RPGs - A General Overview (Part 6)

                       by James Judge

Hey guys, guess what? The end has been put off for a little while
because Sue has just given me some more fodder to help novice
RPGers get along in their fave RPGs. So, now blame can be moved
from ol' Simon P to Sue.

So, what have I got in store for you this time? Well, unless you
really are clueless with RPGs you may as well switch off and tune
in to something else now as we're going basic to answer a few of
the fundamental questions, like What is a warrior? Why can't my
mage use armour? How comes my cleric can't touch swords or arrows?

The only defence I can offer to the newbie RPGer why I haven't
included this section before now (or even thought of it before Sue
suggested it) is that I've been playing RPGs now for about seven
years, so I've come to take quite a few things for granted -
mainly the basics and I've assumed that they are just general
knowledge to everyone. So please, forgive me in my oversight, I'll
try and make up for it during this article...

What we'll start off with is a quick explanation of all the
different professions and races your character(s) can be in the
majority of RPGs.  Professions are what your character is - ie a
wizard or warrior - and their race is, well, their ethnic origin
(ie orc or elf). We'll also look at which professions tend to go
well with which races and look at the limitations often associated
with them.

I'll be getting the basic list of professions and races from my
Ravenloft manual. The reason for this is that while I may not rate
the SSI games all that highly, the level of continuity from one
game to another is brilliant. If you pick up one SSI game (such as
Eye Of The Beholder) you'll be able to understand all other
character related areas in all their other games, whether it's an
old Gold Box game or one of their later attempts. Also the magic
system is pretty consistent with only minor variations between
games. Why is this continuity here? Well, SSI are connected to TSR
and TSR are connected to (well, are) Dungeons and Dragons and
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. So, that means that all of the
computer games have a rule system of the highest parentage which
is almost universally understood by dungeoneers and DMs of the
world.

Anyway, on with the races...

In most RPGs you'll get a basic selection of races from the
following list:

Human
Half-Elf
Elf
Dwarf
Gnome
Halfling
Orc
Half-Orc

In the more detailed RPGs you'll get a far wider selection,
including Giants and other such fantastical beasts. Another
variation on the race side of things (to make things even more
complicated) is to take a race, such as the dwarf, and divide them
into lots of little categories (such as hill, gully and mountain
dwarves, fire, ice, mountain and hill giants, wood elves, dark
elves and so the list goes on). As you can understand there's no
way I'll be able to cover all of these different permutations. I'm
just going to deal with the list of eight races above. If you do
want to become more 'in touch' with the different races present in
RPGs a good idea is to get hold of a few table-top RPG rule books
and give them a quick skim through. Also start to read the
numerous TSR books (such as the Dragonlance chronicles and other
sagas based on the AD&D world). They'll all give you a basic
overview of what the rarer races do, as well as their
characteristics (in the case of the books). Also play loads of
RPGs - you'll be presented with loads of different choices and
don't be afraid to experiment.

Right, here we go...

HUMANS.

These guys are your basic stock characters of any RPG. They are
represented as the short-lived, impulsive material people who can
adapt to anything because of their short life span (traditionally
around 70 years). Just look at the world around us and you'll be
able to see just how difficult it is to define a human - you'll
come across great human warriors, but equally tough human mages.
They can use nearly everything in the RPG world (unless it is
specifically designed for, say, an elf) and are classed as the
average character - not brilliant at anything, but not bad at
anything either. You'll find 'em anywhere and everywhere, on
anyone's side doing just about anything. They're a great choice if
you just want to have a well rounded character, but if you want to
progress down a particular profession should be kept away from.
The best profession for a human is a multi-profession character
such as a Paladin or Cleric as this suits their well-rounded
personality.

ELF

Here we have the mystical part of the RPGs. Elves are tall, thin,
lanky geezers who aren't particularly strong. They're very
dextrous, though, and are very quiet, so they make good thieves.
They are best suited, though, to the role of mages and other
wizardly roles. Normally elves are seen as the good guys of the
world, always looking for a tree to hug and an animal to speak to.
But they do make tough adversaries and make the best mages, but are
still nifty with their traditional weapon the long bow.  Because of
their lack of brawn you'll rarely come across an elven barbarian,
weighed down in plate-mail, swinging a huge double-bladed axe.
Instead they prefer light-weight equipment.  Often in RPGs elves
have a few racial modifiers. Racial modifiers are abilities which
are specific to a certain race. Elves often have a resistance to
the cold and can see well in the dark. They may, also, benefit from
a boost in dexterity and have super-keen hearing. Oh, and elves
tend to be immortal.  Therefore in games such as Ravenloft where
you can regenerate dead characters, you often can't regenerate a
dead elf as s/he wouldn't have died from old age.

HALF-ELF

This race is half elf and half human. Therefore they receive the
racial modifiers of the elf (but not to the same extent) as an elf
but put onto a slightly down-classed human chassis. Therefore
half-elves are tougher than elves, but not as tough as humans, but
make better mages than humans. This race is one best suited to a
mage-warrior class as they have the inherent toughness of humans
mixed with the mystique of their elven kin. These people, though,
are often pretty hard to play as they progress up levels at a
slower rate than 'pure' races and, as they often play as
multi-profession characters, theirs XPs (Experience Points) have
to be distributed over a wider range of skills.

DWARF

These are the short, stout, cave dwellers with a love for shiny
things, beer and fights. Most often than not Dwarves will play the
fighter, being decked out in a scary assortment of armour and
bristling with axes (their fave weapon).  Being Dwarves they can
see better than anyone else in the dark and, due to their heroic
constitutions, are often given the ability to resist fire and
poisons. To be blunt, they are walking blobs of muscle that have
learnt how to wield sharp things and have a terribly short temper.
Naturally, they make the best warriors but in some RPGs it is not
uncommon to have quite a few Dwarven clerics bumbling around. They
aren't magically endowed, so make poor mages, but give 'em a
prayer book and a mace and they pontificate splendidly.  A common
hatred with Dwarves is elves as they are poles apart. In games
such as Ishar, where you have to worry about the morale of the
party and whether everyone will start killing each other, it may
be unwise to have a mixture of elves and dwarves. Of course, if
there are no emotional worries, an elf and a dwarf make a
formidable pair. Dwarves live a long time (many hundred years).

GNOME

To be brutally honest I don't see the point in these guys. They're
short, don't make brilliant warriors or mages and are often
pranksters. They do make half-decent clerics and thieves, but
that's about it apart from their inherent resistance to magic.
They live to be pretty old, and that makes their presence even
worse.

HALFLING

This race is often thought of as I think of Gnomes, but that can
sometimes be a mistake. So what if they're short, fat and are
averse to strenuous activity?  They make brilliant thieves and can
rarely be matched in dexterity. They have an innate resistance to
magic and are pretty damned nifty with long range weapons such as
the sling and short-bow. If you want a top-notch thief get a
halfling, but be prepared to sleep often and make sure you can get
a lot of food as these guys are hungry critters.

ORC

Ug, ug, grunt. That's about all an orc can understand so don't
expect them to make a good mage, cleric, thief or anything that
takes a bit of finesse.  They're large, green and they stink to
high heaven, they make enemies like Anthea Turner makes money and
they don't know the meaning of subtlety. Give 'em a hunk of wood,
point them in the right direction and submit the correct command
and there's very few things in the world which'll stop these
walking tanks, apart from a dwarf. And that's all you can say
about the brutes. They smell and take a lot to bring down.

HALF-ORC

A mixture of either Orc and Human or Orc and Elf. Slightly better
than a plain Orc, they can understand a few more words and make
efforts to clean themselves once in a while. Imagine my
description of humans crossed with the above one of orcs and
there's no need for me to say anything else, is there?

So, what kind of creatures should you go for? Well, if you just
want to hack and slash your way through the game go for dwarves,
humans and orcs (as well as any other strong races offered such as
giants, trolls etc.). A little hint, though, with most games you
will need someone with a modicum of intelligence, so a Dwarven
priest or human definitely would not go amiss.

On the other hand for a mystical, magical tour with a lot of
subtlety and though go for elves and humans, as well as the other
weaker races. No need to get in there with the sweaty, heaving
bodies - attack them gits with fireballs from afar, that's what I
say. Of course, some cunning games will need someone with strength
to complete some of the challenges, so don't have four pansies on
your team else you'll be in it up to your intelligent (but weak)
neck.

Space seems to be running out now so I think I'd better close this
little lot off to a close.  Next issue we will look at professions
and getting the correct combination of races and professions to
suit your playing style, as well as a look at the strengths and
weaknesses of the professions.

Happy RPGing!!!
                              - o -