OSR Fun supplemental classes for a 3.5/BX Core book

[thirdkingdom]

I'm working on finalizing the classes for the Bree-YARC Core rules: in addition to the classic four (cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief) I've got nine supplemental classes: bard, berserker, druid, hexblade, monk, paladin, ranger, sorcerer, and warlock. I'd like to have one more supplemental class to bring the total up to 10. BY is a love-song mashup of B/X and 3rd edition. My top choices are:

 

[sevenbastard]

Im always partial to the swashbuckler. Or any dex based fighting class with stealth.

 

[Thraic Ogmund]

My vote goes toward an artificer, alchemist, or something else non-magical that relies on science/smarts to achieve magic-type effects.

 

[Mannahnin]

I'm working on finalizing the classes for the Bree-YARC Core rules: in addition to the classic four (cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief) I've got nine supplemental classes: bard, berserker, druid, hexblade, monk, paladin, ranger, sorcerer, and warlock. I'd like to have one more supplemental class to bring the total up to 10. BY is a love-song mashup of B/X and 3rd edition. My top choices are:

Are you doing a la carte multiclassing like 3E, or single-class like B/X?

If the latter, as I would infer from you having Elditch Knight and Duskblade as options, out of the ones you've listed I guess I pick Eldritch Knight, because a fighter-mage (usually elvish or half-elven) is such a key trope in both old school D&D and WotC-era D&D.

I think one of the great innovations in Hyperborea!, as a point of comparison, is that they replaced the arguably-broken and complex multiclassing system from OD&D and AD&D with bespoke carefully-designed hybrid classes which fill the same niches. But its list of 22 subclasses is kind of a lot, so I think there's room for other games which like B/X don't do multiclassing to do similar with a tighter, more curated list.

 

[Scribe]

Im always partial to the swashbuckler. Or any dex based fighting class with stealth.

Swashbuckler is always one of my favorites.

 

[thirdkingdom]

Mult

Are you doing a la carte multiclassing like 3E, or single-class like B/X?

If the latter, as I would infer from you having Elditch Knight and Duskblade as options, out of the ones you've listed I guess I pick Eldritch Knight, because a fighter-mage (usually elvish or half-elven) is such a key trope in both old school D&D and WotC-era D&D.

I think one of the great innovations in Hyperborea!, as a point of comparison, is that they replaced the arguably-broken and complex multiclassing system from OD&D and AD&D with bespoke carefully-designed hybrid classes which fill the same niches. But its list of 22 subclasses is kind of a lot, so I think there's room for other games which like B/X don't do multiclassing to do similar with a tighter, more curated list.

Multi-classing is an option, but it looks much more like 3.x, instead of the convoluted mess that is AD&D. Duskblade and eldritch warriors were classes that I had already written up for OSE, so converting them wouldn't be that much of a pain.

 

[RhaezDaevan]

Why have Eldritch Knight, Hexblade, Duskblade and Magus as separate classes when you can just have one warrior-mage class? Then have a list of selectable abilities that are reworked from those classes to give the feel of each.

 

[Mannahnin]

Why have Eldritch Knight, Hexblade, Duskblade and Magus as separate classes when you can just have one warrior-mage class? Then have a list of selectable abilities that are reworked from those classes to give the feel of each.

I'm going to guess that the idea is to closely represent the distinct look & feel of each of those classes, for folks who really liked and want to play the 3.5 originals, without needing to play actual 3.5.

Kind of like how OSE Advanced gives 1E fans Paladins and Rangers and so forth in a B/X framework.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I really like the 3E spell-using assassin, but I find the 1E one to not be meaningfully different than the thieves, assuming that other characters can use poison and disguises. (Although AD&D makes it seem like would-be poisoners are killing themselves all the time, so ...)

That said, the world needs more witch classes and especially for a B/X-toned game, like Bree-YARC, the witch is a great fit.

 

[thirdkingdom]

Pretty much this!

I'm going to guess that the idea is to closely represent the distinct look & feel of each of those classes, for folks who really liked and want to play the 3.5 originals, without needing to play actual 3.5.

Kind of like how OSE Advanced gives 1E fans Paladins and Rangers and so forth in a B/X framework.