D&D 5E What Would Your Perfect 50th PHB Class List Be?

[delericho]

Marshal? Captain?

I'd be happy enough with either, but I'm tempted by Strategos.

 

[fba827]

the book intro has an image of a roller coaster

then the classes are listed (in this order specifically)

Ranger
Barbarian
Magician
Thief
Cavalier
Acrobat

and they will be led by Dungeon Master….


(I’m making a joke. if you don’t get the reference don’t worry about it. Nothing to see here)

 

[Cadence]

the book intro has an image of a roller coaster

then the classes are listed (in this order specifically)

Ranger
Barbarian
Magician
Thief
Cavalier
Acrobat

and they will be led by Dungeon Master….

Will Unicorn be a playable race?

 

[Remathilis]

Artificer
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Fighter
Monk
Paladin
Psion
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer
Warlock
Warlord
Wizard

I also once again voice my dislike of trying to distill classes down to genericness that hasn't been done previously. Its expanding classes out from that generic state that got us more interesting ideas, and genericizing it too much has the potential of making it way too complicated to build something

This has my vote. I like the current classes plus a Psionic one. I don't imagine there will be any major changes to that in the 50AE.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

My Class section:

Keep all classes except as noted below. All classes get a pass with a mind toward telling a story. What ribbons and other features can be added, without restricting PCs so no "no metal armor" type stuff, that helps the class feel like it's intended primary concept. Also make more room in subclasses for this sort of thing.
All classes gain the Tasha's optional features as base features.

• Cleric renamed Priest, loses most armor and weapon proficiencies, gains abilities that model the idea of a blessed person who can walk through a raging battle without any weapons finding them.
  • Gains ability to Turn regular folks, allies gain buff or heal whenever the Priest uses channel divinity, based on domains.
  • Gains cantrip that tags with radiant damage and gives allies bonus to hit tagged enemy as the enemy sheds bright light. Basically cantrip version of guiding bolt.
  • Also gains a cantrip flavored around speaking The Word or whatever, which hurts enemies and helps allies, and does extra against extraplanar critters, undead, aberrations.
• Fighter loses Action Surge and Indomitable and gets Heroic Actions (basically legendary action X/day where X=number of attacks per attack action x number of uses of Action Surge) and Indomitable Resistance (legendary resistance). Heroic Actions can be used as extra reactions.
  • At a certain level, a fighter's weapon attacks bypass resistence to nonmagical attacks. Not count as magical, they just bypass the resistence, flat out. The difference is mostly thematic, not mechanical.
  • Superiority Dice get renamed and made part of the base class, but manuevers are still a Battlemaster thing. Other fighters just use them to increase damage. Battlemaster's dice scale faster, and they get more than other fighters.
  • Champion gets a pass to add a strong feature and a ribbon, at least, to level 3 and 7. Somewhere in there is a lead-by-impressing-people themed feature that is useful in and out of combat.
  • Fighting style improvements of various kinds.
• Rogue mostly stays the same, gains the ability to use bonus action to set up reaction attack, themed as a feint.
  • Uncanny Dodge no longer uses a reaction, last until start of rogue's next turn, still 1/round.
• Jacknew class, steals Jack of All Trades from Bard, built from the ground up to be the non-magical, non-rogue, expert.
  • Archetypes include Sage, non-magical inventor, acrobat/athlete, non-magical martial artist possibly if that doesn't end up in the fighter.
  • Great helper.
  • Gains special uses of tools, in the vein of the stuff from xanathar's.
  • Obviously several rounds of iteration and development, but the concept is solid.
• Captain new class, lead by example, good warrior and good at coordinating tactics with other PCs. I made a whole thread developing the concept as a Marshal, IIRC. Basically, that.
• Monk renamed Mystic or Ascetic. Leans into the mystical/esoteric nature of the concept, broadens it dramatically in a cultural inspiration context, and in terms of capability. Solicit feedback and suggestions from POC creators and sensitivity consultants, all below ideas negotiable in that context. The mundane martial artist lives in a mundane class, rather than all martial arts belonging to the mystic martial artist class.
  • Ki renamed Focus
  • Choose between Int or Wis for your "focus ability modifier", support strength builds.
  • Perhaps AC is 10+proficiency bonus+Int or Wis or something. Or maybe just like 13+Focus ability modifier with a bonus at level XYZ to scale it as if you were getting better armor and eventually magic armor. Make this the model for all Unarmored Defense, instead of making it rely on Dex.
  • Possibly gains limited list of fighting styles
  • can use armor
  • Weapon list expanded in most subclasses
  • Add several Focus abilities, such as a feat of strength, ignoring extreme temperature for several hours or longer, holding breath for hours at a time, other exagerated versions of things mythic/mystic warriors in various cultures are said to be able to do.
  • No base class feature is off limits, but the finished product can be used with existing monk subclasses, exchanging ki for focus. Rewrite the most popular monk subclasses as mystic orders, but really rewrite them to make sure they aren't all East Asian, and that East Asian consultants and writers have primary voice in their lore and execution.
  • At least one entirely new subclass, exploring either a European esoteric or mystic warrior like the hermetic swordmasters of Renaissance Europe or something like the Irish Fianna, perhaps even the Norse animal cult warriors, or a South Asian or African tradition. Future Mystic Orders would have inspiration around the world.
  • Bring the Swordmage into 5e DnD via this class. Perhaps replacing the 4 elements monk, but regardless it is the fantasy esoteric scholarly warrior archetype, so this is where it belongs.
  • All spellcasting subclasses are costed at 1 Focus/spell level
  • Can regain a scaling amount of focus X/day as an action
• Ranger get's less of an overhaul than monk, but more than most others.
  • Keeps spell slots, but can choose between learning spells and preparing them, and gaining non-spell uses of those spell slots.
  • Can use spell slots to power exploration themed abilities that have combat and out of combat applications, ranging from poultices and the like, to "give X creatures bonus to Y activity using skill you're proficient in" type stuff (pass without trace but smaller bonus and for a variety of tasks, chosen when you spend the spell slot), to stuff like "troll's gift" style poisons. You still learn spells if you gain them from subclass or choose them as part of a later feature that lets you choose between spells and non-spell features, or a feat, or whatever, and can cast them with your spell slots.
  • Some of the non-spell features can buff a single ally, with an eye toward turning spell slots into a stronger pet for Beastmasters.
  • Natural Explorer gives a feature that is useful in most enviroments, and eats deft explorer from Tashas whole
  • Favored enemy straight up eats the level 3 ability of the Hunter Ranger, and expands on it a bit. Still gains the rest of favored enemy.
  • Bring Vanish down to tier 1 or 2.
  • Add Nature's Veil to Hide In Plain Sight
  • Primal Awareness folded into Primeval Awareness, which is made less clunky and bad.
  • Feral Senses drops down to level 14, possibly adds some aragorn in the movies level tracking stuff, though maybe that becomes part of Primeval Awareness
  • Foe Slayer drops to level 18
  • Capstone feature becomes something on the level of rogue subclass capstones.
  • Beastmaster pet just gets it's own turn. It's simpler. Put the Tasha's Beast of XYZ stats in the PHB.
  • Beastmaster pet can change between forms, like a familiar. Basically is a familiar that can wreck house.
  • Add BM pet forms, including a mount form
• Druid
  • Wildshape gains some alternate uses like regaining spell slots and calling a spirit to hold concentration for you, dramatically alter the terrain, etc. Some are level gated, some aren't.
  • Wildshape classic gains better beast forms via Beast Of The Whatever shapes with an expanded list that covers things like "pack hunter" and "big ol' beefy chonkin' tank-bear" and you can choose whether it's land or water based when you wildshape.
  • Add plant and monstrosity shapes, similar to Summon XYZ spells where you choose between two forms within the statblock. Dryad/Teant, owlbear/displacer beast, etc.
  • Add spirit forms
  • base class gains new ability to call spirits, gain information from them, etc
  • no armor restriction, or gains unarmored defense, or both
• Psion idk man I'd just do a lot of playtesting until I get a good one
• Warlock mostly small changes, more pact boons, make some invocations work for multiple cantrips, pact of the blade would take a ranged attack cantrip you know and make it a weapon attack. Gain an X/day ability to regain a spell slot as an action.
• Archer it's weird to me that dnd has never had this as a class, and I'll die on this hill
• Assassin though maybe this could live in the new mystic, but the concept has at least as much room for exploration as the ranger, barbarian, bard, paladin, cleric, druid, etc.
• Artificer added to the list, with more infusions and with expanded spellcasting via other features
  • Spell-storing item moved down to tier 2 in a limited form (like proficiency mod uses at most)
  • New Great Infusion feature gives Artificers greater spellcasting as 1/day class features, and goes up to level 9 spells. You don't use spell slots for these, you gain 1 of each spell level, ever, and you can use each one once per day.
  • Can use spell slots, uses of spell-storing item, and Greater Infusion uses, to recharge magic items. Limited by spell level and some caveats about what you can recharge.

Most of the rest of the chapter would be the same as the PHB.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Keeping in mind that this is for a 50th anniversary edition revision of 5e and not a totally new edition with a different class/subclass structure, I would say the current class list, plus Artificer and Warlord. I also wouldn’t say no to an arcane half-caster and a dedicated psionic caster, but neither is a high priority for me.

Yeah I'd definitely happily settle for that, vs my ambitious list.

The swordmage, as I say in my big post, can live in the renamed monk.

 

[Umbran]

This guy doesn't get it.

Or, maybe you don't get it. Because "it" isn't old game trivia. "It" is learning from and trading ideas with your fellow gamers.

Your approach here, trying to divide people into those who "get it" and those who don't, dividing into Them and Us, is not going to serve you well here. I suggest you leave that behind with the Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Interesting. Why not give some degree of special sense right from the start? Perhaps a scaling bonus to saves vs charm and on checks to see through illusions? I would definitely want to see the Sight as a thing this class is special for brought to the very front.

I'd definitely do that, or at least by around levels 2-3 give them some minor sensory benefit, and it would scale as they level up in the class. I just explicitly called out Truesight to give an example of what they could do.

Either way, I like it.

I know Pathfinder has an Oracle class. I don't know how it worked, but I am a fan of Oracles in fantasy (you know that I'm a fan of Rick Riordan's books, and Oracles play a major part in at least two of his series).

 

[Ancalagon]

Let us simplify things further. We need but this:

Ladle

 

[steeldragons]

WOOHOO! Claaaaaassezzzz...

PHB 6e Class List

The Fighter - default Warrior: all weapons, all armors, d12
--The Cavalier - specialist "Knightly" Fighter that excels in hitting and defense, horsemanship, attack and save boons for self and allies. Prefers heavy armor. Prefers certain weaponry.
--The Dungeoneer - specialist "Explorer/Treasure Hunter" Fighter that excels in ability checks (saves), special skills (pick locks, find/subvert traps, trickery/deception bonus), unusual lore of ancient places and weird creatures. Prefers lighter-to-medium armors. Prefers diverse weaponry.
The Barbarian - special Warrior archetype, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Clan/Totem.
The Martial Adept - special Warrior archetype, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Martial "Way."

The Cleric - default Mystic: limited weaponry, light and medium armors, Channeling, Divine Magic, d8
--The Theurge - specialist "caster" Cleric that excels in spellcraft and channeling at the expense of weaponry and armor (both more limited than the default cleric).
--The Templar - specialist "warrior" Cleric that excels in combat at the expense of spellcraft, divine smites, channels holy auras, permitted heavy armors and expanded "sacred" weaponry.
The Druid - special Mystic archetype, channels Nature, uses Nature Magic, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Grove.
The Warlock - special Mystic archetype, channels Arcane, uses diverse Magics, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Patron.

The Thief - default Rogue: most weaponry (no heavy martial), light armors, Skill Experts, d10
--The Acrobat - specialist Thief that excels in movement, acrobatic stunts & maneuvers [offensive, defensive, and utilitarian].
--The Rake - specialist Thief that excels in the arts of persuasion, interactive skills, charm, seduction, and espionage.
The Ranger - special Rogue archetype, Wilderness Experts, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Lodge.
The Alchemist - special Rogue archetype, Alchemy Experts, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Philosophy.

The Mage - default Wizard: most limited weaponry, no armors, Arcane Magic, d6
--The Illusionist - specialist Mage that excels in phantasmal and enchantment magics.
--The Abjurist - specialist Mage that excels in wards and defensive magics.
The Psychic - special Wizard archetype, Mental supernatural powers, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Discipline.
The Witch - special Wizard archetype, Nature & Arcane Magic, supernatural powers, specifics/subclasses determined by choice of Coven.

The Sentinel - a Warrior-Wizard hybrid: light & medium armors, most weapons, Arcane Magic, d8

21. Seems like a good start.