Playing a class in a Battlegame is a chance to combine physical abilities with tactical and strategic acumen to achieve victory. Classes in Amtgard are designed so that each one brings a unique and valuable set of skills to the field which can be used as part of a team. Often abilities which do not seem useful to you personally may be invaluable when used on teammates. Before picking a class for a game it is important to understand a few simple concepts.
Portraying A Class
This section contains a few examples of archetypal medieval and fantasy character types. While the names of the classes reflects a European centric viewpoint, that does not define how you must portray them. You can easily play the Barbarian or Warrior classes as a samurai or the Healer as a necromancer. With a little flair and creativity, the Scout class makes an excellent pirate. Your character and persona are defined through your actions and behavior, not the name of the class that gives you your abilities. The classes exist in a strict form to maintain game balance on the field; it is up to you to give them life, substance, and personality.
Classes are listed in the following manner:
Class Format
- Name
- The name of the class.
- Role-play Suggestion
- This lists historical or fantasy examples of each class plus a brief overview.
- Garb
- Garb that is required to denote playing the class. You are required to dress in medieval/swords and sorcery looking garb in addition to the class specific garb. Failure to do either will result in playing the Peasant class.
- Requirements
- A few classes list experience requirements. If you do not meet these requirements you may not play nor gain credits in that class.
- Look The Part
- Look the Part is an additional bonus granted prior to the game for having made a visually significant effort to contribute to the swords-and-sorcery atmosphere of Amtgard. This can be in the form of accessories, visually impressive garb, or anything else that promotes a more immersive visual experience. Note that this portrayal need not be specific to a given class, but instead specific to the character portrayed. Look The Part abilities are available at first level and are in addition to all other class abilities.
Example: A player has a Look The Part ability of Scavenge 1/Life and a normal class ability of Scavenge 1/Life would have Scavenge 2/life.
Look The Part is a game-by-game bonus awarded by the game reeve.
- Armor
- Maximum point value of armor the class may wear. You can wear armor with a point value higher then you are allowed use of, but in these cases the armor simply gives you the maximum allowed for your class.
Example: a Scout wearing full plate still only gets three points from it.
- Shields
- Largest size shield available to a class.
- Weapons
- Types of weapons the class can use.
- Levels and Abilities
- Most classes receive abilities at each level. Some abilities are presented as a choice. Ability choices may be changed before each new game. When an ability is made chargeable at a higher level or through an Archetype, all instances of that ability gained through the class are made chargeable, including Look the Part. Any ability choice presented as ‘Pick x of y’ allows you to choose up to x of the following y abilities. No duplicates may be chosen.
No sword and sorcery setting is complete without monsters, those creatures from imagination or legend, both good and evil, that are somehow more (or less) than human. Monsters in Amtgard can represent the smallest, friendliest sprite, the largest most fearsome dragon, or anything else in between.
Examples:
- Centaurs, Dragons, Dwarves, Werewolves, Vampires, Deadly Slime.
Monster is a special class, playable only in games where the game designer and local monarch have given their permission for the class to be used. A player playing Monster in a class battlegame is identified by wearing two Eye Class Symbols. The eyes may be of any solid color on a contrasting background. A player's level in the Monster class determines which Monsters they may portray. For more information and rules regarding the Monster class please refer to the Dor Un Avathar.
Players who do not meet the garb requirement for any class may only participate in battlegames by playing the Peasant class. This class has no armor, shields, or abilities. The weapons available to them are Daggers and Short Weapons, though they may only use one at a time.
Only one attendance credit may be given on a single day, in any class. Following their corpora, Kingdoms are allowed to award a maximum of 12 total bonus credits (credits above and beyond attendance credits) to any player in a single month and no more than 3 bonus credits may be issued per 1 attendance credit.
If you wish to fight or participate in a battlegame, you must conform to one class for each game. A person must have the requisite credits in order to play higher class level, though you may take credits in any class. All classes gain new abilities and levels at the following rate:
All classes gain new levels at the following rate:
| Level |
Credits required
|
| 1st |
Less than 5 credits in that class
|
| 2nd |
At least 5 and less than 12 credits in that class
|
| 3rd |
At least 12 and less than 21 credits in that class
|
| 4th |
At least 21 and less than 34 credits in that class
|
| 5th |
At least 34 and less than 53 credits in that class
|
| 6th |
53 or more credits in that class
|
