History Main / FighterMageThief

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' provided a breakdown of Warrior, Rogue, and Sorcerer, with later games adding more classes.
** ''Diablo'' also downplays this trope in that any character can potentially learn any magic and use any equipment.
** Played straight in ''VideoGame/{{Diablo III}}'' with both the main hero classes and followers: the Barbarian, Crusader, and Kormac the Templar represent fighter; The Demon Hunter, Monk, and Lyndon the Scoundrel represent thief; and the Necromancer, Witch Doctor, Wizard, and Eirena the Enchantress represent mage. Fittingly enough, all the fighters rely on strength for their main stat, the mages rely on intelligence, and the thieves rely on dexterity.

* In ''Literature/{{Phenomena}}'': Alk (fighter), Ilke (mage) and Millian (thief) when they travel [[SeparatedFromTheAdults alone]].

** Sora's [[SuperMode "Drive Forms"]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' also qualify. The first three, "Valor", "Wisdom" and "Limit", primarily enhance his combat skills, his magic skills, and his speed and agility, respectively; Valor Form allows him to [[DualWielding dual wield]] Keyblades while dealing extra-hard combos, Wisdom Form allows him to deal rapid damage with a special long-range magic spell, and Limit Form allows him to avoid enemies with a Dodge Roll move while dealing a series of extra-fast combos. Master Form and Negative Form both have JackOfAllStats bonuses, though one is Light-based, and the other is Dark-based.

** Mages: Catalyst, Caustic, Horizon, Lifeline, Seer and Wattson. Work best in supporting roles, as they mostly lack any (or at least heavy-damaging) close-range offensive abilities.

!! Non Gaming Examples

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** The three major protagonists of ''Manga/PhantomBlood'' are an interesting twist: Both Jonathan Joestar and Will Zeppeli are {{Magic Knight}}s due to their use of [[PowerOfTheSun Hamon]], yet their differing approaches to using it (such as Jonathan preferring to use it to enhance his physical attacks, while Zeppeli's experience allows him more versatile uses) make them the Fighter and Mage of the group respectively. Their other ally, Robert E. O. Speedwagon, serves as a Thief in part due to his criminal background and CombatPragmatist tendencies.
** In ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'', the main three are this trope. While Josuke Higashikata and Okuyasu Nijimura's [[FightingSpirit Stands]], Crazy Diamond and The Hand, respectively, have similar offensive capabilities, Josuke is the Mage, due to Crazy Diamond's HealingHands being a heavily supportive ability, though one that can easily be used offensively when put in the right situation, while Okuyasu is the Fighter, as The Hand's PowerPalms [[PowerOfTheVoid of the Void]] is a short-ranged but absolutely lethal ability that can only really be used offensively. Koichi Hirose, meanwhile, is the Thief, as his Stand, Echoes, has abilities that require a lot of planning and trickery to use effectively, especially [=ACT1=]'s {{Written Sound Effect}}s and [=ACT2=]'s [[MakeSomeNoise sound manipulation]], and while [=ACT3=]'s GravityMaster ability is more offensive than the former two, it's usually used in ways that avoid direct combat.
** Can also be seen in ''Manga/StoneOcean'' with the main trio, Jolyne's Stone Free can unravel herself into string which has lots of [[SwissArmySuperpower versatile applications]] making her the Thief, Ermes's Kiss has the most direct destructive power when her stickers peel off making her the Fighter, and F.F. is a colony of zooplankton that can use her abilities at a range and is the group's CombatMedic making her the Mage.
** Each BigBad of the first 3 Jojo parts with stands have abilities that fit into this with [[Manga/StardustCrusaders DIO]] having as stand that lets him fight head on with RapidFireFisticuffs and his own vampiric abilities amplifying his durability, [[Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable Kira]] being a SquishyWizard with abilities that let him turn objects into a bomb without having much in terms of physical combat, and [[Manga/GoldenWind Diavolo]] relying on the confusion caused by his ability and preferring to end fights in a single strike.

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* '''Fighter''': The MightyGlacier if offensively oriented or StoneWall if a defensive specialist. A physical powerhouse of prodigious strength, the fighter solves problems by dicing or smashing them to bits with mêlèe weapons. These include [[CoolSword swords]], axes, [[DropTheHammer bludgeons]], [[EpicFlail flails]], the occasional spear, and of course [[BareFistedMonk good ol' fisticuffs]] but usually not much in the way of ranged weapons unless firearms are widespread, in which case the Fighter will pick [[MoreDakka automatic weapons]] and [[ShortRangeShotgun shotguns]] or just the [[{{BFG}} Biggest Gun Imaginable]]. This class usually has the best armor along with their powerful weapons, fitting the role of HeavyEquipmentClass and as such, making for an effective tank. [[MagicallyIneptFighter Sometimes has a special weakness to magic.]] Often associated with the colour red.

* '''Thief''': The FragileSpeedster if combat orientated or TheSneakyGuy if not. Quite a bit squishier than the fighter, though not as much as the mage, thieves get around this weakness by finding ways to avoid being hit in the first place. Their methods of solving problems typically involve sneaking by them, [[BackStab stabbing them]] InTheBack, sniping them from a distance, or even [[TalkingYourWayOut talking to them]]. Some Thieves take a more technological approach, sowing chaos on the battlefield by [[TrapMaster deploying mines, turrets, and all manner of gadgets]] that hinder and harm the foe as they fruitlessly try to chase the Thief down. The weapons of choice are usually light weapons like [[DeviousDaggers daggers]] and handguns or ranged weapons like bows, the occasional crossbow, sniper rifle and throwing knives. Survival usually depends on stealth abilities, evasion/speed, weapon range, or a combination of these factors, rather than armor, though they'll still wear better armor than Mages. Often associated with the colour green.

* '''Thief''': The FragileSpeedster if combat orientated or TheSneakyGuy if not. Quite a bit squishier than the fighter, though not as much as the mage, thieves get around this weakness by finding ways to avoid being hit in the first place. Their methods of solving problems typically involve sneaking by them, [[BackStab stabbing them]] InTheBack, sniping them from a distance, or even [[TalkingYourWayOut talking to them]]. Some Thieves take a more technological approach, sowing chaos on the battlefield by [[TrapMaster deploying mines, turrets, and all manner of gadgets]] that hinder and harm the foe as they fruitlessly try to chase the Thief down. The weapons of choice are usually light weapons like [[DeviousDaggers daggers]] and handguns or ranged weapons like bows (and/or the occasional crossbow), sniper rifle and throwing knives. Survival usually depends on stealth abilities, evasion/speed, weapon range, or a combination of these factors, rather than armor, though they'll still wear better armor than Mages. Often associated with the colour green.

* '''Thief''': The FragileSpeedster if combat orientated or TheSneakyGuy if not. Quite a bit squishier than the fighter, though not as much as the mage, thieves get around this weakness by finding ways to avoid being hit in the first place. Their methods of solving problems typically involve sneaking by them, [[BackStab stabbing them]] InTheBack, sniping them from a distance, or even [[TalkingYourWayOut talking to them]]. Some Thieves take a more technological approach, sowing chaos on the battlefield by [[TrapMaster deploying mines, turrets, and all manner of gadgets]] that hinder and harm the foe as they fruitlessly try to chase the Thief down. The weapons of choice are usually light weapons like [[DeviousDaggers daggers]] and handguns or ranged weapons like bows, sniper rifles, and throwing knives. Survival usually depends on stealth abilities, evasion/speed, weapon range, or a combination of these factors, rather than armor, though they'll still wear better armor than Mages. Often associated with the colour green.

** ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'': The main trio fits this trope with their civilian powers. Ethan (The Fighter) has the ability to generate InstantArmor which grants him SuperStrength. Kira (The Mage) has a long-ranged power in the form of [[MakeMeWannaShout a Sonic Scream]]. And Conner (The Thief) has SuperSpeed that allows him to surprise his enemies.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has [[BareFistedMonk Tifa]] (Fighter), [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Aeris]][=/=][[WhiteMagicianGirl Aerith]] (Mage), and [[{{Ninja}} Yuffie]] (Thief).

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' embodies this with their {{Big Bad}}s: Ra's al Ghul, the Joker, Bane.
** Ra's al Ghul is the Thief, being a criminal mastermind leading behind the shadows of a terrorist organization with expert swordsmanship martial art skills. He occasionally uses technology in attempting to bring Gotham down, a prime example being Scarecrow's Fear Toxin.
** The Joker is arguably the Mage, relying heavily on technology and other resources to enact his evil schemes, even ''using'' it in combat. He is much more of a mastermind compared to Ra's, as all of his plans are based on methodical planning and resources wielded.
** Bane is easily the Fighter, relying more on brute strength and is much more combat oriented compared to Ra's and the Joker. All of his fights against Batman are solely hand to hand combat, without the need of any resources whatsoever.

** Soldier (pure Combat): JackOfAllTrades (a gun for any situation), or SuperToughness (most durable of all player classes)

** Adept (pure Biotics): MindOverMatter (though the hybridized biotic classes are too, to a lesser extent)

** Sentinel (Tech/Biotics): JackOfAllStats or StoneWall, depending on how you play the class.

** In the third game, the only three squad-mates you're guaranteed to have the entire game fall into this - James (weapons), Liara (biotics), and EDI (tech).
** Interestingly, {{the Verse}}'s three Citadel races (i.e. the primary decision-makers in intergalactic politics) also play into the class divisions. The reptilian turians are famed for their military prowess and their mighty space fleet, the amphibian salarians are famed for their scientific prowess and their many technological contributions, as well as their skill at espionage, and the humanoid asari are famed for their naturally powerful biotic abilities and their highly spiritual culture.

%%* ''Literature/PoolOfRadiance'': Shal is definitely the Mage. Althro a cleric, Tarl starts off as more of a fighter compared to Ren who, before he decided to go back to his ranger ways, played the role of a thief.

* ''Literature/PoolOfRadiance'': Shal is definitely the Mage. Althro a cleric, Tarl starts off as more of a fighter compared to Ren who, before he decided to go back to his ranger ways, played the role of a thief.

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* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline'' has three classes: Hunter, Ranger, and Force. Hunters use melee weapons, Rangers use ranged weapons, and Forces use [[MagicFromTechnology Techniques]].

* ''Manga/TimeStopHero'':
** Kuzuno Sekai's party members fit. Niña is a professional thief skilled at pickpocketing and lock picking. She does not fight but acts as a scout (Thief). Fury is a skilled magic user and knowledgeable about various forms of magic and lore (Mage). Swordmaster Leafa Colby is a master swordswoman. Leafa later leaves the group and is replaced by Ranga, an AmazonianBeauty with great strength and speed who uses an axe in battle (Fighter).
** Kuzuno Sekai himself fits all three. After excessive training, he is quite strong and wields a sword in battle (Fighter). Fury taught him some of her magic (Mage). His main power is TimeStandsStill, which he uses to sneak around and [[CombatPragmatist defeat opponents without much of a fight]] (Thief).

* ''Manga/TimeStopBrave'':

* The playable characters across the ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvoltSeries'' fall under these molds to an extent. Kirin, debuting in ''3'', is the Fighter, being the swordswoman with impressive physical capabilities in and out of gameplay, and her [[FightsLikeANormal only innate supernatural powers]] being the ability to seal an enemy's Septima. Gunvolt himself is the Mage, as while he does wield a gun, its primary use is as a medium for his [[ShockAndAwe Azure Striker]] powers, and he displays the most varied set of {{Limit Break}}s among the characters. Even in the third game, Kirin's more supernatural powers like the [[WeaponizedTeleportation Arc Chain]] are a result of borrowing GV's power. Copen, be it in ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt2'' or the ''VideoGame/LuminousAvengerIx'' spinoffs, is the Thief. Not only is his fighting style the most acrobatic and aerial-focused of the lot, but he also shows the most usage of gunplay, and a staple of his fighting style is "stealing" the powers of bosses he fights to use later. In ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt3'', Gunvolt's role as the Mage is reprised, but the Thief role is instead taken by ZedΩ, who is only playable in the DLC Epilogue ATEMS, as while he makes heavy use of his [[PowerOfTheSun Golden Trillion]] Septima, his style revolves more around melee combat compared to GV, and he has increased aerial mobility through his innate [[DoubleJump multiple jumps]] and [[AirDashing air-dashes]].

* The playable characters across the ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvoltSeries'' fall under these molds to an extent. Kirin, debuting in ''3'', is the Fighter, being the swordswoman with impressive physical capabilities in and out of gameplay, and her [[FightsLikeANormal only innate supernatural powers]] being the ability to seal an enemy's Septima. Gunvolt himself is the Mage, as while he does wield a gun, its primary use is as a medium for his [[ShockAndAwe Azure Striker]] powers, and he displays the most varied set of {{Limit Break}}s among the characters. Even in the third game, Kirin's more supernatural powers like the [[WeaponizedTeleportation Arc Chain]] are a result of borrowing GV's power. Copen, be it in ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt2'' or the ''VideoGame/LuminousAvengerIx'' spinoffs, is the Thief. Not only is his fighting style the most acrobatic and aerial-focused of the lot, but he also shows the most usage of gunplay, and a staple of his fighting style is "stealing" the powers of bosses he fights to use later. In ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt3'', Gunvolt's role as the Mage is reprised, but the Thief role is instead taken by ZedΩ, who is only playable in the DLC Epilogue ATEMS, as while he makes heavy use of his [[PowerOfTheSun Golden Trillion]] Septima, his style revolves more around melee combat compared to GV, and he has a focus on aerial mobility through his innate multiple jumps and air-dashes.

* The sequel, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki'', has the trio of Arioch, Melchior, and Olympia of Armata [[spoiler:who are also the three Overseers of Garden, Arioch being the Overseer of Rust, Olympia the Overseer of Aurum and Melchior the Overseer of Thorn]]. Arioch is the fighter, being armed with a halberd and focused on physical attack. Olympia is the mage, relying on an AttackDrone which controls light, and Melchior is the thief, using daggers and bombs and cloning himself.

* ''Fighter + Thief'' = Duelist: Agile individuals focused less on stealth and more on refined combat, combining a fighter's survivability with the thief's agility. Examples include a fighter who dons heavy armor but prefers to duel-wield rather than carrying a shield or heavy two-hander, or a BareFistedMonk who hits like a fighter while dodging hits like a thief. If they have all the strengths of both and another weakness (such as a [[MagicallyIneptFighter lack of magical mojo]]) to off-set the balance, they may be a LightningBruiser.

In a playstyle-based [[FreudianTrio Freudian Trio]], typically the hard-hitting, battle-oriented [[BoisterousBruiser Fighter]] serves as the Id. A knowledgable, superstitous [[WizardClassic Mage]] serving as the Superego. Leaving the tricky, self-serving [[StealthExpert Thief]] as the Ego. Of course this [[PowerStereotypeFlip isn't always the case]].

** Thief: Goro Majima. Being the series' resident CombatPragmatist, his signature Mad Dog style takes ConfusionFu to its logical extreme. True to his moniker as the Mad Dog of Shimano, he's one of the most agile and nimble fighters in the series, having mobility options that no other chatacter in the series so far possesses (such as an automatic run after a Finishing Blow or a massive dodge that covers a lot of distance in ''[[VideoGame/Yakuza0 0]]'').

* The cyberpunk 1997 DOS game ''Project Paradise'' had exactly this combination for the player's party: Raven the Warrior can take a lot of punishment and has the biggest weapons (like machine-guns, bazookas, and mines), Damian the Wizard is a mutant spellcaster while Quicksilver the Hacker has lightweight guns and decent HP and can hack computers and unlock doors. The plot plays out like a ''Doom''-style crescendo as the party would face both BadFuture enemies like riflemen and tanks in military bases and DarkFantasy enemies like sorcerers, demons, and dragons in an unholy underworld.
* In ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'' you are Wolf/Sekiro the Thief (well, [[{{Ninja}} Ninja]]) rescuing Kuro the Mage from Genichiro the Fighter. Eventually you face [[ThatOneBoss Genichiro]] in one of the games' hardest boss battles. This is where the power dynamic really hits home, since you'll be forced to use [[CombatPragmatist every trick possible]] to defeat the relentless Samurai.

** Warlocks in general serve as the Mage, but tend not to be as squishy as is typical of Mage classes. They prioritize devastating shows of force, but tend to make themselves targets as a result and only have one subclass dedicated to support. In the sequel all Warlocks have the Rift class ability which allows all subclasses to have a support inoption, putting them better into the Mage role

*** Nightstalkers are the main support class for Hunters, with skills and abilities that emphasize subterfuge and trap laying in order to set up easy kills. Thus, they hit the Thief arechetype the most out of the Hunter subclasses, with their Voidshot super not even being designed to kill large group of enemies like nearly every other super but instead tethering them to a fixed point to set up an easy kill on a wide group of enemies at once.

** [[QuirkyMinibossSquad The Winds of Destruction]] can fit into this: Mistral is the mage, she has a polearm that can extend into a whip for more reach and her Dwarf Gekkos are akin to familiars. Monsoon is the thief, he wields two sais, uses red phosphorus grenades to disorient and attack Raiden, and can dodge by separating himself. Sundowner is the fighter, he uses 2 machetes that form scissors and in his fight uses explosive shields and then uses giant lamp posts to bash Raiden with after his shields gets destroyed.

* In ''VideoGame/SDGundamBattleAlliance'', The playable mechs are categorized in 3 different roles with each having unique role actions. The melee focused Infighters can activate their role action so they can be ImmuneToFlinching and have the most health making them a MightyGlacier, The long range Sharpshooters can instantly reload all ranged subweapons and are [[GlassCannon Glass Cannons]] due to having less health but have the highest amount of repair kits by default making them an ideal CombatMedic, and the All-Rounders are a JackOfAllStats with their role action giving them enhanced attack speed for faster combos and [[LagCancel quick cancels]].

*** Revenant, Engineer, Ranger and Mesmer - 5,922 base HP
*** Guardian, Thief and Elementalist - 1,645 base HP

** The ''[[VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse Universe]]'' series has four races to pick from: Beast (Brawn), Cast (Skill), Newman (Techniques), and Human (... JackOfAllTrades). The various Class options either serve to lead into CripplingOverspecialization or [[JackOfAllStats balance out race weaknesses]]. The second Portable game even has a basic class which qualifies as the JackOfAllTrades, as its specialty is in single-hand weapons (which every class has at least one or two of).

** The game's popularity has also brought about the popular term 'Holy Trinity' for the combination of Tank(s), Damage Dealer(s) and Healer(s) needed to complete almost all of its dungeons. If they must each correspond to a different archetype, Tanks would be Fighters, Healers would be Mages, and Damage Dealers would be Thieves.

* ''VideoGame/Dota2'' has this in the shape of different types of heroes in Strength, Agility and Intelligence.
** Strength has the fighters. Strength heroes usually have huge chuncks of vitality to tank damage and most of them are physical attackers.
** Agility has the thieves. They rely on better armors and the Agility heroes are usually build to be fast for the most part (or alternatively relying in range to keep away from the enemies)
** Intelligence has the mages. Exceeding at mana regeneration, the Intelligence heroes are focused on casting spells and special attacks and most of them attack from a safe distance.

* The three player characters in ''VideoGame/TwentyXX'', although they all start with the same HP. Close-up shredder Ace is the Fighter, with a high base damage and a nasty selection of melee weapons, but not much reach. Ranged attacker Nina is generally the Thief; she can hit enemies from a variety of angles, depending on weapon, but doesn't have Ace's raw damage. Power specialist Hawk is the Mage; her basic weapon is a weak and short-ranged whip, but it lets her recover energy to fuel her powers, and she has a selection of unique powers that no one else gets (such as a blast-jump, flamethrower and seeker missile).

** Kyuli the thief has a slow, but long-ranged attack and the ability to WallJump.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' has Trevor as the Fighter, Sypha as the Mage and Grant as the Thief. Alucard is the odd man out, but the game still fits this nonetheless.

** Tawna is the Thief, who can WallJump and uses a GrapplingHookPistol to move long distances, break crates and activate objects from afar, and stun enemies.

** Dr. Neo Cortex is the Mage, who lacks a melee attack but has a TransformationRay to turns enemies into platforms of various types to aid him.

** Bentley is the Mage, being a physically-frail tech specialist whose missions focus on either hacking or utilizing gadgets and explosives.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer3TiberiumWars'': The three factions can be categories into these. GDI are the Fighter, emphasizing on straight forward combat, relying on brute force, and heavy power to win the day. Nod are the Theif, as they specialize on speed, stealth, and hightech hard hitting weapons. The Scrin are Mage, utilizing powerful alien technology, with many special abilities like teleportation, mind control, and massive spacecrafts capable of leveling cities.

* A variation of this shows up in the real-time strategy/role-playing game hybrid ''VideoGame/KingArthurTheRolePlayingWargame'' for the categorization of the Knights of the Round Table. Your Knights are either Champion, Sage, or Warlord. Champions are the kings of melee battle, having stats and powers designed to smash foes in battle. Sages are the wizards of the game and are your most powerful spellcasters. Warlords are useful generalists designed around improving the governing of a realm, surviving adventures, and boosting your armies rather than directly wreak havoc themselves.

** The Undead heroes subverts this, due to the inherent fragileness of the faction itself. Both of its strength-based heroes, the Death Knight and Dreadlord, are relatively squishy compared to the other factions. One of the better tactics for the Death Knight, for instance, is to stay out of melee fights entirely, taking advantage of their above-average movement speed to keep him out of harm's reach and healing friendly units or sniping enemies using Death Coil. Played straight with the Crypt Lord hero added in the expansion, which has a passive that increases his armor and reflects damage, in addition an ultimate that heals him.

* ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'': The game does not have pure character classes, instead having more open-ended character building like in Fallout (see above), but there are still three basic builds: fighter (put the bulk of your points into combat skills), thief (distribute points broadly among stealth and social skills), and wizard (concentrate on willpower, intelligence, and magickal skils). Technology is a unique fourth option; it functions as a prototypical ItemCrafting system, and technological aptitude interferes with your magickal aptitude. However, a "pure" technologist is hard to do, if not impossible; a fighter technologist will need combat skills (whether with a firearm or a mechanical axe) and a stealth technologist will need to know lockpicking (with a technological skeleton key). Later in the game, it's possible to rely entirely on technological minions, however.

** The thieves are the Wanderer, Hunter and Thief, who have higher starting DEX and are geared for archery, light weapons, or critical hits.

* The main three characters of ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' features Susie, Ralsei, and Kris as the Fighter, Mage, and Thief respectively. Susie prefers to fight, wields an axe, and has the highest base attack, defense and HP. Ralsei is the team healer and provides useful spells to pacify the enemies. Kris is the most versatile and can take actions to change the outcome of a battle.

** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'': The original game introduced Fighters and Monks -strong hitters with high defense and low speed-, as well as Clerics, Wizards and Sages -physically fragile wielders of powerful magic-; and the SNES remake introduced Thieves -low defense, fantastic speed, and evasion-, completing the class triangle. Next games in the series usually included the three classes, or characters fitting each archetype.

* In ''Videogame/DragonsDogma'', you start off as either a Fighter, Mage or Strider. Later on, you can either change your class into either a specialized version of the original classes (Warrior which focuses on powerful single-hit attacks at the cost of being unable to block or evade attacks, Sorcerers which focus on damaging spells at the cost of healing and Ranger which focus more on bow-wielding over melee) or a hybrid class (Assassin which focuses on versatility and is able to use any melee weapon except 2-handed swords and hammers, Mystic Knight which focuses on defensive spells and countering attacks and Magic Archer which focuses on elemental shots with special effects). The first 6 classes are also useable by [[NonPlayerCompanion pawns]], while the last 3 are exclusive to the Arisen.

** The series in general has always had this breakdown for Skills. Skills fit into one of three categories: Combat (Fighter), Magic (Mage), and Stealth (Thief). This skill breakdown demonstrates how this trope can be carried on through a purely skill-based character system. Though there are classes presented (prior to ''Skyrim''), the player can arbitrarily select any skills up to the limit and define the class with any name, and that class will still be predominantly combat, magic or stealth-based. Any class's leaning is subject to change at any time regardless of the name, but because of the series' skill point leveling system, it's as a result of what the player does. If you become more fighter-like it's because you're acting more fighter-like.

** The ''Elder Scrolls'' also has an in-universe example of this trope in the form of the three "guardian constellations" in the in-game zodiac. Each confer benefits suited to their corresponding play styles.

*** Nocturnal is the Thief and rightly so, since her patrons rely upon her luck in criminal behavior. She grants her followers special abilities and a cowl, should they prove to be at least loyal towards her.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' features three factions that play to this trope. The Brotherhood of Steel are fighters, who use military tactics, brute force, and ample power armour to clean the commonwealth. Siding with them involves a lot of direct combat. The Railroad are thieves, relying on stealth and clandestine operations to have a chance against their enemies. Siding with them involves a lot of cloak and dagger activities. Finally, the Institute are mages: near-magical technology and a decided preference for hanging back and letting their creations do the fighting and spying for them. Siding with them involves a lot of high-tech missions and ample robotic assistance. Oh, [[MeleeATrois and all three are opposed to each other]] [[spoiler:and the player's decision on who to support determines which one is left standing after the dust settles.]]

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': The battle system revolves around three kinds of cards, which loosely follow this trope. Buster cards (Fighter) inflich high consistent damage, Arts cards (Mage) quickly charge your party's [[LimitBreak Noble Phantasms]], and Quick cards (Thief) rely on lucky [[CriticalHit Critical Hits]] to boost their attacks' damage and secondary effects.

*** Thief: Kefka Palazzo, insane mage who relies on intelligence, trickery and manipulation to double-cross the Emperor and achieve his own plans.

*** The three also double as a CombatDiplomacyStealth trio, as they are a military leader skilled in direct combat (Leo), a skilled manipulator with a secret agenda (Kefka) and a charismatic political leader (Gestahl).

* In ''Videogame/GreedFall'' the skill tree is divided into three categories: Warrior, Magic and Technician (which focuses on guns and alchemy). When first building your character you choose one of the three categories which determine your starting skills and equipment though after which you are allowed to build your character however you wish.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel III''[='s=] New Class VII is made of this trope. It starts with a trio, Juna, Altina and Kurt, who are exactly this trope, but the new members Musse and Ash join halfway through the game.

* The sequel, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesKuroNoKiseki'', has the trio of Arioch, Melchior and Olympia of Armata [[spoiler:who are also the three Overseers of Garden, Arioch being the Overseer of Rust, Olympia the Overseer of Aurum and Melchior the Overseer of Thorn]]. Arioch is the fighter, being armed with a halberd and focused on physical attack. Olympia is the mage, relying on an AttackDrone which controls light, and Melchior is the thief, using daggers and bombs and cloning himself.
* ''Legend of Keepers'' from Goblinz Studio, features you as a Villain Protagonist who's one of the [[FinalBoss 3 possible Masters]]: Maug the Slaveholder Centaur, Sarel the Dryad Enchantress and Lira the Monkey Engineer. Maug is TheBrute who uniquely can recruit Creatures as well and later can employ [[MiniBoss an Intern]] and in his description he's the [[WorldsStrongestMan mightiest among mortals]]. Sarel with 700 health and a negative armor rating is by far the [[GlassCannon least durable but her magic usually does the most damage]] and can uniquely hire Elementals as well as later learn higher-order spells. Lira is the brains of the bunch, her unique minions are Mecha piloted by gnomes and mutants as well she later develops unique traps. while she's not as enduring as Maug nor as damaging as Sarel, she's got interesting skills with her AttackDrone.

** The travelers fulfill these fundamental roles: Olberic, H'aanit and Alfyn are the Fighters, Cyrus and Ophilia are the Mages, and Therion, Tressa, and Primrose are the Thieves.

** Near the end of the game you learn that [[spoiler:many of your recovered memories and reflexive impulses are the result of three particularly powerful former Incarnations of The Nameless One, whose existence left a particularly deep impact on him -- the Practical, the Paranoid and the Good Incarnation. The Practical Incarnation is revealed to have been a fighter (albeit a GeniusBruiser with some experience with thievery), the Paranoid a thief (but a particularly violent one, prone to physical violence) and the Good Incarnation was a mage who learned some of the Art by Ravel Puzzlewell herself.]]

* The two ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' video games have differing support for this trope. The first, Strahd's Possession, even has a fighter/mage/thief NPC you can recruit to your cause. The second game, Stone Prophet, has fighters, thieves, and clerics you can recruit, but unless you bring a wizard with you then you will be without arcane magic for the entire game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Roadwarden}}'': During the opening of the game, you have the choice to be a fighter, mage, or a scholar.

** ''VideoGame/UltimaIV''[='=]s NES port also has the Avatar "class", which the PlayerCharacter (and the PC only) upgrades to upon achieving enlightenment in all Virtues. It's basically a PurposelyOverpowered version of the Ranger with access to all weapons, armor, and spells (depending on your INT), with the only real downside being that if you ever commit an unvirtuous act again, you're reverted to your base class and have to regain the enlightenment in that virtue again. In the original versions of the game, you were stuck with your normal class restricted weaponry, with the Avatarhood benefit being you got access to the eight sets of Mystic Swords and Mystic Robes, the best melee and armor in the game for all classes.

** Andy is the [[JackOfAllStats Jack Of All Stats]] whose powers serves to heal his own units. (Mage)

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', each of the eponymous Deathly Hallows falls into one of the archetypes here: The Elder Wand (fighter), the Resurrection Stone (mage), and the Invisibility Cloak (thief).
** Three of the four Hogwarts houses fit the trope: Gryffindor as the Fighter, Ravenclaw as the Mage, and Slytherin as the Thief. Hufflepuff, the fourth house, conveniently works with the Cleric class; coincidentally their house ghost is a friar. Alternatively, they could also be seen as balanced universalists that do not overly specialize in any of the archetypes.
* The main characters of The Fire's Stone by Creator/TanyaHuff; Prince Darvish is the Fighter, Chandra is the Mage, and Aaron is the Thief.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' has the three protagonists: Rand is Mage/Fighter, Perrin is Fighter/Fighter, and Matt is the Thief/Fighter.
** Rand's three love interests fit too: Aviendha is Fighter [[note]] as a ProudWarriorRaceGirl and ex-member of an AmazonBrigade [[/note]], Elayne is Mage [[note]] a very powerful channeler and graduate of the local WizardingSchool[[/note]] and Min is Thief [[note]] not very imposing and has a magical ability that's not much use in combat, but is clever and resourceful, and usually has a knife up her sleeve[[/note]]