10 non-D&D characters you can make in Legend In The Mist RPG

Guest Author: Coleman Gailloreto

Warrior, Wizard, Priest, Thief…anyone who’s played a Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG has seen these character classes, which structure and limit what role-players can make. Son Of Oak’s new fantasy roleplaying game Legend In The Mist takes a different approach to character-building with rules that focus on description over bonuses and let players make doctors, blacksmiths, apple pickers, and other fantasy heroes that don’t fit the D&D mold.

Check out the list below for character ideas that’ll shine bright in a Legend In The Mist campaign.

Origins Of RPG Character Classes

In original Dungeons & Dragons, there were only two classes: the “Fighting Man” who wielded weapons and armor, and the “Magic User” who cast spells. The other iconic classes of D&D arose during early play-tests when gamers had a concept that didn’t fit the existing rules. The Cleric, for instance, supposedly came from a player who wanted to play a vampire hunter.

How Legend In The Mist Makes Character Creation Flexible

At first glance, Son Of Oak’s new roleplaying game rejects D&D character classes outright. At the same time, Legend In The Mist’s description-centered Mist Engine hearkens back to the wild creativity of first generation roleplaying games, giving players theme kits and gameplay rules to create brand new character classes that are fun and balanced to play:

For instance:

1. Doctor

In theory, the fantasy worlds of D&D campaigns should be full of herbalists, bonesetters, and surgeons. But why would a D&D-style adventuring party visit the villager healer when they have a priest who can cure wounds with holy magic?

By default, magic is rare and special in a game of Legend In The Mist, and the LITM core book Is full of theme kits such as “Alchemy & Herbalism” or “Gifted Physician” that players can use to build characters who heal with natural medicine.

2. Blacksmith

Outside of a fun Cleric sub-class called Domain of the Forge, D&D 5th edition has little mechanical support for the classic archetype of the fantasy blacksmith –– a burly and skilled artisan who crafts useful tools with iron, sweat, and forge-flame.

Legend In The Mist’s core rule book, in contrast, gives players a “Sweaty Smith” template that lets them play heroic village blacksmith right out of the gate. This template is a collection of on-brand theme kits such as “Blacksmith,” ‘Strong as an Ox,” and “Heirloom Longsword.”

3. Leader

D&D 4th Edition’s “Warlord” was a favorite class with gamers keen on playing strategists who lead their team to victory with brilliant tactical commands; at the same time, this class’s abilities didn’t encompass every type of leader and commander.

Enter Legend In The Mist and its collection of “leadership” themes, which cover archetypes ranging from the Haughty Courtier to the destined Hope of the Realm. Mix these themes, and any leader PC can be made, from a captain of the guard to the local town mayor.

4. Nature Spirit

The default assumption in D&D and other fantasy RPGs is that player characters are human-like. Even if they’re an elf, a half-dragon, or a talking mushroom, the average roleplaying game PC still walks on two legs, worries about eating/drinking, and lives by familiar standards of morality.

Legend In The Mist, a roleplaying game inspired by folklore, explicitly encourages players make characters modeled after fairy-tale critters. The core book itself contains templates for creatures such as the “Grouchy Household Hob” or the “River Beauty”: spirits with uncanny magic and alien world-views.

5. Dragon

It might be called Dungeons & Dragons, but D&D and RPGs like it generally don’t let gamers role-play as dragons. Dragons are powerful, terrifying beings, after all, and a true Dragon PC would wreck the balance of most RPGs with a tactical combat focus.

In Legend In The Mist, dragons are perfectly viable as PCs, thanks to gameplay rules that make themes of monstrosity both a blessing or curse depending on the situation. Besides the “Resplendent Dragon” template, Legend In The Mist’s core book also has pre-made characters for concepts such as “Dread Vampire” or “God of the Forest.”

6. Cook

In most fantasy RPGs, the perks of tasty, healthy food are glossed over –– a crying shame, since loving descriptions of meals and heroes feasting are some of the most iconic scenes in classic fantasy stories.

Enter the cook or chef: a character concept easily made and portrayed in Legend In The Mist, which has detailed rules for camping/resting and fun culinary-focused theme kits such as “Excellent Cook.”

7. A Trader

Trade is a big part of dungeon-crawling RPGs like D&D, what with adventuring parties exchanging loot for better equipment, haggling for lower prices, etc. At the same time, none of the iconic RPG character classes fit the archetype of the Trader, a professional who sells a product, transports goods, and sniffs out business opportunities.

Role-players who want to portray merchants will love Legend In The Mist’s “Seasoned Trader” theme kit, which gives players access to skills centered around appraising goods, driving prices down, and drawing on reserves of wealth.

8. Beaver Kin

Roleplaying games like D&D are full of wizards and elves and dragons and other magical folks. But giant talking beaver people? Not a chance.

Looking to play a beaver person? Legend In The Mist is your roleplaying game of choice, thanks to its “Beaver Kin” theme kit, full of useful tags such as “powerful tail,” “natural builder,” “fearsome bite,” and basically everything needed to fulfill one’s beaver fantasies.

9. Stage Magician

In magic-heavy fantasy RPGs, a stage magician character often come across as pointless. In a world full of wizards who can burn people with their brain, what’s the point of a magician who counts cads and pulls coins from ears?

Legend In The Mist’s rustic fantasy setting, a world where magic is rare and “prestidigitation” isn’t a cantrip, makes the “magic trick” magician a lot more viable. By assembling themes from the core book such as “Acrobatic Agility,” “Enthralling Entertainer,” or “Sleight of Hand,” any player can make a charismatic and entertaining impersonator of magic.

Apple Picker

10. Apple Picker

The “Apple Picker” shows up a lot in Son Of Oak’s promotional content for a reason: it’s a down-to-earth character archetype that shows off Legend The Mist’s rustic fantasy setting and drives home the idea that PCs with humble origins are fun to play.

The themes in the “Apple Picker” pre-gen character sheet –– “Rascal,” “Ravenhome Raised,” “Scrappy,” and “Bushel of Apples” –– paint a figure of a resourceful urchin with a knack for trickery, a sack full of apples to eat and throw, and a lot of room to grow and mature.

The concepts above only scratch the surface when it comes to the characters players can make in Legend In The Mist. Grab the core book here to set up an RPG campaign where any fantasy hero can be brought to life (Even the classic D&D-style Warrior, Wizard, Priest, or Thief, if that what players want).

Visit Son of Oak’s website to learn more about Legend In The Mist releasing on August 13, 2025.