History Main / Splat

* ''TabletopGame/MonsterHearts'' has several "skins" based on both monster and high school tropes (though mostly the former). The default ten are [[TheChosenOne The Chosen]], [[TheFairFolk The Fae]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent The Ghost]], [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier The Ghoul]], [[DealWithTheDevil The Infernal]], [[{{Muggles}} The Mortal]], [[AlphaBitch The Queen]], [[OurVampiresAreDifferent The Vampire]], [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent The Werewolf]], and [[WitchSpecies The Witch]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' has service groups and secret societies. While PCs usually belong to the Troubleshooters, they still work for their old service group between missions, possibly drawing envy due to the Troubleshooters being glamorous and a fast track to promotion (despite the much higher death rate).

* Used in-universe in ''WebComic/{{Homestuck}}'', with Sburb having two types - classes and aspects. There are twelve of each, not counting the classes of Lord and Muse, which seem to only appear in otherwise dysfunctional session. They are usually somewhat metaphorical (The Prince class actually means "destroyer") and can be combined to form very unique character builds. Dirk, for instance, is a Prince of Heart, which translates to [[BadPowersGoodPeople "destroyer of souls"]]. [[YourSoulIsMine Which is exactly what he does.]] Many of the characters who share either a class or an aspect don't have similar powers at all.

* In the game ''[[TabletopGame/SeventhSea 7th Sea]]'', players can differentiate via nations or secret societies (sometimes both).
* DarkHeresy divides characters mainly by their background, be they Adeptus Mechanicus adepts, Imperial Guard veterans, Ecclesiarchy officials, etc.

* ''FadingSuns'' has the five major noble houses, the five major Church sects and the five major guilds. Befitting the FeudalFuture setting, the splatbooks divide the characters by social class, [[CaptainObvious so there are three]]. There are also the books for other organisations like the military, spies, and revolutionaries, and the books for the aliens.

** The same is true in the MMORTS ''ShatteredGalaxy''. Despite four different stats and a classless system, players inevitably end up (with their units) being either {{Stone Wall}}s or {{Glass Cannon}}s.

* Used in-universe in ''WebComic/Homestuck'', with Sburb having two types - classes and aspects. There are twelve of each, not counting the classes of Lord and Muse, which seem to only appear in otherwise dysfunctional session. They are usually somewhat metaphorical (The Prince class actually means "destroyer") and can be combined to form very unique character builds. Dirk, for instance, is a Prince of Heart, which translates to [[BadPowersGoodPeople "destroyer of souls"]]. [[YourSoulIsMine Which is exactly what he does.]] Many of the characters who share either a class or an aspect don't have similar powers at all.

* Used in-universe in ''WebComic/Homestuck'', with Sburb having two types - classes and aspects. There are twelve of each, not counting the classes of Lord and Muse, which seem to only appear in otherwise dysfunctional session. They are usually somewhat metaphorical (The Prince class actually means "destroyer") and can be combined to form very unique character builds. Dirk, for instance, is a Prince of Heart, which translates to [[BadPowersGoodPeople"destroyer of souls"]]. [[YourSoulIsMine Which is exactly what he does.]] Many of the characters who share either a class or an aspect don't have similar powers at all.

* Used in-universe in ''Webcomic/Homestuck'', with Sburb having two types - classes and aspects. There are twelve of each, not counting the classes of Lord and Muse, which seem to only appear in otherwise dysfunctional session. They are usually somewhat metaphorical (The Prince class actually means "destroyer") and can be combined to form very unique character builds. Dirk, for instance, is a Prince of Heart, which translates to [[BadPowersGoodPeople"destroyer of souls"]]. [[YourSoulIsMine Which is exactly what he does.]] Many of the characters who share either a class or an aspect don't have similar powers at all.

** Some splatbooks aren't explicitly connected to a single line- these usually are written to be either usable with all the sourcebooks, or standalone. ''Innocents'', a sourcebook focused around playing as children is a standalone example.
** And the [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil Hunter]] books are different still-their main splatbooks go in-depth about hunting and fighting different types of supernatural creatures. ''Night Stalkers'', for example, is all about bringing the war to vampires, and what that war entails.

AnAdventurerIsYou is a set of the most basic and common splats, which appear in one form or another in most games. [[IThoughtItMeant Not necessarily related]] to the ChunkySalsaRule.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' initially just called its splats "subtypes", and that term is still in common use, but with 8th Edition it also instituted a more foramlized system of "races" and "classes". Every creature card has a race subtype (Human, Goblin, Elf, etc.), and those printed before this rule have been errata'd to have a race; many also have a class subtype (Wizard, Warrior, etc.), but this is optional. Interestingly, some ''noncreature'' cards also have splats, such as tribal noncreature cards that have a creature type, or lands that have a land type (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest).

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' initially just called its splats "subtypes", but with 8th Edition instituted a more foramlized system of "races" and "classes". Every creature card has a race subtype (Human, Goblin, Elf, etc.), and those printed before this rule have been errata'd to have a race; many also have a class subtype (Wizard, Warrior, etc.), but this is optional. Interestingly, some ''noncreature'' cards also have splats, such as tribal noncreature cards that have a creature type, or lands that have a land type (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, or Forest).

A group or character classification in many TabletopGames. The most well known splats are the typical [[FantasyCharacterClasses 'fighter-mage-thief-cleric' classes]], common to games such as DungeonsAndDragons, though racial splats are common as well.

Frequently splats are delimited to form a FiveManBand group of characters, though the number of splats (or combination of splats) is often greater than five. Changing from one splat to another depends on the game and which splat you're changing. Fluid splats, like character class or alliegence to a certain group, usually has a catch of some sort to keep players from cherry-picking all the good stuff. I's usually impossible to change permanent splats without extreme measures, GreenRocks, or other AppliedPhlebotinum. Those who can tend to become ''insanely'' powerful.

* The BattleTech/Mechwarrior RPG gets rid of 'classes' entirely -- instead, character creation involves rolling dice to determine 'life paths', which chart your character's personal history (it's even possible, with the right (wrong?) choices, to construct a BattleTech/Mechwarrior character that ''dies'' as a result of a path selection).

* [[http://hsdroleplayinggame.com/ HC SVNT DRACONES]] has three or four splat categories. Species are grouped into "families" that share certain abilities, with the species acting as skill specializations. Then there's "morphism" or body type, such as ordinary digitgrade, [[OurCentaursAreDifferent taur]], [[LittleBitBeastly hemi]], micro... And finally you choose one or two {{Mega Corp}}s that provided your education and pick from their associated skill lists.

** TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}} initially followed the same mix of splat as D&D 1st-3.5, but attempted to tone down LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards. Their expanded product line includes classes which hybridize the existing splat to create some unusual classes with newer roles. The Inquisitor, for example, is a blur of Rogue and Cleric who can buff his party, the Cavalier and Samurai blend the classic fighter with D&D 4E's Striker and Leader, and the Magus is a straight up MagicKnight who studies like a wizard and then hefts a sword. Many fans who disliked 4th as D&D InNameOnly took to it gladly and there's a lot of FanDumb and HateDumb between fans of both, though the two companies (Wizards and Paizo) are actually on good terms.

* Even games without clearly-defined divisions between character types can often develop splats; witness ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', which tends to divide characters into specialist Archetypes such as street samurai, deckers, riggers, mages, shamans, etc. despite having a wide-open point-build system that gives the player the freedom to create a character however they wish. These archetypes stem largely from the sample characters included in the rulebook.

* The furry RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' has species and career, which each grant three "gifts" and a bonus die to three skills. For instance in 2nd Edition a red fox warlock gets one additional die to digging, jumping, and stealth and the danger sense, keen ears, and night vision gifts from their species; and an extra die to dodge, melee combat, and supernatural plus the literacy, Elementalist's trappings, and Elemental Apprentice gifts from their career. Plus three gifts of their choice and 13 marks to spread among skills.

The term comes from White Wolf games. Practically all of their Storytelling System games have a variety of character types, with a variety of names for these character types, and lots and lots of books ''about'' these character types, "tribebooks," "clanbooks," and so on. These came to be known as "*books," or "splatbooks."[[hottip:*:Asterisks are often used in computing as wildcards, to represent "everything" or "anything else". Don't asterisks look like little splats?]]

The term comes from White Wolf games. Practically all of their Storytelling System games have a variety of character types, with a variety of names for these character types, and lots and lots of books ''about'' these character types, "tribebooks," "clanbooks," and so on. These came to be known as "*books," or "splatbooks."[[hottip:*:Asterisks are often used in computing to represent "everything" or "anything else". Don't asterisks look like little splats?]]