Has anyone eliminated the four cores?

[Desdichado]

Yeah, you talking about eliminating them from the world altogether, or simply not having the "balanced party?" If you mean the latter, then yes, practically every time I've played. If you mean the former, then yes, about 50% of the time we have eliminated some at least of them, or are playing with a ruleset that doesn't have those specific archetypes (Cthulhu, Diamond Throne, Modern, etc.)

 

[Gez]

I've had the crazy idea, once Complete Adventurer and the not-announced-but-half-expected Complete Gone Wild p) are published, to run a campagn with only the base classes from these books. The 11 core classes banned, but the 15 ones in.

Anyway, in any game that ditch the Rogue class altogether, one has to also ditch the silly rule that only rogues can find and disable magic traps.

 

[Evilhalfling]

I have played a few games without thieves, using dispel, knocks and Fly spells
to avoid traps -
And a all psionic group, cleric/Pyrokentic, Soulknife, Psion, and Ranger/PsiWarrior

but for a campaign, it would be difficult to explain removing fighters or thieves, Wheel of Time dropped clerics, giving healing to Channlers,

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I've never played in a campaign which banned more than one of them - by which I mean that I have played in a game which banned clerics so as to cut off the characters from healing magic (other classes' spell lists were altered) - but, at a guess, I'd say that wizards and clerics are the most often banned, and that by DMs who want to get away from the traditional tropes of D&D magic.

Rogues would run a very distant third, and would probably be banned only by those DMs with an exacting intolerance for skillmonkeys who are necessarily useful in combat; the type who always want to see a PC-level expert class.

I'd be surprised if anyone banned fighters in an anotherwise straightforward D&D campaign.

 

[Greylock]

Well, I'm currnetly playing a game without a Cleric or Wizard, and I believe the GM has had to adjust gameplay more than a little bit .

But I really can't imagine a game without a fighter. It goes too much against the grain of the real. In any group of Joe's or Jane's you are going to find more than enough folks willing to give and take blows for whatever reason. I can gather a posse in seconds flat IRL.

 

[drnuncheon]

Usually in such cases you'll find alternate fighter-types - AU has the Warmain (for the heavy-armor 'tanks') and unfettered (for the light-armor Dex monkies).

J

 

[Remathilis]

A thought...

Doe the Grim Tales/d20 Modern Ability-Score based classes count?

 

[JackGiantkiller]

I've had the crazy idea, once Complete Adventurer and the not-announced-but-half-expected Complete Gone Wild p) are published, to run a campagn with only the base classes from these books. The 11 core classes banned, but the 15 ones in.

Anyway, in any game that ditch the Rogue class altogether, one has to also ditch the silly rule that only rogues can find and disable magic traps.

If you use the Artificer from Eberron, he also gets that ability. Poof. No need for rogue, cleric, or wizard. One character can filll all three roles.

 

[Masquerade]

I'm currently playing in a game with a bard, hexblade, paladin, and two fighters for PCs. So, yes, we are playing without three of the four "cores". It feels very different when your party has next to nothing in terms of spellcasting but enough attack power to tango with high-AC foes from low levels.