From: "Lange, Stephen" <
SLANGE@...>
They can were armor. An item a pure caster cannot wear. That in itself
makes them a hybrid. Heres a simplistic example:
Black = Caster
White = Melee
Grey = Hybrid
A hybrid shares some of each types characteristics.
Wizard cant wear Plate but can cast spells = Black
Melee Can wear Plate but cant cast spells = White
Hybrid can wear plate or equivalent and can cast some spells = Grey
Classes = Grey
Ranger
Shaman
Cleric
Druid
Bard
Paladin
ShadowKnight
How can this logic be refuted when looked at in this light?
------------
That's just it, the armour issue isn't the "right" light to look at it in. It
isn't a matter of equipment usage, but rather class composition and more
abstractly, class concept. As far as Verant is concerned (and they are the
people making the decisions now, aren't they?) there are three primary
"meta-classes," the Fighter, the Magic-User, the Priest and a secondary
"meta-class" of hybrid.
Fighters are the warriors, rogues, and monks. No spells, varying degrees of
armour (Monks get no better armour than Magic-users, if you'd like to factor
that into your armour equation) and varying weapon choices. Their skills, in
combat at least, are concentrated on pure melee (though Rogues have a number
of non combat skills).
Magic-users (and this term is meant more as a handy name handed down from old
pencil and paper RPG's than to mean "all users of magic") are the
necromancers, mages, wizards and enchanters. Their skills are concentrated on
spell casting, and offensive spells at that, though they do get a generous
portion of utility spells, and defensive buffs as well (I've never had it cast
on me, but the Rune series just sounds like fun). Conceptually, the
Magic-user is a robed caster (which I imagine is where a large portion of your
armour theory comes from), leaning on a staff, casting spells from afar, and
immolating his opponents with huge fireballs.
Priests, the category in contention here, are primarily defined by their
decendance from the D&D Cleric and Druid classes. Their spell selection is
concentrated on healing and defensive spells (though they do have smite, etc).
As far as weapon and armour selection, those are both directly inherited from
D&D. The shaman is a bit of a sticky matter, as it is probably arguable that
they are a hybrid of the Cleric and Druid classes or the Druid and Enchanter
(I don't agree with this, but I see how the argument could be made). However
as Verant has made many references to the "Seven primary spell casting
classes" I assume that it is meant to be one of the primary classes, and with
it's concentration on healing spells and odd armour/weapon selection, they
seem to quite clearly fit into the Priest meta-class.
Hybrids are classes which are a combination of 2 other classes (way back when,
these would have been called "dual-classed characters"). Paladins are
Warrior/Clerics, Rangers are Warrior/Druids, and Shadowknights are
Warrior/Necromancers. (I've always thought that a Rogue/Enchanter class would
be interesting, though in many ways, that's what we are... though not
completely.)
Bards are odd. We don't fit nicely into any of those categories. In some
ways, we are the "meta-meta" class. (There's an argument for us to have every
skill.) "Jack-of-all-trades" aside, we really can perform just about any
function in the game. We can fight (though there tends to be some argument
over how well), we can burn, we can control crowds, we can heal, we can buff,
and we can travel. While Verant considers us to be hybrids (perhaps on the
argument that we are the ultimate hybrid), we don't really fit in that
category, as none of our abilities can be directly traced back to a pair (or
more) of "character class parents."
As to the original discussion (which admittedly, has been lost a bit in all of
this), the main reason we don't get bind isn't because we are hybrids, it is
because we aren't one of Verant's "seven primary spell casting classes," i.e.
Mage, Necromancer, Wizard, Enchanter, Druid, Cleric or Shaman. (Though oddly,
when references to the seven "caster-classes" are made, it is usually in a
discussion of how Verant has tried to make each of them unique. I suppose we
aren't considered in that discussion because we are already "unique enough.")
I can go on and on (I've already edited out a few paragraphs on Everquest's
descendance from Circle/Diku Muds, and the grand daddy of them all, Dungeons
and Dragons. By the by, if anyone reading this used to play on ENSImud,
*LICKS!*)
Mikal Stormsong, Bard of the 22nd Rank
Rathe
(Once Spoon the paladin on ENSI)
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