In SLUG, classes are cosmetic only. The underlying gameplay mechanism are the base skills which are ridiculously difficult to learn and can only be picked up on character creation or by having other players teach you. Classes, however, appear when we try to give combinations of base skills names. These names affect how a character is described in various places of the game. So, without further ado, I present the master list of base skills and classes under consideration for SLUG:
Definite Classes for inclusion (at present):
<General - Advanced Combat> + <General - Pugilism> = Warrior
<General - Thievery> + <General - Advanced Combat> = Rogue
<General - Thievery> + <General - Pugilism> = Ninja
<Spellcasting> + <General - Arcane Knowledge> = Mage
<Spellcasting> + <General - Natural Influences> = Cleric/Druid
Possible classes if limitations are relaxed:
<General - Arcane Knowledge> + <General - Thievery> = Treasure Hunter
<General - Natural Influences> + <General - Advanced Combat> = Ranger
Interesting Combinations with 3 skills:
<General - Advanced Combat> + <General - Pugilism> + <General - Thievery> = Samurai
Using “Advanced” skills (have prereq's):
<Spellcasting> --> <Ethereal Influences> = Archmage
Featured abilities: Shadowform, Astral Walk
<General - Arcane Knowledge> --> <Special - Arcane Studies> = Scholar
Featured abilities: Brew, Scribe
<General - Thievery> --> <General - Advanced Thievery> = Master Thief
Featured abilities: Acrobatics, Touch of Death
"Expansion Pack” classes (require special coding and will be added later)
<General - Arcane Knowledge> --> <Special - Dark Arcana> = Dark Mage
Featured abilities: Quantum Spike, Black Lightning
Special: Dark Mages are “tempted” by the power they wield and must combat a “willpower” gauge (from 0 to character's Wisdom) to remain in full control of their bodies (negative consequences include striking party members, going into a berserk mode against enemies, etc...)
<General - Advanced Combat> --> <Special - Allegiance to Light> = Paladin
Featured abilities: Turn Undead, Remove Curse
Special: Paladins must remain true to the side of Light by scrupulously watching their alignment. Also, their abilities must be used sparingly, as they deplete a “bravery” gauge (from 0 to character's Strength). Negative consequences of a low bravery include fleeing battles, faster depletion of movement points, reduced number of attacks in battle, etc.
<General - Vampirism> (2 slots) = Vampire
Featured abilities: Mistwalk, Vomica Pravus
Special: Vampires have a blood meter instead of a mana meter. They can get bloodthirsty with a number of consequences. This isn't really intended to be the same type of character as the Dark Mage or the Paladin, but rather a different paradigm altogether. A lot of the code necessary is already in SMAUG, but it's such a mess that it'll be yanked for the first release of SLUG.
Restrictions: Vampirism can only be acquired on character selection. One must choose the race “Vampire” after which the game automatically selects this skill instead of the others.