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If we have specialities, why do we need a plethora of classes?
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<blockquote data-quote="Stacie GmrGrl" data-source="post: 5999440" data-attributes="member: 86279"><p>We need classes because they have always been around despite the obvious fact that many step on each others toes and there is very little difference between some of them thematically speaking. IMO of course. </p><p></p><p>They crank out class after class after class because they think they have to, and people eat them up, and they crank them out because they think it leads to modularity and options but no matter how many classes they created (pre 4e) your group always needed a Cleric. </p><p></p><p>4e had some good ideas and I agree with some earlier posts that it had four Archetypes... Striker, Defender, Controller, and Leader. There were many flavors, but four basic Archetypes to fill a party, and if you were missing one and a you played with a smart DM, you could be screwed, which was part of the fun in 4e.</p><p></p><p>But, for 5e, they claim to be going Modular, and having Backgrounds and Specialties as Optional leads to that modularity, which is good. They haven't gone far enough though. Skills need to be Optional too.</p><p></p><p>Regarding the discussion of classes though, I can see all view points... if you use BGs and Specialties then just 4 very broad core classes would work. Take away BGs and Specialties and suddenly if you want to play a Paladin or Ranger, you are screwed... unless the 4 classes had those options, and it would be easy to do, with just a little paradigm shift in game design.</p><p></p><p>But let's say we want Rangers and Paladins and Bards... we have to ask, what's their purpose?</p><p></p><p>Paladins seem like the best candidates to being most defenderesque of the core classes... give them some serious Holy powers, let them be defenders of the innocent, upholders of life and their God's and give them a Holy aura. Let them stand up straight in the face of evil. Give them a Mark Power that compels targets to focus on him. Give them Avenger powers as well. Make people fear them. Make them Holy Warriors who never back down. Make them immune to fear. Let them Lay on Hands and Heal but give them Holy options to turn their Lay on Hands into an Avenger's Strike at Close Range. Give them an AC bonus while wearing Medium or Heavy Armor. Give them Detect (opposite Alignment) at will. </p><p></p><p>Basically, combine Paladins and Avengers into a single class and refluff everything to fit the Paladin. </p><p></p><p>For Rangers, make them the ultimate Wilderness Survivalists. Focus on Terrain Warfare. Traps and Tricks, Animal Companions and make them Harriers and Skirmishers. Make them able to Camouflage themselves in any terrain they have focused on. Make them Stalkers of the wilderness. Give them special Powers based on their focused terrain, so if they are in forests they can walk into one tree and exit another, or communicate with plants or animals in a particular range or even survive harsher weather conditions where other people would need shelter. If in the desert they could summon a sandstorm, gain heat resistance and perhaps even travel through the sand like he was sand. Give him element related, terrain related powers. Leave the Fighting Styles to the Fighter.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Stacie GmrGrl, post: 5999440, member: 86279"] We need classes because they have always been around despite the obvious fact that many step on each others toes and there is very little difference between some of them thematically speaking. IMO of course. They crank out class after class after class because they think they have to, and people eat them up, and they crank them out because they think it leads to modularity and options but no matter how many classes they created (pre 4e) your group always needed a Cleric. 4e had some good ideas and I agree with some earlier posts that it had four Archetypes... Striker, Defender, Controller, and Leader. There were many flavors, but four basic Archetypes to fill a party, and if you were missing one and a you played with a smart DM, you could be screwed, which was part of the fun in 4e. But, for 5e, they claim to be going Modular, and having Backgrounds and Specialties as Optional leads to that modularity, which is good. They haven't gone far enough though. Skills need to be Optional too. Regarding the discussion of classes though, I can see all view points... if you use BGs and Specialties then just 4 very broad core classes would work. Take away BGs and Specialties and suddenly if you want to play a Paladin or Ranger, you are screwed... unless the 4 classes had those options, and it would be easy to do, with just a little paradigm shift in game design. But let's say we want Rangers and Paladins and Bards... we have to ask, what's their purpose? Paladins seem like the best candidates to being most defenderesque of the core classes... give them some serious Holy powers, let them be defenders of the innocent, upholders of life and their God's and give them a Holy aura. Let them stand up straight in the face of evil. Give them a Mark Power that compels targets to focus on him. Give them Avenger powers as well. Make people fear them. Make them Holy Warriors who never back down. Make them immune to fear. Let them Lay on Hands and Heal but give them Holy options to turn their Lay on Hands into an Avenger's Strike at Close Range. Give them an AC bonus while wearing Medium or Heavy Armor. Give them Detect (opposite Alignment) at will. Basically, combine Paladins and Avengers into a single class and refluff everything to fit the Paladin. For Rangers, make them the ultimate Wilderness Survivalists. Focus on Terrain Warfare. Traps and Tricks, Animal Companions and make them Harriers and Skirmishers. Make them able to Camouflage themselves in any terrain they have focused on. Make them Stalkers of the wilderness. Give them special Powers based on their focused terrain, so if they are in forests they can walk into one tree and exit another, or communicate with plants or animals in a particular range or even survive harsher weather conditions where other people would need shelter. If in the desert they could summon a sandstorm, gain heat resistance and perhaps even travel through the sand like he was sand. Give him element related, terrain related powers. Leave the Fighting Styles to the Fighter. [/QUOTE]
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If we have specialities, why do we need a plethora of classes?
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