Hey all,
Let's finish out our look at the primary colors of character class with the mage.
The mage is archetypically the glass cannon. The fighter charges in, the rogue strikes from the shadows, and the mage calls down fire and arcane energies. Outside of fighting, the mage also fits the archetypes of the scholar. Think of Gandalf's encyclopedic knowledge of middle earth, Kvothe's scholastic background, or even the Elric brothers' quest for knowledge. Even a character like Tony Stark can fit the archetypal role of the party's mage using his specialized knowledge of threats, and powerful one-off attacks like the omni-beam. All of these are indicative of the classic mage.
While the fighter is termed our feat monkey, and the rogue fits in as our skill monkey, the mage is the spell monkey. They have a suite of specific and powerful abilities with which to alter their surroundings or turn the tide of battle. In OGL systems, the mage leans hard into Intelligence and Wisdom. They are the brains of the group.
The mage's strength is in the pursuit of knowledge, whether scientific or arcane, with which they can reshape the world as they see fit. The mage can rely on devastatingly powerful one-off attacks as well as their brilliant insight and thorough knowledge. However, there is a flip-side to the glass cannon. The mage tends to be the most physically weak and vulnerable of the group. They may use their knowledge to cast or to invent ways to mitigate their physical limitations, but without such measures, they are easy pickings for an enemy.
The stereotypical mage is usually the party's expert, guide, or even the voice of reason. They can have a reputation for arrogance, scholasticism, dogmatism, or brilliance.
Within fantasy, there are a slew of mechanical and narrative variations on the mage. These include wizards, illusionists, druids, clerics, warlocks, bards, shamans, and sorcerors. In other settings, a player may play up the mental excellence, magical ability, or both. Such characters might be: telepathics, telekinetics, doctors, translators, navigators, accountants, professors, inventors, cultists, scholars, researchers, investigators, tech experts, chemists, etc.
In more light-hearted settings, the mage tends toward the mad scientist or light wielding zealot archetypes. In some ways, a religious mage or scholar can be very similar to a gag fighter, but with a different skill set.
Additionally, acting as the agent of an inept or capricious deity can add a lot of humor to a campaign.
In the mad scientist vein; the more absent-minded the inventor, or the more amoral the researcher, the better. Try to pepper in phrases involving "Those fools at the academy" or "The prudish sensibilities of the masses" or even "The, frankly, anti-intellectual will-to-live so often found among test subjects."
That said, we reach the end of our examination of the primary colors of character classes in tabletop roleplaying games. What are your thoughts on the mage? Any fun stories of your own adventures in magery? Tell us about them in the comments below. Until next time, happy gaming, all.
Monday, December 18, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
The Primary Colors: The Rogue
Hey all,
In the last post, we took a closer look at the fighter. This time, we're moving through the list to take a closer look at the rogue.
The rogue is what I'll call an indirect combatant, or even a misdirection combatant. Where the fighter is straightforward, the rogue is anything but. The rogue has the most to do with the Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma attributes in OGL (open game license) systems. In d20 systems, the rogue could accurately be called the "skill monkey". However, in other systems and settings, the rogue can also act as a "face", or charisma-based spokesman for the group. Basically, if your character is liable to talk their way out of a fight, sneak away from a fight, fight from the shadows, fight dirty, or turn tail and run; they're probably some kind of Rogue.
This even includes adventuring nobles and politicians. This is under the logic of what kind of nobles in fiction tend to gravitate toward adventuring. These individuals tend to be swashbuckling rogues.
The rogue's strengths tend to be in their diverse and versatile skills. Where the fighter specializes, the rogue diversifies. An assassin rogue might be a master of disguise, stealth, escape artistry, marksmanship, lockpicking, poisons, courtly intrigue, and might even, in a pinch, negotiate their pay themselves. Conversely, the vanilla fighter is probably good with either melee or ranged weaponry, and maybe a shield. However, rogues tend to be reliant on gaining and keeping the upper hand. Taking the enemy by surprise, fast talking, slipping into the shadows, and other tactics can give the rogue the upper hand; but if they lose the advantage, they lose their momentum, and the entire encounter can go pear-shaped in a hurry. Simply put, they need the advantage, and will usually lose a fair fight.
The stereotypical rogue tends to be the party's: hired gun, face, wheel man, thief, or security expert. Typical traits for a classic rogue might be: sly, smooth, cunning, witty, and even cynical or misanthropic.
Within fantasy, rogues are probably the class least represented in other class variants. They are basically either assassins, thieves, and sometimes spies. In other genres, the rogue is the character defined by speed, whether that's quick movements, quick thinking, or quick wits, the rogue is just plain quick. Other genres could see some love for the rogue in the form of: hackers, technicians, information brokers, brothel madames, government men, bank men, snake oil salesmen, press-ganged sailors, merchantmen, privateers, hitmen, drug dealers, pickpockets, husslers, reporters, scavengers, and merchants.
Finally, let's look at how the rogue works in gag campaigns. The rogue can be a lot of fun in a lighthearted setting. Typically, this will manifest as some form of Chaotic Stupid alignment.
Some rogues play up the "thief" element in spades. If it's not nailed down, it's fair game. Think Rocket Raccoon, especially if you've seen the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Theft for the sake of theft, sometimes there's a plan, sometimes it was shiny, sometimes a thief is staying sharp, and sometimes the explanation is as a simple as "*shrug* I dunno, I was bored, I guess."
They also tend toward the "rule of funny". Sure, we're all in the deepest dungeon of a murderous psychopath king, but we had some laughs, huh?
The other classic for the rogue is to play up how vulnerable they are compared to the fighter and play them as an absolute coward. Scooby and Shaggy are probably the best examples in media of portraying a coward in an endearing way.
So, with that, let's move on and let the rogue rest for a bit. Next time, we'll plan to finish out the primary colors with our last entry, the Mage. What did you think of my write-up of the rogue? Anything you'd add? Any fun stories of your rogue you'd like to share? Feel free to share in the comments below.
In the last post, we took a closer look at the fighter. This time, we're moving through the list to take a closer look at the rogue.
The rogue is what I'll call an indirect combatant, or even a misdirection combatant. Where the fighter is straightforward, the rogue is anything but. The rogue has the most to do with the Dexterity, Intelligence, and Charisma attributes in OGL (open game license) systems. In d20 systems, the rogue could accurately be called the "skill monkey". However, in other systems and settings, the rogue can also act as a "face", or charisma-based spokesman for the group. Basically, if your character is liable to talk their way out of a fight, sneak away from a fight, fight from the shadows, fight dirty, or turn tail and run; they're probably some kind of Rogue.
This even includes adventuring nobles and politicians. This is under the logic of what kind of nobles in fiction tend to gravitate toward adventuring. These individuals tend to be swashbuckling rogues.
The rogue's strengths tend to be in their diverse and versatile skills. Where the fighter specializes, the rogue diversifies. An assassin rogue might be a master of disguise, stealth, escape artistry, marksmanship, lockpicking, poisons, courtly intrigue, and might even, in a pinch, negotiate their pay themselves. Conversely, the vanilla fighter is probably good with either melee or ranged weaponry, and maybe a shield. However, rogues tend to be reliant on gaining and keeping the upper hand. Taking the enemy by surprise, fast talking, slipping into the shadows, and other tactics can give the rogue the upper hand; but if they lose the advantage, they lose their momentum, and the entire encounter can go pear-shaped in a hurry. Simply put, they need the advantage, and will usually lose a fair fight.
The stereotypical rogue tends to be the party's: hired gun, face, wheel man, thief, or security expert. Typical traits for a classic rogue might be: sly, smooth, cunning, witty, and even cynical or misanthropic.
Within fantasy, rogues are probably the class least represented in other class variants. They are basically either assassins, thieves, and sometimes spies. In other genres, the rogue is the character defined by speed, whether that's quick movements, quick thinking, or quick wits, the rogue is just plain quick. Other genres could see some love for the rogue in the form of: hackers, technicians, information brokers, brothel madames, government men, bank men, snake oil salesmen, press-ganged sailors, merchantmen, privateers, hitmen, drug dealers, pickpockets, husslers, reporters, scavengers, and merchants.
Finally, let's look at how the rogue works in gag campaigns. The rogue can be a lot of fun in a lighthearted setting. Typically, this will manifest as some form of Chaotic Stupid alignment.
Some rogues play up the "thief" element in spades. If it's not nailed down, it's fair game. Think Rocket Raccoon, especially if you've seen the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Theft for the sake of theft, sometimes there's a plan, sometimes it was shiny, sometimes a thief is staying sharp, and sometimes the explanation is as a simple as "*shrug* I dunno, I was bored, I guess."
They also tend toward the "rule of funny". Sure, we're all in the deepest dungeon of a murderous psychopath king, but we had some laughs, huh?
The other classic for the rogue is to play up how vulnerable they are compared to the fighter and play them as an absolute coward. Scooby and Shaggy are probably the best examples in media of portraying a coward in an endearing way.
So, with that, let's move on and let the rogue rest for a bit. Next time, we'll plan to finish out the primary colors with our last entry, the Mage. What did you think of my write-up of the rogue? Anything you'd add? Any fun stories of your rogue you'd like to share? Feel free to share in the comments below.
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