[quote=@Rogue Colm]
[@Chanda] Fair enough. Any way to know just yet how to keep them balanced? Also, I really hope this gets off the ground. 
[/quote]

Well, I'm of the mindset that I should be more lenient with your starting job and allow some of the level 2 jobs to be chosen from the start, inasmuch as they are not direct upgrades to a previous job but rather specializations of that job or a job with a new skillset that would not be too powerful to start out with. For this reason I would allow certain Level 2 jobs but not others. In that case it would be up to my discretion which classes I consider suitable for our balance or not. However, I am open to suggestions on how I should go about balancing the game; I think that's most fair to you guys, considering you have a vested interest in the decisions I make in regards to character creation. Consider the following two options;

1) Only the first level jobs present in the source material (across any of the Tactics games) are allowed at character creation. Jobs not found in the source material will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will be allowed insofar as they are also "basic" classes in the game/material from which the originate. (Probably the most objectively balanced option, and it would allow the cast of characters to become more powerful and specialized as the story progresses).

2) First level jobs from the source material will be allowed, and second/third level jobs that entail a new skillset that is neither similar to nor derived from a first level job will be permitted in order to allow the most possible diversity at character creation. The extra "novel" advanced jobs that I would allow would be Blue Mages, Mog Knights, Red Mages, Elementalists, Bishops, and Green Mages (possibly more if you can make a case for it). Jobs not from the source material will be reviewed according to the same criteria as option 1.

For reference here are some articles from the Final Fantasy Wiki on jobs from Tactics Advance and its sequel.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Final_Fantasy_Tactics_Advance_Jobs
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Final_Fantasy_Tactics_A2:_Grimoire_of_the_Rift_Jobs

Keep in mind a few things; your job is kind of a meta-classification for character creation and balance purposes, and it won't really be a strong or exact label in-story. It shouldn't prevent you from roleplaying the type of character you want to play. For example, a melee character with a sword could be a Soldier, Warrior, Gladiator, Fighter, or a Defender, but in game you would refer to them like "oh, look at that swordsman over there" or "he seems to be a warrior." A stealthy character with the job of Thief could wear all black and wield a katana and one would think "he must be a ninja" despite the fact that he would not actually have to be a ninja for us to recognize him as one. He may even think of himself as a ninja, despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to use any of the trademark ninja techniques like the Veils or whatever. Unless you're actively broadcasting what job you are (i.e. "look at that spellcaster wearing all white, healing his allies. he must be a White Mage" or "that heavily armored Bangaa wielding a spear and leaping all over the battlefield is probably a Dragoon") it won't be a distinction that really comes up in the storytelling. In universe, jobs will be treated like combat disciplines or martial arts styles; for example, if you're being formally trained at an arcane university, then you will most likely be aware of what kind of magic user you are (sage, elementalist, arcanist, alchemist, etc.), but if you're just a mercenary warrior type dude with a sword then your character probably won't have a formal label for themselves unless they're using a lot of distinctive skills of a certain class.

Second, I'm willing to be lenient with your ability choices and those balance decisions will certainly be made according to my best judgment. Your formal job title will not severely limit the kind of character you want to roleplay and I am willing to work with you to reach a middle ground that makes everyone happy as long as you're willing to understand why I make the decisions I make in order to maintain balance.

Let me know which policy you guys would prefer. Ready to publish the sheet, will get that out as soon as I know what route we want to take with jobs.