Reading the conversion articles on the Wizards web site, and some of my players' character ideas, it occurs to me that you can get a whole lot of bang for your buck by taking the existing classes, and tweaking their flavor somewhat, to come up with a whole new "class" without needing to invent 80+ original powers.
Overview
Rather than detailed rules, I think it's easiest to just show some examples.
Barbarian
You are a wild warrior bursting with primal rage.
Base Class: Fighter
Abilities: When wearing light armor or no armor, you may add your Constitution modifier to AC in place of your Dexterity or Intelligence modifier (use whichever is highest).
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Intimidate. Replace Streetwise with Nature on your class skill list.
Proficiencies: You lose all of your heavy armor proficiencies (but not heavy shield proficiency).
Class Features: Replace your Fighter Weapon Talent feature with the Rage feature:
Bard
o/` "Move, move, move, move silently!" o/`
Base Class: Warlord
Abilities: Swap Strength and Dexterity for all of your class powers.
Power Source: Arcane. Your powers are called "spells" and have the Arcane descriptor.
Proficiencies: You lose all your armor and shield proficiencies except leather armor. You lose your military weapon proficiency, except for short sword and long sword. You gain short bow proficiency.
Defenses: +1 Reflex, +1 Will
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in History and Streetwise. Your class skill list consists of the following: Acrobatics (Dex), Arcana (Int), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Streetwise (Cha), Thievery (Dex)
Class Features: Your Inspiring Word is renamed to Inspiring Song. You must choose Inspiring Presence for your Commanding Presence feature. You lose the Combat Leader feature. You gain the wizard's Cantrips feature, but only two of the cantrip powers: ghost sound and prestidigitation.
Powers: Your class attack powers only function with one-handed weapons. You select your utility powers from the cleric utility power list.
Blackguard
You are a paladin dedicated to an unholy power.
Base Class: Paladin
Damage Type: All of your powers with the Radiant keyword instead have the Necrotic keyword and deal necrotic damage.
Class Features: You lose the Lay on Hands feature. Instead, gain the Sneak Attack feature, like a rogue. However, whenever you use the Sneak Attack to deal bonus damage, you lose a healing surge. You can't use your Sneak Attack if you are out of healing surges.
Elemental Priest
You worship powerful entities of wind, wave, and flame, and they grant you power over the elements.
Base Class: Wizard
Abilities: Swap Intelligence and Wisdom on all of your class powers (so you now use Wisdom for attack and damage on class powers).
Power Source: Divine. Your powers are now called "prayers," and have the Divine keyword instead of Arcane.
Damage Types: Any class powers with the Force keyword that deal force damage instead have the Radiant keyword and deal radiant damage.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Religion, not Arcana. Add Religion to your class skill list and remove Arcana.
Implements: You use a holy symbol for powers that use an implement.
Class Features: Your Spellbook feature is renamed to Communion. When an elemental priest prepares his daily spells, instead of consulting a book, he enters a brief trance-like state and receives visions from his deity or his deity's agents. This feature functions in every way just like the Spellbook feature. You lose your Arcane Implement Mastery and Cantrips class features, but gain the Divine Channeling feature of a cleric.
Monk
You are an ascetic warrior, trained to fight without arms or armor.
Base Class: Ranger
Abilities: Swap Dexterity and Wisdom on all of your ranged class powers.
Power Source: Ki. Your powers are now called "techniques," and have the Ki keyword instead of Martial.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Religion, not Dungeoneering or Nature. Remove Dungeoneering and Nature from your class skill list and add Religion and History.
Proficiencies: You lose all your armor proficiencies, and your military weapon proficiencies.
Class Features: You lose the Prime Shot class feature and Hunter's Quarry class feature, and you must select the Two-Blade Fighting Style for your Fighting Style. You gain these class features:
Ninja
You slip silently through the night, dispatching death to the unsuspecting.
Base Class: Rogue
Abilities: Swap Charisma and Wisdom for all of your class powers.
Power Source: Ki. Your powers are now called "techniques," and have the Ki descriptor.
Powers: Select your utility powers from the warlock utility powers instead of the rogue powers.
Sorcerer
You have an intuitive grasp of magic without needing to study.
Base Class: Wizard
Abilities: Swap Intelligence for Charisma for all of your class powers.
Class Skills: You are not automatically trained in Arcana, but you are trained in one additional class skill.
Class Features: You lose the Arcane Implement Mastery, Ritual Caster, and Spellbook features, but gain the Spontaneous Casting feature:
Spellblade
You blend the magical arts with the skills of a fencer.
Base Class: Paladin
Abilities: Swap Intelligence and Charisma on all of your class powers.
Power Source: Arcane. Your powers are now called "spells," and have the Arcane keyword instead of Divine.
Damage Types: Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder. Any class power with the Radiant keyword now has the appropriate damage type keyword and deals damage of that type.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Arcana, not Religion. Add Arcana to your class skill list and remove Religion.
Defenses: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will.
Implement: You may use any weapon as an implement for powers that use implements. Add the weapon's enhancement bonus to the power's attack and damage, but do not add the weapon's proficiency bonus to attack rolls.
Class Features: Your Divine Challenge is renamed to Arcane Challenge and deals a new damage type (as described above). Lay on Hands is renamed to Tincture. Channel Divinity is renamed to Combat Casting, with powers named Arcane Mettle and Arcane Strength. These class features all work the same way, just their names are changed.
Swashbuckler
You fight with finesse, control, and speed, rather than brute force.
Base Class: Any except wizard.
Abilities: Swap Strength and Dexterity for any melee weapon class powers that use Strength for attack and damage, but only when you are wielding a one-handed weapon (this includes versatile one-handed weapons that you are weilding in two hands). Don't swap abilities for powers that already use Dexterity for attack and damage -- they continue to use Dexterity.
Proficiencies: You lose any heavy armor and heavy shield proficiencies you might have, and military ranged weapon proficiency.
Defenses: If your class gets a bonus to Fortitude defense, apply it to Reflex instead. If your class gets a bonus to both Fortitude and Reflex, then these bonuses remain unchanged.
Class Skills: You may add Athletics and Acrobatics to your class list, but if you do so, you are trained in one fewer class skill at 1st level.
Class Features: When you are wearing cloth armor or no armor, you get a +2 bonus to AC. If your base class had proficiency in scale armor, this increases to +3.
Powers: You can only use your ranged weapon powers with thrown weapons, not projectile weapons (like slings and crossbows).
War Mage
Some wizards focus as much on melee combat as they do the mystic arts. This makes them much hardier warriors, but they lack the range of their devoted wizardly brethen.
Base Class: Cleric
Abilities: Swap Intelligence for Wisdom, and Wisdom for Charisma on all of your ranged class powers (so you now use Intelligence for attack and damage on ranged class powers, and Wisdom to determine secondary effects). Strength based melee powers are still Strength based.
Power Source: Arcane. Your powers are now called "spells," and have the Arcane keyword instead of Divine.
Damage Types: Any class powers with the Radiant keyword that deal radiant damage instead have the Fire keyword and deal fire damage. Any class powers with the Fire keyword that deal fire damage instead have the Force keyword and deal force damage.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Arcana. Choose 3 more skills from this list: Arcana (Int), Athletics (Str), Dungeoneering (Wis), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Nature (Int).
Class Features: Lose the Channel Divinity, Healer's Lore, and Holy Symbol Implements. Replace them with Cantrips, like a wizard, and Orb and Staff Implements. You maintain a Healing Word like ability, but it is renamed "Mystic Medicine" and works the exact same way. You are still a Ritual Caster, but may choose any 2 first level rituals at the start of the game.
Bonus Defense: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will
Comments: As much as possible, avoid taking healing powers. You are now Leader with secondary Striker/Controller abilities.
Overview
- You can change the power source, energy type, and trained skills of a class.
- You can swap which ability scores a class uses for its powers.
- You can change around class features somewhat, although it's best to keep them as similar to the existing features as possible.
- You'll need to rename a lot of your class features and powers.
- All this monkeying requires strict DM oversight! It's not an excuse to swap a class skill for no reason, or consolidate all your powers to use the same ability score.
Rather than detailed rules, I think it's easiest to just show some examples.
Barbarian
You are a wild warrior bursting with primal rage.
Base Class: Fighter
Abilities: When wearing light armor or no armor, you may add your Constitution modifier to AC in place of your Dexterity or Intelligence modifier (use whichever is highest).
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Intimidate. Replace Streetwise with Nature on your class skill list.
Proficiencies: You lose all of your heavy armor proficiencies (but not heavy shield proficiency).
Class Features: Replace your Fighter Weapon Talent feature with the Rage feature:
- Rage: Once per encounter, as a minor action, you can fly into a barely-controlled frenzy of mayhem. The rage lasts until the end of the encounter, or until you fall unconscious. While in the rage, you get a +2 bonus to melee weapon damage and a +2 bonus on Athletics, Intimidate and Endurance checks, but you suffer a -5 penalty to all other skill checks, a -2 penalty to AC, and you can't use any powers with a power source other than Martial. At 11th level, the damage bonus increases to +3, and at 21st level, it increases to +4, although the other bonuses and penalties of raging remain fixed.
Bard
o/` "Move, move, move, move silently!" o/`
Base Class: Warlord
Abilities: Swap Strength and Dexterity for all of your class powers.
Power Source: Arcane. Your powers are called "spells" and have the Arcane descriptor.
Proficiencies: You lose all your armor and shield proficiencies except leather armor. You lose your military weapon proficiency, except for short sword and long sword. You gain short bow proficiency.
Defenses: +1 Reflex, +1 Will
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in History and Streetwise. Your class skill list consists of the following: Acrobatics (Dex), Arcana (Int), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), History (Int), Insight (Wis), Streetwise (Cha), Thievery (Dex)
Class Features: Your Inspiring Word is renamed to Inspiring Song. You must choose Inspiring Presence for your Commanding Presence feature. You lose the Combat Leader feature. You gain the wizard's Cantrips feature, but only two of the cantrip powers: ghost sound and prestidigitation.
Powers: Your class attack powers only function with one-handed weapons. You select your utility powers from the cleric utility power list.
Blackguard
You are a paladin dedicated to an unholy power.
Base Class: Paladin
Damage Type: All of your powers with the Radiant keyword instead have the Necrotic keyword and deal necrotic damage.
Class Features: You lose the Lay on Hands feature. Instead, gain the Sneak Attack feature, like a rogue. However, whenever you use the Sneak Attack to deal bonus damage, you lose a healing surge. You can't use your Sneak Attack if you are out of healing surges.
Elemental Priest
You worship powerful entities of wind, wave, and flame, and they grant you power over the elements.
Base Class: Wizard
Abilities: Swap Intelligence and Wisdom on all of your class powers (so you now use Wisdom for attack and damage on class powers).
Power Source: Divine. Your powers are now called "prayers," and have the Divine keyword instead of Arcane.
Damage Types: Any class powers with the Force keyword that deal force damage instead have the Radiant keyword and deal radiant damage.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Religion, not Arcana. Add Religion to your class skill list and remove Arcana.
Implements: You use a holy symbol for powers that use an implement.
Class Features: Your Spellbook feature is renamed to Communion. When an elemental priest prepares his daily spells, instead of consulting a book, he enters a brief trance-like state and receives visions from his deity or his deity's agents. This feature functions in every way just like the Spellbook feature. You lose your Arcane Implement Mastery and Cantrips class features, but gain the Divine Channeling feature of a cleric.
Monk
You are an ascetic warrior, trained to fight without arms or armor.
Base Class: Ranger
Abilities: Swap Dexterity and Wisdom on all of your ranged class powers.
Power Source: Ki. Your powers are now called "techniques," and have the Ki keyword instead of Martial.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Religion, not Dungeoneering or Nature. Remove Dungeoneering and Nature from your class skill list and add Religion and History.
Proficiencies: You lose all your armor proficiencies, and your military weapon proficiencies.
Class Features: You lose the Prime Shot class feature and Hunter's Quarry class feature, and you must select the Two-Blade Fighting Style for your Fighting Style. You gain these class features:
- Unarmed Combat: When you are wearing cloth armor or no armor, you get a +3 bonus to AC.
- Unarmed Strike: You are considered proficient with your unarmed attack, which has a +3 proficiency bonus to attack rolls and deals 1d8 damage. Your unarmed attack has the high crit and off-hand properties, and can even be used as a ranged weapon (with a range of 6/12) when used in conjunction with your class encounter and daily powers.
- Ki Awareness: You gain an enhancement bonus equal to 1/5 your level to AC, unarmed attacks, and unarmed damage. Because this is an enhancement bonus, it doesn't stack with the enhancement bonuses from magical weapons an armor.
- Ki Focus: As a minor action, you gather your ki energy. Later, as a free action, you can discharge your ki energy to deal an extra 1d6 damage to a foe you have just hit with a damaging attack. You can't gather ki energy a second time until you've discharged the first ki energy. The extra damage increases to 2d6 at 11th level and 3d6 at 21st level.
Ninja
You slip silently through the night, dispatching death to the unsuspecting.
Base Class: Rogue
Abilities: Swap Charisma and Wisdom for all of your class powers.
Power Source: Ki. Your powers are now called "techniques," and have the Ki descriptor.
Powers: Select your utility powers from the warlock utility powers instead of the rogue powers.
Sorcerer
You have an intuitive grasp of magic without needing to study.
Base Class: Wizard
Abilities: Swap Intelligence for Charisma for all of your class powers.
Class Skills: You are not automatically trained in Arcana, but you are trained in one additional class skill.
Class Features: You lose the Arcane Implement Mastery, Ritual Caster, and Spellbook features, but gain the Spontaneous Casting feature:
- Spontaneous Casting: As a free action, you may recover the use of a spent encounter attack spell by spending a use of an encounter or daily attack spell of a higher level than the one you are recovering. Spells spent in this manner aren't cast; you simply can't use them any more, as though they had been cast. For example, if you've used up your 1st-level encounter attack spell, you could get it back by losing your use of your 3rd-level encounter attack spell. You could get back the use of the 3rd-level encounter attack spell by taking a short rest, or by spending the use of your 5th-level daily attack spell.
Spellblade
You blend the magical arts with the skills of a fencer.
Base Class: Paladin
Abilities: Swap Intelligence and Charisma on all of your class powers.
Power Source: Arcane. Your powers are now called "spells," and have the Arcane keyword instead of Divine.
Damage Types: Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder. Any class power with the Radiant keyword now has the appropriate damage type keyword and deals damage of that type.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Arcana, not Religion. Add Arcana to your class skill list and remove Religion.
Defenses: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will.
Implement: You may use any weapon as an implement for powers that use implements. Add the weapon's enhancement bonus to the power's attack and damage, but do not add the weapon's proficiency bonus to attack rolls.
Class Features: Your Divine Challenge is renamed to Arcane Challenge and deals a new damage type (as described above). Lay on Hands is renamed to Tincture. Channel Divinity is renamed to Combat Casting, with powers named Arcane Mettle and Arcane Strength. These class features all work the same way, just their names are changed.
Swashbuckler
You fight with finesse, control, and speed, rather than brute force.
Base Class: Any except wizard.
Abilities: Swap Strength and Dexterity for any melee weapon class powers that use Strength for attack and damage, but only when you are wielding a one-handed weapon (this includes versatile one-handed weapons that you are weilding in two hands). Don't swap abilities for powers that already use Dexterity for attack and damage -- they continue to use Dexterity.
Proficiencies: You lose any heavy armor and heavy shield proficiencies you might have, and military ranged weapon proficiency.
Defenses: If your class gets a bonus to Fortitude defense, apply it to Reflex instead. If your class gets a bonus to both Fortitude and Reflex, then these bonuses remain unchanged.
Class Skills: You may add Athletics and Acrobatics to your class list, but if you do so, you are trained in one fewer class skill at 1st level.
Class Features: When you are wearing cloth armor or no armor, you get a +2 bonus to AC. If your base class had proficiency in scale armor, this increases to +3.
Powers: You can only use your ranged weapon powers with thrown weapons, not projectile weapons (like slings and crossbows).
War Mage
Some wizards focus as much on melee combat as they do the mystic arts. This makes them much hardier warriors, but they lack the range of their devoted wizardly brethen.
Base Class: Cleric
Abilities: Swap Intelligence for Wisdom, and Wisdom for Charisma on all of your ranged class powers (so you now use Intelligence for attack and damage on ranged class powers, and Wisdom to determine secondary effects). Strength based melee powers are still Strength based.
Power Source: Arcane. Your powers are now called "spells," and have the Arcane keyword instead of Divine.
Damage Types: Any class powers with the Radiant keyword that deal radiant damage instead have the Fire keyword and deal fire damage. Any class powers with the Fire keyword that deal fire damage instead have the Force keyword and deal force damage.
Class Skills: You are automatically trained in Arcana. Choose 3 more skills from this list: Arcana (Int), Athletics (Str), Dungeoneering (Wis), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Nature (Int).
Class Features: Lose the Channel Divinity, Healer's Lore, and Holy Symbol Implements. Replace them with Cantrips, like a wizard, and Orb and Staff Implements. You maintain a Healing Word like ability, but it is renamed "Mystic Medicine" and works the exact same way. You are still a Ritual Caster, but may choose any 2 first level rituals at the start of the game.
Bonus Defense: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will
Comments: As much as possible, avoid taking healing powers. You are now Leader with secondary Striker/Controller abilities.
