D&D (2024) Classes: What changes do you predict?

[Parmandur]

I don’t think that gaining thier power from rigorous training in a particular tradition is especially orientalist, so I’d say that should stay.

The name is odd once you get away from orientalism, and ki is just a bad name, however.

I like Mystic, and Focus, but I’m not married to either.

Tbh the subclasses are fine (other than 4elements), and the base class only needs tweaks beyond the problematic theming.

Mystic is a nice, more thematically flexible name for the Class...and was the name for the Class, in Basic Dungeons & Dragons!

The big problem with Ki, as expounded by Daniel Kwon of Asians Represent, is that from a Chinese traditional cultural perspective...everything is Ki. A Wizard manipulating reality with magic is Ki, the Cleric appealing to the divine is Ki, the Fighter swinging his sword is Ki, etc. All Human activity is Ki. So having one Class be the "Ki users" is literally alienating. His suggestion, IIRC, was to just call it out as Spell points, same as any other Class.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I’d like to see the Archery fighting style get a different benefit. Bonus Action attack, no strings attached, might seem a bit much but +2 attack is wild!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Mystic is a nice, more thematically flexible name for the Class...and was the name for the Class, in Basic Dungeons & Dragons!

The big problem with Ki, as expounded by Daniel Kwon of Asians Represent, is that from a Chinese traditional cultural perspective...everything is Ki. A Wizard manipulating reality with magic is Ki, the Cleric appealing to the divine is Ki, the Fighter swinging his sword is Ki, etc. All Human activity is Ki. So having one Class be the "Ki users" is literally alienating. His suggestion, IIRC, was to just call it out as Spell points, same as any other Class.

I agree, but I vehemently dislike his solution.

It’s easy to just call it Focus, perhaps change it to dice rather than points, and move on. Changing it to dice would make stuff that uses the martial arts die less wordy and awkward, but that would require errata to some subclasses.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Yup, the designers have said for a long time that waiting to choose Subclass was a design that failed to work as intended, and only causes headaches at the table and for designing new options.

Really hoping they give us L1 subclasses, because virtually every PC I've ever seen in 5E has a specific subclass in mind, but unless they're a Wizard, they have to sit on their hands until 3rd, which can seem like a long damn time. And it's just wacky with like, 70-90% of the subclasses which aren't something you'd just suddenly start being. Obviously you'd need to re-work them a fair bit, but it should be doable.

(I also find it amusing that very few people have pointed out how obviously MMORPG-derived this is. MMORPGs, for a very long time, since at least DAoC in 2001, and probably earlier, have done this thing where you start as a generic base class and then have to pick a "real" class at level 5 or 10. I guess because WoW didn't do it, people forgot or didn't know or something?)

 

[Parmandur]

Really hoping they give us L1 subclasses, because virtually every PC I've ever seen in 5E has a specific subclass in mind, but unless they're a Wizard, they have to sit on their hands until 3rd, which can seem like a long damn time. And it's just wacky with like, 70-90% of the subclasses which aren't something you'd just suddenly start being. Obviously you'd need to re-work them a fair bit, but it should be doable.

(I also find it amusing that very few people have pointed out how obviously MMORPG-derived this is. MMORPGs, for a very long time, since at least DAoC in 2001, and probably earlier, have done this thing where you start as a generic base class and then have to pick a "real" class at level 5 or 10. I guess because WoW didn't do it, people forgot or didn't know or something?)

Cleric, Sorcerer, and Warlock choose at Level 1 right now, Wizard and Druid at 2, then everyone else at 3. But yeah, that's not how anyone plans a character, and the designers have signaled regretting that.

 

[Parmandur]

I agree, but I vehemently dislike his solution.

It’s easy to just call it Focus, perhaps change it to dice rather than points, and move on. Changing it to dice would make stuff that uses the martial arts die less wordy and awkward, but that would require errata to some subclasses.

The die aspect sounds a bit overly fiddle. The "Spell Point" solution is elegant insofar as "Ki Points" are just the spell point variant anyways, amd Ki powers are costed out the same as Spells. Greater rules transparency is valuable for a number of reasons, IMO. But we'll see what they do!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

The die aspect sounds a bit overly fiddle. The "Spell Point" solution is elegant insofar as "Ki Points" are just the spell point variant anyways, amd Ki powers are costed out the same as Spells. Greater rules transparency is valuable for a number of reasons, IMO. But we'll see what they do!

Eh I disagree, and dislike spellpoints and making the class that much a spellcaster.

Using math based on spell slots is one thing, but monks, even renamed mystics, are a martial class. Having a supernatural martial class that doesn’t cast spells is more fun, and using “spell points” on a class with no spells as such is needlessly confusing.

 

[cbwjm]

Though I'm not sure how to determine the number, manoeuvre dice might be quite good for the monk, let the number stack with other classes/feats that gain them might be a good solution, sort of like how spellcasters gain more spell slots when multiclassing, martial characters could gain more manoeuvre dice.

 

[Mistwell]

I think WOTC wants to remove the short rest mechanic from the Warlock for their spells recharging. But I am not sure how they accomplish that.

It's possible they will give them a new kind of rest mechanic which reproduces the encounter mechanic from 4e to recharge.

It's possible they double down on Invocations, and move their powers away from spell lists and toward more invocations which are spells castable Proficiency Bonus Times Per Day mechanic?

Are they going to give them a recharge mechanic on spell usage like a dragon might get a recharge on their breath weapon?

Are they going to give them something like the ability to spend a hit die or level of exhaustion to recover spells?

I don't know. But I think they're going to do something to untie them from short rests.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I think WOTC wants to remove the short rest mechanic from the Warlock for their spells recharging. But I am not sure how they accomplish that.

It's possible they will give them a new kind of rest mechanic which reproduces the encounter mechanic from 4e to recharge.

It's possible they double down on Invocations, and move their powers away from spell lists and toward more invocations which are spells castable Proficiency Bonus Times Per Day mechanic?

Are they going to give them a recharge mechanic on spell usage like a dragon might get a recharge on their breath weapon?

Are they going to give them something like the ability to spend a hit die or level of exhaustion to recover spells?

I don't know. But I think they're going to do something to untie them from short rests.

I doubt they’ll untie them entirely, but they will give an alternate method I think.

My guesses are: a much shorter but still longer than a round “ritual” that can be done as part of a short rest, or an action.

If ritual, it will restore all spent slots, and you can do it a few times per day.

If action, it will restore half your total slots, and you can do it PB/LR, possibly with a time buffer before you can do it again.


What I’d love, would be soemthing like your recharge idea, but…that would probably require a time buffer between recharge checks.

Another idea would be to steal from HeroQuest’ expansion characters and other games. The Warlock in HeroQuest regains their “Demon Form” spell when they kill an enemy. The D&D Warlock might regain a single slot this way, X/day.