I’ve been doing an odd thing, over the last year or two; I’ve started to create mage characters in videogames, and not just as an afterthought on some bored fourth play-through, but for actual preference. This might sound like an “odd thing” only in the sense of “why the hell is this worth mentioning”, but if you are like me, and prefer to express your complex personhood via well-ruled-out fantasy conventions, then you will understand that a change of class is like a change of identity.
Since I must compact things into nice, tidy theories, I have noticed that this class-switching happens roughly once a decade. When I was a teenager, I invariably went for the warrior-type. In my twenties, it was always a thief. I’m embarrassed to say that during these eras, I viewed mages as the default girl-class, as if that was a terrible, shameful thing to be avoided at all costs. So now my sudden interest feels almost subversive. Like, ooh, a mage, can I get away with it? Will nobody stop this brazen act of rebellion? Will I be able to find robes that don’t look like a prom dress?
Maybe my theory will hold another decade, and it will all come full circle. I like to imagine myself at 40, going a little overboard with the shield-bash. Or maybe at that point, we transcend the basic classes, and get into rangers and paladins and other shady stuff. We’ll see. In the meantime, here are some character class-exemplifying goblins. I’m not sure why a thief would have a falcon – I just wanted to draw one.
marianchurchland.com 
A thief would have a falcon because he/she stole it, obviously.
I cannot fault this logic.
Thieves make excellent spies, and a falcon would be good for intercepting homing pidgeons. I also like how they are all looking the same way like on a selection screen.
Nice designs! Maybe the thief has a falcon for spying, stealing objects, or distracting people? That would be a neat game concept if it isn’t one already.
It totally would, wouldn’t it. I want that game.
Cool designs! Maybe the thief has a falcon for spying like a UAV, stealing things, or distracting people? Seems like a neat game concept if it isn’t one already!
bleh, mistake double-post
It was worth saying twice – somebody really needs to make it happen.
I’ve never played a tabletop RPG, but I think I would play one written by you with these kinds of character designs. I always go for archers, but since I suck at real-time battle systems I would probably do better if I picked more sword-and-shield types… When I was younger I always went for mages because magic is cool, but now I think I’m a little more bloodthirsty and like killing things before they see you.
Killing things before they see you is the best. My thieves are often archer-thieves for this reason.
In games where you could choose, I’ve never ever chosen the warrior class. I’ve pretty much been in the wizard class my whole life. Sometimes I’ve dabbled in the rogue/thief/assassin classes. But always come back to the wizard class.
That was me in reverse, but now I’m seeing the appeal.
Yeah… identity…! And maybe personality. Do you perceive yourself as tough or fragile? Do you prefer immediate action or to slowly plan your move?
If I’m forced into a non-mage role, I’m shocked by how fun it is. But I can’t shake the feeling of reckless irresponsibility… like shouldn’t I be curing or haste-ing someone right now? Maybe that’s what being a mage is about. Feeling needed. Or maybe it’s about having an excuse not to fight alone. :P
There’s also a pattern to whether people choose to play as humans, elves, or more unusual races. I always thought the goblin said something about you (ha- don’t presume to know what…)
I love how many bookmarks your mage has in her spellbook. I love that your tiny details are so often rooted in practicality not mere aesthetics/whimsy (e.g. your pocket obsession). If I were a real life mage, my book would be :::swollen::: with markers and post-its.
Thank you. And yeah, throwing this into a more social/online scenario changes everything, doesn’t it – I hadn’t considered that in the original post (though I’ve just picked up Final Fantasy XIV again, so I’m considering it now).
I think of the goblin as representing my most leery, no-sharing, bad-creature self. There is certainly something to all of that.
I was a Ranger into my early twenties, Bard/Rogue into my early thirties, and now Warrior.
I’m glad I’m not alone, in the class-specific decades.
Nightblade class has always been the most appealing. Illusion and stealth. xD
Totally. If I’m going to go mage, it at least has to be a sneaky mage.
I know it’s been mentioned by others already, but I’m always impressed by your ability to create stylish outfits that are entirely functional. I imagine you walk through an entire day as each character before you draw them. Like, what if the thief needs to take a piss out on the road? Or what if the sun comes out and the mage gets too hot?
I hadn’t noticed the class switching trend before, but now that you mention it, I’ve pretty much followed your path and mage should be coming up soon. Have you tried Dragon’s Dogma? You can hop around classes with some of the skills carrying over. They have those three main classes plus combo classes that fall somewhere in between each.
But what I think you’d like most is the deep character creator where you can design anyone from a tiny old man to a hefty young lady with scars and everything. Outfits can usually be worn by both males and females so you don’t get a lot of g-sting bikini armor.
By the way, I recently bought King City. Brandon’s style had caught my attention a few times before while I was browsing comics, but what really convinced me to shell out the cash was the pages that you did for it :) You can rub that in his face if you want. Great read though!
Haha – I will tell Brandon this.
And thank you – I think way too much about that stuff. I think there is nothing that pleases me more than figuring those things out.
I played Dragon’s Dogma really briefly. I’d have bought it for myself, but I don’t own a console. I loved the character creator, though. I was so impressed with the fact that very few options – including stance, and animations, etc. – were gender-locked.