Level Up (A5E) Every Archetype in A5e AND 3PP

[Morrus]

Small nit-picky ramble here: as this list grows, and as a DM with a party that really likes to build characters from very strong ideas of what they want them to be / act like, I wonder if there's ever going to be a way to get some sort of preview of all of these archetypes. "Field Agent" and "Shepherd" don't really convey much in terms of "how does this subclass actually work, what does it do?", and DriveThruRPG doesn't provide anything more than just the description, which is usually just maybe a handful of words, often just the title of each feature with no further information? I'd love to be wrong on that if I am.

I do totally understand the argument is "Well these books are usually pretty cheap, less than $20, and you get multiple things out of them" but if that's not what my campaign needs, if my party is just looking for let's say a new bard subclass because the current ones aren't cutting it, all that extra stuff is meaningless, and I'm essentially blind-buying with fingers-crossed hoping that the name is indicative of a system me and my party are really looking for. Further, as the system grows and more people publish, more books will release that will have their own cost, and while small this will add up for any curious people looking to just... peruse options. If I have a player that wants to multiclass into Barbarian and there are 10 subclasses spread out across 10 books, well that's, what, $100 to spend just for 90 of those dollars to go to waste, because the player can only settle on one subclass at the end of the day.

I appreciate extra content a lot, and I know personally how long it can take to homebrew and test all of this, but the way this all seems right now is just a gamble, and that makes me and my party not want to even risk it. We would and have paid for quality content in the past, but to not even know what the product is other than a few words is just not worth that risk in most cases. I think having some light preview, perhaps the flavour text without the mechanics being explained could be helpful, or more ideally, if someone could purchase individual parts of these books at a reduced price. I'd gamble on 10 new Ranger subclasses if they were $1 each.

That's really down to the individual creators and how they choose to market their products.

 

[xiphumor]

Small nit-picky ramble here: as this list grows, and as a DM with a party that really likes to build characters from very strong ideas of what they want them to be / act like, I wonder if there's ever going to be a way to get some sort of preview of all of these archetypes. "Field Agent" and "Shepherd" don't really convey much in terms of "how does this subclass actually work, what does it do?", and DriveThruRPG doesn't provide anything more than just the description, which is usually just maybe a handful of words, often just the title of each feature with no further information? I'd love to be wrong on that if I am.

I do totally understand the argument is "Well these books are usually pretty cheap, less than $20, and you get multiple things out of them" but if that's not what my campaign needs, if my party is just looking for let's say a new bard subclass because the current ones aren't cutting it, all that extra stuff is meaningless, and I'm essentially blind-buying with fingers-crossed hoping that the name is indicative of a system me and my party are really looking for. Further, as the system grows and more people publish, more books will release that will have their own cost, and while small this will add up for any curious people looking to just... peruse options. If I have a player that wants to multiclass into Barbarian and there are 10 subclasses spread out across 10 books, well that's, what, $100 to spend just for 90 of those dollars to go to waste, because the player can only settle on one subclass at the end of the day.

I appreciate extra content a lot, and I know personally how long it can take to homebrew and test all of this, but the way this all seems right now is just a gamble, and that makes me and my party not want to even risk it. We would and have paid for quality content in the past, but to not even know what the product is other than a few words is just not worth that risk in most cases. I think having some light preview, perhaps the flavour text without the mechanics being explained could be helpful, or more ideally, if someone could purchase individual parts of these books at a reduced price. I'd gamble on 10 new Ranger subclasses if they were $1 each.

I agree that this would be very useful, but it’s a super tall order for all of them! However, I’ll tell you what: I can at least respond on an individual basis to someone who wants a preview of one of these archetypes or is looking for advice as to what might fit, as I own nearly all of the material (which isn’t because I’m rolling in cash. I have a deal with certain publishers who give me free content in exchange for my statistics.)

 

[steels12]

I agree that this would be very useful, but it’s a super tall order for all of them! However, I’ll tell you what: I can at least respond on an individual basis to someone who wants a preview of one of these archetypes or is looking for advice as to what might fit, as I own nearly all of the material (which isn’t because I’m rolling in cash. I have a deal with certain publishers who give me free content in exchange for my statistics.)

It's definitely not something I'm demanding in any way, these were just some thoughts I had. I figured the people making these products might be interested in hearing what some people think about the marketing style. But I also do 1000% sympathize with the struggle of "Well if I preview too much, people will just yoink it and not pay me for my work" which is an equally legitimate concern

 

[Morrus]

I have a deal with certain publishers who give me free content in exchange for my statistics.

That's a good deal! I have to buy most things if I want to see them! They don't even usually tell me they've released something!

 

[xiphumor]

That's a good deal! I have to buy most things if I want to see them! They don't even usually tell me they've released something!

I’m happy to pass along my list of products if you want to keep the a5e.tools website 3PP page up to date!

 

[xiphumor]

EDIT: Added Primal Sorcery from The Rogue’s Collection

 

[xiphumor]

EDIT: Added GPG #21. With that, the Artificer overtakes the Savant and is no longer the least supported official class, although it is still the least supported when restricted to official archetypes.

 

[xiphumor]

EDIT: Added Legends of Strength

 

[FletcherHubbard]

I'm thinking maybe instead of doing more Thematic Speed Test Toolkit releases once I get caught up, I should focus on under-served class support.

 

[xiphumor]

EDIT: Added the Arcane Exterminator from Speaks & Spells Publishing