Orphaned/Sandbox/Drafting Character Class

Part of the project to reorganize tropes related to Character Class.

Next to Character Level, a Character Class is the most important about a character in an RPG. A character's class determines if they'll be on the frontlines with sword and shield, sneaking around with a dagger, staying back with a bow and arrow, or slinging helpful and harmful spells around.

To put it simply, a Character Class defines a character's abilities. As a character levels up, their class determines how they will improve. Frontline soldiers get a healthy dose of attack and defense, thieves speed, mages magic power, etc. Their class also determines what sorts of special abilities they will attain, sword techniques to various magic spells.

The concept of Character Class started in tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons, where each player would chose from a number of classes with varying abilities, a balance of roles was a key part of the strategy in forming a group.

In Video Games, classes are most commonly used in RPG and FPS games, Which use classes in their own ways. Other genres may use classes as part of incorporating RPG Elements.

Occasionally referred to as "Splats," usually in the context of a Tabletop "Splatbooks," which have expanded sets of character classes to choose from.

For types of Character Class, see Common Character Classes.

Subtropes

 * RPG Class System
 * FPS Class System