Know Your Role Play : Archetypes

Archetype. –noun
the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.

Every good role playing system has them. No matter the type of persona you've envisioned yourself as, you're likely to fall into a set series of statistics, characteristics, and cliches. I have done my best to synthesis a sort of blanket title for the four major archetypes. The Sword, the Sneak, the Spell, and the Shield. An easier way to recall these four figures is the Four S System. And I have yet to find an effective series of multiplayer role playing mechanics to which these four figures do not apply.