Class names that don't make sense?

[CyberController]

Techincally, anyone who fights for pay is a mercenary, not just the sword users.

 

Everyone in your army is technically a Soldier or Fighter.

 

"Heroes" can be on the enemy side. (Caellach, for example. He's anything but a hero.)

[Dragoncat]

Troubadours were men who wrote poems and courted ladies. Valkyries were battle angels in Norse mythology (I think?)

[bottlegnomes]

Myrmidons were Achilles's soldiers that were turned into men from ants and retained the proportional strength, 10x bodyweight or whatever. Myrms today are in large not known for their strength.

Edited March 18, 2018 by bottlegnomes

[DisobeyedCargo]

Baron. It's a title of nobility

[CyberController]

Generals. They are just promoted Knights. They don't actually decide how the battle goes.

[Armagon]

• Dark Knights: They can't use Dark Magic.
• Falcon Knights: Those aren't falcons. Those are unicorns.
• Mostly everyone is technically a Warrior.

[Ertrick36]

I know it's not current nor is it official, but "shooter" is such a silly name.  It's like, "Hey, I'm a shooter; I shoot things from afar!"  What a non-specific thing to call someone.

Also, the Strategist...  Most of the units who can take on that class by default (Elise, Felicia, Jakob, Dwyer) aren't in charge of any duties that are very related to planning strategy.

And Bandit, in the earlier sense of the class for the series, doesn't really give an accurate story about the units who are of that class.  In the earlier days of FE, the bandits were thugs who traverse well in mountains, and in fact were originally called "mountain thieves" because of this.  But the term "bandit" just makes you think that they're mere thugs who pillage small towns.

Lastly, Ranger.  Not the GBA Ranger from Sacred Stones...  I'm talking about Ike.  Just... why?  Why is he specifically a ranger, of all things?  Hell, that would've been the one game where the class name "Mercenary" would actually make a ton of sense, yet that isn't even a class in Path of Radiance for some reason... though "ranger" is apparently the best name for his base class.  GG, IS.

[Moblin Major General]

Clerics, Monks, Priests, and Bishops are basically untouchable in warfare without committing a war crime, and yet so often both sides have little choice but to kill them, especially status staves.

Most main characters hold a higher standing than just "lord."

Assassins aren't just a class. Just ask Katarina.

Shamans are just like monks et al, except they denote paganism, and were usually more on limits at their height.

Snipers probably wouldn't be able to hunt snipe, like actual snipers could.

I don't see how fighting a war is adventurous, so why is Adventurer a thing? I mean, the only thing Niles and Nina are adventurous in is their love lives.

Why is Lewyn a bard if he doesn't play an instrument?

Dancing isn't that good at improving morale.

Most Wyverns in the series have 4 legs, not two.

[CyberController]

6 minutes ago, Hylian Air Force said:

 

Dancing isn't that good at improving morale.

 

Depends on how good the dancer looks.

[Moblin Major General]

15 minutes ago, CyberController said:

Depends on how good the dancer looks.

FE armies aren't all 1 gender and age group.

[IfIHadToPickADude]

1 hour ago, Dragoncat said:

Troubadours were men who wrote poems and courted ladies.

To add on to this, Trobaritz is the terms used to refer to female troubadours. 

Dark Fliers, like Dark Knights, can't use dark magic.

Druids really don't fit with dark magic. The Celtic religion more fits that druids use just Anima and staves, since Druids were essentially the Celtic priest.

Pegasus is a horse-god. How in the world did you get that many horse-gods? And I'm pretty sure a dude named Bellerophon tamed Pegasus, so why are they mostly a female only class?

Why is a merchant on the battlefield? Why would you BRING A MERCHANT ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD?

Knights could be anyone, as long as you were knighted. Knights could even be cavaliers!

Who decided that people riding puppets could fight? Seriously, it's a stupid idea.

Edited March 18, 2018 by IfIHadToPickADude
I forgot some words.

[bottlegnomes]

1 hour ago, Ertrick36 said:

Lastly, Ranger.  Not the GBA Ranger from Sacred Stones...  I'm talking about Ike.  Just... why?  Why is he specifically a ranger, of all things?  Hell, that would've been the one game where the class name "Mercenary" would actually make a ton of sense, yet that isn't even a class in Path of Radiance for some reason... though "ranger" is apparently the best name for his base class.  GG, IS.

Funny thing is, IIRC, though not the source so take it with a grain of salt, they removed the class name for exactly the reason you're saying it'd fit. Since everyone was mercenaries, they felt like it'd further confuse things from previous games where the title was already a bit strange.

 

41 minutes ago, IfIHadToPickADude said:

Pegasus is a horse-god. How in the world did you get that many horse-gods? And I'm pretty sure a dude named Bellerophon tamed Pegasus, so why are they mostly a female only class?

My Greek mythology is a bit rusty, but I believe there is a basis for this in the actual myth. From what I remember, Bellerophon tamed pegasus, but he got arrogant and decided to fly to the top of Mt. Olympus, which resulted in Zeus threatening and then killing him with a lightning bolt. That or Pegasus freaked and threw him off. Either way, Bellerophon died and Pegasus got scared like hell. So I think the basis was that after that, Pegasus and subsequent offspring were more likely to be trusting of women's more reserved demeanor over men's brashness. Shame on Pegasus for gender stereotyping.

[Azure Sen]

Malig Knight. I know space limits are a pain, but really? You couldn't go with Wrath Knight or something instead of a name that seems like you forgot to type part of it?

Basara. I have no idea what Muromachi-era hipsters have to do with the class outside some design cues.

Druids. Similar to the basara, they have no actual connection to their namesake, in this case societal and religious leaders in ancient Celtic societies.

1 hour ago, bottlegnomes said:

My Greek mythology is a bit rusty, but I believe there is a basis for this in the actual myth. From what I remember, Bellerophon tamed pegasus, but he got arrogant and decided to fly to the top of Mt. Olympus, which resulted in Zeus threatening and then killing him with a lightning bolt. That or Pegasus freaked and threw him off. Either way, Bellerophon died and Pegasus got scared like hell. So I think the basis was that after that, Pegasus and subsequent offspring were more likely to be trusting of women's more reserved demeanor over men's brashness. Shame on Pegasus for gender stereotyping.

The whole pegasus thing seems to come from conflating them with unicorns (...for some reason), as evidenced by the fact that a majority of FE's "pegasi" have horns or grow them on promotion; Bellerophon died entirely because of Zeus, either by spooking Pegasus with a lightning bolt or sending a gadfly to bite Pegasus.

Actually, every iteration of Pegasus Knights count, because they're not riding pegasi.

Edited March 18, 2018 by Azure Sen

[bottlegnomes]

32 minutes ago, Azure Sen said:

The whole pegasus thing seems to come from conflating them with unicorns (...for some reason), as evidenced by the fact that a majority of FE's "pegasi" have horns or grow them on promotion; Bellerophon died entirely because of Zeus, either by spooking Pegasus with a lightning bolt or sending a gadfly to bite Pegasus.

Actually, every iteration of Pegasus Knights count, because they're not riding pegasi.

Rereading my post, it wasn't real clear, but the bold is what I meant by Pegasus freaked (from the lightning) and threw him off. Never heard the gadfly one thought. That's interesting, and seems oddly subtle for Zeus. I thought I remembered reading that explanation in an interview or something, but there's like a minimum of a 60% chance that I'm misremembering.

Also, they're not? I know pegasi don't have horns, but base-level pegasus knights seem to be riding the appropriate animal unless I'm missing something.

Edited March 18, 2018 by bottlegnomes

[Ertrick36]

2 hours ago, Hylian Air Force said:

Dancing isn't that good at improving morale.

In wars where people have little else for entertainment besides each other's company?

I don't know.  If I had to go on long marches with an army and fight for my life just about every day, I'd probably be perked right up seeing a display of higher performance arts that reminds me that there's more to life than a constant series of toils and struggles that end in violence.

But that's neither here nor there, as this is an irrelevant criticism to begin with since we're talking about class names being strange, not the classes themselves being such.  Of course they're related to some degree, but I strongly doubt you think that "Dancer" is a title that ill fits them.

1 hour ago, bottlegnomes said:

Funny thing is, IIRC, though not the source so take it with a grain of salt, they removed the class name for exactly the reason you're saying it'd fit. Since everyone was mercenaries, they felt like it'd further confuse things from previous games where the title was already a bit strange.

Ah, so it's like they wrote themselves into a corner.

Though what weird, roundabout logic that is if it were true.  I mean, I'll give them that it'd be weird when various other units are also mercs by occupation, but Alm was a "fighter", yet he never even used axes like fighters did.  Hell, Ike even became a "Hero" in Radiant Dawn, which you could argue that all of the allies that fought by his side were also "heroes" since they all played a part in stopping Ashnard.  Not even two games later and they throw whatever rationale they had out the window.

1 hour ago, Azure Sen said:

Druids. Similar to the basara, they have no actual connection to their namesake, in this case societal and religious leaders in ancient Celtic societies.

This description on the Etymology on the FE Wiki is the best I got:

Quote

Druidic practices continued to persist in Ireland and to some degree in Britain nevertheless, possibly until as late as 700 CE, when the Christianization of the Islands took place. There is some debate about the possibility of them practicing human sacrifice rituals, as recounted by Caesar. Druids constructed a major and fairly centralized system across most of Northern Europe, where a belief that it was impious to write on holy matters led to much of their history still being filtered through an outsider's lens from rival cultures and belief systems. This lends to Druids being daubed with an occult and at times dark reputation, which may account for their place as Dark Magic users in Fire Emblem.

Aside from that, the only thing I could think of is that they're based on traditional RPG Druids that draw their magic from nature.  But the only Druidic magic I could think of that is all that dark has to do with Wendigos.  And that clearly has little to do with the FE Druids.

[bottlegnomes]

14 minutes ago, Ertrick36 said:

Ah, so it's like they wrote themselves into a corner.

Though what weird, roundabout logic that is if it were true.  I mean, I'll give them that it'd be weird when various other units are also mercs by occupation, but Alm was a "fighter", yet he never even used axes like fighters did.  Hell, Ike even became a "Hero" in Radiant Dawn, which you could argue that all of the allies that fought by his side were also "heroes" since they all played a part in stopping Ashnard.  Not even two games later and they throw whatever rationale they had out the window.

Yeah, it makes not a lick of sense, but at least they tried. I think it might've been in the game manual, since this was way back when I first got the game, and I can't think of where else I could've read it. I still have the manual, so I might be able to check there to see if there's any additional reasoning.

Edited March 18, 2018 by bottlegnomes

[NekoKnight]

Vanguard: The vanguard of the army is the force that is sent into battle first. Obviously, this is to imply that said person is in the thick of the fighting, as a melee unit, but any soldier assigned to the same battle unit could be described as being in the vanguard.

3 hours ago, IfIHadToPickADude said:

Knights could be anyone, as long as you were knighted. Knights could even be cavaliers!

Chivalry, the code of principles that people associate with knights, is a word derived from old French meaning "horse soldiery", so cavaliers would be the most worthy of the titles of knights. To their credit, FE4&5 and 9&10 called their cavaliers knights and their armored infantry, armors. Of course, knighthood has meant different responsibilities and ideals throughout time so there isn't a concrete "class" they would fit into. 

[Dragoncat]

7 hours ago, Armagon said:

Falcon Knights: Those aren't falcons. Those are unicorns.

Nope they're alicorns, if you use the MLP term. I say the "horn" is just decorative armor though.

[The_antithesis]

Assassins, Thieves and Ninja are both visible on he battlefield, and can even be targeted on purpose. So much for stealth, huh...

[vanguard333]

Paladins: They were Charlemagne's elite warriors. They may have been cavalry, but they predated the Vikings, let alone knights, if they existed at all, as they are the subject of legend and folklore. Though I will admit, Fire Emblem's paladins are closer to the real ones than most fantasy paladins.

 

3 hours ago, The_antithesis said:

Assassins, Thieves and Ninja are both visible on he battlefield, and can even be targeted on purpose. So much for stealth, huh...

Not only that, but ninjas weren't even fighters or assassins: they were spies. 

 

6 hours ago, NekoKnight said:

Chivalry, the code of principles that people associate with knights, is a word derived from old French meaning "horse soldiery", so cavaliers would be the most worthy of the titles of knights. To their credit, FE4&5 and 9&10 called their cavaliers knights and their armored infantry, armors. Of course, knighthood has meant different responsibilities and ideals throughout time so there isn't a concrete "class" they would fit into. 

Not just throughout time, but also area, and who you asked. There was no standard recognized code of chivalry throughout all of Europe. Each feudal lord had different expectations for their knights. For them, chivalry was what they said makes a good knight; they rules they had to follow. Then, there were also medieval writers writing their own romanticized ideals of chivalry; their way of saying all knights, regardless of feudal lord, should also follow the writer's idea of what made a good knight.

Knights were primarily cavalry throughout most of Europe. However, some Scottish knights would dismount to lead their schiltrons (basically rows of men with two-handed spears), and, during the Hundred-Years War, English Knights would dismount as a tactic. So armoured infantry being knights does make some sense in that regard. 

Honestly though, given that knighthood was a title, and quite a few FE knights aren't knights, man-at-arms would be a better name for them. Man-at-arms was the military rank. All knights were men-at-arms, not all men-at-arms were knights.

 

Druids: people have already pointed out that they were basically Celtic religious figures. Yes, the Romans gave Druids a bad reputation. However, if you look at the surviving Celtic folklore, none that I have read involved druids practicing any kind of ritual sacrifices or anything like that; the most evil magic used by druids in the folklore being forcibly shapeshifting someone else into an animal. Speaking of which: there's a reason fantasy druids are usually nature mages. Most of their magic in Celtic folklore either involves potions or shapeshifting into animals.

 

11 hours ago, Hylian Air Force said:

Why is Lewyn a bard if he doesn't play an instrument?

Does he sing? Or tell stories of events that have happened? I ask because those things fit a bard as well, and I don't know if he does those or not, as I haven't played the game Lewyn is in.

 

Halberdiers: They can't even use halberds, since halberds in FE are listed as axes, when they appear at all. If anything, PoR halberdiers are really pikemen, while RD halberdiers are basically a medieval fantasy version of a Greek Hoplite (because of the shield).

[IfIHadToPickADude]

Witches are followers or practitioners of either Wicca or modern witchcraft. Witch is also a gender-neutral term. The closest thing the Fire Emblem witches have to real witches is that both are viewed in a negative light; but FE witches are often actually evil.

Brides make absolutely no sense. Why are they on the battlefield? Shouldn't they be off being married?

Villagers shouldn't be on the battlefield without being properly prepared. And I don't mean giving them the correct weapons and a pot on their head.

Oliphantiers don't ride Elephants, despite their name.

[ping]

24 minutes ago, IfIHadToPickADude said:

Brides make absolutely no sense. Why are they on the battlefield? Shouldn't they be off being married?

€: Well, this one clearly does, @Hylian Air Force ;)

Edited March 18, 2018 by ping

[Moblin Major General]

Brides don't use swords @ping

[RedRob]

13 hours ago, Dragoncat said:

 Valkyries were battle angels in Norse mythology (I think?)

They were the shieldmaidens of Odin, and were responsible for taking the souls of fallen warriors to Valhalla. Though, at times they would actually influence battles for the purpose of having worthy souls to take to Valhalla. So the class name might be poetic license on how they can decide who lives or dies by healing people, or setting them on fire.

[Dragoncat]

23 minutes ago, RedRob said:

They were the shieldmaidens of Odin, and were responsible for taking the souls of fallen warriors to Valhalla. Though, at times they would actually influence battles for the purpose of having worthy souls to take to Valhalla. So the class name might be poetic license on how they can decide who lives or dies by healing people, or setting them on fire.

So "battle angels" still kinda fits. I see!