Fantasy Tropes with no basis in Medieval History

[Turanil]

I'm slightly confused by this considering that (for example) if there were a "peasant farmer" character class in your favorite RPG, would you want to play it? (DM)" you have to go bale by hand and take it to the barn....roll a d20 to see if you succeed...." I'm all for "accuracy" but IMO it's called Fantasy for a reason....

It all depends on how said class is being designed. If (in D&D terms) it's a Commoner class with d4 hit-points, very poor BAB/ThAC0 progression, and only skills in farming: yes, nobody will ever want to play it.

But now, consider that during the 15th century all peasants in England had to learn to use a bow and accompany their lords on the battlefield. So they your basic peasant can become an archer class, in addition to having skills in farming. Then, add to this skills for living/surviving in the wilderness and such, and you can get a decent class that some people might want to play.

[jtougas]

It all depends on how said class is being designed. If (in D&D terms) it's a Commoner class with d4 hit-points, very poor BAB/ThAC0 progression, and only skills in farming: yes, nobody will ever want to play it.

But now, consider that during the 15th century all peasants in England had to learn to use a bow and accompany their lords on the battlefield. So they your basic peasant can become an archer class, in addition to having skills in farming. Then, add to this skills for living/surviving in the wilderness and such, and you can get a decent class that some people might want to play.

This is very true. I probably should have put more thought into my response