Guessing class by equipment and fighting styles(metagaming?)

[T'Holoth Shadowborn]

Often I will role play my character as stereotyping another person by their weapons.

If someone is carrying a longsword and a shielf and wearing plate I'm going to assume they are a fighter, Paladin or maybe. Plate usually means a warrior or priest.

If someone has a staff or they are wearing robes I'm going to assume Wizard or sorcerer.

If someone is wearing leather or clothes and they have a shortsword or rapier I'm going to guess rogue type (which may be a thief, swashbuckler etc..) I've been accusedof metagaming for this before but honestly if someone is in leather armor wearing a hood dressed in pure black clothes and carrying 2 shortswords, ya even someone with 10 int isn't going to think they are a paladin.

I see longsword and a hand axe I think ranger.

It's common sense/based off of experience.

Here's my question. Would I be able to have a good idea of someones "training" (class) by watching how they fight?
Of course everyone has the same fight mechanics & animations but from a purely RP point of view a warrior should have a reasonable idea about someone elses training right? A Paladin is going to fight differently than a barbarian than a wizard using a sword?

Anyone who trains in martial arts can look at someone else using martial arts and have a fair idea what they studied. Boxing will look different than kick boxing than judo.

So as far as RPing it goes, can we have a fair idea about someones training by watching them fight?

[Coyoterex]

Well, Diego uses dual rapiers and wears a chain shirt, but he received most of his weapon training from his fighter and weapon master levels. So he is a bit of a swashbuckler, and the bard levels do give him some rogue-like skills, but it is his fighting training where he learned weapon use. I think fighters would be the toughest to tell apart, as you can have one fighter that uses rapiers, while another will use a great sword. different styles, same class.

[Arkon]

Short answer, because that is all I am inclined to give right now.

Yes.

[Verandis]

And this is why everyone calls Arcanen 'ranger' or 'scout'. Hah!

[BPanther]

So one can recognize thief and assassin too?, hurting bad without putting any strength behind the strike.

no idea is it hitting on the back or striking at vulnerable spots, or what?

[Arkon]

It is striking vulnerable areas.. hense it not being called backstab anymore and why you can do it when someone is facing you.

[Sable]

So one can recognize thief and assassin too?, hurting bad without putting any strength behind the strike.

no idea is it hitting on the back or striking at vulnerable spots, or what?

At a guess I would suggest telling a sneak attack from a death attack might be kinda dificult - unless you have them both yourself or the end effect is radically different.
However, just from the description of crippling strike I'd suggest it stands out a mile! "The pain caused by the blow causes a loss of strength" or words to that effect if I remember it correctly.

[Rudiki]

I'd think you could certainly make assumptions by the dress and gear of people, though those assumptions might or might not be correct, but I can't see why a paladin or a fighter or a ranger would necessarily swing a sword any differently. Each one could have been taught the same fighting style. So you could recognize the fighting style, sure, but I'd think assumptions made on the basis of it would be just as flawed, if not much moreso, than assumptions based on dress and equipment. My two cents.

[Sable]

"style" may mostly limit to "warrior class" in that case, though Rangers clearly fight differently to other classes as they actually gain a class specific feat in their fighting style (the dual weald they have is a different version to the one anyone else can get)

[Jenai]

I think it is ok to try and guess what class someone maybe by their weapon or dress or even by the way they move in combat. This does not mean you will guess correctly however. Or that By assuming only (Corwin for example) is A palladin, you might not realize he is more.

When you assume...

[NWDuneAuron]

Remember that some classes are an entirely OOC construct. You can't go up to a fighter and say "oh hey, you're a fighter."

You can tell someone is a divine magic user, if you see them cast a divine-only magic spell you recognise (see: you pass the spellcraft check to know what the spell is). Same for an arcane magic user.

Saying you know someone is an Assassin (which is an OOC thing btw, a rogue can be a contract killer, so can any other class) because you see them death attack someone is metagaming and will get you pounded like yesterday's beef. There's so many ways to paralyse someone.

You can make IC interpretations, fine ("Elf with bow, likely to be a woodsman") but when that crosses into metagaming their class - not cool.