Editing Combat Roles (section)

==As applied to /tg/==

===Traditional Dungeons & Dragons Roles===
Traditionally [[Dungeons & Dragons]] has had four primary roles for classes to fill
* The '''Martial''', who provides consistent damage and survivability.
* The '''Skill Monkey''', who uses skills to overcome non-combat obstacles such as locks.
* The '''Arcane Caster''', who uses magic to control the battlefield, buff and debuff and also solve non-combat problems.
* The '''Divine Caster''', who uses magic to buff, debuff and remove negative conditions<ref>And heal, but in multiple editions, most blatantly third, it's often noticeably less effective than using your spells and time to kill the enemy faster so they deal less damage overall and thus gets left out of the duty description</ref> and also solve non-combat problems.
These roles are typically filled by the [[Fighter]], [[Rogue]], [[Wizard]] and [[Cleric]]. This has even been enforced in a handful of instances, such as [[RPGA]] campaigns that lets a player use a pregen of one of those classes without penalty (applying all earnings to their “real” character) if no applicable class was present among the characters of the players that showed up for the game.

In practice, these four classes are [[Tier System|wildly imbalanced against each other]] (The Martial has no part in non-combat challenges, the Skill Monkey has only limited combat applicability, and the Casters both have a great deal of both.), the exact division of duties falls apart even with more typical classes (A Wizard and a [[Ranger]] together have the skill points to handle most mundane skills without sacrificing their ability as a caster or martial, many divine casters can smash heads as well as, if not better than, typical pure martials ect.,) and hybrid characters work weirdly in the doctrine. Still, despite the issues present, the four roles are considered reasonable as rough guidelines for party composition.

These roles would be referenced in [[Magic: The Gathering]] starting with ''[[Zendikar]] Rising'' in the Gather Your Party mechanic, presumably so it can be reused for ''Adventures in the [[Forgotten Realms]]''. With this mechanic, cards gain more power for every one of the classic roles (Soldier, Rogue, Wizard and Cleric) you have summoned. The cards with this mechanic shown in the previews are less than impressive, but maybe the full set will be less trash (or have some degenerate infinite loop).

===[[Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition|Dungeons and Dragons 4e]]'s Named Roles===
Dungeons & Dragons 4e included four explicitly spelled out and named roles that overlap with the MMO nomenclature, so we'll use some of the vocabulary from above. (Since 4e's terms have been used outside of Dungeons & Dragons, we're including it at the same level as everything else, rather than as a subnote of D&D.)

* The '''Defender''', essentially the Tank, with a small region of Area Denial interrupting anybody who tries to attack anybody but him, since 4e lacked an Aggro system. 
** Class differentiation within the role was usually based on how they stopped monsters from attacking others.
** Examples from the original PHB: Paladin (for a more Leader-leaning Defender) and Fighter (for a more Striker-leaning Defender)
* The '''Striker''', a Single Target Damage/Debuffer type. 
** Class differentiation within the role was usually based on what kind of damage, how they dealt it, and how close they could get to their opponent.
** Examples from the original PHB: Rogue, Warlock, Ranger.
* The '''Leader''', a Healer/Buffer, who usually also did Off-Tanking. 
** Class differentiation within the role was usually based on how much of those three the class could be (the Warlord favored Buffing/Debuffing, while the Cleric favored Healing, e.g.).
** Examples from the original PHB: Cleric, Warlord
* The '''Controller''', who did Area of Effect Damage, Area Denial, and Crowd Control-focused Debuffing. The most poorly defined of the four in the initial book.
** Class differentiation within the role was usually based on very little, as Controllers were all based on "the same as Wizards, but slightly different in some way".
** Examples from the original PHB: Wizard

The DMGs also introduced enemy roles as well, giving you some basic archetypes for what kinds of enemies you can face. Each has some common traits that can be exploited to your advantage.

* '''Artillery''' monsters were those who relied entirely on their shooting attacks, whether it was a bow and arrows or casting fireballs, sometimes covering AOE. That said, they suffered hard in melee.
* '''Brute''' monsters were walking walls of muscle, dealing lots of damage with each swing and chock full of HP to tank player fire. That said, they tended to have poor defenses and likely wouldn't be able to attack multiple enemies at once.
* '''Controller''' monsters were like Controller players. They focused a lot on debuffs and area denial at short range. This made them capable of standing up in melee, in odd contrast to players.
* '''Elite''' monsters weren't so much of a proper role as they were a variant. Elites tended to be beefier versions of existing monsters, made more dangerous but giving more XP upon death.
* '''Lurker''' monsters aren't consistent foes, but when they show up, they hurt. Usually they have either some way to evade any attempts to catch them through something like invisibility or have something like a rogue's sneak attack in order to deal extra damage on an enemy they have combat advantage over.
* '''Minion''' monsters are the absolute weakest of the lot. They have 1 HP as a rule and thus will die to even a stiff breeze, but won't die from any damage if an attack misses. Usually these are the most numerous foes to go against.
* '''Skirmisher''' monsters are very mobile, making them somewhat similar to Lurkers. Usually they'll jump in while their target is stuck fighting something more dangerous.
* '''Soldier''' monsters are your analogues to Defender players. These tend to have really good defenses and attack bonuses but didn't tend to do the most damage. This makes them very good [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction monsters]].
* '''Solo''' monsters weren't a role so much as they were a state. Beefier than even elites, these tended to be monsters so powerful that encounters centered around them had to use them as an encounter of their own. Of course, throwing enough players at them still overwhelmed them.
* '''Leader''' monsters were effectively the same as Leader players. Their role focused more upon the buffing aspect of leaders, whether by boosting stats or by letting allies attack out of turn.

===[[Lancer (RPG)|Lancer]] Roles===
Lancer includes five roles that apply to both player mech frames and enemy mechs. While enemies are rather clear-cut in their roles, player mechs tend to have roles that can overlap with each other.

* The '''Artillery''' is a long-ranged variant of the striker. Because of how prevalent guns are on mechs, mechs in this category usually have ways to guarantee that their shots will make their impact.
** Frames usually differentiate themselves on what particular weapons they tend to favor and how they manage their ranges.
** Examples of Artillery Licenses: HA Barbarossa, SSC Monarch
* The '''Controller''' usually has the best options for tech attacks of the bunch. This allows them to debuff enemies very quickly, though they could also have some means of area denial that makes moving past them quite difficult.
** Frames usually differentiate themselves in how they decide to hamper their enemies, either directly or indirectly.
** Examples of Controller Licenses: SSC Dusk Wing, HORUS Minotaur
* The '''Defender''' usually has some means of area denial or protection for others. They also usually have ways to bolster their reactions so that they can more easily halt enemies from attacking their allies.
** Frames usually differentiate themselves based on how they manage to either shield allies or block enemies.
** Examples of Defender Licenses: HORUS Gorgon, HA Saladin
* The '''Striker''' tends to focus more on up-close warfare, whether or not it involves going into melee. They also tend have options for minor debuffing.
** Frames usually differentiate themselves on what weapons they favor and how they intend to stay within the ideal range for their weapons.
** Examples of Striker Licenses: IPS-N Blackbeard, HA Ghengis
* The '''Support''' has means to bolster allies, whether it's blocking out negative status effects or augmenting allies.
** Frames usually differentiate themselves based on how exactly they boost allies
** Examples of Support Licenses: IPS-N Lancaster, SSC Swallowtail

===Outside of 4e===
Both the MMO and 4e nomenclature for roles are sometimes used by /tg/, since the terms are somewhat well defined.

There also exist a few roles that MMOs and 4e don't have names for, notably:

* The '''[[Skill Monkey]]''', who is usually fairly pants in combat, but good at something else that makes him useful.
* The '''[[CoDzilla]]''', who breaks game balance neatly in half with as many self-buffs as will fit.
* The '''[[That guy]]''', who annoys the rest of the group to no end.
* The '''[[Rules lawyer]]''', whose nitpicking over semantics makes the DM break down and cry.

(Admittedly, those last two are more "kick out of the gaming group" roles, but still...)