skills. You can name a class "elf" and give it magical skills. I just like keeping race and skill separate in an environment where characters of various races have strengths and weaknesses, but they can learn any set of skills that they want. Elves con see in the dark. Drakin develop natural armor. Pixies have wings and can fly. Dwarves are very hearty with natural resistence to poison and disease. Some races are naturally smarter than others, some stronger, some more empathic and some more agile, attributes that have some effect on skills. Each race hase natural abilities and traits, but they all get to choose what they want to learn, whether it's weapons, magic or a combination of both. I agree that magic can be a natural or racial ability that doesn't need to be actively cultivated. Heck, magical or any other ability can be sold in different flavors of taffy or as something you inhale at different places in a gaming world. If you're building a game you can design ability acquisition any way you want. I'm just saying I don't want to choose a "class" that determines what abilities my character will have. I want to choose a race that gives my character certain traits , not a rigid set of abilities. I want the freedom for my dwarf to become a blademaster or a cleric or a mage or whatever. The difference is that thie skills I choose defines his "class" instead of the class I choose determining his skills. A classless game with a wide variety of available skills allows for flexibility and precludes the cookie cutter syndrome that plagues so many games. The emergent nature of such a system allows players to mix and match different sets of skills for characters of different races, an aspect of games that lots of people really enjoy, including me. Take a game with three types of weapon skill: one-handed (swords, axes and clubs), two-handed and ranged, a combat maneuvers skill that teaches a myriad of offensive and defensive moves, an ambush skill that gives a well-trained swordsman a devastating surprise attack, a two-weapon skill that teaches the wielding of a weapon in each hand, a shield-use skill, a dozen different magical schools that each include 30 spells of varying utility and power, a rune skill that teaches how to invoke spells from symbols embedded in pieces of paper and a skill that gives the learnee the knowledge required to coax balls of ice and fire from the tips of wands, rods and staves. You can't learn it all, but imagine the cool combinations.