D&D 5E A Bit More on Subclasses from the Escapist

[the Jester]

There's a small amount of additional info on the various subclasses at the Escapist:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...st&utm_medium=index_carousel&utm_campaign=all

Cheers!

 

[variant]

So the ninja and Avatar is covered under the monk class.

Disappointed one of the ranger subclasses isn't without spells.

 

[the Jester]

So the ninja and Avatar is covered under the monk class.

Disappointed one of the ranger subclasses isn't without spells.

I bet it's feasible to swap in a subclass that gets features where the PH builds get new spell levels.

 

[Crothian]

Has there been any subclasses that take out a large class feature like spells? It seems it might be easier to just make a Fighter Subclass that has wilderness abilities then to try to remove spells from the ranger and do it well.

 

[tuxgeo]

The thing I'm interested in, and still don't know, is this:

Bardic College of Valor: "Medium Armor?" Or "Medium Armor and Shields?"

The 4E Bard got Shield Proficiency, and each 1st-level 4E character automatically received at least one Feat. Any 4E Bard could take Shield Proficiency using that Feat; but 5E restricts the availability of feats drastically. Without Shield Proficiency, my 4E Valorous Bard (with a Shield) is going to have to start out with a level of Ranger (at 1st level) in order to use the same mini if playing in 5E instead of 4E.

 

[ppaladin123]

The thing I'm interested in, and still don't know, is this:

Bardic College of Valor: "Medium Armor?" Or "Medium Armor and Shields?"

The 4E Bard got Shield Proficiency, and each 1st-level 4E character automatically received at least one Feat. Any 4E Bard could take Shield Proficiency using that Feat; but 5E restricts the availability of feats drastically. Without Shield Proficiency, my 4E Valorous Bard (with a Shield) is going to have to start out with a level of Ranger (at 1st level) in order to use the same mini if playing in 5E instead of 4E.

The alpha PHB gives both medium armor proficiency and shields. And then a second attack at level 6. This does not seem overpowered in the slightest so I think there is a good chance that the final PHB will be the same.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I seem to remember the public playtest Elemental Monk getting unique class only abilities for their powers, and many of those unique abilities sucking (especially the fire abilities) compared to others (like the air abilities). It looks like they've replaced a bunch of those with spells, which might make some of their options better and some of them worse than they were in the playtest.

 

[Quickleaf]

Disappointed one of the ranger subclasses isn't without spells.

Me too!

I would like to see a ranger with lots of exploration abilities and some kind of bow tricks and snares. Admittedly, the ranger spells from the last playtest cover a lot of ground (pun intended).

Has there been any subclasses that take out a large class feature like spells? It seems it might be easier to just make a Fighter Subclass that has wilderness abilities then to try to remove spells from the ranger and do it well.

I think the key here is the Eldritch Knight fighter sub-class which values limited spellcasting (similar to a Ranger) to a Martial Path. Therefor, whatever is added to the spell-less Ranger should be approximately worth a sub-class. I know it's a duh! thing to say, but I would use this as a basis of comparison with other sub-classes for non spellcaster (e.g. barbarians, fighters, rogues).

A while back I did a homebrew playtest Ranger who had no spells but instead got the following abilities:
Scouting: The ability to detect enemies in an ever widening radius (advancing by level) during a short rest with no chance of the Ranger being detected so long as they just observe.
4e style wilderness knacks: A choice of small abilities as they level up, things like healing more when using Plant Lore.
Trick Shots: Awesome at-will combat maneuvers with a bow.
Aiming & Sniping: Extra damage when spending time aiming at a target or when attacking from hiding.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I bet it's feasible to swap in a subclass that gets features where the PH builds get new spell levels.

None of the classes which have a subclass doesn't get spells get abilities at the right levels for that, sadly (Alpha, anyway).

I think the key here is the Eldritch Knight fighter sub-class which values limited spellcasting (similar to a Ranger) to a Martial Path. Therefor, whatever is added to the spell-less Ranger should be approximately worth a sub-class.

Broadly agree, but please note that the EK gets LESS spellcasting than the Ranger, quite a bit less, when all is said and done.

Still, I think the "quick and dirty" spell-less Ranger would be just taking away spells and giving the Ranger both subclasses of Ranger's abilities (and maybe an extra attack at 10th/11th).

In general looking at this list it's interesting to see what it adds to D&D, archetype-wise. None of it is completely un-touched ground, but what strikes me as effectively new is:

Oath of the Ancients Paladin - The idea that a Paladin can be this sort of pre-gods, protect-the-light/beauty live-drink-love figure is pretty nifty.

Way of the Shadows - Ninja is usually a Rogue sub-class or relative in modern editions, but a Monk sub-class makes huge sense, covers a huge number of fantasy figures very well (old and new), and generally seems like a very smart use of a sub-class.

Way of Four Elements - Great way to get Avatar/Street Fighter-type characters into proceedings. Rarely seen anything like this in D&D (not never, of course).

Totem Warrior - We've seen a ton of (often obscure) totem-ish classes, subclasses, kits and so on in D&D over the years, but I think making such a thing a part of a main PHB class opens D&D up a bit, and is a very smart move.

OTOH, I think the EK and Arcane Trickster are actually bad uses of subclasses, which the MC rules should have dealt with, particularly as neither really meshes well with fantasy fiction figures who use both skill-at-arms/stealth and magic. YMMV, etc.!

Still the Paladin and Monk additions alone generally improve the game and add to it significantly, I feel.

 

[Klaus]

So the ninja and Avatar is covered under the monk class.

Disappointed one of the ranger subclasses isn't without spells.

Just make a Ranger 1/Fighter X.