Opinions on playing one class but reflavouring it as another?

[Happy-Sqweb]

So my character is basically like, in the baby stages of development hahah. No idea what I'm doing yet and probably won't until I've levelled more and done the story a bit. 

 

However there was one thing that's crossing my mind. I like to play tanks since I like the idea of being a support character at the front line who protects those who need it. So ofc Paladins kit absolutely calls to me. Having moves that literally protect teammates with your body and stuff feels really supportive and like my character. However the lore, flavour and story of PLD is super dry imo.

 

This is I wanted to roleplay as a Dark Knight, I love the story, the lore, the personality of the class, but it's kit doesn't feel the same to me. I know it have TBN but compared to Cover and PoA it doesn't feel as... involved(??) I think is the word I'm looking for. 

 

So I was wondering what others do when things like this arise for themselves? Do you have separate classes for roleplay vs dungeons? Do you ever just take a whole class but say you're another? How would you feel if you started RP with someone who very obviously had Paladin abilities and a broadsword but described themselves as a Dark Knight with a greatsword?

 

I'm very new to this, I'm more used to d&d where it's all in the head so you can change and reflavour as much as you like. Just looking for some other perspectives since I'm starting to think about it a bit too much hahah. 

 

Thanks for all or any replies!

[Zephyr Soul]

Hey there! You're really putting a lot of thought into your character haha

 

I think the short answer for you is, RP and gameplay are generally understood as two separate aspects of the game and you should RP the way that makes it fun for you. For example, my character also uses a greatsword, but he is in no way a Dark Knight. He's just a regular guy who happens to know how to swing a really big sword. An example about your visual concerns, there are players who RP as Ascians and have Ascian abilities, but of course there's no actual class that allows them to use Ascian abilities. To sum up, I don't see many people actively feel the need to show off their in-game visuals when typing up a paragraph of RP.

 

In your specific case, you could unlock PLD and walk around with a broadsword and still claim to be a DRK during RP. If you want to somehow incorporate in-game effects with your RP, that might be trickier since each class's toolkit is exclusive to that class. But I don't think it's necessary to fret over you being a DRK while having Holy Circle in your toolkit when most of the RP you'll find is text-based  And so you can enjoy the gameplay as a PLD while RPing as a DRK.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited April 13, 2022 by Zephyr Soul