Class Idea: The Noble

[LadyWYT]

While most of Falx's allies were common folk, there were a few among the nobility that believed in his cause and lent their aid to his endeavors. Unfortunately, there's not currently a playable class that properly reflects that background, so here's an attempt at what a class like that could look like:

The Noble

Martial: (+25% weapon durability, walk speed penalty for armor reduced by 25%)

Much like Blackguards, Nobles are trained fighters, able to move more easily in armor and get more service from their equipment. However, they don't find themselves in combat quite as often, so their weapons tend to last a bit longer as a result.

Chivalrous: (+30% damage to boss enemies, -15% damage to mechanicals)

Nobles prefer to face worthy opponents in combat, rather than fighting for the sake of fighting, making them more distinct from the Blackguards. They're also rather clueless when it comes to working with machines, and have issues countering mechanical creatures as a result.

Highborn: (exclusive craftable Forlorn Hope estoc and shield)

Much like the Blackguard, they have their own sword/shield combo they can craft. With a further tweak, allow the Noble to craft the Forlorn Hope armor, while allowing the Blackguard to craft the Blackguard armor.

Claustrophobic: (-15% ore drop rate, -10% mining speed)

Nobles don't like stuffy confined spaces, and have no talent for hard labor.

Civil: (-10% loot from foraging)

While decent at hunting, Nobles aren't particularly adept at otherwise fending for themselves in the wild, preferring civilization to nature.

Finicky: (cannot eat spoiled food)

A Noble's refined palette makes them a lot pickier about what they put in their mouth. Don't expect them to touch spoiled food.

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Overall, I expect the Noble to play similar to Blackguard, being stronger in combat than most other classes and specializing in slaying epic monsters. Much like the Blackguard, they also have issues foraging for food, though in the Noble's case they have problems with mining instead of hunting. 

The Finicky trait is an odd one, but it seemed fitting. At a glance, it doesn't seem like it would affect much, since it tends to be relatively easy to avoid spoiled food to begin with. However, in the early game it could prove to be an obstacle, since food is somewhat a luxury. Likewise, it could present a big problem later if all the food you packed for that big expedition begins to spoil mid-journey. Other classes could just eat the stale food and be fine, but the Noble will need to turn their attention to finding new supplies lest they face starvation.

 

Edited March 16, 2025 by LadyWYT
Grammar

[eMander]

I like the overall idea, but I feel like the buffs don't do enough to make it stand out from other classes.

I'd also say bosses are uncommon enough that the Chivalrous trait doesn't seem like it would be worth it. I've played a good ways into the game and have yet to fight a boss. Maybe have the buff also carry over to any monster more powerful than 'deep' (tainted, corrupt, nightmare, etc.)

One suggestion I'd have for such a class would be to have several exclusive crafting recipes for items that traders will buy at a high price (with the trades not even being offered for other classes).

[LadyWYT]

1 hour ago, eMander said:

I'd also say bosses are uncommon enough that the Chivalrous trait doesn't seem like it would be worth it. I've played a good ways into the game and have yet to fight a boss. Maybe have the buff also carry over to any monster more powerful than 'deep' (tainted, corrupt, nightmare, etc.)

I was contemplating that, giving them a bonus against tier 4 enemies as well. Still very situational, but allows them to deal with major threats very quickly. I'm not sure I would go lower tier than that, as Blackguard should still be the best overall warrior, in my opinion. The key distinction between Blackguard and Noble is that Nobles don't have the penalty to hunger or ranged damage.

Interestingly, the buff to weapon durability means that not only will melee weapons last longer, but so will ranged weapons as well.

The main idea behind the Chivalrous trait though is that they make short work of the really tough stuff, but are otherwise fairly average(though solid) fighters.

1 hour ago, eMander said:

One suggestion I'd have for such a class would be to have several exclusive crafting recipes for items that traders will buy at a high price (with the trades not even being offered for other classes).

I'd use that for an Alchemist class, really. Not that nobles aren't capable of crafting, but they aren't really ones for menial tasks or manual labor. While they'd make decent fighters, they're otherwise more of a challenge class.

[cjc813]

Overall, very creative. I quite like it. It has paladin vibes. I'd at least consider trying it out, unlike Malefactor, Tailor, or Clockmaker. RP folks could have a lot of fun with it, too, I think.

7 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

I was contemplating that, giving them a bonus against tier 4 enemies as well. Still very situational, but allows them to deal with major threats very quickly. I'm not sure I would go lower tier than that, as Blackguard should still be the best overall warrior, in my opinion.

I'd say definitely include at least tier 4. (And maybe bears? Just for funzies? Lore-wise, nobles hunting bears for sport makes sense.)

Side note: Doesn't feel like it'd fit The Noble, but think it would also be neat to have a class that got better prices at the traders.

Edited March 17, 2025 by cjc813

[LadyWYT]

28 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

I'd say definitely include at least tier 4. (And maybe bears? Just for funzies? Lore-wise, nobles hunting bears for sport makes sense.)

Haha, sure, why not, in regards to the bears. Bears are basically the boss entities of the surface and early game, so having a class that's stronger at confronting them could be interesting. Very interesting. Especially if the Noble is rather foolhardy in a multiplayer scenario--could see a lot of shenanigans develop as a result.

30 minutes ago, cjc813 said:

Side note: Doesn't feel like it'd fit The Noble, but think it would also be neat to have a class that got better prices at the traders.

I had considered that as well, since nobles would have more refined manners and thus have some advantage in negotiating. However, I think it's a benefit that's better leveraged by the Tailor, since tailors would need to have good business sense and nobles...generally have so much money that they don't care about prices. If anything, paying outrageous prices for nonsense would be ideal for a noble in some ways, since spending lots of money on frivolous things is a method of indicating your power and status.

Assuming that NPCs eventually offer more reactions to the player's class though, I think Noble would be one of those that's either well-liked for their manners, or perhaps despised for their arrogance. Or perhaps they're simply treated like the village idiot, since nobility may be a completely foreign concept in the present and the Noble otherwise proves a bit inept at common labor.

[7embre]

Huh. That's pretty valid idea. But still, I think it overlaps with blackguard a bit too much, and, considering it doesn't have such outrageous hunger rate, that makes them simply better overall (imo forlorn hope set is superior to the blackguard's, mobility rules the party). I'd specifically made nobles as a heavy spear fighters in addition to what you've already mentioned, although it would clash with the lore as far as I'm aware.

Edited March 17, 2025 by 7embre
specified point a little better