The concept of Mindhunter is a very interesting idea that hasn't really been explored within the traditional TV crime drama before. Mindhunter obviously still operates on the traditional dichotomy of the FBI good guys trying to take down the bad guys out there in the world, but the good guys are seeking out the advice of many of the bad guys in order to make their jobs easier. Oh and of course, Mindhunter separates itself from the pack of the average crime procedural because it's about characters who are real life people.
But if all of these real characters were thrust into a world of fantasy, where exactly would they fit in? Or to be more specific, if the characters in Mindhunter were people who found themselves thrust into the world of Dungeons & Dragons, which character class would each of them be sorted into?
Jim Barney - Rogue
As one of the FBI agents at the Atlanta field office who occasionally works with the Behavioral Science Unit, Jim Barney is a very skilled and capable law enforcement officer. He nearly became a part of the Behavioral Science Unit himself, and he is generally a really well rounded individual who has a lot of useful skills in his field but also has a very good knack for adapting to whatever situation he finds himself in and behaving accordingly. If Jim existed within the world of Dungeons & Dragons, he would likely be in the rogue class of D&D characters.
Wayne Williams - Barbarian
All of the serial killers that the Behavioral Science Unit deals with or investigates are disgusting and monstrous in their own ways, but Wayne Williams feels like he's in a class of vileness all his own.
His compulsion to kill is apparently a strong one since he may be responsible for more than thirty deaths, but the fact that almost all of his murder victims are children makes him seem like someone who is more animal than human. It is for that reason that Wayne Williams would pretty obviously be a barbarian class of character in D&D, because he cares about nothing besides the thrill of violence.
Dennis Rader - Warlock
In every case aside from the case of the BTK Killer, the Behavioral Science Unit, as we see it on Mindhunter deals with serial killers that have either already been caught or who are about to be caught. Dennis Rader isn't a miracle worker, but his ability to evade capture despite toying with law enforcement for decades is pretty surprising. And within the fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons, the warlock class is a character who can wield powerful magic because he has made some kind of deal with a demon or devil, which seems to match Dennis Rader pretty perfectly.
Gregg Smith - Paladin
Every Dungeons & Dragons class of character is a warrior in their own right and in their own way. But when it comes to Gregg Smith, one of the agents working in the Behavioral Science Unit, he pretty clearly seems to fall under the D&D paladin class of warrior. The paladin is an excellent fighter, but it's a character class where the mission to fight is almost a holy war, and the paladin considers himself a holy warrior. That really jives well with Gregg's desire to do the right thing at pretty much any cost, even if that cost may be to himself.
Edmund Kemper - Bard
It's actually ironic considering Ed Kemper's incredibly intimidating size, but when it comes to character classes Ed is one who has relied on his ability to charm and manipulate people with his words more than anything.
He would undoubtedly be an intimidating warrior in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons, but this nearly seven foot tall beast of a man somehow managed to murder his grandparents and then convince psychiatric professionals that he was rehabilitated with just his talented tongue. And even though he meets Holden and Tench when he's in prison and is never going to get out, he is by far the most talkative and forthright serial killer they interview.
Debbie Mitford - Cleric
Every character in D&D has a different type of power that they consider valuable and that they wield in order to achieve their own ends. For some that power is strength, for others it's magic, and for some it's knowledge. When it comes to the cleric class of character, these characters are typically experts in a particular type of knowledge and they use that expertise to win in battles. That pretty much describes Debbie Mitford exactly. She's intimidatingly clever, always knows exactly what she's talking about, and she knows how to use her considerable knowledge and intelligence to get whatever she needs.
Nancy Tench - Druid
Nancy Tench is an interesting character in Mindhunter, because she exists outside of the world that most of these characters inhabit. Her way of seeing things and looking at the world is in drastic contrast to almost everyone else. Nancy places a lot more value on her own feelings and the feelings of others than she does on typical intellectual pursuits, and while she is smart she is more in touch with her inner nature and the natures of others than on their intellectual abilities or mental states. And that's why she would likely be a druid, because her reality is more grounded in nature than in her own mind.
Wendy Carr - Cleric
Dr. Wendy Carr is another character who's abilities and strengths lie almost completely in her intellectual prowess and her intimate knowledge of very specific areas of the world.
The cleric class of Dungeons & Dragons characters are almost like the priests within this mystical world, and while Wendy clearly isn't the type to lend a lot of credence towards a higher power she is the kind of person who the leader of her pack and who is spreading the word of her truth to anyone who will listen, and she is incredibly reliant on the one thing she knows and is an expert in.
Bill Tench - Ranger
Bill Tench is a very interesting character in Mindhunter, because while he is one of the founding member of the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI he is at his heart just a really good cop. He intellectually understands the work that he does and can see it's value, but he doesn't lose sight of how important classic police work is either. He's the kind of man who is most comfortable just being a fighter for the side of goodness, which makes him a wonderful fit for the ranger class of character in the fantasy game playing world of Dungeons & Dragons.
Holden Ford - Sorcerer
Holden Ford and Bill Tench make for a wonderful contrasting pair of partners, because their personality types really are so diametrically opposed. Bill is very much the classic cop, and Holden certainly fancies himself the FBI wunderkind. Holden would absolutely fall under the sorcerer character class in D&D, because while sorcerers are excellent with magic, a lot of their talent is innate rather than something they've learned. And Holden certainly gets better at his job the more that he practices and hones his skills, but he clearly has a natural talent for understanding what he's doing in a way that most other people just don't.