Character Trades

[Gruu]

VD, could you tell us a bit about the various trades, such as "Assassin" in the recent character-screen screenshots? Are they backgrounds or the results of in-game choices? Do they determine initial skills? What effect does a character's trade have on the game?

 

[Vault Dweller]

From one of the interviews:

"It's not a class, but a background. It's what you did in the gameworld, before the in-game events. It helps defining your character better, establishing his ties with various factions. For example, a thief starts as a member of the Thieves Guild (joining it on your own is more complicated than walking in and asking for an application form), gets a reputation bonus when dealing with shady elements and factions supporting the Thieves Guild for their own reasons, and a reputation penalty with the Imperial Guards and the Merchants Guild.

The background doesn't restrict your character in any way. A knight may specialize in combat and serve his Noble House in that capacity, or he/she may specialize in diplomacy or stealth. An assassin can rely on a quick blade and Critical Strike skill, or on poison and charms, and so on.

Backgrounds are optional, you don't have to choose one, in which case you will enter the game world as a stranger. Nobody knows you, which could be a good thing or a bad thing; depends on how you look at it."