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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 9224310" data-attributes="member: 2013">I'll play your game, you rogue.IMO what this needs to be after is one class that attempts to showcase the various D&D mechanics (in approximately the order in which I feel they should be included). Thus:CLASSES:1. Fighter - Champion2. Cleric - Life Domain3. Rogue - Thief4. Wizard - School of Evocation5. Bard - College of LoreRACES:1. Human2. Dwarf3. Halfling4. Elf5. GnomeWHY?1. Fighter - Champion (showcases the basic weapon/armor Mechanics, usually emphasizes the Strength ability score, part of the Tank/DPS/Healer trinity in most current games - usually as the Tank but could be DPS based on build, so easy for new players to understand the niche quickly)2. Cleric - Life Domain (showcases divine magic and with prepared spells in the life domain, the cleric fills the niche of healer, something most new players are used to from the Tank/DPS/Healer form of many games; the cleric's armor also provides a front-line semi-tank type at low levels, usually emphasizes the Wisdom ability score).3. Rogue - Thief (showcases physical skills but also showcases alternate combat style in Sneak Attack and alternate magic style with Use Magic Device, usually emphasizes the Dexterity ability score; completes the gamer holy trinity of tank/DPS/Healer as the DPS)4. Wizard - School of Evocation (Chosen because it is the only class that showcases the Intelligence ability score; there are several classes that utilize Charisma; it's also a classic "blast mage" which many players like - if there were more classes that ran on Intelligence, I'd probably rather go with Sorcerer as the classic Arcane Caster since it's simpler to just have "Known Spells" than "Prepared Spells" but showcasing each ability score is important to me for the purposes of this exercise).5. Bard - College of Lore (Emphasizes the Charisma score, users "Known Spells" spellcasting instead of "Prepared Spells" so it showcases the Magic System in a different way, Bardic Inspiration gives you a second flavor of "Support" besides the Cleric)1. Human - You need a familiar default against which the other races can be contrasted. All players should be familiar with at least one human and probably a lot more.2. Dwarf - I couldn't showcase Constitution in a class, so let's showcase it in a race instead. They also introduce the "darkvision" mechanic which almost every non-human race seems to be gifted with these days, so let's use the dwarves to introduce it and rationalize it ("they live underground and this is how their eyes evolved to see in the dark"). Also introduces the Speed mechanic and how it may vary among creatures.3. Halfling - Introduces the rules for different sized creatures with a race most new players will quickly recognize as familiar (hobbits).4. Elf - Because they've been a fantasy staple for centuries. While I personally find them somewhat insufferable, large numbers of players, especially new players, love elves. They also carry on the darkvision dwarves introduced and also make "innate cantrips" - another popular feature of expansion races - intuitive for new players to understand since elves are traditionally magically inclined.5. Gnome - Reinforces darkvision (dwarves), size (halflings), and introduces "custom tinkery items"  - most new players want the ability to make cool stuff and this gives some nice starting points for unusual gear a player might want to carry.WHY NOT?Who didn't make the cut:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Barbarian - Doesn't showcase the basic Weapons combat system as well as the Fighter does. Rage is fun, but not a mechanic uses elsewhere. The armorless and mobility mechanics are also showcased by the Monk, but the Monk probably does them better and would make the cut before the Barbarian would anyway.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Druid - Class is interesting, but Life Cleric's ability to easily fill the familiar "Healer" role makes the Cleric the better Wisdom-showcase class. Also, ability to shapeshift into an animal causes a lot of complexity in role play situations which is undesirable for new DMs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monk - Has his own custom system for unarmed combat that nobody else uses. Class is high on "cool" factor, and super-mobility is an interesting mechanic, but the class does not showcase BASIC mechanics, especially in the way the Fighter does.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Paladin - Class has always been kind of a Cleric/Fighter Gish. As initially implemented, class was a good way to draw bright lines for "good guys" (desirable in a beginner game) but over the past few revisions, has strayed far from its LG origins (yes, I know, alignment isn't a thing any more) and thus its utility of drawing good guy/bad guy lines is diminished - and that gain for RPG vets is a loss for RPG newbs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ranger - See Barbarian. Animal Companion might be interesting, but it amounts to controlling two characters instead of one and this increases the complexity. That's not a "Basic" thing.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sorcerer - Would be on the list as the classic Arcane Caster if there was another Int-based class as mentioned above (would have put at #2 as I think this class showcases the easiest learn of the D&D magic system but Bardic casting, which used to be Sorcerer-lite is now near Sorcerer levels of power and the bard has more going on mechanically IMO)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Warlock - I wouldn't hate swapping out the Bard and using the Warlock as the Charisma-based class; however, the Warlock's spellcasting mechanics are a bit niche - again, you want to showcase "Basic Class mechanics" that get used again for when your Basic players are ready for more options. The Bard prepares players for the greater spell variety (and metamagic) sorcerers offer as "Known Spell" casters, the Warlock not so much. (While I love the flavor of the warlock, I find the mechanics of the warlock extremely clunky and limiting).</li> </ul><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dragonborn - Totally alien races aren't my cup of tea in a Basic setup. You want things to start as simple deviations from human (dwarves are dour, stocky humans with beards, elves are flighty, skinny humans with pointy ears, etc.) Dragonborn are to me too alien and their proximity to dragons - traditional creatures of great power - makes me uncomfortable with them for "basic" play. In addition, creatures that are too alien in appearance either require a world with tolerance levels that are so high as to be remarked upon or with tolerance levels that are low enough that you're going to have some racist clashes. Either one of these is likely to spark uncomfortable political conversations about racism in the real world and while those are worthy conversations to have with mature adults, they're off-putting enough to some that the very discussion itself will poison their view of the game. A "Basic" game is introductory and should steer away from such controversy. That stuff is probably better-suited to later expansions once people are in the RPG fold and have more open minds and are accustomed to RPGs - like other fantasy - being a vehicle through which we can safely explore sensitive topics we might not be able to directly address in the real world as easily.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Tiefling - In this house, we obey the laws of genetics. Also, Basic play usually means introductory play which usually means younger players... the origins of these races become progressively trickier to explain to younger players (who wants to explain when the ten-year old realizes that his tiefling's Grandparent had sexual congress with a devil/demon and asks about it)? Explaining to mature adults? Sure. But for the sake of Basic rules we have to consider that to some degree there will be an aim at a younger crowd and those kinds of discussions can lead to bad press with some parents.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">More exotic creatures - besides access to abilities that can break a new DM (Aarakocra get flight, anyone), for the most part more exotic player races raise issues already discussed under Dragonborn or Half-Races above - they're usually either too alien for a new player to relate to OR discussing ancestry may lead to some uncomfortable conversations. Save them for non-Basic products.</li> </ul>(Yes, basically my complaint on all the other races is they may lead to conversations about race and/or sex. I don't object to having these conversations among mature adults, but very often a "Basic" product will involve participants that are not mature adults and these participants - or their parents - tend to find these conversations objectionable, so I think it's a good idea to steer clear of such things in a "Basic" product. You want a Basic product to not only be "vanilla" in rules, but also need to walk the line between being "compelling enough to draw people in" without "making too many choices that will offend segments of your potential audience" - to some degree, then, "vanilla" in themes and story.)</blockquote>

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