Race and class lore

The German manuals of both Dungeons of Avalon and Dungeons of Avalon II feature sections of backstory detailing the races and classes of this game’s world.

Race descriptions

The following descriptions are translated from the German game manual.

Humans: These humans are not comparable to the typical person of our society. They are sturdier, stronger and tougher and correspond in structure to an Armold S. This race is very common on Avalon and thus forms the largest part of the population. Humans are the average.

Elves: The elves are a breed of their own. They live in forests and in their own cities. They are graceful and tender beings, who stay away from the other races on Avalon. The elves follow their own laws and would never submit to humans or other races. Their talent for magic is only surpassed by their vanity over other races. But they can become very strong allies in an emergency.

Half-elves: Elves would deny that there are half-elves, but they exist. Half elves are hybrids between humans and elves. These have all the talents of their parents, but they are not quite so pronounced as the elves, although a half-elf can be as strong as their human parent.

Dwarves: The Dwarfs are a race on Avalon who honor and respect every other race, or say, almost all. Well, the Gnome does not fall under this privilege. Again, history is baffled why that is. Dwarfs are tougher than humans, they also have more sense of magic. There were many great fighters and healers in the Dwarven ranks.

• The Dungeons of Avalon II manual adds: “…though they are sometimes too hot-headed.”

Gnomes: Gnomes are smaller than dwarfs; “even smaller” they will think now, but it was. The Gnomes have a very high dexterity. This may be because these creatures steal everything. A gnom would now say “found something someone lost.” There is no door lock to a gnom. However, one should not expect strength from these creatures.

Trolls: The trolls are an artificially created race. They were created thousands of years ago by powerful mages to protect Avalon. They have been given a lot of strength, but for that, we still do not know if it was mischief of the magicians or was done to protect the other races, very little in intelligence. Trolls are not very mobile. No one knows until today how the trolls multiply, but it is rumored that it would be … but no, let’s let this be here.

Stembärs: Erhm yes, what should I say to this race now. Hmm yes. (Here the author takes a deep breath, his health may depend on the following lines.) The Stembärs are a race of origin unknown. Evil tongues say they came from the Earth. They are strong and have a talent for music, but that’s not important because we do not have a bard as a class in this RPG. Before I write myself dead (in the truest sense of the word), I prefer to describe the last race.

Lizzards: This is probably the most mysterious race on Avalon. As for ancestry and way of thinking, this race is a mystery. But no one would contradict me when I say that this race has strength, intelligence, and magical talent. Lizzards are very rarely accepted as allies by the other races, which is probably due more to their appearance than to their talents.

Class descriptions

Fighter: The fighter enjoys a high reputation on Avalon. It is a profession that requires a certain amount of Strength and Dexterity. A fighter can use almost all weapons, with only the knight still beating him in this area. The fighter specializes in melee combat, which is only surpassed by the monks. A fighter is more agile than a knight.

• In Dungeons of Avalon II’s manual, the fighter is instead said to require high Strength and Kondition.

Thief: The thief does not enjoy the high reputation of the fighter, but does not work without him. The thief can be very useful when opening doors or traps… A thief is characterized by speed, dexterity and intelligence. The thief is very limited in the choice of his weapons; he can not use heavy weapons. Nor is the thief allowed to wear metal armor.

Hunter: The hunter is also a kind of fighter, whereby the hunter has specialized more on long-range weapons, which requires a high Dexterity for the practice of the class. The hunter, like the fighter or the knight, relies only on his muscle power and weapon, he can not use magic like the others, unless his weapons are enchanted.

• Dungeons of Avalon II adds that the Hunter requires both Dexterity and Kondition, and relies on his mobility and strength.

Knight: The knight is arguably the most highly regarded profession on Avalon. Every boy dreams of being a knight later on. It can be said that the knight compares to the fighter, except that the knight has a high degree of discipline. A knight is not limited in the choice of his weapons. He can use almost all weapons available in Avalon.

• Dungeons of Avalon II adds that the knight can wield all but a pair of magical weapons, and is less mobile than other warriors but better protected against attacks.

Monks: The monk generally lives in the monastery and joins an adventurer group only if he can serve with it his deity. Monks are very peaceful, but when it comes down to it, they can become killers in melee combat. Monks learn spells in their lives that can be used to heal or fight. Metal armor and heavy weapons are also forbidden to the monk to carry or use.

Magician: The magician is one of the most important professions on Avalon. A magician is allowed to use only light weapons, daggers, bolas, etc. The mage must not wear armor, or he will lose his ability to cast spells. A magician can become a deadly weapon for his enemies.

Healer: The healer is similar to the monk, with the focus of the healer’s magic on healing. His magic can be used for the attack, but is not as effective as that of the monk.

Wizard: The wizard is a kind of magician, whereby the wizard has specialized even more on the killing of his opponents. Some say the wizards are half on the side of evil.

Notes

1. Due to the game’s translation, the singular of “gnomes” is “gnom”, an error from German where this is the correct singular.
2. “Lizzard” is also the official translation of the race, Echse, which simply means “lizard”.
3. The “Stembär” race description makes sense when you realise it’s a reference to Rudolf Stember, the game’s musician.
4. The German name for wizard is “der Hexer”, which would be more accurately translated as “warlock”.
5. The human race description describes them as like “Armold S.”, a reference to actor and bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Dungeons of Avalon II manual corrects the spelling to “Arnold S.”

Valid race/class combinations

	Human	Elf	Half-elf	Dwarf	Troll	Gnom	Stembär	Lizzard
Fighter
Thief
Knight
Hunter
Monk
Magician
Healer
Wizard

Deleted classes

A piece of cut content included three unused character classes: Pirate, Murderer, and Bard. NPCs of these classes still exist in the game.