D&D 5E Challenge: Invent a PHB Class List with 6 Classes

[EzekielRaiden]

Serious question: what's the most recent poll on the most popular character classes? At least you could see what everyone likes to play. I've seen, for example, that 'evil' options like half-orcs and tieflings and warlocks ('evil' in quotes as the character of course may not be evil at all, but will be perceived to be) have become more popular. You can Google around and find a bunch, but I'm wondering if anyone has a sense of what the most recent one is.

IIRC, it's not too surprising and hasn't changed as much as the top races, where Dragonborn have been making a slow but steady rise over the course of 5e. I don't think D&D Beyond has released data since 2020, so we kinda have only that data to go on.

And from this, it would seem the top six classes are Fighter, Rogue, Warlock, Wizard, Cleric, and Barbarian. Which, curiously, means that the top six classes actually DO give us a six-attribute spread: Fighter (Str), Barbarian (Con), Rogue (Dex), Wizard (Int), Cleric (Wis), and Warlock (Cha).

 

[Dausuul]

Thinking about it some more...

My original lineup grouped bard, cleric, and paladin together under "Priest." That's an obvious fit for cleric and paladin, but less so for the bard. I'm thinking "Priest" should be replaced with "Advocate," focusing on a character who supports the party through inspiring oratory or divine blessings.

In addition to making the bard a more natural fit, this would also open up space for a fourth subclass: The warlord.

So, my lineup becomes:

Warrior (barbarian, fighter) - tough brawlers who can go toe-to-toe with big nasty stuff
Hunter (ranger, rogue) - fast, evasive types who prefer to hit hard and get out
Arcanist (wizard, artificer) - "glass cannon" types with limited-use destructive powers
Advocate (bard, cleric, paladin, warlord) - characters with a strong focus on supporting the party
Mystic (monk, sorcerer, psion) - wielders of innate supernatural power
Witch (druid, warlock) - characters who ally themselves with non-divine entities

 

[Horwath]

Class adventurer:

every level you get certain number of "feat points"

every ability in game has a price in points.

some have level prereq, some need other features taken before.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Strong hero
Fast Hero
Hearty Hero
Intelligent Hero
Wise Hero
Charismatic Hero

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Strong hero
Fast Hero
Hearty Hero
Intelligent Hero
Wise Hero
Charismatic Hero

Joking aside, this is how Beowulf 5e from Handiwork works. You have one class: Hero. Your choice of archetype and feats is how you customize you character, focusing on one primary ability.

 

[Lanefan]

I'm surprised how many people think Bard needs to be its own class. I mostly think of it as a rogue with a lute. If you also want a bunch of spells, multi-class.

Personally I think Bard needs to be its own class even more than it already is, using sonic transmission and the physics of sound for its quasi-magical effects and thus getting its own entirely bespoke set of mechanics and spells or spell-like effects.

Dispel Magic won't stop these guys. Silence will. Deaf targets are unaffected by a lot of what a Bard can do, but not everything. And so on - there's an open prairie worth of design space here.

 

[Lanefan]

And yet, the final list of classes--Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Monk, Rogue, Wizard--feels odd from an a priori perspective. I would have never picked bard and monk for the final cut.

I find it interesting that @see ended up with the exact same list of 6 classes that I did, even though our reasoning behind them wasn't quite the same.

 

[Blue Orange]

I find it interesting that @see ended up with the exact same list of 6 classes that I did, even though our reasoning behind them wasn't quite the same.

They're the least similar to the basic 4 (cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard)?

 

[Lanefan]

Best I can do is reduce down to nine

Courtier
Crusader

Hunter

Mage

Martilal Artist: Light and no armored fighters. Maneuvers and Precise Martial Strikes

Priest: Robed and Light Armored Holy People

Scholar

Thief: Backstabby sneak attack rogues

Warrior: Medium and Heavy Armor warriors

Given this list and the subclasses (deleted for brevity) I wonder what is stopping you from combining Crusader and Warrior into one class, and Mage and Scholar into another? That'd get you down to seven.

And what does a Courtier do? What current class(es) does it map to, and could it be combined with another to get you down to six?

 

[Lanefan]

They're the least similar to the basic 4 (cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard)?

That and they don't nicely fit into any of the core four due to their different mechanics.