What is your class?
I recently had an interesting discussion about the essence of classes, and what they are in real life. An idea awakened that a class is a skill set rather than a profession. Based on this I reasoned that characters in the game actually have more classes than what shows, the others just aren't relevant to adventuring, and so, they are not displayed.
The difference between a skill set and a profession is that a profession only tells what you are currently doing, whereas a skill set is the sum of all your former professions, hobbies and education. These can, in theory, give you several classes, that D&D employs as a single class that's based on your skill set.
Now, this isn't about your FR or D&D class, hence the location. You may however, if you want to, tell the readers how your skill set would qualify you to a class. The main point is to display what your skill set is. I'll open the discussion by telling what my skill set is.
Lvl 5 Football Player
Lvl 7 Machinist
Lvl 2 Truck Driver
Lvl 6 Car Driver
Lvl 11 Badminton Player
Lvl 3 Engineer (Industrial)
Lvl 3 Martial Artist (Karate)
Lvl 10 Student
Lvl 8 Cleaner
Lvl 3 Writer
Lvl 6 Cook
Lvl 3 Soldier
Lvl 3 Commissioned Officer (Prestige Class
)
Lvl 4 Personal Trainer
Some basic rules I used coming up with these is that for each 6 months I did something, I gain a level. Except for the Student levels, which I gave 1 for each year I performed clearly above average. If I got close to the average on a given year, or below it, I gave myself nothing. I've actually been to different schools a total of 17 years.
If I had done any of my hobbies professionally, I would have made up a prestige class for it. As in the case of badminton, an Olympic Badminton Player would have been the prestige class.
For the military classes, I gave myself 1 level per phase of training completed. I never actually got any field experience. The driving stuff is for each year I've had a license and used it to some degree.
I discounted some stuff such as going to the the gym, reading or jogging, based on the fact that I think they don't actually give you skills, they give you stats.
The Writer is ongoing, as is the Engineer. I'm still progressing on those classes. To a minor extent, badminton belongs among these as well.
Now tell me what's your class/skill set?
The difference between a skill set and a profession is that a profession only tells what you are currently doing, whereas a skill set is the sum of all your former professions, hobbies and education. These can, in theory, give you several classes, that D&D employs as a single class that's based on your skill set.
Now, this isn't about your FR or D&D class, hence the location. You may however, if you want to, tell the readers how your skill set would qualify you to a class. The main point is to display what your skill set is. I'll open the discussion by telling what my skill set is.
Lvl 5 Football Player
Lvl 7 Machinist
Lvl 2 Truck Driver
Lvl 6 Car Driver
Lvl 11 Badminton Player
Lvl 3 Engineer (Industrial)
Lvl 3 Martial Artist (Karate)
Lvl 10 Student
Lvl 8 Cleaner
Lvl 3 Writer
Lvl 6 Cook
Lvl 3 Soldier
Lvl 3 Commissioned Officer (Prestige Class
)Lvl 4 Personal Trainer
Some basic rules I used coming up with these is that for each 6 months I did something, I gain a level. Except for the Student levels, which I gave 1 for each year I performed clearly above average. If I got close to the average on a given year, or below it, I gave myself nothing. I've actually been to different schools a total of 17 years.
If I had done any of my hobbies professionally, I would have made up a prestige class for it. As in the case of badminton, an Olympic Badminton Player would have been the prestige class.
For the military classes, I gave myself 1 level per phase of training completed. I never actually got any field experience. The driving stuff is for each year I've had a license and used it to some degree.
I discounted some stuff such as going to the the gym, reading or jogging, based on the fact that I think they don't actually give you skills, they give you stats.
The Writer is ongoing, as is the Engineer. I'm still progressing on those classes. To a minor extent, badminton belongs among these as well.
Now tell me what's your class/skill set?
10
Comments
I must say, your own self-profile just screams "fighter" to me, with your life emphasis on football, personal training, and especially your military background. Anyone who joins the military and succeeds at it is a real life hero in my book.
For my own profile, it would be hard for me to calculate my levels of "student/scholar" based on your rubric. Do all the months of high school count? I also went through seven years of undergraduate and graduate level university training, resulting in two bachelor's degrees and a master's degree. Counting just the college, would that make me a level 14 student/scholar? Also, I played viola in a paid professional symphony for 18 years. Does that make me a level 36 violist?
That's way too high. What's the maximum here? Realistically, I have a level cap due to my inherited genetics combined with personal practice history, that will not be exceeded no matter how many years I practice and play. I think I'll cap my level at anything to 15 if I've done it my whole adult life, because I know I do not have epic level talent at anything.
So, here's an attempt at some kind of personal self-profile:
Lvl 14 student/scholar
Lvl 10 knowledge: religion
Lvl 15 performance: viola and violin
Lvl 15 knowledge: classical music
Lvl 5 performance: any orchestral instrument
Lvl 5 performance: piano
Lvl 5 performance: voice
Lvl 15 teacher
Lvl 3 secretary/clerk
Lvl 2 retail worker/cashier
My skillset and background translates pretty well to the D&D world as either a (non-melee) cleric or a bard. I often like to play mages, but I think the real life skills that translate to wizardry are the hard science skills - especially chemistry, physics, computer coding, and engineering, in none of which I have more than one basic level.
EDIT: Oh, and how could I forget!
Lvl 10 summon familiar: cat
Capping your level to some number seems like a good idea if you feel like your progress halted at some point. I'd say you could count your student and scholar levels separately, and make those scholar levels a prestige class. Your degrees certainly qualify you for it. But a prestige class levels up slower in my books, so you could give yourself a level per degree perhaps?
lvl 4 3D artist
lvl 4 Kung Fu practitioner
lvl 16 gamer
lvl 5 wastrel "Oh how I miss those days."
lvl 4 layabout "and these days even more."
lvl 2 graphic designer
lvl 2 stores clerk
lvl 8 student
lvl 10 reveler
lvl 1 programmer
lvl 1 critter (see http://critrole.com/)
lvl 2 member of teem hooman (see http://teamhooman.com/)
lvl 1 archer
lvl 4 lock pick (actually know how to do this)
lvl 4 3D artist
lvl 2 web developer
lvl 14 python programmer
lvl 12 gamer
lvl 20 physicist/astronomer (Prestige Class, aka PhD)
lvl 20 science outreach
lvl 8 mathematician
lvl 6 tutor
lvl 23 student (one per year counting university and graduate school)
lvl 6 cook
lvl 1 stage manager
lvl 2 props manager
Edit: Almost forgot, the PhD unlocked
lvl 2 not that kind of doctor (most xp gained from extended family members who have no idea what I do for a living)
Oh, yes, and "lvl 10 reveler". Good catch. I think I definitely took some levels of that during my twenties.
Lvl 34 student
Lvl 10 footballer
Lvl 8 biomedical engineer
Lvl 8 Martial artist
Lvl 2 IT professional
Lvl 1 project manager
and probably other stuff that's not coming to mind right now
Lvl 14 student (if I've calculated that right)
Lvl 24 Martial Artist ( Shinki Ryu Jujitsu, Shito Ryu Karate, Hiden Mugei Ryu Iaido, Daito Ryu Aiki Jujitsu)
I reserve the right to misspell all of these.
Lvl 24 Driver
Lvl 4 Disability Care
Lvl 4 Parent
Lvl 54 Gamer
Lvl 28 Cleric (calculated based on time spent as a Christian through personal choice and active thought, rather than upbringing)
Huh, I've done a few things for a very long time without much variation.
*EDIT*
I made a significant error when calculating my monk levels. For some unknown reason, I used my age at time fo retirement, rather than the time I had spent in training. Whoops, has been fixed.
Also, judging by some of these levels, some of you obviously have HLAs and I'd like to hear what these are.
So...
Level 35 writer/Level 5 poet/Level 10 Non Fiction Writer (level 35 is fiction)
Level 20 student/scholar
Level 30 Library Assistant
Level 8 Moderator
Level 12 Researcher
Level 80 Reader
Level 8 Wiccan
Level 9 Christian
Level 30 Atheist
I also am a Level 30 Macintosh user, Level 3 BASIC/DOS User and I did use Windows in the Library, but only for Library software and internet searching.
I would either be a mage or possibly a druid, because of the whole Wiccan thing.
By D&D terms , I'd probably be an 8th level Teacher (no doctorates but experienced enough to save the region xD) and perhaps 5th level artist (not a reference to the youngsters I can cast my fireballs and scare off opposers) .
Level 60 man-child (0-30)
Level 14 grown-up (30-37)
Level 74 Procrastinator (Favored Class)
Level 16 Student (7-18+24-28)
Level 20 Alcoholic (Prestige Class)
Level 54 Gamer
Level 5 Hipster
Natural born passive: Antisocial, loner
Lvl 1- mamas boy
Lvl 10- musician (trombone)
Lvl 11- musician (snare drums)
Lvl 13- artist
Lvl 15- JR AIRFORCE ROTC
Lvl 18- recruitment officer JR AIRFORCE ROTC
LVL 19 and beyond- failure.
Level 48 writer
Level 20 educational facilitator/trainer/instructional designer
Level 4 lecturer
truck driver: level 19
delivery driver: level 8
professional schmuck: level 63
vidgeo gaime player: level 46 ish
weight lifter: level 20 ish
personal investor: level 3
"successful?" individual: level 17
BG player: level 37 ish
boilermaker: level 4 in actual real life ( says so on my card thingy HAW, although level 8 by THESE standards )
professional insulator: level 8
PC hardware buyer: level 22
hating said PC hardware: level 22
house owner: level 12
keeping a balance of over 1 dollar in the bank for a month: level 10 ish
keeping a balance of less than 0 dollars in the bank for a month: level 13+
being a child: level 36
being a child in an adult's body who doesn't not what they are doing with life: level 7
being a child in an adult's body who actually knows what they are doing with their life and is doing pretty darn good: level 15 ish
time spent in these forums enjoying every minute of it: level 12.....?
semi retirement/retirement: level 12
the hopes and dreams of winning the lottery to make life easy: level 10
actually winning the lottery and making life easy : level 0