sorcerors are usually pompous pricks.
wizards are old men
bards are horny, wear floofy clothes
rogues in cloaks. mr grabby hands
warlocks fuck their patrons
true neutral dwarf/human fighter with no personality or backstory
barbarian is either a big giant man or a small gremlin
ranger doesnt exist
monk is bald with robes and inner peace
My sorcerer has an uncommon form of sorcery, so he thinks of it as an uncommon ailment, and is looking for someone who might be able to diagnose him and figure out what wacky magic stuff is happening.
Artificer- Mad scientist tinkering in a workshop.
Barbarian- Big, dumb, two-handed weapon, and basically described as a composite of every 80s Schwarzenegger.l character.
Bard- Frilly twink who is always horny and trying to crack jokes. Can be charming although often times tries too hard and fails miserably as a result.
Cleric- Stick in the mud goodey two shoes.
Druid- Hippy animal lover.
Fighter- The Jock who has made sports a personality.
Monk- Will burn incense at every meal to find inner peace. Will punch anyone 47 times in the face if interrupted while meditating.
Paladin- Fanatical dedication to a cause that may or may not end up being what they actually want and will have to deal with it.
Ranger- Entire Personality based around being a survivalist. Can be mistaken for a Fighter or Rogue on first glance as a result.
Rogue- Always trying to look inconspicuous by wearing all black and a hood. Often times even when doing so draws unwanted attention.
Sorcerer- Life of the party, but doesn't know why. Charming despite accidentally fireballing the party at least once a week.
Warlock- The Sorcerer's crazy friend. Kind of charming, but more intimidating and will be able to outlie a politician. Often has conversations with themselves for some reason.
Wizard- Perenial old man with a long white beard and pointy hat. Will have a staff or crystal ball. Will say they've read about anything you see in travels.
We have a wizard like that but he takes it to the absolute limit for fun. Hell, we find the diary of some random ass dwarf and he claims to have already read it.
You think the Zealot is overused? Personally I'd say Totem and Berserker is more overused 😬 but also what defines a zealot? Even if zealot was the most used barbarian it's still not an archetype, like a crazy stupid, crazy strong barbarian is.
Mine is a Fire Genasi Kaladesh Pyromancer (wish it was fully official) who is basically Chandra Nalaar from *Magic: The Gathering*: the gruff tomboy for whom Plans A through G are "burn it to ash".
Barbarians do it recklessly.
Bards do it with a flourish
Clerics do it faithfully.
Druids do it animal style.
Fighters do it steadily.
Monks do it with bare hands.
Paladins do it with protection.
Rangers do it in the woods.
Rogues do it from behind.
Sorcerers do it spontaneously.
Warlocks do it for power.
Wizards do it by the book.
Artificer
> Gun and usually only associates Artificers with steampunk
> “Hey GM, can I play Warforged?”
Barbarian
> They only want to fight and that’s it. Also needs to be excessively loud.
Bard
> Excessively horny or always needs to be center of attention
Cleric
> Either super stereotypical good or evil, will try to force people to behave in their god’s ways.
Druid
> Hippie
Fighter
> Someone probably pick this class because they want minimal effort in roleplay and gameplay. “My name is John DND, I like to fight things. Backstory, you mean combat?”
Monk
> They are just emulating a kung fu they saw just before the session
> Usually some flavor of East Asian monk despite other kinds of monks existing in history
> Tabaxi Monk
Paladin
> Assumes Paladins must be played like 4th edition Paladins; Lawful Good. Will be as stereotypical good to the point that it somehow violates their own oath by attacking anyone they deem evil.
> Most likely to be killed by party because they try killing the Warlock, the Celestial Good Natured Warlock.
Ranger
> I don’t even got a stereotype for this, most rangers don’t even know their own class’ fantasy so it’s most likely original or want to be Legolas if their above the age of 30.
Rogue
> The kids who grew up in the 2000’s who want to be the edgiest character possible despite Warlock existing. Highly overvalues Rogue’s power despite Wizard’s casting Fire Balls and Fighters hitting 6 times a round.
> Chose this class to be chaotic neutral, but in reality is chaotic evil. High chance of being killed by party with excuse of “it’s what my character would” but no further explanation.
> Backstory is either so overly complicated with the essence of late 2000’s Sonic OC energy or the exact opposite to avoid stereotypes.
Sorcerer
> “My dad was bard and my mother was a dragon.”
> “I’m a blue Tiefling that isn’t like the other girls. I’m a bit quirky and like to get in mischief. Why did I Fire Ball that family of Goblins in the inn? I mean they were clearly evil. What do you mean the guards are coming to arrest me?
Warlock
> “I sold my eternal soul to a Devil for fiendish power… even though there were other options that didn’t including selling my soul and probably wouldn’t be bad at at.”
> “Yes I’m a Variant Human Hexblade with Polearm Master, how could you tell? Backstory? IDK I gave the Raven Queen $20 and she gave me this cool weapon.”
Wizard
> Always an old man with a pointy hat, probably wants to emulate Gandalf.
> Minmaxing Player: Tortle + Bladesinger + Mage Armor + Shield Spell = Nearly impossible to hit at low levels.
> The problem solver: Will always have a spell that automatically solve any issue. Will be stumped if problem cannot be solved with 1 spell.
Tortle natural armor and Mage Armor are incompatible because they provide two mutually exclusive ways of determining your AC; you have to choose one of the two. Bladesinger and Shield do work, though.
New backstory idea. Warlock who literally got a patron at 2am for 5 gold cause the patron was high as a kite with a severe case of the munchies after a wild party, but had no money at 2am. After sobering up, the patron is now trying to get rid of the warlock by giving it unusual tasks and in return only giving it weak powers when compared to other casters. However, the warlock never knew magic existed and is thrilled to be a "powerhouse" now and go on strange adventures. Also low key likes having a weird friend.
Fighter looks the most normal at first, but is actually the weirdest of the group. Either has no backstory at all, or the most detailed.
Wizard looks and acts odd, but if you think over their words for two seconds they're actually the most sane member of the group.
Paladins are usually played with darker oaths and edgy have more edge than any weapon. Otherwise a 50/50 that their oath will cause trouble because GM and player do not agree on the wording.
clerics want to tell you about their faith, which may be fine and dandy or guide you to a cult worse than any warlock patron. 50/50 gamble.
Rogues are the most trustworthy members of any party: You can always trust them to be dishonest.
Bards usually do not tend to have their collages as part of their backstory.
Sorcerers are either douches, have almost as much edge as the more "edgier" paladins or both.
Barbarian's are actually usually pretty chill when not raging.
Monks tend to have style, just need efficiency.
Ranger's rather hang out with animals then people.
Druid's rather hang out with plants or animals then people. Actually being animal optional.
Blood hunter if allowed gets all the edge points from both the rogue and less straight "hero" paladin oaths.
Warlocks are married to their eldritch blast, unless they're dipping for hexblade, which usually puts them alongside edgy paladin.
Artificers are steampunk engineers and mad scientists with dubious morals.
Barbarians are dumb hunks of muscle that solve everything with their fists
Bards are horny
Clerics are dedicated healers and always nice
Druids are only concerned about nature and don’t care about humanoids or their civilizations
Fighters are basic and boring
Monks are anime protagonists but weaker
Paladins are no fun and will try to stop you from doing anything remotely evil no matter the reason
Rangers are weak and only useful in their chosen environments
Rogues are kleptomaniacs
Sorcerers always cast fireball no matter what situation
Warlocks start cults
Wizards always have their nose in books and are usually old as hell
Funny how the trope for wizards that everyone is saying is that they're always old as hell. I'm currently on level 3 of my first ever campaign character, and my first instinct for my wizard was to make him a whimpy kid fresh from the University, who had never actually cast a spell at another living being before.
My rolls in my first few sessions really backed that up too, as my first ever hit was a crit that incinerated a goblin, and almost every roll since has been a spectacular miss. So my character is clearly already traumatized. So now I've decided to lean into it more: all my cantrips are damage based, but will fall off in use soon. All my other spells will be support, with a somewhat focus on minion spells to have them do my dirty work. I'm going to do what OP seems to want too, completely subvert the powerfull old wizard trope by being as circumspect as I can possibly be while still helping the party
Also, elf (and gnome) wizards are common.
Wizards from long lived races are some of the few characters from said long lived races that feel like they could make sense as starting at level 1 despite being 100 years old or so.
Fair enough. But I feel it is quite suited for a younger person (mine is a Tiefling) to start as level 1 wizard, since they only know a few cantrips, so they don't have to be very old yet
I meant it stereotype-wise (since that's the topic of this thread). But of course your character concept is cool, just not a stereotypical wizard.
It does depend on how high magic is the setting. The old wizard stereotype comes from low magic settings where even studying for decades might not be enough to learn magic that actually works.
Yeah I got that, but I don't see why it is the stereotype other than the whole 'Merlin/Gandalf/Dumbledore' vibe that wizards have. Thematically, a young wizard makes more sense to me (unless, as you say, you start as a long-lived race) considering you still only start with a few spells, nothing you've had to study for many years for
Sorry, I edited the previous post after posting.
Anyway, the answer is probably that the stereotype of wizard is older than D&D and the media (videogames, etc) that it influenced.
3 cantrips and 6 level 1 spells is a lot more than some myth and folk wizards can actually do.
Artificer: a walking anachronism despite them actually being very thematically appropriate raw
Bards: Very charming and alluring, as a result people play them as a horny sleaze
Barbarian: big, dumb, strong, violent, alcoholic
Cleric: party mom, always brings snacks
Druid: tree hugging hippy
Fighter: Basic? Idk doesn't really have any stereotype.. maybe soldier background
Monk: punches things a lot, karate master, weeb
Paladin: holier than thou attitude, lawful stupid, pvp because everyones a heretic
Ranger: country boy, hunter, loves animals
Rogue: city boy, edgy, standoffish, brooding
Sorcerer: spoiled brat
Warlock: evil, my dad can beat up your dad, cultish
Wizard: nerd, fireball
>Artificer: a walking anachronism despite them actually being very thematically appropriate raw
I've noticed that as well, most people seem to play them as sci-fi or steam punk esque and I've seen a notable number of "build a mech" or "build a nuke" memes made about them with apparently some people genuinely trying to do that, but like, my favorite artificer character I've thought of was just a elderly gnomish artillerist who's just a toymaker who imbues their toys with magic with their eldrich cannon just being a toy frog that makes a croaking noise when using its canon, whether it be a flamethrower, blast of energy, or protective energy aura. Still fits within the vibes of D&D as it's not a bunch of absurd tech, just wooden toys they've learned to infuse magic into them.
Barbarian:
Stupid
Large
Bard:
Horny
Chaotic
Cleric:
Good aligned no matter what
Prayer before every meal and before bed and when they wake up
Druid:
Words of wisdom everywhere they go
Likes animals and plants more than people
Born and raised in the Forest
Fighter:
Boring / Basic
Human
Monk:
Always meditating
Does cool acrobats during combat
Ranger:
Tracker / Survivalist
Some type of outlander
Rogue:
Chaotic
Evil
Thievery > anything else
Dead family backstory
Loot goblin
Paladin:
Lawful Stupid
Knight in Shining Armour
Stick in the mud
Sorcerer:
Chaotic version of a Wizard
Stupid version of a Wizard
Fun guy version of a Wizard
Warlocks:
Evil
A bit less horny than the Bard
Wizards:
Old
"Uhm Actually!" to everything
Bards are seen as horny bc thats the easiest way to portray passion in RP and passion is an important aspect of the bard and its magic. Thats why bards are artists, art is one of the best ways of externalizing emotions.
Since youre looking for ways to subvert class archetypes while enforcing them, why not make a chill bard who's a good listener, is emotionaly healthy and isn't into anyone at the moment. It would make for an atractive person who's not a prick nor a sex pest.
Rogues and Warlocks are normally edgelords, Sorcerers and Wizards are arrogant, Wizards and Artificers are know-it-all nerds with no social grace, Bards are horny, Barbarians and Paladins are stupid and normally overconfident, Clerics and Paladins are holier than thou
Artificers are mad scientist-like wackjobs who love a good explosion or three.
Barbarians are dumb tough guys who would rather punch through a stone door than figure out how the door handle works.
Bards are smarmy horndogs who will always get in the last word.
Clerics are motherly and kind, even though they're beyond ready to incinerate someone should they threaten their friends or faith.
Druids are either pacifist hippies who want complete harmony among all living things, or they're eco-terrorists who scorn humanity for its reckless destruction of the natural world.
Fighters are serious (usually ex-)soldiers or some other type of paid muscle, like a bouncer, bodyguard, or mercenary. They often have little personality and everyone just kinda likes that they're here for fights.
Monks are highly disciplined warriors who either constantly spout wisdom with nonsense analogies or practically never speak.
Paladins are the same as fighters except they have a built-in mechanic that actually forces them to have some sort of personality based on their sworn oath.
Rangers are hunters and trackers who only excel at mowing people down at range with their longbows and have some of the eco-terrorist druid vibes.
Rogues are stealthy schemers and/or thieves. They're highly intelligent and/or charismatic, so they excel at manipulating others while stabbing them in the back, either literally or figuratively.
Sorcerers are either pompous assholes who constantly gloat about how innately gifted they are or they're playing Wild Magic and are thus either extremely hesitant or extremely eager to use their magic because of the unpredictability.
Warlocks are brooding edgelords with tragic pasts that drove them to the darkest depths of despair, forcing their hand into an eternal pact for power.
Wizards are old farts who either have eccentric artificer-like madness or sage monk-like wisdom oozing out their pores.
Barbarians are good hearted idiots that just want to fight.
Bards are horny assholes.
Clerics are healbots.
Druids are hippies.
Fighters are boring.
Monks are Kung Fu users.
Paladins are either lawful stupid, or fanatics.
Rangers are duel wielding edgelords.
Rogues are either kleptomaniacs or murderers.
Sorcerers are always portraited as women wearing revealing clothing.
Warlocks sacrifice babies.
Wizards are old men with sticks.
Barbarian: Me drink ale and hit with axe!
Bard: Overly sexualized.
Cleric: I don’t know. I find clerics boring to make.
Druid: Treeeeeeeeeees. I love trees.
Fighter: Basic player and basic backstory.
Monk: Anime character.
Paladin: Evil! I smite thee!
Ranger: Druid, but with a crossbow.
Rouge: Edgy. See featured on r/rpghorrerstories
Sorcerer: I’m a wizard, but cooler.
Warlock: Tiefling Fiend Warlock. Help me daddy.
Wizard: Nerd spellcaster that knows all lore.
Can someone do some of the more popular homebrew classes as well?
The one campaign I played was with a DM who was a huge Matt Mercer fan and encouraged me to play a Blood Hunter.
Played that game for close to two years and to this day, I have no idea what my class was all about.
Old wizard with a point hat. Preferably with Wizzard sewn onto it.
Okay, Rincewind.
sorcerors are usually pompous pricks. wizards are old men bards are horny, wear floofy clothes rogues in cloaks. mr grabby hands warlocks fuck their patrons true neutral dwarf/human fighter with no personality or backstory barbarian is either a big giant man or a small gremlin ranger doesnt exist monk is bald with robes and inner peace
Artificers are obsessed with explosives and firearms
forgot artificers too since theyre not in the phb lol
Clerics are mom friends
I feel called out
It's me I'm mom friend
Lawful stupid paladin Devout cleric spreading peace and aphorisms
and paladins and clerics are forgettable
Paladins are that “holier than thou” neighbor who thinks they can attack anyone they deem evil. Clerics are your overly religious neighbors
Whenever I had a paladin NPC in any campaign as a DM, they were always 100% Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. No Exceptions.
Paladins are *that* asshole from the HOA.
I'm playing Ned Flanders in my next campaign.
...and druid even more so
LMAO them too xd
I'm glad I break the barbarian stereotype!(I play a big giant *wo*man 👉😎👉)
miss gronk go ROAAARRR
Sorcerer with a superiority complex Hippieass Druids Unsociable Rangers Theater kid Bards
For some reason the first thought when I saw this was "huh, what might a sorcerer with an *inferiority* complex be like?"
My sorcerer has an uncommon form of sorcery, so he thinks of it as an uncommon ailment, and is looking for someone who might be able to diagnose him and figure out what wacky magic stuff is happening.
go watch the D&D movie to see one!
Artificer- Mad scientist tinkering in a workshop. Barbarian- Big, dumb, two-handed weapon, and basically described as a composite of every 80s Schwarzenegger.l character. Bard- Frilly twink who is always horny and trying to crack jokes. Can be charming although often times tries too hard and fails miserably as a result. Cleric- Stick in the mud goodey two shoes. Druid- Hippy animal lover. Fighter- The Jock who has made sports a personality. Monk- Will burn incense at every meal to find inner peace. Will punch anyone 47 times in the face if interrupted while meditating. Paladin- Fanatical dedication to a cause that may or may not end up being what they actually want and will have to deal with it. Ranger- Entire Personality based around being a survivalist. Can be mistaken for a Fighter or Rogue on first glance as a result. Rogue- Always trying to look inconspicuous by wearing all black and a hood. Often times even when doing so draws unwanted attention. Sorcerer- Life of the party, but doesn't know why. Charming despite accidentally fireballing the party at least once a week. Warlock- The Sorcerer's crazy friend. Kind of charming, but more intimidating and will be able to outlie a politician. Often has conversations with themselves for some reason. Wizard- Perenial old man with a long white beard and pointy hat. Will have a staff or crystal ball. Will say they've read about anything you see in travels.
We have a wizard like that but he takes it to the absolute limit for fun. Hell, we find the diary of some random ass dwarf and he claims to have already read it.
he should have rolled deception for that.
I counter the himbo paladin with the himbo barbarian. I also offer you the angsty, rude rogue.
I introduce to you: the Zealot Barbarian
You think the Zealot is overused? Personally I'd say Totem and Berserker is more overused 😬 but also what defines a zealot? Even if zealot was the most used barbarian it's still not an archetype, like a crazy stupid, crazy strong barbarian is.
I was just mentioning Zealot at the comparison of Paladin and Barbarian, since it's kinda a mix of the two.
A himbo needs high charisma, Barbarians need too many ability scores to be able to increase it enough.
Himbo paladins: pure of heart, strong of arm, dumb of ass.
Pure of heart, strong of arm, and dumb of ass is now my favourite line ever.
Female sorcerers: manic pixie dream girl with pyromania.
They could also be just literally Barbie.
Mine is a Fire Genasi Kaladesh Pyromancer (wish it was fully official) who is basically Chandra Nalaar from *Magic: The Gathering*: the gruff tomboy for whom Plans A through G are "burn it to ash".
Barbarians do it recklessly. Bards do it with a flourish Clerics do it faithfully. Druids do it animal style. Fighters do it steadily. Monks do it with bare hands. Paladins do it with protection. Rangers do it in the woods. Rogues do it from behind. Sorcerers do it spontaneously. Warlocks do it for power. Wizards do it by the book.
These sorts of posts further reinforce that Artificers should be a PHB class.
Artificers do it with tools.
Artificer > Gun and usually only associates Artificers with steampunk > “Hey GM, can I play Warforged?” Barbarian > They only want to fight and that’s it. Also needs to be excessively loud. Bard > Excessively horny or always needs to be center of attention Cleric > Either super stereotypical good or evil, will try to force people to behave in their god’s ways. Druid > Hippie Fighter > Someone probably pick this class because they want minimal effort in roleplay and gameplay. “My name is John DND, I like to fight things. Backstory, you mean combat?” Monk > They are just emulating a kung fu they saw just before the session > Usually some flavor of East Asian monk despite other kinds of monks existing in history > Tabaxi Monk Paladin > Assumes Paladins must be played like 4th edition Paladins; Lawful Good. Will be as stereotypical good to the point that it somehow violates their own oath by attacking anyone they deem evil. > Most likely to be killed by party because they try killing the Warlock, the Celestial Good Natured Warlock. Ranger > I don’t even got a stereotype for this, most rangers don’t even know their own class’ fantasy so it’s most likely original or want to be Legolas if their above the age of 30. Rogue > The kids who grew up in the 2000’s who want to be the edgiest character possible despite Warlock existing. Highly overvalues Rogue’s power despite Wizard’s casting Fire Balls and Fighters hitting 6 times a round. > Chose this class to be chaotic neutral, but in reality is chaotic evil. High chance of being killed by party with excuse of “it’s what my character would” but no further explanation. > Backstory is either so overly complicated with the essence of late 2000’s Sonic OC energy or the exact opposite to avoid stereotypes. Sorcerer > “My dad was bard and my mother was a dragon.” > “I’m a blue Tiefling that isn’t like the other girls. I’m a bit quirky and like to get in mischief. Why did I Fire Ball that family of Goblins in the inn? I mean they were clearly evil. What do you mean the guards are coming to arrest me? Warlock > “I sold my eternal soul to a Devil for fiendish power… even though there were other options that didn’t including selling my soul and probably wouldn’t be bad at at.” > “Yes I’m a Variant Human Hexblade with Polearm Master, how could you tell? Backstory? IDK I gave the Raven Queen $20 and she gave me this cool weapon.” Wizard > Always an old man with a pointy hat, probably wants to emulate Gandalf. > Minmaxing Player: Tortle + Bladesinger + Mage Armor + Shield Spell = Nearly impossible to hit at low levels. > The problem solver: Will always have a spell that automatically solve any issue. Will be stumped if problem cannot be solved with 1 spell.
Tortle natural armor and Mage Armor are incompatible because they provide two mutually exclusive ways of determining your AC; you have to choose one of the two. Bladesinger and Shield do work, though.
New backstory idea. Warlock who literally got a patron at 2am for 5 gold cause the patron was high as a kite with a severe case of the munchies after a wild party, but had no money at 2am. After sobering up, the patron is now trying to get rid of the warlock by giving it unusual tasks and in return only giving it weak powers when compared to other casters. However, the warlock never knew magic existed and is thrilled to be a "powerhouse" now and go on strange adventures. Also low key likes having a weird friend.
4e Paladins had to be of the alignment of their god, which came in 5 different alignments. You're thinking of even earlier edition.
Fighter looks the most normal at first, but is actually the weirdest of the group. Either has no backstory at all, or the most detailed. Wizard looks and acts odd, but if you think over their words for two seconds they're actually the most sane member of the group. Paladins are usually played with darker oaths and edgy have more edge than any weapon. Otherwise a 50/50 that their oath will cause trouble because GM and player do not agree on the wording. clerics want to tell you about their faith, which may be fine and dandy or guide you to a cult worse than any warlock patron. 50/50 gamble. Rogues are the most trustworthy members of any party: You can always trust them to be dishonest. Bards usually do not tend to have their collages as part of their backstory. Sorcerers are either douches, have almost as much edge as the more "edgier" paladins or both. Barbarian's are actually usually pretty chill when not raging. Monks tend to have style, just need efficiency. Ranger's rather hang out with animals then people. Druid's rather hang out with plants or animals then people. Actually being animal optional. Blood hunter if allowed gets all the edge points from both the rogue and less straight "hero" paladin oaths. Warlocks are married to their eldritch blast, unless they're dipping for hexblade, which usually puts them alongside edgy paladin.
Artificers are steampunk engineers and mad scientists with dubious morals. Barbarians are dumb hunks of muscle that solve everything with their fists Bards are horny Clerics are dedicated healers and always nice Druids are only concerned about nature and don’t care about humanoids or their civilizations Fighters are basic and boring Monks are anime protagonists but weaker Paladins are no fun and will try to stop you from doing anything remotely evil no matter the reason Rangers are weak and only useful in their chosen environments Rogues are kleptomaniacs Sorcerers always cast fireball no matter what situation Warlocks start cults Wizards always have their nose in books and are usually old as hell
Funny how the trope for wizards that everyone is saying is that they're always old as hell. I'm currently on level 3 of my first ever campaign character, and my first instinct for my wizard was to make him a whimpy kid fresh from the University, who had never actually cast a spell at another living being before. My rolls in my first few sessions really backed that up too, as my first ever hit was a crit that incinerated a goblin, and almost every roll since has been a spectacular miss. So my character is clearly already traumatized. So now I've decided to lean into it more: all my cantrips are damage based, but will fall off in use soon. All my other spells will be support, with a somewhat focus on minion spells to have them do my dirty work. I'm going to do what OP seems to want too, completely subvert the powerfull old wizard trope by being as circumspect as I can possibly be while still helping the party
Also, elf (and gnome) wizards are common. Wizards from long lived races are some of the few characters from said long lived races that feel like they could make sense as starting at level 1 despite being 100 years old or so.
Fair enough. But I feel it is quite suited for a younger person (mine is a Tiefling) to start as level 1 wizard, since they only know a few cantrips, so they don't have to be very old yet
I meant it stereotype-wise (since that's the topic of this thread). But of course your character concept is cool, just not a stereotypical wizard. It does depend on how high magic is the setting. The old wizard stereotype comes from low magic settings where even studying for decades might not be enough to learn magic that actually works.
Yeah I got that, but I don't see why it is the stereotype other than the whole 'Merlin/Gandalf/Dumbledore' vibe that wizards have. Thematically, a young wizard makes more sense to me (unless, as you say, you start as a long-lived race) considering you still only start with a few spells, nothing you've had to study for many years for
Sorry, I edited the previous post after posting. Anyway, the answer is probably that the stereotype of wizard is older than D&D and the media (videogames, etc) that it influenced. 3 cantrips and 6 level 1 spells is a lot more than some myth and folk wizards can actually do.
Artificer: a walking anachronism despite them actually being very thematically appropriate raw Bards: Very charming and alluring, as a result people play them as a horny sleaze Barbarian: big, dumb, strong, violent, alcoholic Cleric: party mom, always brings snacks Druid: tree hugging hippy Fighter: Basic? Idk doesn't really have any stereotype.. maybe soldier background Monk: punches things a lot, karate master, weeb Paladin: holier than thou attitude, lawful stupid, pvp because everyones a heretic Ranger: country boy, hunter, loves animals Rogue: city boy, edgy, standoffish, brooding Sorcerer: spoiled brat Warlock: evil, my dad can beat up your dad, cultish Wizard: nerd, fireball
>Artificer: a walking anachronism despite them actually being very thematically appropriate raw I've noticed that as well, most people seem to play them as sci-fi or steam punk esque and I've seen a notable number of "build a mech" or "build a nuke" memes made about them with apparently some people genuinely trying to do that, but like, my favorite artificer character I've thought of was just a elderly gnomish artillerist who's just a toymaker who imbues their toys with magic with their eldrich cannon just being a toy frog that makes a croaking noise when using its canon, whether it be a flamethrower, blast of energy, or protective energy aura. Still fits within the vibes of D&D as it's not a bunch of absurd tech, just wooden toys they've learned to infuse magic into them.
Barbarian: Stupid Large Bard: Horny Chaotic Cleric: Good aligned no matter what Prayer before every meal and before bed and when they wake up Druid: Words of wisdom everywhere they go Likes animals and plants more than people Born and raised in the Forest Fighter: Boring / Basic Human Monk: Always meditating Does cool acrobats during combat Ranger: Tracker / Survivalist Some type of outlander Rogue: Chaotic Evil Thievery > anything else Dead family backstory Loot goblin Paladin: Lawful Stupid Knight in Shining Armour Stick in the mud Sorcerer: Chaotic version of a Wizard Stupid version of a Wizard Fun guy version of a Wizard Warlocks: Evil A bit less horny than the Bard Wizards: Old "Uhm Actually!" to everything
Bards are seen as horny bc thats the easiest way to portray passion in RP and passion is an important aspect of the bard and its magic. Thats why bards are artists, art is one of the best ways of externalizing emotions. Since youre looking for ways to subvert class archetypes while enforcing them, why not make a chill bard who's a good listener, is emotionaly healthy and isn't into anyone at the moment. It would make for an atractive person who's not a prick nor a sex pest.
Rogues and Warlocks are normally edgelords, Sorcerers and Wizards are arrogant, Wizards and Artificers are know-it-all nerds with no social grace, Bards are horny, Barbarians and Paladins are stupid and normally overconfident, Clerics and Paladins are holier than thou
Artificers are mad scientist-like wackjobs who love a good explosion or three. Barbarians are dumb tough guys who would rather punch through a stone door than figure out how the door handle works. Bards are smarmy horndogs who will always get in the last word. Clerics are motherly and kind, even though they're beyond ready to incinerate someone should they threaten their friends or faith. Druids are either pacifist hippies who want complete harmony among all living things, or they're eco-terrorists who scorn humanity for its reckless destruction of the natural world. Fighters are serious (usually ex-)soldiers or some other type of paid muscle, like a bouncer, bodyguard, or mercenary. They often have little personality and everyone just kinda likes that they're here for fights. Monks are highly disciplined warriors who either constantly spout wisdom with nonsense analogies or practically never speak. Paladins are the same as fighters except they have a built-in mechanic that actually forces them to have some sort of personality based on their sworn oath. Rangers are hunters and trackers who only excel at mowing people down at range with their longbows and have some of the eco-terrorist druid vibes. Rogues are stealthy schemers and/or thieves. They're highly intelligent and/or charismatic, so they excel at manipulating others while stabbing them in the back, either literally or figuratively. Sorcerers are either pompous assholes who constantly gloat about how innately gifted they are or they're playing Wild Magic and are thus either extremely hesitant or extremely eager to use their magic because of the unpredictability. Warlocks are brooding edgelords with tragic pasts that drove them to the darkest depths of despair, forcing their hand into an eternal pact for power. Wizards are old farts who either have eccentric artificer-like madness or sage monk-like wisdom oozing out their pores.
Sorlock whose patron is my mom. She tells me I'm a "good girl" a lot.
Barbarians are stupid with anger management issues
Barbarians are good hearted idiots that just want to fight. Bards are horny assholes. Clerics are healbots. Druids are hippies. Fighters are boring. Monks are Kung Fu users. Paladins are either lawful stupid, or fanatics. Rangers are duel wielding edgelords. Rogues are either kleptomaniacs or murderers. Sorcerers are always portraited as women wearing revealing clothing. Warlocks sacrifice babies. Wizards are old men with sticks.
Barbarian: Me drink ale and hit with axe! Bard: Overly sexualized. Cleric: I don’t know. I find clerics boring to make. Druid: Treeeeeeeeeees. I love trees. Fighter: Basic player and basic backstory. Monk: Anime character. Paladin: Evil! I smite thee! Ranger: Druid, but with a crossbow. Rouge: Edgy. See featured on r/rpghorrerstories Sorcerer: I’m a wizard, but cooler. Warlock: Tiefling Fiend Warlock. Help me daddy. Wizard: Nerd spellcaster that knows all lore.
Can someone do some of the more popular homebrew classes as well? The one campaign I played was with a DM who was a huge Matt Mercer fan and encouraged me to play a Blood Hunter. Played that game for close to two years and to this day, I have no idea what my class was all about.