Mage Warrior or Thief

Mage, Warrior, or Thief.

At least, that's supposed to be the idea, isn't it? How many times have you started a new character thinking you would stick to a single build and not dip into areas outside of your self-imposed class restrictions? 

It never really lasts, does it? Inevitably, you find your warrior casting healing spells and picking master locks, your mage equipping heavy armor or wielding a battleaxe after tempering it to legendary, or your thief standing toe-to-toe with hordes of enemies and slinging spells like a master wizard. 

Or maybe you just go stealth archer every time and sneak kill everything. The point is that it's hard not to min-max your character, and when a skill or ability is available, resisting the temptation to use it can feel nearly impossible. 

The end result is that characters often end up homogenized. There's no uniqueness or individual feel to them. Once you've capped armor rating, gathered a bunch of spells, and leveled up your skills, your character loses his identity and becomes just another superhero (or villain) with God-Like powers. 

On top of that, you can do anything. During a playthrough, you encounter alchemists, enchanters, lumberjacks, blacksmiths, and a whole host of other professions and interactable objects/items. And you can do everything they can do. All of them. Nothing is off-limits, which turns these NPCs into little more than eye-candy. Why buy ingrediants from Arcadia when you can just go gather them yourself? Why check to see if Alvor has steel ingots available when you can mine the materials and smelt your own? Why is it that every character you make automatically knows how to ride horses, is devoted to the Nine Divines, and can catch fish with his bare hands like picking applies from a tree? Did you download Honed Metal only to find that you never actually use it because every character you make can smith, improve, and enchant his own gear, turning the mod's features into just more filler dialogue that you'll never need?

MTW changes all of that. In addition to your class choice being meaningful, the skill choices you make matter too, and the world feels much less like it was built just for you. Live within your restrictions, and find clever ways (including other mods) to gain access to the things you can't do yourself. 

How It Works

When you load the game, the mod checks your character's current level against the MCM setting for when you should be prompted to choose a class. By default, you must reach level 5 before choosing. Until then, you are "Classless", and your ability to fight or do much of anything is severely limited. 

Upon reaching level 5 (or whatever you set in the MCM), you must choose a class. The choice is permanent unless you use the included lesser power to switch to a new profession.

The Classes

Each class has pros and cons. While some of the restrictions might seem a bit harsh, they are meant to ensure that classes retain their unique identities and play their assigned roles. Some limitations can be offset to a degree by spending minor skill points. If you're reading the descriptions below and thinking things are a little too restricted, remember that the mod offers ways to open up each class significantly, so keep reading and learn how.

Before You Choose (Classless):

Classless characters are nearly useless. They are restricted to an iron or steel dagger and cannot cast spells, wear armor, or do much of anything. Somehow, they must find a way to survive and gain enough experience to reach a high enough level to choose a profession.

To progress while Classless can be very difficult. Though there's nothing preventing you from going out and adventuring, doing so is a foolish and potentialy fatal mistake. Instead, consider treating this part of your character's development as an opportunity to embrace things like working for others, completing quests that don't require combat, scavenging or stealing and selling items without getting caught or killed, and so on. Want to stop being a nobody? You're gonna have to work for it.

Warrior: