D&D 5E [poll] Niche protection, yea or nay?

[Sacrosanct]

This has been a contentious topic in the past, so please, no arguing over which is better. It's personal preference and subjective, and there is no wrong answer.

Do you prefer classes to have niche protection like in TSR D&D where one class may shine in one pillar over the others, but not in another. Or do you prefer classes to all be equally able to contribute the same in all three pillars like in later editions?

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[jaelis]

Do you prefer classes to have niche protection like in TSR D&D where one class may shine in one pillar over the others, but not in another. Or do you prefer classes to all be equally able to contribute the same in all three pillars like in later editions?

What if I like having a mix of both?

 

[DEFCON 1]

I only care about what is being played at the table and protecting niches for the players themselves to do cool things. I couldn't care less if the game itself has multiple ways to skin all the cats.

 

[JonnyP71]

Very much so. I grew up with AD&D and prefer the strengths and weaknesses of those older class systems - want to pick that lock? You need thief skills as well as the relevant tools. Not got a thief - tough, you'll need to try to force it open then.

I do sometimes let those ideas creep into my 5E games, for instance if the party find an old magical text I would only allow a character with Arcana proficiency to even attempt to decipher it, and if another PC wants to assist, then they must also have Arcana proficiency. That goes some way towards preserving those niche skills.

 

[5ekyu]

I do *not* want all classes equally skilled at each pillar.

I do *not* want any one class to be the only one best at any one pillar.

If there were 13 classes and 3 pillars i would be thrilled to see two classes as best for each of the 3 pillars (six classes), two classes as second best for each "pair" of pillars (six classes). One class third best at each pillar and all the other pillars being fourth best for the classes.

This makes every class a trade off.

However, imo, this can be served well by the class sub-class system if each class has sub-classes for each pillar. In that case, matching a class good at a pillar and a sub-class good at a pillar aims for best while choosing to divide the focus gets you broader second best.



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[iserith]

Yes, I do prefer niches because I think it's helpful for sharing the spotlight which is important in my view in a RPG, assuming the DM is running a game that includes all three pillars. That has to be balanced out, in my opinion, by not making the non-specialists truly suck at any pillar in which they are not specialized, however. They should be able to contribute in some way, but not in a way that overshadows the specialist.

 

[Charlaquin]

For me, it’s important to protect the niches of each PC in a group. It sucks to make the lockpicking guy only to find out you’re one of three lockpicking guys in the group and every lock you come to is going to turn into an argument over who should be the one to pick it. It sucks to make the guy with a spell for every situation only to find out between the other four spellcasters in the party, all of your spells are redundant because at least one other person knows each one. It sucks to make the healer only to find out everyone has plenty of HP and healing resources. It’s actually not too bad to make a beefy combat guy to find out everyone’s good in combat, unless that was what you dedicated your entire character to, and everyone else is just as good as you in combat but can do other things too.

However, I don’t care as much about protecting Class niches. If you want to be the lockpicking guy, but you’d rather be a priest who learned to pick locks as a child on the streets before finding religion and turning his life around than a thief, that’s fine by me, unless the party already has a lockpicking guy who’s toes you’re stepping on. There’s value in Classes having niches that they’re known for, or even best at, but if someone wants to dabble in another Class’s niche, I’m fine with that, provided they’re not encroaching on the niche of one of the other characters in the party.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Yeah, I don't like that there are only two options. I like to limit availability of some things to a few classes, but not everything. Some examples I can think of are that I like the Criminal Background, which can help any character become at least a very basic "thief" if needed. And I like that Healing does not require a Cleric as much as it has in past editions (yes, I know that there have always been options other than the cleric, but they were typically never as good as the cleric).

I don't mind subclasses like the Eldritch Knight, or the War Mage, that blend things a bit.

But I do like each class to have clearly defined strengths and weaknesses, so that each character can shine in some ways, and not in others.

I don't think I fall into either of the two poll options.

 

[abirdcall]

I wouldn't split it up by pillar but I do think niche protection is very important.

For example, Fighting Man is good in fights by hitting things and being hard to hit. Magic User might also be good in fights by casting certain types of spells. They are both good at the combat pillar but in different ways.

It would be okay for say, a different sort of Magic User to cast different spells. But not okay for 2 Magic Users casting the same sorts of spells.