I never liked or understood race as class. My first contact with RPGs was the Czech game Drači doupě (literally Dragon’s Lair), which came out in 1990 and is loosely based on 2e AD&D. Coincidentally, that was the second rule system I learned. Race as class was not a part of them.
When I got into older editions and the OSR scene, I found the concept perplexing. Why is this a thing? was my question. So I never ran it.
Now that these starting experiences, biases and disclaimers are out of the way... Here is my take on race as class. Well not really. I’m not writing this to shit-talk the concept of or people who use it. Rather this is about how I got to understand the ideas behind races as class, and my own solution or twist to it.
In general, I do not like the concept of “races”, “racial bonuses” and “racial/biological determinism” in RPGs. I’ve used it, because that’s how games are built, but eventually started moving towards “kin” as per Forbidden Lands. Still, even that didn’t feel enough and I shifted my worlds and games towards “cultures”.
A few days ago I was cleaning my flat and listening to BECMI Berserkers video on the BECMI Gazeteer 5 – The Elves of Alfheim and it all finally clicked. What spoke to me from the video was the point that Elven society, culture and way of life are just so different and foreign from human that the concept of standard classes just cannot apply to the Elves. My immediate reaction was Yes, this makes complete sense and I agree!.
This brings me back to cultures and my question of Why is this a thing? There is no obvious biological reason why an Elf could. It all clicked. It’s not a biological or “racial” barrier. It’s a social or cultural one, their societies have different value systems, structures, social norms, etc. It’s “nurture” not “nature”.
So are classes without restrictions of kin or cultures the answer? That’s also not really satisfying because it would imply that all societies in the setting function fundamentally the same. That’s also kinda unsatisfying if you ask me. Furthermore, it just makes classes less unique. A Dwarf thief is essentially the same as a Halfling thief, Elf thief, Dragonborn thief, whatever. Just re-skinned. I mean that’s how your world works, knock yourself out. I’m not here to judge.
What I find way more interesting from a world-building, lore, and creative aspect are Cultural (specific) classes.
How would they work? I’ll try to be brief.
I like to see the standard classes – fighter, thief, wizard, cleric, ranger, paladin, bard, etc. as those which are based on human society or the “main” culture in the setting. Other societies and cultures, therefore, need classes specific to their societal and cultural specifics. I’ll try to use my own world and setting to demonstrate and hopefully clarify my thoughts.
Simplified, the world is basically divided into two cultural spheres. The West is dominated by Humans, it focuses on industrial and technological development magic is shunned (except for clerical/religious magic), and those who wield it are seen as unnatural and ostracized. The East is mainly, but not exclusively non-human and magic is a part of most societies in different ways. So the standard classes are for characters coming from cultures in the West. Characters coming from the East need their own classes.
I never fully developed the East of my world, as my campaigns are taking part in various frontiers of the West. The Easterners are shrouded with a bit of, or a lot of, mystery. Finally, I was able to move forward.
Edit: Because there have been misunderstandings, I want to make it clear that the three class concepts below, are by no way the only classes of their cultures, i just selected these three from 12 ( I have currently 4 per culture), to save space and, well, wouldn't expect everyone to be interested. It's not meant as only one class per culture.
Mountain Dwarf culture
- Affinity to earth and fire magic; Religious cult of the Sacred Fire, Settled where there are natural resources in stone and earth to exploit; Focuses on construction and mechanical constructs.
Smokewalker - Class
Focused on reconnaissance and infiltration.
Adept at ranged combat.
Uses fire, smoke and ashes for decoys and stealth – ashes from fire rituals for temporary invisibility.
Can temporarily change the form of solid objects to smoke. On later levels can give smoke form to living things and eventually themself.
Wolf-kin culture
– Affinity to air magic; society of scattered, cooperating, small self-sufficient communities with clan structure; Guerrilla warfare tactics; Uses scent for communication alongside a written alphabet.
Nose - Class
Focused on creating scents for (covert) communication, record keeping, knowledge preservation and practical use.
Adept at combat with staves and polearms.
Creates alchemical scents to pass messages, keep records, and make notes undetected.
Creates scented poisons, healing potions, and concoctions to bolster the body or mind.
On later levels has access to some air magic spells, those related to winds, clouds, whirlwinds, fogs, etc.
Elven culture
Affinity for most types of magic started with nature magic; Magic imbued to most devices/technologies; Even use magic as currency; Society focused on trade, exploration and dominion.
Crafter - Class
Crafters are those who train to create magics.
Starts with a few simple cantrips/spells and magic-related abilities – read magic, detect magic, magical commands, and simple physical protection.
Adept at combat with a pistol and a blunt sidearm.
Studies magic and tries to understand its specific forms and functions. Does not gain access to more magic early on.
Later levels, after sufficient study can “craft” magic – no clearly defined spells, but effects and commands that can be combined.
Afterwards, the class is split into two paths: Words – Those who cast magic. Glyphs – Those imbue magic into armor, weapons and objects.
I have a few other class concepts jotted down, that make sense in my world. I try to keep them different enough to show the cultural specifics but also keep them understandable as to how they are used.
Tthese classes are cultural, so there are no “biological” or “kin” restrictions. A Human brought up in an Elven culture can become a Crafter or a Two-Moon Divine as much as an Elf brought up in the dominant Human culture, could become a fighter or thief. In theory.
Currently, these are concepts. I will focus on making them into more fleshed-out classes, but perhaps first into backgrounds for Cairn, for my open table game. I am not sure how to exactly balance them out for B/X or OSE standards as I do not use a purely gold-for-exp system and prefer my own character progression (but those are different topics). And anyway, half the fun of creating is figuring things out.
Lastly, I don’t expect that I am the first person ever who thought of this. I expect that others tried this either with house rules or even maybe in-game systems. If there are similar works or concepts in NSR / OSR circles, please share.
