Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Level Title Enthusiasts Rejoice: Noobie round up

A while back I did a piece on why I think it odd that first level fighters go by the moniker "Veteran" a term which denotes experience in the field and confers a degree of respect on the recipient; something which first level fighters have, in my opinion, yet to earn.

While some folks agreed with me, several dissenters pointed out that experience in combat is what separates a Fighter from a Normal Man.  It makes sense on a certain level, especially when you consider the game's wargaming roots--everybody in the game was engaged in warfare so something had to set the Fighter apart.

But let's have a look at the n00b status of the other adventuring classes to see how they rate:

First Level Titles by Class:

Young man of fashion.
[EDIT: Young Gallant would
become the inaugural head coach
of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017,
living up to his Paladin roots.]*



















Cleric: Acolyte--Latin for altar boy.
Druid: Aspirant--Keep reaching for the stars, little buddy.
Ranger: Runner--Either a messenger or a member of the cross country team. 
Paladin: Gallant--Webster says: A young man of fashion; a lady's man.  Kind of odd, eh?
Magic User & Illusionist: Prestidigitator--A fancy name for a birthday party magician. 
Thief: Rogue (Apprentice)--While rogue is more of a stance than an occupation, the parenthetical title provides everything we need to know.
Assassin: Bravo (Apprentice)--I did a thing on Bravo a couple of years ago; otherwise as thief above.   
Bard: Probationer--Under the Olde Rules, you had to first rise to 5th-8th level in fighter, start over as a thief and rise to at least 5th-9th level in that field before you could finally call yourself... a probationer.  Don't screw up now or you're finished. 
Monk: Novice--Webster offers a few more synonyms: abecedarian, apprentice, babe, colt, cub, fledgling, freshman, greenhorn, neophyte, newbie, newcomer, beginner, novitiate, punk, recruit, rook, rookie, tenderfoot, tyro, virgin.

As you can see, all the other AD&D character classes--with the possible exception of Paladins--had level titles that bespoke their status as tyros in the field, to which the respectful term "Veteran" stands in stark contrast. 

* EDIT 2: He would switch class in 2021 to become a Ranger.


2 comments:

  1. "bespoke their status as tyros"?? And not one of you gave me any crap about that? For shame.

    It should be noted that Gerard Gallant turned out to be a pretty good NHL coach. He was fired from Vegas earlier this year (2020) because the goalie's glove went cold for a few games and got canned from Florida in 2016 because, when you can't fire your team, you have to fire your coach.

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  2. sadly, a lot of life gets gummed up because you can't fire the team, so you fire the coach

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