Role vs Class
I saw a YouTube video discussing backstory. I know backstory is not super popular in OSR spaces, but I like running game with background. The YouTuber expressed a tension between players wanting to introduce their own elements into the game world and the GM maintaining the cohesion of their setting. A session zero seems like it would help with this but why not cut it off at the pass? What if your classes were specifically built from the beginning to fit into a niche in the world? The Fighter is a generic idea. Anyone could be a fighter if they pick up a weapon and use it. Now if the Fighter is a Blossom Knight of the Order of Song with institutional links to their Order and an established place in the world, then their niche in the setting is defined before the player even picks the Role. This has become the way the community has about character creation for Free Character Roleplay. The idea of a Class says a lot about the setting. It implies "there are a lot of people just like ...
