How Classes Train and the Gameplay Implications Thereof

[SirNibbles]

The recent thread about Fighters made me think we need to discuss how exactly each class trains to better discuss how that should be represented in their mechanics. I am basing these on the PHB class descriptions and my own insight into the classes. My descriptions are not complete.

Barbarian
-Practices channelling his inner anger to hit stuff harder
-Practices hitting stuff
-Gets stronger from living in places where living is hard

Bard
-Learns stuff on his travels
-Practices music (Perform) to be able to cast his magic, which "comes from the heart"

Cleric
-Apparently does some kind of combat training
-Prays to a god to get magic
-Learn spells somehow, probably from reading books/scriptures
-Doesn't require association with a church/religion to gain Cleric powers, but it probably helps

Druid
-Gains power by "being at one with nature"
I have literally no idea how a Druid becomes more Druidy.

Fighter
-"Most have had formal training in a noble’s army or at least in the local militia."
-"Some have trained in formal academies. Others are self-taught..."
Obviously, a fighter who is adventuring isn't going to be getting any more training in the noble's army, the local militia, or formal academy. He is going to be self-taught, which means:
-Reading manuals and treatises to learn techniques [Fighter Bonus Feats]
-Practising with various weapons
-Training his body physically (lifting, running, etc.)
-Reading legends about past Fighters to learn techniques [Fighter Bonus Feats]

The only class that plays as it is supposed to is Monks. Monks are peaceful people who spend their time praying and meditating and not fighting. This is what you will do if you play one.

Monk
-"A monk typically trains in a monastery."
As with a Fighter, you're not going to be training in the monastery once you've left. The following is just my interpretation of how a Monk would train alone:
-Practising forms (moving your arms around and going WOHHHHH)
-Practising strikes (striking things like logs and, at higher levels, stones)
-Meditating to become more Monk-ish
-Doing ninja things like rolling around really fast

Paladin
-"Most paladins answer the call and begin training as adolescents. Typically, they become squires or assistants to experienced paladins, train for years, and finally set off on their own to further the causes of good and law."
After finishing their squirehood:
-Learns spells, probably as the Cleric does
-Practises hitting stuff in some manner
-Gains powers through his increasing devotion?

Ranger
-Practises fighting with either two weapons or a bow
-Studies to learn the weaknesses of certain enemies, or gains this knowledge from experiencing a certain type of enemy numerous times
-Learns how better survive in the wilderness (probably by being in the wilderness or reading about it)
-Learns spells (again, probably in a manner similar to the Cleric)
-Teaches his pet tricks
-Learns to be find things and not be found himself (I really don't know how you practise hiding)

Rogue
-Studies anatomy to learn where to stick the pointy end
-Practises sticking the pointy end
-Tinkers with locks and traps to get better
-Reads up on the newest trap and lock technologies
-Practises being sneaky
-Practises dodging things

Sorcerer
-"Sorcerers create magic the way a poet creates poems, with inborn talent honed by practice. They have no books, no mentors, no theories—just raw power that they direct at will."
-Practice doing magic
-Learn new spells from books/scrolls
-Get stronger naturally

Wizard
-"Wizards depend on intensive study to create their magic. They examine musty old tomes, debate magical theory with their peers, and practice minor magics whenever they can."
-"She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition to learning new spells, a wizard can, over time, learn to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way."
-Basically, they practise magic and study magic to get better at magic.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by SirNibbles
I have literally no idea how a Druid becomes more Druidy.

To quote from Dr. Strange: “Study and practice, years of it.”

I’ve always assumed that first-level druids have already spent a number of years as apprentices, either to a solitary druid or a druidic community. How they’re trained is open to interpretation, but they would need to spend most of their time out in the living world, learning the flora and fauna along with the basics of magic and lore.

A lot of the details would depend on their specific druidic traditions. Using the Realms as an example, I would expect an apprentice druid of Malar to spend most of his time focused on hunting and everything that’s involved with it; a starting druid of Sylvanus would probably be immersed in tree-lore, possibly learning from treants as well as elder druids; and a novice druid of Chauntea would be spending much of her time in fields and forests near human settlements, learning to plant and germinate seeds, etc.

And since apprentice druids would be learning from one or more elders, likely in a grove or community, I would expect they’d stay reasonably close to that one site, rather than making any cross-continental journeys to start with. That would mean that a starting druid would be intimately familiar with one particular biome or vegetation community, such as temperate rainforest or oak-beech-hickory deciduous forest, and would only know of other biomes through lore and druidic texts.

From that perspective, it would make sense for druids to have a favored terrain, representing their home community where they trained. Sort of like the Horizon Walker, but integral to their knowledge from the beginning. Additional ranks in Knowledge (nature) would come, in part, from traveling and encountering different ecosystems and biomes as they move farther from where they learned their craft.

[Goaty14]

Druids have grottoes, yes, as said in the background section of the druid entry in the PHB. Druids often perform tasks for higher/lower ranking druids, and the lower level druid pays for it in the process.

PHB II explains the several archetypes of druids, if said druid is one of these, then the druid might...
-Have a "cohort" of small, old animals around him
-Hunt down undead/aberrations
-Preach to others the greatness of nature

[TheBrassDuke]

When I want to know about Druids, I look to one of my favorite examples: Nwm the Preceptor, from Sepulchrave's 'Tales of Wyre'. He's also an ascetic!