fandomhigh | Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

When the class stepped through the Danger Shop, they'd think they stepped into a...wardrobe mixed with an armory. On hangers and stands were various styles of armor, for both ladies and even a few for guys. Hey, he wasn't going to assume anything about the tastes of his students! The one thing no one would find was stereotypical underwear armor. Hardison didn't have time for all of sexist nonsense. Not in his classroom.

"Welcome back," Hardison greeted when his students entered. He was dressed appropriately. "A'ight, so I probably don't even have to give this lecture, cause either this won't apply to your life or it does an' so you probably already know better'n me, but weird things happen on this island, so I'mma just say this to be clear. This course is based on fantasy media, not fact. Everythin' we learn about, everythin' we cover, it comes from adventures that take place in folks' imaginations. Please don't take anythin' we learn here as anythin' other than fun an' games for summertime."

And that over with, he gestured to the costumes around him. "A'ight, so the adventurin' class we're studyin' today is Fighters. They're pretty much the most basic of all classes; they make up the backbone of most adventurin' parties. Fighters is a pretty broad umbrella term; there are a buncha different varieties of fighters to serve peoples's individual tastes. For the most part, though, they got a few basic things in common. They're usually tanks--that means that they wade in an' do serious damage. They usually ain't the fastest fighters--heavy weapons that do a lot of damage are pretty slow to swing. They also generally wear pretty heavy armor--thick hides, heavy leather, and strong metals, either as chainmail or plate. As a tank, you end up takin' a lot of hits as well an' you need to be able to keep goin' an' not end up skewered, sliced, or scored. A good set of armor can turn a blade an' leave you with bruises insteada stab wounds."

Important life advice, even if a lot of the armor was pretty impractical. Or, it would be if it were anywhere other than the Danger Shop.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Is there type that fits your imagined fighting style best? Experiment with the following varieties and see. Each explanation comes with the chance to try out the weaponry and fighting style.

Clad in shining armor, paladins are divine knights of righteousness and order. Sword to uphold the law of their chosen deities, they carry the fight against evil to the furthest corner of the world. They also have some divine spells at their disposal and bond with a steed who carries them into battle. This is a good fit for anyone with a strong arm and a strong moral fiber, with a firm sense of right and wrong.

There are swords, axes, and lances, each of them beautifully crafted and decorated.

Edited 2015-07-07 10:49 (UTC)

Kira didn't think she was going to be a fighter type, but then she caught sight of the swords and figured she'd give it a try. She had a good sense of right and wrong, as long as no one was trying to convince her to do something wrong.

An exception to the armor rule, monks wear cotton and cloth armor to give them the most freedom of movement. They fight unarmed, using a flurry of strikes and blows, a whirlwind of movement. They aim for the vulnerable parts of the body, finding places where the armor doesn't fully cover, and take full advantage of those spots. This is a good fit for fast, acrobatic fighters who dart in and out of the fray.

No weapons, but there's a dummy to practice kicking and punching.

The monk version seemed to be the closest that these fantasy adventure fighters go to actually fighting naked, so this was where Raven gravitated. Her look quickly ended up stripped down and altered to better match the cotton-and-cloth look, and she attacked the dummy as best she could, trying to copy some of the martial arts moves she'd seen on the internet.

She was going to need a lot more practice before she could really get full ninja, but she was getting close to managing the whole jump-up-and-wrap-your-thighs-around-the-guy's-head-to-take-him-down thing without smacking her head on the floor!

One of the most iconic classes, barbarians dress is hides, leather, and scraps of chain--you will never spot them in plate the way you might a paladin or generic fighter. Originally from a wild place far away from civilization, barbarians are best known for their frenzy ability, where they go into a kind of battle madness allowing them to do devastating amounts of damage and ignore wounds. This is a good fit for people who like to wade into the thickest parts of battle and whale at their enemies.

There are plenty of clubs and axes, along with maces and flails. They looked cruel and harsh, with jagged edges.

Another of the exceptions, rangers are warriors of the forest and other wild places. Rather than being primarily a melee class, rangers' main weapon is a bow or crossbow, with either a short sword or some long knives to serve as a backup melee weapon. They also have an animal companion and some limited magic spells. This is a good fit for anyone who is a fan of nature and wants to fight to protect it, preferably from a distance and with a bit of guile.

There are a variety of bows: long, short, and crossbows and a series of targets set up at a distance. There are also sets of short swords and long knives to practice against the dummies.

Raven had done a bit of archery in gym classes back home, and had picked some up here and there in Fandom as well, so she didn't do too badly with a simple short bow in class. She liked the crossbow better, though. Like a gun only more interesting to look at!

"Do we get to practice having animal companions too?" she asked teasingly. "Can I get a big feathery dinosaur companion?"

"No such luck," Hardison said, grinning. "You'll have to settle for standard fantasy animal companion, like a wolf or a bear or something."

"A bear!" Raven cheered. "I want a big grizzly with battle scars!"

"An' as soon as you hit fourth level, you can have it," Hardison teased, even as he made a few quick program adjustments to create an appropriately battle-scarred grizzly.

Yeah, okay, rangers never got bears in game. So?

Ah, short swords and, well, she had her own daggers. She liked the idea of a Pladin, but she didn't exactly believe in any of the gods. She didn't exactly not believe in them either, but she didn't think that would fly. Monk, well, clearly not that either. Barbarian, no she didn't think so.

She'd have to make do with Ranger, even if too much nature made her a little nervous.

Adventuring!, Thursday, Period 3

Fighter Classes

Paladin

Re: Paladin

Monks

Re: Monks

Barbarian

Rangers

Re: Rangers

RE: Re: Rangers

Re: Rangers

RE: Re: Rangers

Re: Rangers