A Different Take on Roles

[Hautamaki]

I like the roles as defined but I'd include a few more varieties;

Support Not individually powerful but acts as a force multiplier on allies, and allows allies to keep going longer than they otherwise would. Cleric, Bard, any other buffer

Spiker A class with a limited usage of very powerful abilities that allows him to contribute more to any single given encounter, but as a consequence less to all the rest. Spellcasters, Psions, Barbarians (assuming he can only rage a limited number of times)

 

[ForeverSlayer]

I don't want to be a part of the same puzzle when I play a class. I want to be able, along with the rest of my players, to play what ever class I want without having to worry about party role setup like you did in 4th edition.

My role and my contribution will be left up to me, not the mechanics.

 

[MichaelSomething]

If you're looking for a complete list of possible roles, then TVTropes has it!

 

[Haldrik]

Looks like Power Sources as they are in 4th Ed will be going bye-bye too.

Power Sources will probably continue analogous to the Alignment System. The Power Sources cohere well with the 4e Source Cosmology.

Planar Sources
• Primal = Middle World (aka World, Nature, Natural World, Prime Material Plane, Mortal World, etc.)
• Divine = Astral Sea
• Elemental = Elemental Chaos
• Arcane = Feywild
• Shadow = Shadowfell

Personal Sources
• Martial = Body
• Psionic = Mind

This Cosmology - which I love - is already known to exist in DDN, sidebyside with the 3e Wheel Cosmology.

Normally I will opt out of the “boxes” suggesting how to use the Alignment System, opt in to the “boxes” suggesting how to use the Source System.

 

[Haldrik]

Regarding the Roles.

It seems the Roles will exist in DDN too. However, they seem to become themes for those who choose them.

In this way, players can get mechanics that allow any class to fulfill a particular role.

 

[Bluenose]

I've had enough designed-in pigeon holes. Let players decide based on their choices and roleplay what role the character plays in the party, rather than having it pre-defined by class mechanics.

I want to know how you'll make a Fighter that concentrates on improving the abilities of the other party members while avoiding the front line. Or a Wizard that stands in front of enemies and slogs it out with them in melee, dishing out and taking lots of damage. A Cleric that handles traps and scouting, or a Rogue that is the main party healer. If you can't do that, guess what, your character isn't being allowed to fill any role and has been pigeon-holed.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I want to know how you'll make a Fighter that concentrates on improving the abilities of the other party members while avoiding the front line. Or a Wizard that stands in front of enemies and slogs it out with them in melee, dishing out and taking lots of damage. A Cleric that handles traps and scouting, or a Rogue that is the main party healer. If you can't do that, guess what, your character isn't being allowed to fill any role and has been pigeon-holed.

(1) Archer plus grenade-like weapons
(2) Wizard with Tenser's Transformation
(3) Cleric with a Stealth/Trickery domain and a find traps spell
(4) Potion belt, first aid kit, and scrolls & wands with a use-magic-device-like skill

I'm not saying the base classes should assume those options; I'm saying the base classes shouldn't negate those options.

 

[delericho]

I think the roles are useful as a design tool, but I don't think they should be baked in to the classes. (At the very least, it should be possible to build members of any given class to fill any of several roles - a defender-Fighter, a striker-Fighter or a leader-Fighter, for example.)

I think there is also scope for including a discussion of roles in the PHB, as player advice. However, 4e went way too far with the implementation of roles - characters felt like they were being constructed to fit within a particular mechanical framework, rather than feeling like they were fictional people being translated into a mechanical framework.

That said, 5e also has no business requiring a Cleric, as previous editions did too often. Expanding the Leader role to include the Warlord and Bard was one of the best things done in 4e. IMO, of course.