Classes are the general categories that characters fit into based on their abilities. Though there are others out there, the following are the most common in the world of tGA. Actual ability and skills may vary depending on the individual.
Archer
Archers are experts with the bow, boasting supreme accuracy and the ability to fire arrows in rapid succession. Elves, known for their superior eyesight and agility, tend to be very skilled archers.
Bard
Bards can throw spoons at people and sing some love ballads. They like nature, too.
Black Mage
Black Mages wield offensive magic, and typically have minimal skill in physical combat. Their spellcasting ability can vary greatly depending on the mage's training and natural prowess. Often they wield staffs, wands or rods, though these are used more for focusing their spells than for self-defense.
Cleric
Clerics are sort of a mixed bag. They often use black or white magic depending on whether they serve Light or Darkness, and they tend to know how to fight moderately with weapons as well. What separates them from red mages is that they are often concentrating a bit more on one specific area of expertise instead of trying to handle all areas like red mages do.
Dark Knight
Dark Knights are the embodiment of sorrow, regret, and mourning. They are strong melee fighters who wield dark magic dedicated to stealing the life of an enemy, and also tend to possess abilities that drain their own health to damage their opponent. They wield weapons that call on the powers of Darkness.
Knight
Knights are melee combatants who specialize in defense, and typically wield shields along with a sword or lance. They are often clad in heavy armor, and thus are much less agile than warriors or other melee fighters. They tend to be expert horsemen, and may hold positions in government.
Mystic Knight
Mystic Knights are warriors with the ability to infuse their weapons with black magic. They do not possess the strength or stamina of most warriors, and cannot wield heavier weapons. Though their magic is weaker than that of pure mages, their spells take much less energy to cast.
Paladin
Paladins are holy warriors, usually proficient swordsmen with the ability to use simple white magic. They are incapable of using anything unholy and are thus weak against black magic, but they can inflict massive damage to creatures of Darkness.
Red Mage
Red Mages combine the abilities of warriors, white mages and black mages. Although they are very versatile and can wield a variety of weapons, they are never as powerful as a dedicated warrior or mage and can generally only cast a handful of lesser spells.
Rogue
Rogues, like thieves, are agile and powerful at the cost of having little defense. They tend to wield daggers, katanas or throwing weapons, and are expert assassins and spies. Unlike thieves, rogues may possess limited magical ability that enables them to blend into the scenery. They are often proud and ruthless people.
Shadow Mage
Shadow Mages, like black mages, are quite destructive. They draw their powers from a different source than black mages, though, and use their rare magic to cause devastating spells at the risk of losing themselves to the darkness within. Sometimes it can be hard to set a shadow mage apart from a black mage, though.
Shaman
Shamans are people who drain powers from the spirits of the dead, and this puts their profession into the unholy school of magic. Unlike black or white mages, a shaman can draw on both negative and positive aspects of the spirits to cast spells that are hard to defend against. Using too much of this power can be dangerous to the caster, so shamans try to avoid dabbling too much in their dangerous arts.
Summoner
Summoners are mages who have specialized in summoning various familiars and other miraculous creatures. Doing this has its risks, though, so few if any even dare taking summoning as their main class. Even those who have mastered it tend to avoid summoning if they can help it, because the creatures can turn against their masters if the summoner is not careful.
Thief
Thieves are generally very nimble and agile combatants, with low defense due to their light armor. They wield daggers or short swords, and as their name suggests, are experts at stealing and picking locks. They possess very little magical ability.
Time Mage
Time Mages are specialized mages with the ability to manipulate the space-time continuum to speed up, slow down, or completely halt the passage of time. Like other mages, they are generally physically weak with limited agility. As time magic is particularly difficult to master, most time mages are limited to casting just a few spells before becoming exhausted.
Warrior
Warriors, also known as Fighters, are tough, seasoned combatants who excel in physical combat, and often have great strength and accuracy. They are usually proficient with many types of weapons, though most have a chosen weapon that they specialize in. Warriors have almost no magical ability.
White Mage
White Mages specialize in healing and protecting those around them, and typically having little or no offensive ability. As they are physically weak and incapable of wearing heavy armor or handling heavy weapons, they usually fill a supportive role. Like black mages, they often wield staffs, wands or rods to help focus their power.
See also
