Underappreciated World Building Tools - Classes I

With the perception that there is a glut of base classes released for d20/D&D, it seems that people lose sight of one fundamental aspect of what base classes are. They are not "just" building blocks for characters, be they PCs or NPCs. Like races, they are fundamental building blocks of the entire world.
It may seem like stating the obvious, but few games have room for all base classes currently available even from WotC. Deciding which classes are available - and to whom! - can easily set tone, flavor, dynamics, and mechanics of everything in your game. Even seemingly basic classes have a profound effect.
Just looking at the classes available from the core rules, there are multiple influences on your game world that are worthy of being closely examined.

1. PC classes versus NPC classes. If you use both kinds of classes, you send a very clear message, namely that there are two tiers of characters- weak, standard, characters, and elites. Duh, you say. Yes, it is obvious, and makes sense. And you don't necessarily need both sets of classes for that effect. If there are no PC classes, the powerful characters simply have more levels, and vice versa. If there are no NPC classes, everyone has the potential to be a hero. But wait, there's more.


1. The commoner class. The most basic of the NPC classes, and the weakest. Surely it must exist? Well, what happens if it doesn't? For many creatures, nothing. Typically, only humanoids use it, and only those advance more than one level in commoner. The class could easily be replaced by giving a single Humanoid HD to the affected creatures as a standard, to be replaced by class Hit Dice. This makes the "commoners" of a world hardier, but to better excel at what they do, they need to advance as an expert.
   
2. The adept class. This class is a bit of an oddity, as there is no easily-found counterpart among the PC classes for it. The adept is part druid, part wizard, and due to the mixing of the spell list, has his own flavor. As the basic spellcaster, his presence or absence can have profound impact on the peoples' views of magic. Used verbatim, the adept is essentially a traditional witch, or a hedge wizard, in Vancian form, with healing abilities, curses, weather magic, and a familiar. As such, magic would seem a very mixed blessing to the rural folk the adept will most likely have contact with. Having this adept class in the campaign should invite many of the common superstitions about wizards cursing people who displease them, and keeping the elements at their whim. Spellcasters of any kind would be approached for healing or crop blessing by the common folk, as "that's what the hedge wizard here does, too." The adept is essentially a gift from heaven for the world builder, and changing what he does can greatly enhance the world.
   
3. Expert versus Aristocrat versus Warrior. This set of classes is a pretty natural progression from flexible skill-user, to skill warrior, to pure warrior. This allows NPCs to cover all, or at least most, non-supernatural basics. Though there is some implied flavor in the aristocrat class, it can mimic a "lesser" ranger or paladin just as well as a noble, swashbuckler or barbarian once you look past the name. If NPC classes exist, expert and warrior should definitely be among them.
   


2. PC classes versus Ability classes. Ability classes as they are used in d20 Modern can prove a flavor-stumbling block for a few people. Rather than clear-cut archetypes, you have broad ability sets. Rather than being defined by what they do, they are defined by what they can. Yet, the classes are just as archetypal as the more comfortably-known D&D classes once you look at the setting of the game - the modern world. In a D&D world, there may be knights and wizards, assassins and priests adventuring, while farmers till the field. Archetypes that lend themselves to certain mechanics. But in the modern world, there are far too many potential archetypes to be comfortably been given classes and distinct mechanics. There may be militaries, construction workers, truckers, librarians, college students, hackers, occultists, celebrities, and tons more. Some could get classes. Most couldn't ("I'm a 5th level student now!" - "I'm a 5th level scientist, but have absolutely no student levels. Shouldn't I have some?"). Putting much more emphasis on what the characters can has a similar effect as removing NPC classes - everyone has the potential for greatness, for being a hero or villain, and adds an element of uncertainty about the abilities of the people you meet.


1. Ability classes and a bad ability score. One of the biggest stumbling blocks in accepting the ability classes is the fact that you can have a weak Strong Hero, or a dumb Smart Hero, at least compared to their colleages. What may seem like a flaw can be a great opportunity instead. Rather than having an all-purpose scientist with high Intelligence and tons of Knowledge skills, you can have a dedicated scientist with the Savant talent and a level of Dedicated for Skill Emphasis. He doesn't know as much as his colleages do about other fields, but knows a lot about his chosen field.
   


3. Base Classes versus Prestige Classes. The age old discussion. What should be a base class, and what shouldn't be? Back in my first post on this topic, I said that it depends on the game world on how specific a base class can be. Many point to Paladin and Blackguard as an example - if one is a PrC, the other should be as well. There is good logic in that statement, but having them separate sends an interesting message about the game world: The Champions of Good are born. The Champions of Evil are made. To become an active force of Evil (not just evil), you have to, more or less, pursue that goal, whereas a Champion of Good might have been a simple farm girl until she receives a vision from her god and sets out to fight for Good. While this distinction wasn't planned by the original design team to the best of my knowledge, such distinctions should be kept in mind when creating a campaign world.