Wow thanks for all the replys. Lots of good stuff here.
As it stands I only want to use the four core classes without multiclassing. The idea of classes as being archetypes really appeals to me. I would like classes to be a common starting point, a chassis, that I can hang my character ideas.
I was thinking about racial classes acting as hybrids, which has been brought up a few times so far. I don't see this as being much of a stretch because I feel clerics already fill a hybrid niche, that of a fighter/mage. Plus they have a few of their own things, such as turning and different spell lists, which make them unique. I do however think that effort must be taken to ensure that racial classes remain simple while still retaining as much flavour as possible to keep them interesting.
As it stands I only want to use the four core classes without multiclassing. The idea of classes as being archetypes really appeals to me. I would like classes to be a common starting point, a chassis, that I can hang my character ideas.
I was thinking about racial classes acting as hybrids, which has been brought up a few times so far. I don't see this as being much of a stretch because I feel clerics already fill a hybrid niche, that of a fighter/mage. Plus they have a few of their own things, such as turning and different spell lists, which make them unique. I do however think that effort must be taken to ensure that racial classes remain simple while still retaining as much flavour as possible to keep them interesting.