Class kits for the Known World
by Tim Haney and RobHere's a short list from the AD&D series of Complete Handbooks that I think would work in eastern Brun (and where). What I really like about these books is that they give you a different interpretation of classes. The NWPs and bonus aren't the best part as much as the ideas a kit can give you.
Fighter:
Barbarian (Ethengar, Northern Reaches)
Beast-Rider (Atruaghin, Ethengar)
Berserker (Ethengar, Northern Reaches)
Cavalier
Gladiator (Thyatis)
Myrmidon
Noble Warrior
Peasant Hero
Pirate/Outlaw (Sea of Dread)
Samurai (Ochalea)
Savage (Atruaghin)
Swashbuckler (Darokin)
Wilderness Warrior
Thief:
Acrobat
Adventurer
Assassin
Bandit
Beggar
Bounty Hunter
Buccaneer (Sea of Dread)
Burglar
Cutpurse
Fence
Investigator
Scout
Smuggler
Spy
Swashbuckler (Darokin)
Swindler
Thug
Troubleshooter
Priest:
Barbarian/Berserker Priest (Northern Reaches)
Fighting-Monk (Ochalea)
Nobleman Priest
Outlaw Priest
Pacifist Priest
Peasant Priest
Prophet Priest
Savage Priest
Scholar Priest
Wizards:
Academician
Anagakok
Militant Wizard (Thyatis)
Mystic
Patrician
Peasant Wizard
Savage Wizard
Witch
Wu Jen (Ochalea)
Bard:
True Bard ("generic" bard, anywhere)
Blade (assassin/spy, perhaps Glantri? (effectively a mage assassin) Also the "Fastest Gun in the West" for Cimarron County would most likely be a Blade, shooting guns out of people hands and so on)
Charlatan (I like the idea of Darokinian charlatans, but just about in any civilised country)
Gallant (Karameikos knights, any Hero type - I like the idea of elven Gallants myself - also Gallants could be a variation on the Swashbuckler, which is a Darokin/Belcadiz/Savage Coast kit).
Gypsy bard - this just HAS to be the Traladarans and Boldavians.
Herald - Karameikos, Heldannic Territories. They aren't just Heralds, they are also orators and spies, so Glantri (there's a Glantrian guild that sounds heraldic to me, the ones with the "Dune" rip-off diamonds on their foreheads). And of course the Bellaynish news reporters from the Company of the Sun...
Jester - Jesters are supposed to be panto/mime artists as well, so Nouvelle Averoigne seems appropriate to me. Of course, elven Jesters seem appropriate as well (happy go lucky comedians). And they may be employed by all the monarchs of the KW in their courts.
Jongleur - Nouvelle Averoigne again? Juggler/acrobats... I don't know where else you could find them!
Loremaster - could be found in any scholastically inclined area. Glantri (of course), Thyatis, and I say Ierendi (Honour Islanders using their knowledge to entertain the tourists!)
Meistersinger - these are definitive elven bards. Animal charmers too - the snake charmers of Sind?
Riddlemaster - these guys are the Masters of Wit, and as such I consider them to be swashbuckling types again (challenging dragons to riddle contests and that sort of thing!). Also they might be popular in any society where intelligence is considered to be a virtue - Alphatia I would bet on... Defeat your enemies by being smarter than them, rather than spells and swordsmanship!
Skald - The Northern Reaches, Eusdria, Klantyre, the Heldannic Territories. Heldannic and Klantyrish Skalds strike me as being rebels against mages/clerics... (I just remember Braveheart, at the end - "they fought like warrior poets, they fought like Scotsmen. And they won their freedom...". Skalds are described as warrior poets...
Thespian - Emilio the Great of Karameikos is a Thesp IMC! Seems that the idea of actors and theatre is a Thyatian thing in Mystara. So that's where I would expect Thespians to be found. Also, of course, Bellayne...
The dwarven chanter/elven minstrel/halfling whistler are all purely demihuman only. Especially the whistler/chanter. In AD&D dwarves and halflings cannot cast spells, the guys at TSR invented these two kits so that you could play bardic dwarves and halflings. The chanter is the same sort of thing as a Skald, the whistler is pretty odd, IMO.
Elves can be bards however. I think the idea of the Minstrel is that its a bard who plays music more as a form of art - a grey elven sort of thing. Erewan I'm sure has lots of Minstrels, singing heartbreakingly beautiful songs describing the slow decline of the Clan of Ellerovyn... Minstrels seem the sort of bards that play golden elven harps...
Really, this stuff is all off the top of my head. Bards IMC include Billy the Kid (Blade from Cimarron - and PC, sadly to say...:), Emilio the Great (Thespian) and Jean-Luc Deveraux (lupin Gallant - one for all and all for one!). I was disappointed to see Emilio in KKoA being 0 level human. If anyone on Mystara was going to be a bard, it was him... I guess that's our pals at TSR missing out on a possible D&D/AD&D conversion? That reminds me of King Koryn the Harpist - maybe a bard candidate upon conversion to 2nd ed?
Ranger:
Beastmaster
Explorer
Falconer
Feralan (Mowgli!)
Forest Runner
Giant Killer (munchkin alert! 1st edition returns!)
Greenwood Ranger (bizarre - half man, half tree!)
Guardian
Justifier
Mountain Man
Pathfinder
Sea Ranger
Seeker
Stalker
Warden (its Ranger Smith!)
Dwarves:
Animal Master
Axe for Hire
Battlerager
Champion
Clansdwarf
Crafts Priest
Diplomat
Entertainer
Ghetto Fighter
Hearth Guard
Highborn
Locksmith
Outcast
Pariah
Patrician
Pest Controller
Rapid Response Rider
Ritual Priest
Sharpshooter
Temple Guard
Trader
Vermin Slayer
Vindicator
Wayfinder
Elves:
Archer
Bladesinger
Collector
Elven Minstrel
Herbalist
Huntsman
Spellfilcher
Undead Slayer
War Wizard
Wilderness Runner
Windrider
Halflings:
Archer
Bandit
Bilker
Burglar
Cartographer
Forestwalker
Healer
Homesteader
Leaftender
Mercenary
Oracle
Sheriff
Smuggler
Squire
Trader
Traveller
Tunnelrats
Urchin