[Dragonstones? Beaststones?? STINKSTONE??]

Can't speak to all of this, but on the subject of how they'd fit into the world: my guess is they'd shoehorn it in using one of the other continents just floating around. Almyra, Morfic, whatever they were called. If we got shifters from one of those areas, that'd be how its explained I'd assume

[Are the students the only characters or only early characters?]

Im super optimistic on this one. I basically think that the chosen class will be your core customizable roster, and they're the ones who will take on the major roles in the story-telling process.

Then one of two things: either a) you're able to get all the students of the other classes, but later and with some level of pre-built stats, or b) you don't get any other students (except for the other 2 lords maybe). In either case, I also think you'll be able to get the other two professors, and I expect a bunch of non-student characters (essentially pre-promotes) also. Especially if B is the case, since otherwise the roster is sitting at like 10....

If we're assuming a roster of even like 30-40, it basically guarantees that there's some other folks. If Jeralt doesn't get FE-parent-syndromed it'd be fun to get him too

[Classes You Know About, Expect to See, or Want to See]

I actually think the reason the classes are hard to differentiate... is because literally everyone we've seen has been the same class.

Brigand Edelgard LOOKS different, like by a good measure. And there's reason to believe that all the other characters are in the noble class, which may be the Three Houses version of Villager, not Lord. We know for sure that at least one mook has noble, and that noble has E in ALL weapon types. My guess is that once those characters write their exams and choose their classes, they'll have outfits a little differentiated from the standard school uniforms

[Thoughts On Art/Character Design and Character Personalities]

8 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'm not really feeling Dimitri. Out of the three he's the only one who looks really generic. Claude's features stands out and Edgelord is a female axe lord, but Dimitri is just another handsome blonde noble. Its to early to say for sure but the devs noticing Leo was really popular seems to be the driving force behind this character. 

He's also definitely my least favourite design-wise, but if I had to guess its 'semi-intentional'. I don't think they're aiming to invoke Leo so much as to have a foil for the other two Lords. While we don't know personalities yet a lot of folks seem to currently be speculating that he'll be a lot more rigid and straight laced than the other two (with Edelgard seeming rebellious and wild and Claude seeming somewhat carefree and freewheeling). 

Worst case scenario, his schtick is meh in itself but does help to highlight the good parts of the other two lords. 

Best case scenario, that conflict between his more traditional character and the other two actually gives him some depth. If he ends up being this typical upper class dude who's super ingrained in just fitting in and being a part of the system that could give him a good arc as Edelgard is upending everything.

Either way, its way too early to say much, but I hope that all three can end up being good characters. Im def all in on Edelgard and Claude so far but even Dimitri I'm willing to remain cautiously optimistic about