Daily Debate: If You Could Create a Zelda-Inspired Tabletop Role-Playing Game Class, What Would It Look Like?
Posted on February 07 2024 by Josh Wittmershaus
The shared resemblance of themes, characters, and worlds across the fantasy genre is well-known. Within the fantastical, almost-mythological universe that umbrellas all our favorite series, games, and books, we find homage, inspiration, and influence between them. If there was ever a place for all these elements to meet and co-exist, it would be within the platform of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons. The game encourages the transfusion of concepts and ideas from both the real world and other fantasy realms, and there are plenty of resources from dedicated fans that bridge the gap between Zelda and TTRPGs.
A few years back, we published a Daily Debate asking what TTRPG classes Zelda characters would be, highlighting how these two fantasy worlds can almost seamlessly combine through our creative minds. Today, I’d like to flip that question, and ask: How would you create a class inspired by a Zelda character, community, or race?
In order to approach this question, I want to try to answer the following:
- What would this class be named? Would it be different from its Zelda designation?
- What would have to be different from its Zelda “form,” if anything?
- What sort of unique components or skills would this class have?
The example that comes to mind for me is a class based on Sheikah servants to the Hyrule Royal Family. They would be a hybrid class with elements of rogues, rangers, and paladins, capable of spells specific to their class, reminiscent of some of the Runes in the Sheikah Slate and Purah Pad such as Ascend and Recall. They’d be proficient in stealth, naturally, and could even have a defector subclass similar to the Yiga Clan. Their appearance would be a reworked version of the Sheikah, perhaps with different colors in their design, but carrying the same energy and spirit. The class’s name? “Eye-Sworn.”
…Okay, maybe the name needs a little work.
What about you? If you were to turn a Zelda character, community, or race into a TTRPG class, what would it look it? Roll a persuasion check in the comments!
Josh Wittmershaus is a writer at Zelda Dungeon. Originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, he now resides in Northern California. Aside from Zelda, Josh enjoys playing music, seeing live music, music history, and all other things music. He also enjoys skating, hockey, and the occasional political or philosophical thought exercise.
