D&D 5E Should the Paladin be changed into a more generic half-caster magic knight?

[DEFCON 1]

then the swordmage specifically fills the niche of 'is primed against dealing with X kind of threats' or 'uses X focus to defend against threats.'

If there's a good and solid X to choose and use, I think the idea might eventually gain legs. As I've said previously, the primary warrior/arcanist in pop culture and fiction right now is the Witcher, with X being monsters and potions and defending commonfolk from said monsters. So if the game decided to incorporate the Witcher (or their own version of the Blood Hunter) into their class list, you might have something there.

The only issue is that I think too many people don't actually want that. They want the open-ended warrior/arcanist mechanics for the sake of mechanics so they can make their characters into whatever they want. But with the Eldritch Knight and the Fighter/Wizard multiclass already available to them and they just refusing them because those two don't have "special and unique" features and mechanics (which apparently seems to be the only reason to play a warrior/arcanist for those folks), they turn their nose up at them.

 

[Mind of tempest]

If there's a good and solid X to choose and use, I think the idea might eventually gain legs. As I've said previously, the primary warrior/arcanist in pop culture and fiction right now is the Witcher, with X being monsters and potions and defending commonfolk from said monsters. So if the game decided to incorporate the Witcher (or their own version of the Blood Hunter) into their class list, you might have something there.

The only issue is that I think too many people don't actually want that. They want the open-ended warrior/arcanist mechanics for the sake of mechanics so they can make their characters into whatever they want. But with the Eldritch Knight and the Fighter/Wizard multiclass already available to them and they just refusing them because those two don't have "special and unique" features and mechanics (which apparently seems to be the only reason to play a warrior/arcanist for those folks), they turn their nose up at them.

dude stop worrying they will just re-fluff it.
the point of unique mechanics it to make it separate from the multi-class in much the same way paladin is not a cleric fighter multiclass

 

[Maxperson]

Has D&D ever promised players the game could handle whatever we might want to use it for? I came to the conclusion back in 1990-1991 that AD&D couldn't handle whatever I might want to use it for after I tried to adapt Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. I gave it some thought and marveled at how unlike almost every fantasy book or movie I had ever read up until that time D&D was. D&D has always been distinctly D&D.

Did you ever get a look at the d20 Wheel of Time?

 

[Frozen_Heart]

If there's a good and solid X to choose and use, I think the idea might eventually gain legs.

Sadly I don't think it's possible for the idea to get anywhere anymore, or any other class idea.

The DnD designers have stated that they want less classes, rather than more, so if some future edition did come out we'd probably be looking at the class list being reduced instead.

Could easily result in the angry "where swordmage?" mob being joined by an angry "where ranger?", and "where paladin?" mob instead.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Sadly I don't think it's possible for the idea to get anywhere anymore, or any other class idea.

The DnD designers have stated that they want less classes, rather than more, so if some future edition did come out we'd probably be looking at the class list being reduced instead.

Could easily result in the angry "where swordmage?" mob being joined by an angry "where ranger?", and "where paladin?" mob instead.

why what do the plan to sell, people already complain about sub class bloat?

 

[Shardstone]

why what do the plan to sell, people already complain about sub class bloat?

Perkins said in an interview sometime within the couple of months that if he could go back, he'd have made the game with fewer classes in it.

 

[DEFCON 1]

why what do the plan to sell, people already complain about sub class bloat?

Presumably the same kinds of stuff they have sold for the last 10 years? And who are these people complaining about subclass "bloat"? I mean I'm sure there's been a few people over the decade, but that has never been a concerted group concern at all by the D&D playerbase. Heck, I heard more people complaining that these new books were merely revising already-produced subclasses rather than creating entirely new ones.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Sadly I don't think it's possible for the idea to get anywhere anymore, or any other class idea.

The DnD designers have stated that they want less classes, rather than more, so if some future edition did come out we'd probably be looking at the class list being reduced instead.

Could easily result in the angry "where swordmage?" mob being joined by an angry "where ranger?", and "where paladin?" mob instead.

Partially disagree (conditionally). If 6th edition ever gets produced, it'll most likely only happen after the current crop of lead designers are let go from the company and an entire new suite has taken over and they decide to make a full break from the current design paradigm. At that point the current designer concern of "less classes" will change to whatever this new crop would feel.

So sure, there could be less classes in 6E, but only if the next wave of D&D designers chose to go in that direction. But as we don't know who those people are, we cannot say that is in any way a certainty. For all we know, they could decide that 6E gets rid of subclasses and just goes with new classes instead.

 

[MGibster]

Did you ever get a look at the d20 Wheel of Time?

It's been like 20 years but I recall it being pretty bad.

 

[Micah Sweet]

why what do the plan to sell, people already complain about sub class bloat?

Adventures, I guess?