D&D 5E Homebrew Super Simple Class: The Prodigy

[Undrave]

We had a brief talk over the "What is Balance?" thread about a replacement class for the Champion. A designated simple class for newbies and those who don't want to go too deep into the mechanics, but that wouldn't mean saddling the Fighter archetype with that role.

Here is my proposal, live from Homebrewery: the Prodigy!

The ethos is to make as many thing as possible a passive ability while still leaving just enough customization for a player to engage with the game. It has the same ASIs as the Fighter so you could even go and add feats if you felt daring. Most of the class feature are repeating ones (like Expertise for the Rogue or Extra Attack for the Fighter) so the class occupies a very small page count.

It's probably widely unbalanced as it is but this is really just a first try. What do you guys think of the concept? It does a lot but nothing particularly impressively. It's mostly big numbers.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Personally if i was making a hyper customisable simple class i think i would make instead of fighter, a bard-lite style class with warlock style (you know X number of spells, casting them Y level Z times a day) casting

The addition of a ‘talent of magic’ choice for those who want to be specialising in that, a known spells half caster+cantrips and a decent spread spell list from across all areas, healing buffing damage utility ect...

Heavy armour is probably fine but id rather only give them simple weapons and four martial weapon proficiencies to pick for themselves, I might drop the d12 hit die to a d10 but that’s me

I’d give them the bards(?) half proficiency on untrained skills, any handful of skills and three expertise trained skills

These additions have probably made it less simple and more of a jack of all trades for newbies to dip their toes into everything to see what they want to focus on

 

[Krachek]

A class for newbie that would be appealing to experimented players, a hard challenge.

 

[TwoSix]

I like it. I'd probably take Spell Sniper and pick up Fire Bolt, so I could be a firestarter, a twisted firestarter.

 

[Undrave]

One thing to note is that the class is not intended to work with multi classing. I forgot to mention it in my OP.

Also, I worry Talent of Skill and Talent of Speed do not stack up to the other two. What does everybody think?

Personally if i was making a hyper customisable simple class i think i would make instead of fighter, a bard-lite style class with warlock style (you know X number of spells, casting them Y level Z times a day) casting

The addition of a ‘talent of magic’ choice for those who want to be specialising in that, a known spells half caster+cantrips and a decent spread spell list from across all areas, healing buffing damage utility ect...

Heavy armour is probably fine but id rather only give them simple weapons and four martial weapon proficiencies to pick for themselves, I might drop the d12 hit die to a d10 but that’s me

I’d give them the bards(?) half proficiency on untrained skills, any handful of skills and three expertise trained skills

These additions have probably made it less simple and more of a jack of all trades for newbies to dip their toes into everything to see what they want to focus on

I actually considered a Talent of Magic (and a Talent of Inspiration that would be Leader-like) but I felt it would have required too much text to properly set up and I already don’t like the way Magic become such a centralizing feature of the game. I also wanted to make so by the end of a 20-level path, your character ends up with all the talents and so I didn't want to add too many to not bog down the progression. Making the Talent of Magic scale properly would have added even more text AND probably introduce resource tracking if I didn't limit it to Cantrips.

I also wasn’t sure what casting stats to give them (I considered CON, btw)

I think I would rather try to create a separate simple magical class instead. Plus, it felt like adding magic would make it feel too much like a buff Bard or a discount Sorcerer. I didn't want to step on the toes of other classes too much, considering I'm already aping the Fighter's progression.

A class for newbie that would be appealing to experimented players, a hard challenge.

More than anything, I didn't want the class to seem like an insult to play it. It had to have its own feel and be seen as strong as other classes even if it didn't have all the bells and whistles, and just enough choices (i.e. skills, tools, ASI and then the order you get the talents) to make it feel like the character was yours. And if you play it long enough you might be enticed to try out a feat or two. Like if rice pudding was a class, ya know? Pleasantly plain, but you can add some maple syrup or honey for an extra kick.

I like it. I'd probably take Spell Sniper and pick up Fire Bolt, so I could be a firestarter, a twisted firestarter.

Thanks. A human prodigy could totally pick up a magic giving Feat or pick it up at level 4.

 

[Undrave]

Would people actually be interested in a relatively simple magical class to complement the Prodigy? I got an idea in mind that could be fun...

 

[CreamCloud0]

Would people actually be interested in a relatively simple magical class to complement the Prodigy? I got an idea in mind that could be fun...

Sure I wouldn’t mind seeing what you come up with!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

A designated simple class for newbies and those who don't want to go too deep into the mechanics, but that wouldn't mean saddling the Fighter archetype with that role.

I mean, the key problem here is that newbies don't like classes for newbies.

This is true across literally all games - video, board, tabletop.

You tell new players X is the "newbie" class, I guarantee you 90% of new players will not willingly pick that class. It's not even perversity at this point - it's experience - stuff "for newbies" sucks like a nuclear vacuum-cleaner in 99% of games.

If you want to make a class appeal to newbies, just give it things newbies like. Specifically if you give it:

1) An animal companion or familiar from level 1.

2) Magic and fighting. Doesn't have to be actual D&D spell-spells, but like some cantrips and stuff? Especially combat ones.

3) Style/a cool name.

4) Not heavy armour, because trust me, no-one but experienced players thinks heavy armour is cool, or rather if they did, they wouldn't be playing "newbie class", they'd be all over Fighter/Paladin.

Then it'll basically cause newbies to flock to it.

Your class whilst decently well-designed, is like, the polar opposite of what "newbies" are likely to want to play. So even if you break out the old reverse-psychology and try to trick newbies into playing by saying it's "powerful" and stuff, they're going to go "nah" to this one.

 

[Undrave]

I mean, the key problem here is that newbies don't like classes for newbies.

This is true across literally all games - video, board, tabletop.

You tell new players X is the "newbie" class, I guarantee you 90% of new players will not willingly pick that class. It's not even perversity at this point - it's experience - stuff "for newbies" sucks like a nuclear vacuum-cleaner in 99% of games.

If you want to make a class appeal to newbies, just give it things newbies like. Specifically if you give it:

1) An animal companion or familiar from level 1.

2) Magic and fighting. Doesn't have to be actual D&D spell-spells, but like some cantrips and stuff? Especially combat ones.

3) Style/a cool name.

4) Not heavy armour, because trust me, no-one but experienced players thinks heavy armour is cool, or rather if they did, they wouldn't be playing "newbie class", they'd be all over Fighter/Paladin.

Then it'll basically cause newbies to flock to it.

Your class whilst decently well-designed, is like, the polar opposite of what "newbies" are likely to want to play. So even if you break out the old reverse-psychology and try to trick newbies into playing by saying it's "powerful" and stuff, they're going to go "nah" to this one.

Thank you for the perspective!

If newbies don't like heavy armor and like magical stuff, why is the Champion the designated newbie class and apparently popular?

As a general rule I REALLY don't like animal companions though they kinda tend to break the game in one way or another and they are complicated.

I'll consider a Talent of Magic that hands out cantrips then.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

If newbies don't like heavy armor and like magical stuff, why is the Champion the designated newbie class and apparently popular?

It's not popular with newbies though!

It's popular with ancient D&D-playing dudes in their 30s and 40s who just have a beer and chill whilst they play.

This is was discussed at some length in another thread. Personally I've introduced a number of new people to D&D in 5E, and none of them have expressed the slightest interest in Champion. It's got zero distinctiveness, it doesn't have any pop-culture equivalent, and if you tell people it's simple, and for newbies, they don't want that (also, frankly, it's not meaningfully easier to play than say, a Warlock). Even the boringest most man's man vanilla "straight white guy" man I ever played with, who likes soccer, cars, holidays in Spain, the suburbs and so on, and had never played an RPG before didn't pick a Fighter, he went straight for Spellblade or whatever it was called in 4E. And in my experience most new players circle around Ranger (so many Rangers), Druid, Warlock, Bard, and a few others. Wizard if they really like Harry Potter.

Going back to 2/3/4E I likewise saw (and the thread agreed on this) pretty much zero new players wanting to be "Basic Fighters" or the like.

As a general rule I REALLY don't like animal companions though they kinda tend to break the game in one way or another and they are complicated.

Sure, and that's a valid concern but newbies love them. If there is a class with "pet animal" as a feature, newbies from around the world will flock to that class. It's not even a Pokemon thing, it like waaaaay predates that.

Personally I'd say just give them a familiar that does basically nothing mechanically and most of them will be happy. Just don't make it easy to kill.

Re: Talent of magic, if they don't get 'em level one, they ain't going to pick that class, because other classes do get them level 1. Just telling ya.