When you get enough feedback on something, such as your "classes & callings" system, it's important to take a hard look at it. Even though the classes & callings are a fun idea, and work well in the game, it's actually the terms themselves that I've gotten some pushback on... and enough of it that I'm giving in.
I have two ideas to label a character: what they do, and how they do it. How they do it I called their "calling"; how they go about solving problems with whatever abilities make them special. "Classes", on the other hand, was my version of a party "role"; what their responsibilities are or what they're best suited to do.
But I got into a good conversation with a friend recently about what those words actually mean. "Class", or classification, is what one normally would consider the external label. Someone "is a class". They "are a wizard", or "are a fighter". They are recognized by their abilities: how they solve problems.
D&D and other classic games do not have the "role", necessarily, or rather most classes fit into a role (e.g. tank, healer, the face) so well that there is no need for the separation. But you wouldn't call a bard a healer unless he used his magic to do so.
"Callings", as I was calling them, are much more akin to a vocation, job, or skillset. While it can be how people do things, as I was using it, it fits much better with what people do. But "calling" is also an overly generic term, which has caused this confusion in the first place.
Instead, we debated over words like vocation (too flowery), role (too plain), and job (too hardline). It's a difficult word to get right, because we want the players to feel awesome about their role. In Hostargo, I have "cool" words like Reaper, Warden, and Eddy to describe the roles. For now, my friend had the idea that, when asked why the character did something, they can say "It's my job!"
So, I am officially switching what I used to call "Classes & Callings" to "Jobs & Classes" respectively. Here goes a period of confusion and chaos until the new names sink in haha! Additionally, if you have any ideas for better words, please shoot them over to me. I'm not sold on anything until the book is in print ;)
I like the thought you put into this. I'm a big fan of finding the right name for something. That said, have you considered the term "Career"? It is a little more holistic than "job" (which you called "hardline"), plus, within a career you might serve in different roles/jobs with similar skillsets. For instance, party Reaper might need to serve as Warden once in a while, or heck, even Duster if something turns sour. However, switching party role doesn't change your skillsets. It's akin to me saying, "I'm a SW Developer" vs "I'm a Scrum Master" The first is my career, the second is my job. In addition, IRL when someone builds upon skill-sets, they aren't doing it for their current job - it's assumed they have those already - it's for potential future jobs, i.e. their overall career.
ReplyDelete"Career" also has the advantage of alliteration with Class. There is something to be said for rolling off the tongue (Think "non-weapon proficiency" vs "skill") That said, with "Career", I'm not sure whether I would continue title the section with the plural of the words or not. "Careers & Classes" or "Career & Class"? Of course, it is also important to be consistent with other sections. Just throwing some thoughts out there.
Those are great thoughts. We discussed it only momentarily because it seemed too broad. But you bring up good points about how it probably should be more broad than "job". It's a weird thing to think about "reaper" and "eddy" as being careers... but haha maybe that's just fine! It's supposed to be weird.
DeleteThe section "Classes & Careers" and saying "my character's Class and Career" doesn't seem too bad. The alliteration helps. But yeah, I'll definitely give this some more thought. Thanks!