First and foremost, an archetype is a tool to prime the experience for the players. No experiences are equal under people’s perceptions. The PC is simply a diegetic medium in which players may reasonably associate themselves to the fiction (the conversation). An archetype is a decoration and a lens. PC adopted into an archetype is as if the PC wears a different pair of shades or different clothes.
Archetypes convey information on the most prominent lenses the experience is viewed from. Sometimes this set of choices is inherent to the fictional setting or themes, sometimes it’s up to the GM or the designer. An archetype may constitute many characteristics of an entity that exists in the experience: such as their identity, attitude, worldview, capabilities and preferences. When a PC adopts an archetype, they inherit those characteristics. However, at most, the archetype is a “personal preference” of the characters.
If we treat an example archetype which characterises an entity’s “outlook”, how would a warrior’s outlook differ from a scholar/wizard/magic person in respect to the setting?
In a peaceful setting.
In an apocalyptic setting.
In a dystopian setting.
In a grim setting.
In a magic-is-not-real, might-is-right setting.
Now in most cases, players are not going to understand the setting and the fictional world in a healthy agreement. Sure, the TTRPG connoisseur who are willing to invest in the time and effort to work with the GM to nurture the game will have no problem navigating the fiction productively. Those are the people who understand the tropes associated with existing archetypes and may effectively subvert those tropes by choosing to manoeuvre their PC outside of archetypes and unto of their own self. However, most players are guests, more true for those who frequent one-shots. Within a short time, our guests need some ideas to latch onto quickly. Archetypes are the best and quickest tool for the players to grasp at the ‘feeling’ of the experience for that game.
A diegetic archetype can inform many things about the world that formulated them. Why is there still a prominent need for warriors in this world? Why are warriors, fighters, berserkers, barbarians and any other gimmicky variations of a fighting-man distinctly recognized from one another? Is it the socio-political climate? Tradition? Cultural differences? Or something else?
Being any one of those archetypes will quickly prime the player into two information:
This [archetype] is a widely recognized type of person in this fictional world.
There are perspectives and opinions on them — for good or bad.
There are particular attitudes in dealing with “your kind”.
This archetype has an unshakable history and connotation in this world.
This archetype did not exist in a vacuum.
Emphasis on unshakable: the history of the archetype shapes the present archetype.
Then as “your kind”, you may investigate the world from a standpoint. A blank PC — reserved uniquely for you and only for you — is a lucrative prospect. However, a PC without grounding with the world they belong in is an “alien”. Now, this may be the intention to prime your PCs to be an “alien” or a “foreigner”, but remember that they will eventually grind to a standing halt as they experience the new world. An archetype is a catalyst for the process of familiarisation.
Effectively, the archetype is a predefined role offered to the player to adapt to their PC’s identity.
Meanwhile, non-diegetic archetypes are made solely for gameplay purposes. The best examples are games such as fighting games, MOBA frequently use archetypes to classify playstyles by gameplay design. This is no different for TTRPG; that is assuming that the player group’s goal is to play variant-flavoured chess while roleplaying. However, that is a series of game design principles and practices — a topic of design choices. A topic I shall avoid discussing in this document.
Archetypes were early tools used to profile TTRPG players by offering heightened experience in a particular attraction of the game. Different from pillars, attractions are the incentives to which the player draws enjoyment from. Whereas pillars are the foundational principles and philosophy the formal game system is built from.
One of the strengths of D&D was its "class" system of professions, templates detailing character types and related proficiency. On the one hand, players coming into the game were generally given exactly what the game promised: do you want to be a warrior or a wizard? A human or a hobbit? — and tools to represent that archetype was exactly what they received.
