How should similar classes be differentiated in an EO RP?

[Rothene]

Like, the EO1 Alchemist vs EO2 Alchemist vs Zodiac vs Runemaster for starters in a roleplaying scenario of their on the field capabilities?

All four are about equally blasty but Zodiac and Runemasters seem to have other skills to make them stand out more than Alchemist.

[Reynard-Miri]

Yeah, but Alchemists can cook meat.

[noodles]

if they have different skills doesn't that speak for itself?

and outside of mechanics i feel like all that matters is how a person role-plays

if you're doing dungeons and dragons you can have a cleric and a paladin and an oracle (maybe even a druid) all filling the same role, right? but those characters would likely all be role-played differently.

[Rothene]

I suppose I was over engrossed with the similarity of their elemental skills since until runemaster the elemental skills were hit one thing for small elemental damage, hit a bunch for small elemental damage and hit one thing for HUGE elemental damage.

Although with those mechanical arms, in your opinion is the Alchemist is actually casting spells in the traditional draw formula/symbol in the air method or inputting mathematical formulas into those arms of theirs to adjust how blasty their elemental shots are?

[Curry-Kohai]

I always imagined alchemists casting things by shooting chemicals out of their arm thingies, a bomb or spray or something, nothing seems to be particularly magical in EO1, at least, nothing that couldn't be explained through science or whatever.

So in a traditional PnP, I woukd make alchemists and Runemasters different by increasing the item and science sort of skills, and making their spells stronger but less available.

[noodles]

alchemists put chemicals in their arm things and shoot them out as elemental magic

you can basically see arthur doing it in EOU cutscenes

[FomeRubr555]

My opinion has always been to just treat EO1 and EO2 classes the same. EO2's classes were essentially just improvements over EO1 stuff, and while they did get additional skills, they were ultimately the same thing. So just pretend EO2's skills and improvements existed in EO1 and there you go.

The only thing I'd really do is rename certain ones from EO4. Like, EO4's Landsknecht is drastically different from EO1/2, so call it something else. Like Warrior, or something. Same with Medic, call them...uh...Doctors. Or something.

In terms of Zodiac vs. Alchemist, I think the difference is more personal flavor and how they are portrayed. For example, when a Zodiac is surprised, they might shout "by the stars!" Compare this to a surprised Alchemist, who would say "AGHGHGHLLHGHGKLGH," because he accidentally dropped his chemicals for Inferno and now they're eating through his foot. But in battle, they fulfill the same purpose, to deal elemental damage. Treat them as roughly the same thing.