Classes discarded in PH1 will become talent trees or will remain separated entities?

[Uriens]

It's true that we'd like to "narrow" wizards a bit, and save (for example) some illusion spells for an honest-to-gosh Illusionist class down the road, or necromancy spells for a Necromancer. But wizards will still "splash" at least a few of the iconic powers in these themes of magic. For example, wizards still have Invisibility available to them. But when the Illusionist class comes around, he'll have better Invisibility options.

After reading this, i think that if they are going to split wizards into illusionists, necromancers, and a wizards generalist, i doubt that we'll see monks, barbarians, druids and the other classes as talent trees of fighters and clerics... It's more probable that we'll see them as separate classes in PH2-3 ...

It just does make more sense: if you have to fill more PH with character classes, you can't just create a bunch of strange classes, but you must mix them with some appealing classes

I'm a kind of relieved of this discover, since this may be the only way to consider PH2 and the others, as truly core! I just hope i don't have to wait until PH2 to see the 4e bard!!!!

 

[Nikosandros]

The more classes we'll get, the happier I will be (provided that they are well designed).

 

[dmccoy1693]

How about this question: Why can't there just be total alternate builds to certain classes? i.e. Can't the swashbuclker just be classified as an alternate build to a fighter? Why can't you sorcerer and bard just be alternate builds for a wizard? This way, you'd have fewer classes, but you'd have a number of different ways they could be built. Granted this takes it alot closer to being like True20, but do we really need to rename a class that has the same HP, BAB and Saves.

The 3.x bard is pretty much a music themed sorcerer/rogue. Why can't there just be a music themed wizard? If you want to make something close to the bard, you multiclass with a rogue. Doing it like this, there won't be a 1001 classes, but there will be a number of alternate ways to building the same basic classes. Instead of regional feats, you'd have regional class builds. Instead of racial feats, you'd have racial class builds. IMO, it makes sense for a halfling ranger to have a thrown variation option (yes, I'm thinking of the belkster). Red Wizard of Thay PrC, no more. Red Wizard of Thay alternate wizard class build.

 

[GreatLemur]

Yeah, this isn't really a big surprise. I'd much rather see a slew of new talent trees in upcoming PHBs instead of more classes--it'd obviously be more flexible, and probably more efficient--but it doesn't seem likely that they'd dare go all True20 on us like that. D&D players will abuse the hell out of such flexibility, and telling players "You can be a Necromancer!" probably works a little better for many folks than saying "You can take powers from the Necromancy talent tree!"

I'm thinking I'll be spending a lot of time in the House Rules forum over this issue, discussing the possible balance impact of making talent trees interchangeable between classes to one degree or another.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Yeah, this isn't really a big surprise. I'd much rather see a slew of new talent trees in upcoming PHBs instead of more classes--it'd obviously be more flexible, and probably more efficient--but it doesn't seem likely that they'd dare go all True20 on us like that. D&D players will abuse the hell out of such flexibility, and telling players "You can be a Necromancer!" probably works a little better for many folks than saying "You can take powers from the Necromancy talent tree!"

I don't think they should do it exactly like True20 where you have 1001 feats that you can choose at anytime. But I think there should be distinct trees that a player can go down and "forever will it dominate [the player's] destiny, consume [them] it will." I mean if a player was a necromancer, they can't skip over to the evoker tree because they like that tree better. They're stuck with that tree for life unless they multiclass into something else. But that necromancer can't multiclass into another wizard tree, otherwise you'll end up with some player that has multiclassed rogue 30 times just to have a sneak attack 30d6.

 

[Rechan]

I just had a thought.

What Role does the Illusionist or Necromancer fall into?

 

[The Little Raven]

I just had a thought.

What Role does the Illusionist or Necromancer fall into?

Illusionist could be Controller, and I could see the Necromancer as a Leader.