Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="squibbles" data-source="post: 8287995" data-attributes="member: 6937590">Super cool discussion topic, love it.If I were trying to preserve the spirit of the original PHB with subclasses that both speak to a reasonably broad theme and don't have really boring and/or awful mechanics, I'd choose:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Barbarian, +1 subclass<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Ancestral Guardian--has a great theme and adds something unique to the class</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Berserker--but they'd need to do something about frenzy</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Totem Warrior</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bard, +1 subclass, swap 1 subclass<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+College of Eloquence--maybe with a small nerf, it's a bit stronger than the others with Unfailing Inspiration</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">College of Lore</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">~College of Swords--it has more pizazz than Valor and subsumes its theme</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Cleric, swap 1 subclass, there doesn't need to be a nature cleric and a druid--and nature cleric features are meh<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">~Death Domain--it's broad and thematic without the noodly specifics of grave or arcana, or the powercreep of twilight</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Knowledge Domain</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Life Domain</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Light Domain</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tempest Domain</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Trickery Domain</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">War Domain</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Druid, +1 subclass, swap 1 subclass<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">~Circle of Dreams, replaces Land as the generic subclass since it strong has support/caster mechanics</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Circle of the Moon, but balanced according to a power curve that isn't insane</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Circle of Stars, because I arbitrarily like it<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dreams, Moon, and Stars are a flavorful set of subclass names together</li> </ul></li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fighter, swap 1 subclass<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Battle Master</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">~Champion--it'd be called Champion, but have Samurai features instead--it's still simple but not senselessly simple</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Eldritch Knight</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Monk, +1 subclass<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Way of the Four Elements--but make it not weak and janky, this is a cool idea that falls flat because of poor mechanics</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Way of Mercy--because it's the only well designed monk they've published</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Way of the Open Hand</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Way of Shadow--can't be without a ninja subclass</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Paladin, no changes, I personally hate paladins, but their design is very good in 5e and the PHB subclasses cover a ton of territorry</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ranger, +1 subclass, swap 1 subclass, but yeesh, most of the Tasha's options should replace the base features<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Beast Master--but using the Tasha's templates</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Fey Wanderer--because it has novel and interesting features and a good theme</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">~Some kind of Hunter/monster slayer hybrid--they both need help; one is just a grab bag of rejected fighter features from the next playtest, the other has a great theme that is poorly executed</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rogue, +2 subclasses<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Arcane Trickster</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Assassin--but with the intrigue and combat features more evenly distributed across levels</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Mastermind--great features and great theme</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Swashbuckler--does combat rogue very well</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Thief</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sorcerer, +1 subclass, swap 2 subclasses<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Aberrant Mind--because Tasha's went in a great direction with sorcerers</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">~Clockwork Soul--take that Wild Magic!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">~UA Giant Soul--because it does elemental themes SO much better than Draconic Origin</li> </ul></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Warlock, no subclass changes, but add Pact of the Talisman and replace the weaksauce "cast X with a warlock spell slot" invocations and replace them with the more fun/interesting Xanthar's and Tasha's ones. Warlock is a difficult case--the subclasses in the PHB are all simple and moderately powerful, everything since has either been quite a bit more complicated or been the Hexblade, the black hole around which all other Warlock subclasses orbit</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Wizard, +1 subclass, it's kinda hard to change any of the PHB ones--it's be kinda weird if the Necromancy school just didn't get a subclass because of how poorly done it is<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Abjuration</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Bladesinging--the Tasha's version with a meaningful combat steroid, not the SCAG version</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Conjuration</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Divination</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Enchantment</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Evocation--but replace potent cantrip with a feature that isn't awful</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Illusion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Necromancy--but completely redone with undead minions obtainable from 2nd level</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Transmutation--but giving minor alchemy more cowbell</li> </ul></li> </ul>9 new subclasses added in total, 7 subclass swaps--not a lot of changes, all told.</blockquote>

Verification