I do see your point, I’ve played games where you can use bows and guns as a warrior (just not very effectively mind you).
For this game though, I see the the class progression almost as career stops on a journey. E.g. Swords3Barb1Corsair3 You’re a master swordsman who went with on a ship with some vikings, pillaging and being a barbarian finding a knack for life at sea or something along those lines.
When we think of a pirate using a rapier they are a fencer by virtue of the fact they’re using a fencing style. Having said that, sabres, which are apparently used in fencing, are in the swords category in the game…
A swordsman (base class) will not know how to use a spear without training, while a corsair will not know how to use a rapier unless they know have fenced before. That’s the kind of vision that I think IMC had in mind.
Although I would be happy if I could use my manamana on my taoist.