As Playground Games continues work on the long-awaitedFablereboot, it may be tempted to revisit features from the first entry in the series in an attempt to satisfy longtime fans. However, there’s one design decision from the firstFablegame that the reboot would be better off moving away from entirely: its take on RPG classes.
TheFableseries’ signature mix of wit, choice-driven storytelling, and fantasy whimsy earned it a loyal following in the early 2000s, and each entry brought something new to the table. The originalFableandThe Lost Chaptersleft a particular mark with their flexible character progression system: a pseudo-class framework that let players mold their heroes without formal restrictions. But in retrospect, that system was more style than substance.
InFableand its expanded edition,The Lost Chapters, the idea of “class” existed, but only in the loosest sense. Rather than asking players to choose a predefined class, like warrior or mage, at the start, the game allowed them to develop their hero’s strengths by spending experience points in three different categories: Strength, Skill, and Will. The idea was that the category a player focused on would ultimately inform their character’s class, organically pushing them towards something resembling a traditionalRPG archetype.
This system was conceptually interesting, but it was never fully fleshed out. While the stat categories did influence gameplay, the world didn’t respond meaningfully to the ways in which a character developed. There were no class-specific dialogue paths, factions, or branching questlines. No matter what type of character a player built, their role in the story remained essentially the same. This created a disconnect between how players saw their hero and howFable’s humorous worldtreated them.
Moreover, the design lacked the mechanical incentives or constraints that typically define RPG classes. There were no synergies or trade-offs that made builds feel distinct. A player could easily dip into any category without ever facing a serious drawback. While this offered flexibility, it also diluted the impact of specialization and made character identity feel vague. The system gestured toward depth, but in reality, it was shallow; a relic ofearly-2000s RPG designmore than a foundational system worth reviving.
Modern RPGs Have Outgrown Fable’s Shallow Class Systems
Looking at modern RPGs, it’s clear how far the genre has come. Games likeBaldur’s Gate 3offer robust class systemsthat intertwine with narrative choices and world-building. Meanwhile, titles likeThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimtake a classless approach, allowing characters to develop organically while still offering meaningful mechanical feedback based on a player’s playstyle. The key to both approaches is clarity: either the class system is deep, interconnected, and reactive, or it’s removed altogether in favor of total freedom.
Fable May Struggle To Keep Up
The originalFablesystem falls awkwardly between these models. It lacked the structured depth of modern class-based games but never fully embraced the clean openness of a classless experience. In attempting to accommodate all playstyles without clearly communicating their impact, it ultimately offered limited strategic value.Bringing the class system back toFable, especially in the same undercooked form, would feel dated and half-hearted.
Playground Games has a unique opportunity here. Rather than relying on nostalgia for its own sake, the newFablecan take the best parts of the original system (flexibility, playstyle freedom, and character-driven development), and present them in a way that feels modern and intentional. The reboot could allow players to buildflexibleFableprotagonists, assign traits based on moral or social choices, or unlock new perks through their interactions with the world, rather than simply by raising specific stats.
Fable’s Revival Lies in Choice, Not Classes
The real strength of theFableseries has always been its tone and ethos, not complex mechanics. These games shine when they let players be ridiculous, righteous, chaotic, or charming—when actions have consequences and the world reacts with humor and weight. Trying to funnel that freedom through an outdated class structure would feel antithetical to whatFablehas always done best: letting players decide who their hero becomes.
Rather than framing player identity around a predefined role,Fableshould double down on systems that reward how the player chooses to act. With amore nuanced morality system inFable, dialogue options shaped by past decisions, and equipment or reputation evolving based on behavior, the star of the show doesn’t need to be stats. If anything, the reboot has the chance to show that identity in games doesn’t have to come from a menu screen. It can emerge naturally, through play.
Revisiting the past is tempting, especially in a franchise built on legacy. But ifFablewants to reclaim its place as agenre-defining RPG in the 2020s, it must be willing to grow. That means leaving behind old systems that never quite worked and embracing design philosophies that give players real agency. The original class system may have been a charming footnote, but it’s not the foundation this reboot needs. In a game built around choice, freedom, and personality, it’s time to let players shape their hero on their own terms—no labels required.
Fable
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Fable is an RPG developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft. Set in Albion, the game challenges players to define what it means to be a hero.
