Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Sep 29, 2004 0:58:40	When you hear an NPC described as a monk, is there an image that comes to mind? How about Sorcerer Barbarian , or Shaman? Do people in D&D worlds call all members of the same class the same thing? No, they don't. A wandering Holy Man who helps the poor and fights evil with Divine power could be a Monk, a Cleric, an Exorcist, or any number of other things. There is no unified system of titles. The class names are just game terms that don't mean the same things to people living in the actual game world. A tribal shaman could be a Cleric , Sorcerer, Druid, Wizard, or even and Adept. These words are not being used incorrectly, they are what they mean to the people using them. Monsters should not be described with the name the monster manual gives them all the time. Just imagine the PCs arriving in town and hearing that children are going missing. They ask around and are told that the children are being stolen by a Dybbuk. What is a Dybbuk? The players don't know and that makes it more mysterious. It could be a goblin or a demon. The unknown is much more interesting and it makes sense that people in different places would call the same creature different names (just look at all the names people have for Bigfoot). Spells are another places where ambiguity helps. Some spells would be fairly standardized, if only because they are terribly obvious, like fireball. Even then, wizards are likely to name their spells different things (the example used is a Fireball), like: Everan's Blazing Fury, Zortran's Inferno, or even Gleeble's Incindary Messenger (can you tell the last wizard is a gnome?). Other spells can be as esoteric as you want the to be. As an example, let's say the PCs are investigating a ruined tower on the outside of a small town. They ask around and learn the story of the structure. It was once the home of a powerful Demonologist, who used the spell of the Black Gate to summon a swamp demon. What kind of creature is a swamp demon, what is the Black gate spell, and what exactly is a demonologist? Well, the PCs are going to find out. Doesn't it make it so much more exciting when you don't know all the answers?
#2 hiei_the_assassin Sep 29, 2004 21:01:11	...I like your idea or you wouldn't hear from me.
#3 zendu Sep 30, 2004 2:38:30	Hell, I get mad at my players when they even mention their class name, in the right context or not. They’ve quickly learned that they need more depth than 'fighter.'
#4 yak_of_darkness Sep 30, 2004 18:45:01	Couldn't agree with you more about classes. A paladin in my world will just as likely be known as a knight, warrior, soldier, missionary, priest, crusader, etc., depending on what exactly he or she does. The same is true for class titles themselves. A necromancer could be a specialist wizard (or one of the many prestige classes), or it could be an unfocused wizard who happens to raise a lot of dead, a sorcerer with a certain spell selection, a cleric who does some animating in his spare time, or simply a rogue or bard that likes to have fun with scrolls. As for things like monsters and spells, however, I think there would be a sort of naming "standard," if for no other reason than I consider the PHB spells to be a sort of well-established list in the campaign world that have been researched by wizards passed. So, although sorcerer Roy from the Village of Thwack may call fireball "Roy's Kaboomer," it'll still be fireball at universities. Much in the same way that Gauss' Law isn't referred to as "that 'lectricity stuff" in a physics class. A similar thing is probably (at least it is in my world) true for monsters. Even your more out-there beasties, so long as an explorer has encountered one and lived to write it down, will have a name recorded in a beastiary somewhere. That wouldn't stop regional/superstitional names from developing, like your Dybbuk example (see the Illithid/Mind Flayer/Psychic Danger, Barbazau/Bearded Devil, etc.), but it would mean that when the PCs finally encounter the Dybbuk, a knowledge check or past experience will cause them to go, "Oh, it's a troll."
#5 the_fan Oct 01, 2004 10:12:14	Definitely. You can also have a lot of fun with creative multiclassing. In my Eberron game for example, you don't want to mess with the Aundairian Diplomatic Corps, since they tend to be monks or multiclass monk/rogues. Just think of the skills they have that overlap: Balance, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silent, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Spot, Swim, Tumble. Seems like a recipe for a good super-spy to me. However, I really don't see anyone mistaking a Barbarian for a Monk...but hey, if you can think of a good way, I'm all ears.
#6 zombiegleemax Oct 01, 2004 12:41:42	Well that's something I have to point ot my DM. Thanks !