Arilyn
Hero
I'm a fan of elegance in RPG design, but F20 games, by their nature, are crunchy and require big books of rules and monsters. Even 5e is not elegant, by any stretch of the imagination.
Class based systems are constrained by what the designers feel bards, wizards, fighters, etc. look like. Sure, players choose where their stats go, or what equipment they'll buy, but the range of choice is not the same as classless systems. Both have advantages. I'm not arguing in favour of one style over the other, but when we rely on designers for our characters' core abilities, simplicity and elegance are sacrificed. And since players cannot then just create what they want from scratch, new classes, races, etc. are going to continue to be a very welcome addition for many players.
Also, heavy role playing is not usually associated with typical dungeon crawling adventures, which means players are more likely going to be looking for the newest shiny additions to their game.
Classes are fun. Levelling up and getting treats is fun. If WOTC published a supplement with 6 new classes, or so, new feats, spells and archetypes it would sell extremely well, and I have a feeling one might be coming to counter the criticism that 5e lacks enough choice.
Class based systems are constrained by what the designers feel bards, wizards, fighters, etc. look like. Sure, players choose where their stats go, or what equipment they'll buy, but the range of choice is not the same as classless systems. Both have advantages. I'm not arguing in favour of one style over the other, but when we rely on designers for our characters' core abilities, simplicity and elegance are sacrificed. And since players cannot then just create what they want from scratch, new classes, races, etc. are going to continue to be a very welcome addition for many players.
Also, heavy role playing is not usually associated with typical dungeon crawling adventures, which means players are more likely going to be looking for the newest shiny additions to their game.
Classes are fun. Levelling up and getting treats is fun. If WOTC published a supplement with 6 new classes, or so, new feats, spells and archetypes it would sell extremely well, and I have a feeling one might be coming to counter the criticism that 5e lacks enough choice.