D&D 5E Archetypes to add to 5e

[Blue]

While talking about the most recent UA, Jeremy Crawford said they have covered most of the standard D&D tropes at this point in the editions life. In a discussion about that UA here it seemed many disagreed with that statement.

So, what archetypes do you think needs some subclass support to play in 5e? What's missing that you'd like to see that is a wide gap, not just a small niche that would never be considered at many tables.

If possible, give an example character from a movie, novel, police report, or wherever you get your inspiration. Something that a new player might come into the game going "I want to build a character like X!", and we want to make sure D&D doesn't let them down.

I'm trying to focus on concept and narrative, not mechanics. For example there are plenty of classes from earlier editions that don't exist but a character of a similar concept can be built even if the underlying mechanics differ.

Also, I'll say it here so that we don't need to have the thread get into a huge discussion on it: Warlord.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Let's go through the classes in order. I'll leave blacks that I might fill in later, should inspiration strike.

Barbarian: "tooth and claw" physically transformed when raging. Goes back to the original Norse ber-serkir who where believed to literally transform into bears. In literature, Beorn in The Hobbit.

Bard: college with access to druid spell list. Goes back to 1st edition, which in term goes back to the Victorian reinvention of druids, and the myth of Taliesin.

Cleric: Chaos domain. present in earlier editions.

Druid:

Fighter: Some new battlemaster manoeuvres would be nice.

Monk: 1/3 caster of cleric spells. Sacred Fist (3rd edition). And I think there was something of this sort in Oriental Adventures (I haven't read it since the 80s so my memory is hazy).

Paladin: Oath of the rapier gnome. Speaks for itself.

Ranger:

Rogue:

Sorcerer: Abhorrent - H. P. lovecraft inspired. The X-men. Spirit Shaman (3.5) has access to druid spells,

Warlock: Pact of The Ancient Dragon. Also, It would be nice to have something other than chain/book/blade pact gifts.

Wizard: School of General Magic

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Warden: Plant druid, shape shift in a tree, extra attack at 6.
Trapmaster rogue: set and disable special traps

I dont have trope character that fits them, but I feel those would be interesting archetypes.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Trapmaster rogue: set and disable special traps

I dont have trope character that fits them, but I feel those would be interesting archetypes.

Fred Jones, Mystery Inc.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Sacrosanct]

Let's go through the classes in order. I'll leave blacks that I might fill in later, should inspiration strike.

Because D&D doesn't replicate all fantasy literature exactly, it will never cover all archetypes for stand alone classes. That's why we have multiclass options. And most of what you listed can be done by using multiclassing and/or feats and backgrounds. So those archetypes are covered currently. For example:

Barbarian: "tooth and claw" physically transformed when raging. Goes back to the original Norse ber-serkir who where believed to literally transform into bears. In literature, Beorn in The Hobbit.

Also Barak from the Belgarian series. Actually, last year Barak was my inspiration for a PC that does just that. I was a barbarian/druid, and it worked really well to capture that

Fighter: Some new battlemaster manoeuvres would be nice.

Not an archetype



FWIW, I agree with Jeremy, and not sure how anyone could disagree. He didn't say all archetypes were covered, but most were. And that seems true. It seems most suggestions are these small niche ones that the OP says are out of scope.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

I think you can get a taste of just about anything in 5e, but for some things, "a taste" is about all you get, so that is what I would like to see addressed as 5e progresses.


Add my vote for the transforming barbarian. I like 4e's warden, and I know the oath of ancients paladin touches on this (and paladins in general transform as their capstone), but it doesn't feel central to that (sub)class.

In the spirit of the oathbreaker paladin/death domain cleric (more NPC than PC), some kind of possessed barbarian (possibly connected to the transforming barbarian).

A pet class: the pet has almost all the combat power, and the "PC" is there mostly to talk to other people.

You could probably get this by multiclassing hexblade and devotion paladin, but it seems like there ought to be "oath of stewardship" paladin who guards some item (or maybe "oath of protection" if you want to expand it past guarding an item to guarding a person). There is nothing that says the paladin can use the item right away, so it wouldn't be "1st level paladin using an artifact").

I wouldn't mind more of a "bad touch" monk. The monk has some innate "bad touch" abilities, but this would double down on it; maybe spend some ki point to cast cleric "bad touch" spells, plus can use unarmed strike as the "touch" in delivering the spell. Again, this might be more NPC than PC.

Most of the warlock patrons have a musical connection (from Devil went Down to Georgia to the weird pipe music in Lovecraft), so an instrument pact implement. I have also noticed some NPC warlocks have 4e-stule transformations, and I was thinking of a tattoo implement that would give you that.

 

[Doug McCrae]

One D&D archetype not covered so far is the old school Christian cleric with Sticks to Snakes and Part Water. But it's understandable if they choose not to go there, and it was never a good fit with D&D polytheism.

 

[Doug McCrae]

And there should be a few more cleric domains corresponding to some of the more well known real world gods such as Love - Venus, Sea - Neptune, Trade - Mercury.

 

[Tallifer]

Cleric/Divine Monk: Friar Tuck as interpreted by the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot. Staff fighting, cloth armour and nimbleness, minor healing and blessings for your party and especially to enhance your own survival in combat. Just because the imagery was soooo cool in DAoC!

P.S. Are their Friars in Camelot Unchained?