Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour: The Warlord

[Yaarel]

Realistically, if there was a lot more interest.... then wouldn't the warlord video have significantly more views than the earlier ones? They all seem to be around 8k (except the first).

It seems to me, the 5e classes so far evidence strong interest for the warlord.

The original design strategy was to split the warlord tradition into a magical bard and a nonmagical battle master. But that failed to satisfy desires for warlord.

Then the Purple Dragon Knight came out. But that too failed to satisfy the interest in a warlord.

Finally, Mearls is tackling the warlord tradition head on, and seeing how this might work.

Mearls does this thru Happy Fun, precisely as a venue that can receive lots of informal feedback, before codifying a formal playtest version.

He wants this to satisfy players who are interested in a warlord.

 

[Jester David]

I hope the warlord (and other subclasses in the HFH) come to UA and/or makes it into official supplements.

They might make it to UA but doubtful they'll be officially published.
Jeremy Crawford would be involved then. Crawford commented that the UA he's involved in tend to be stuff planned for books while the ones that are just Mearls are where he's just toying with ideas.

 

[hejtmane]

This is going to piss off all the warlord fans but between, Paladin, Bard, Purple Knight and Battle Master you have a Warlord heck right now and you could even throw in Ancestral Barbarian. between those classes and multi-classing you can build some sweet Warlords but what ever some people will never be happy.

Yea yea here comes the hate for not understanding Warlord yes I understand what a Warlord is just not from D&D playing perspective I just think people who played certain edition are locked into it has to play like this edition version or it is not a Warlord.

Note before you come at me about some edition war I have never played 4e or 3 and DM'd one 3.5 game but all I had was the 3.5 PHB and the RavenLoft campaign so i just ran it like my old school 1e games. You could say I have old school bias from D&D and 1e

Heck when I started we had cleric, fighter, wizard and thief only no other options.

 

[Yaarel]

This is going to piss off all the warlord fans but between, Paladin, Bard, Purple Knight and Battle Master you have a Warlord heck right now and you could even throw in Ancestral Barbarian. between those classes and multi-classing you can build some sweet Warlords but what ever some people will never be happy.

Yea yea here comes the hate for not understanding Warlord yes I understand what a Warlord is just not from D&D playing perspective I just think people who played certain edition are locked into it has to play like this edition version or it is not a Warlord.

Note before you come at me about some edition war I have never played 4e or 3 and DM'd one 3.5 game but all I had was the 3.5 PHB and the RavenLoft campaign so i just ran it like my old school 1e games. You could say I have old school bias from D&D and 1e

Heck when I started we had cleric, fighter, wizard and thief only no other options.

Ironically, your post confirms that what warlord fans are asking for, is already normal 5e mechanics.

There is nothing mechanically difficult about a 4e style warlord.

 

[mellored]

His brainstorm demonstrates that the mechanics that warlord fans desire, are in fact normal 5e mechanics.

all the mechanics he came up with are not in 5e yet.

But really, if we want warlord to be their own class, we will need to come up with a lot of sub-classes for it.

That said, I think "instead of gaining multi-attack, you gain an extra reaction" works well. At least worth a UA.

 

[Jester David]

It seems to me, the 5e classes so far evidence strong interest for the warlord.

The original design strategy was to split the warlord tradition into a magical bard and a nonmagical battle master. But that failed to satisfy desires for warlord.

Then the Purple Dragon Knight came out. But that too failed to satisfy the interest in a warlord.

Finally, Mearls is tackling the warlord tradition head on, and seeing how this might work.

Mearls does this thru Happy Fun, precisely as a venue that can receive lots of informal feedback, before codifying a formal playtest version.

He wants this to satisfy players who are interested in a warlord.

This sounds like extremely wishful thinking.

The purpose of the video is to help show people how to homebrew subclasses. Why would they use that to gauge interest in the warlord? Is there an audience overlap there?
Plus, they're designing stuff on the fly in an hour or two. Do you really expect content created that way to be high quality?

Also... isn't half this thread people saying a subclass doesn't cut it and it needs to be a full class? Sounds like IF he is taking feedback, the response would be “don’t bother”

 

[Yaarel]

The purpose of the video is to help show people how to homebrew subclasses.

They also used the 4e eladrin as an example of how to homebrew races in the 5e DMG.

But soon the 4e-style eladrin will be 5e canon in Mordenkeinens.

Controversial traditions take time to smooth out to integrate.

 

[Yaarel]

Do you really expect content created that way to be high quality?

Of course I expect the warlord to be high quality.

In fact the process it is going thru is the best possible process to ensure high quality.

› Public brainstorming of warlord for feedback on concept
› UA version for public playtest for feedback on mechanics
› Official version in book



So far the plan is, after this upcoming third Happy Fun, the warlord will go to the testers for a UA playtest version.

 

[mellored]

Also... isn't half this thread people saying a subclass doesn't cut it and it needs to be a full class?

more accurately.

Half the people in this thread say the 2 or 3 existing sub-classes have not cut it.

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

I thought that was a pretty inspired mechanic that highlights the difference between the healing of the warlord and the healing of other classes. I hope the warlord (and other subclasses in the HFH) come to UA and/or makes it into official supplements.

I think once he gets a subclass for all 12 classes, they will come out as a UA

This sounds like extremely wishful thinking.

The purpose of the video is to help show people how to homebrew subclasses. Why would they use that to gauge interest in the warlord? Is there an audience overlap there?
Plus, they're designing stuff on the fly in an hour or two. Do you really expect content created that way to be high quality.

The videos can do multiple things at a time. They can be both information into how to homebrew subclasses as well as gauge interest in certain ideas.

Also, remember that this stuff is pre-playtest. I imagine after it gets to a point where Mearls is satisfied with the stuff he makes, he'll pass it off to the playtesters and Crawford, who will refine it, then they'll release it as a UA and get the massive mind of the internet to refine it down more.