Post/Author/DateTime	Post
acrazedhobo 10-30-07, 03:30 PM	I'm not sure if this is where I'm suppose to post, and I'm not sure this would be the right forums, but I hope I can at least explain myself. I had the idea of compiling a list of classes, by archetype, according popular real world cultures and/or religions. I have almost completed five cultures--Japanese, Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Eastern (Hindu/Muslim) and Norse--but I was wondering if I could get any feedback or insight on this topic. I currently have twelve base classes, which are: Warrior - Plate-armored fighters and tanks Knight - Hybrid fighters/casters; horseback combat Martialist - Disciples of material arts (karate, kung fu, wrestling) Cleric - Holy-based healers/support Druid - Nature-based healers/support Shaman - Spirit-based healers/support Arcanist - General "ancient magic" users (necromancy, cosmology...) Elementalist - Element-based casters (fire, wind, water, earth) Enchanter - Mind-based casters; crowd control Marksman - Long-range fighters (bow, gun, throwing weapons) Minstrel - Singers, dancers, poets... Rogue - Stealthy thieves, bandits and assassins Now here are the twelve real world Japanese classes that I've collected based on these twelve class archetypes. I haven't played DnD in a long time, but I think some of these are recognizable classes. Warrior - Samurai Knight - Sohei Martialist - Rikishi (Sumo Wrestler) Cleric - Miko (Shrine Maiden) Druid - Yamabushi (Mountain Priest) Shaman - Onmyouji ("Yin-Yang Master") Arcanist - Astrologist Elementalist - Typhoon Mage (wind element) Enchanter - Qi Mage (unsure about this one...) Marksman - Yabusame (Equestrian Archer) Minstrel - Geisha Rogue - Ninja Again, any input would be greatly appreciated, and if this would be better off moved elsewhere or if someone knows a better forum to post this, then that would be great as well.
echelon_house 10-31-07, 03:42 AM	This is a pretty good idea, but I don't think it's going to be possible to create a whole new class for each archetype for each possible culture. For example, the rogue -> ninja thing works pretty well, and the knight -> samurai, but miko and geisha are restricted to females. Is there any particular reason a religious support figure wouldn't just be a cleric in both? I would suggets giving each base class a name as culturally-neutral as possible so that, if necessary, it could be placed anywhere. "Minstrel" and "bard" are both European terms, so I'd probably try to replace that. I'd fold warrior and knight together into one "armed fighter" archetype that could be called a warrior. The martialist is a tough one, since unarmed martial arts didn't really exist as such in many cultures (namely, medieval Europe), so I might fold that into the warrior as well. "Druid" is a purely Celtic term, and a "nature-based caster" and a "spiritual-based caster" would probably play very similiarly in-game, so I might consider merging them as well. And if you want your "bard" archetype to have any mechanical function, I might consider merging them with the enchanter, since they generally tend to have a lot of mind-controlling effects. So, my suggestion: Warrior (Melee fighter) Marksman (Ranged fighter) Cleric (Religion-based support) Shaman (Spirit-based support) Arcanist (Miscellaneous caster) Elementalist (Element-based caster) Rogue (Sneaker) Enchanter (Mind-based caster)
Kouk 10-31-07, 12:43 PM	Check out the 3.0 book Oriental Adventures, you can get it on Amazon or eBay for pretty cheap most of the time. This will give you a large base for the D&D "classes" for Asian cultures (though it sort of mixes the cultures, you can tell most of them apart). It also has a nice table with alternate names of weaponry by real-world Asian cultures (the Arms and Equipment Guide has a larger table with more disparate cultures and equipment names). If you like it, you can then download the 3.5 update written by James Wyatt (the main author of the OA book) in Dragon 318 (downloadable from Paizo.com for about $4.95). Are trying to create your own base classes, or just want some people with cultural expertise to help you with the concepts? If you are trying to make classes, it isn't really necessary to do (though fine if that is what you like doing). You can use existing classes for nearly all of those things, with minor tweaks to the "flavor" of them. Some existing D&D classes you might look into are the Wu Jen (OA and Complete Arcane), the Shugenja (OA and Complete Divine), Shaman (OA), Samurai (OA has the "good" version, but Complete Warrior has one as well), Spirit Shaman (Complete Divine), Ninja (Complete Adventurer and Dragon 318), Scout (Complete Adventurer), Monk (PHB but largely expanded in other supplements as well), Duskblade (PHB2), and all manner of other base and prestige classes. There is practically a class or Prestige Class for anything you could possibly want, but a large number of Asian-themed classes is in the OA book. The "enchanter" can just be a normal Specialist Wizard Enchanter even, or you might like the Beguiler (PHB2) and a minstrel can easily just be a Bard with slight reflavoring, a Sumo is a really "large" Monk, etc. Check the Oriental Adventures subforum for some more information, http://forums.gleemax.com/forumdisplay.php?f=99 but keep in mind it is a pretty lifeless forum (it is a few years old).