Trainee Classes for GLoG
Robert Salles. "X" from I Will Read: Methodic and Fun Alphabet by a Dad. 1926.
What follows are a series of beginner classes for novice adventurers inspired by the "trainees" in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, young adult fiction, and my love of low power level GLoG classes.
You may only take these classes at character creation. When you do roll up a "0 level" character. In my games, that means halve their initial HP (min 1) and the XP to their next level.
Whenever a character with an α template gains a class feature that is redundant with or acts on the same mechanic as that template, you may erase it. When you do, increase each of their Attributes by 1.
I leave what templates count as appropriate substitutions as an exercise for the reader, but think about archetypal categories of class features. How many classes have you read with some variant of thief skills, fighter parrying, MD casting, or reaction manipulation?
Prentice
Maybe your former master's accusations were true, maybe they weren't. Regardless, you needed to find a change of careers in a hurry if you didn't want to end up in the gutter. Surely adventuring can't be that much worse from being harried by the journeymen?
You start with: Dagger (d4), Leather Apron (as Leather), plus a tool of your choice.
Aspiring Expert (α) - Choose one of the following skills: tinkering, pickpocketing, hiding, or bluffing. You may flip a coin instead of attempting a test with that skill. On a heads, you succeed. On tails, you succeed but somehow loudly take d6 damage in the process.
Recruit
You were handed a weapon and told where to stand, maybe even taught to march on time, but that didn't help much in your first real battle. When your unit routed, you played dead rather than risk the cavaliers' sabers. At some point you'll need to decide whether to report in or commit to desertion.
You start with: Spear (d6), Breastplate (as Chain), a clean military uniform.
Aspiring Defender (α) - Once per fight, you may fully negate an incoming source of damage. Instead, your opponent automatically succeeds at their most ruthless maneuver against you (e.g. disarming, swallowing, or defenestrating you).
Pupil
You taught yourself what you could of the arcane arts from that dog-eared spellbook, but if you are going to make any headway, you're going to need to either find a mentor or a more unsavory route into power.
You start with: A battered spellbook, a knobby staff (d4), robes.
Aspiring Mage (α) - You have a single MD and know one random Wizard spell from a school of your choice (consult with your GM for a list of available schools). Whenever you exhaust an MD, you suffer a mishap in addition to casting the spell.
Brat
Your life as the child of a noble house has been pretty swell so far, but you know there are too many family members between you and a healthy inheritance. Either someone needs to prune the family tree or you're going to need to distinguish yourself.
You start with: A fencing foil (d6), elegant attire, a recognizable family heirloom worth 50 coin.
Aspiring Noble (α) - You may reroll your reaction with anyone who recognizes you as "someone important." When you do, choose the more extreme result, not the better one.