Ondo
First Post
Yeah, I added that in.The races section mentions both goliath and half-orc. Goliath seem to favor Str and Con. Half-Orcs Str and neither Con nor Cha.
Thanks! Yeah, in context it's clear that the empath will be a psionic leader. Added to the first post.The link to the site is:
The one and only "Ask the Realms authors/designers thread" 4 - Page 10 - Wizards Community
The empath is referred to in the same breath as the bard.
Also did a bit of rewriting and maintenance on the first post - specifics follow:
Removed this:
A playtest version of the Barbarian is planned for the October issue of Dragon (source).
Replaced this:
with this:A playtest version of the Barbarian is planned for the October issue of Dragon. The final version will be in the Player's Handbook II.
The Barbarian will be a Primal Striker, and a playtest version is available here. It will be in the Player's Handbook II.
Replaced this:
with this:Mike Mearls discusses the PHB2 on Gamer Radio Zero here. Some highlights: "If there's stuff in the Player's Handbook that you're like, 'hey, where's this class', it's probably going to be in the Player's Handbook 2." Also new classes - a cleric that's a bit more on the spellcaster-y side, a striker that's a "deadly and dangerous" kind of guy. The druid (I think the 3.5 druid, but I'm not sure) is the main example of a primal character, and other primal classes do things that will remind you of the druid, but in their own unique way. He lists the first letters of each class in the PHB2 - D, B, B, W, I, T, S, S (after this correction). He also says "I think only three of those are classes that anyone has ever seen before. I think the other ones are all new classes, completely new to Dungeons & Dragons." However, when asked on his blog how many classes are new he says "Three are completely and utterly new. The rest are either classes or old concepts revisited." (source)
One of the classes is a Leader class that "travels with a 'buddy' who keeps the party in tip-top shape" (source).
and this:We also know:
- The other classes start with W, I, T, and S (source).
- Discussing the classes: "Three are completely and utterly new. The rest are either classes or old concepts revisited." (source)
- There's a new class that's "like a cleric, but a bit more on the spellcaster-y side" (source).
- There's a new class that's a Striker with a different flavor - "a guy who's a little more, maybe, deadly and dangerous kind of guy, not like a rogue, but a killer guy in a different sort of way." (source).
- One of the classes is a Leader class that "travels with a 'buddy' who keeps the party in tip-top shape" (source).
Specific Power Sources
Primal
They're using the aspects of the druid as the bedrock to build the other primal classes - they'll do things that will remind you of the druid, but in their own unique way (source).
I also removed this, because I don't think it's interesting info anymore:
Misc.
On The Tome, Andy Collins was asked about upcoming Controllers, and said they're still in the early design phase of the next wave of classes, but mentioned the Sorcerer is possible for that role, and they're thinking about a Divine Controller and some form of Psionic Controller. (It's at about 23:25 in the podcast.) He also mentioned "you're not going to see the Cleric throwing around Flame Strike type powers really frequently", but "when we get around to a Divine Controller class he will probably have more of those type of effects". (At about 27:30.)