I’m a big believer in addition by subtraction. So what happens to the common fantasy vernacular when we take the four broad class archetypes of fantasy – rogue, fighter, cleric, and wizard – and consider four worlds, each distinguished by the absence of one core class?
A World Without Clerics
The gods aren’t acting on the prayers of mortals, if they exist at all. Magic is the sole provenance of wizards. Healing magic is rare. The undead are that much more terrifying.
A World Without Rogues
A world without thieves could be a world with nothing worth stealing. Perhaps a utopia that has solved material problems, threatened only by some cosmic force? Or the opposite – the world of OD&D, a world desperate enough that every adventurer is a thief.
A World Without Wizards
Magic in the mortal world exists at the discretion of the gods. It doesn’t matter whether someone is called a wizard, druid, sorcerer, warlock, witch, or cleric. All magic comes from a divine power of one kind or another.
A World Without Fighters
A world without fighters is a world of truly terrible monsters. Swords and chain mail are fine for standing armies, but they’re a joke against the terrors of the dungeon. If you want to adventure down there, you need the power of the gods, the reality-warping magic of the arcane, or the wits and skills of the stealthy trap-finding rogue – weapons and armor will do you little good.
No comments:
Post a Comment