I haven't played D&D in forever, and I wanna play as a sort of anthropologist character whose main motivation for joining the diverse party is studying foreign cultures and races. What would someone like that be called? A para-anthropologist? Xeno cultural anthropologist? Also, what race/class/subclasses would make the most sense for an *anthropologist character https://100001****/https://1921681254.mx/ ?
Yeah that Wilde he ideal background. As for species human, Half-elf, half-orc, genesai, Aasimar/tielfling would all seem reasonable as outsiders fitting in. As for classes the ones that strike me as being most workable would include: Ranger: their combat and survival skills would win them acceptance in almost any culture while their penchant for wondering would explain them shifting from group to group.
Druids: pretty much the same as rangers; don’t see them as doing a lot of proselytizing the way I would expect a cleric to so they fit in better. Druids also (traditionally) have an nterest in how groups fit themselves into the natural order so anthropology makes sense.
Bards: this may be the best option. Wanders collecting stories and myths and songs as well as details of the cultures they pass through. Personally I might make them more of a storyteller than a musician trading musical instruments for skills.
wizards: given their thirst for knowledge (and spells) I can see wizards as anthropologists fairly easily.
i have troubles with the other classes: Babarians - I see anthropologists as fairly well educated and barbarians don’t fit that. They might learn t fit into one or two cultures but I don’t see them really studying the cultures.
Clerics - to busy proselytizing to do more than record surface features of a culture they are effectively trying to subvert.
Monks - think Caine from Kung Fu trying to survive in the old west - too saturated with his own “culture” to be really studying others.
Fighter - I just don’t see most fighters as having English interest in other cultures to be an anthropologist really. Would it be possible? Yes but II don’t think likely.
Paladin - see bth fighter and cleric above
Rogue - where is the money? I just have a hard time seeing why any subclass would have much interest in formal study of other cultures beyond “what sort of wealth do they have that I can acquire?
Sorcerer - a possibility but the innate rather than learned magic presents problem potentially.
Warlock - like sorcerer it’s a possibility but the whole vibe feels wrong to me.
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I haven't played D&D in forever, and I wanna play as a sort of anthropologist character whose main motivation for joining the diverse party is studying foreign cultures and races. What would someone like that be called? A para-anthropologist? Xeno cultural anthropologist? Also, what race/class/subclasses would make the most sense for an *anthropologist character https://100001****/ https://1921681254.mx/ ?
It would be an anthropologist
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Beyond the anthropologist background, here is a link to a discussion on anthropology-focused characters you might find interesting: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/8mc10i/what_class_to_make_an_anthropologist_in_chult/
Yeah that Wilde he ideal background. As for species human, Half-elf, half-orc, genesai, Aasimar/tielfling would all seem reasonable as outsiders fitting in. As for classes the ones that strike me as being most workable would include:
Ranger: their combat and survival skills would win them acceptance in almost any culture while their penchant for wondering would explain them shifting from group to group.
Druids: pretty much the same as rangers; don’t see them as doing a lot of proselytizing the way I would expect a cleric to so they fit in better. Druids also (traditionally) have an nterest in how groups fit themselves into the natural order so anthropology makes sense.
Bards: this may be the best option. Wanders collecting stories and myths and songs as well as details of the cultures they pass through. Personally I might make them more of a storyteller than a musician trading musical instruments for skills.
wizards: given their thirst for knowledge (and spells) I can see wizards as anthropologists fairly easily.
i have troubles with the other classes:
Babarians - I see anthropologists as fairly well educated and barbarians don’t fit that. They might learn t fit into one or two cultures but I don’t see them really studying the cultures.
Clerics - to busy proselytizing to do more than record surface features of a culture they are effectively trying to subvert.
Monks - think Caine from Kung Fu trying to survive in the old west - too saturated with his own “culture” to be really studying others.
Fighter - I just don’t see most fighters as having English interest in other cultures to be an anthropologist really. Would it be possible? Yes but II don’t think likely.
Paladin - see bth fighter and cleric above
Rogue - where is the money? I just have a hard time seeing why any subclass would have much interest in formal study of other cultures beyond “what sort of wealth do they have that I can acquire?
Sorcerer - a possibility but the innate rather than learned magic presents problem potentially.
Warlock - like sorcerer it’s a possibility but the whole vibe feels wrong to me.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.