Blog (A5E) Level Up: Let’s Talk About Archetypes

We’ve shown you several draft Level Up classes (and we’re busy revising those based on the extensive survey feedback we received). What we haven’t mentioned yet, though, is archetypes.

As you have seen, Level Up classes have feature slots where archetypes plug in just like Original 5E (O5E) does. Every O5E archetype, past, present, and future, can be used with Level Up, which gives Level Up an immense amount of support out of the gate, along with ongoing support from a range of companies. This has been one of our most important goals all along — while Level Up is a standalone game, you can use O5E classes, characters, monsters, spells, archetypes, adventures, and everything else with it.

However, we are also writing our own archetypes. Over the last few weeks we’ve been hammering out a list of 40 archetypes which will be included in the Level Up core rulebook.

Level Up archetypes work in a similar way to O5E archetypes, but may sometimes offer a bit more choice or depth.

While it’s important to reiterate that this list is not final, it’s fairly close to final. Additionally, some names (*) are currently placeholders. With that said, here’s the current list.

Adept​

• Warrior-monk
• Brawler
• Olympian*

Bard​

• Minstrel
• Warchanter
• Loremaster
• Mountebank

Berserker​

• Primal*
• Dreadnought
• Tempest

Cleric​

• Healer
• Warpriest
• Oracle
• Sun/Light*

Druid​

• Skinchanger
• Treespeaker
• Guardian

Fighter​

• Brute
• Knight
• Gladiator
• Sharpshooter
• Swashbuckler/Duelist

Herald​

• Holy Champion
• Inquisitor

Ranger​

• Beastmaster*
• Warden
• Wildborn*

Rogue​

• Assassin
• Burglar
• Trapsmith
• Investigator

Sorcerer​

• Dragon
• Wild
• Planar

Warlock​

• Spellbound
• Diabolist
• Alienist

Wizard​

• Traditionalist*
• Mage
• Firemage

Continue reading...

 

[Morrus]

Sounds like this would be Adept territory?

So here's what the Adept is.

It's an (unarmed) class which perfects the body. The monk is the traditional D&D expression of that; the brawler is another expression, one we felt that O5E never did all that well - the non-Eastern-themed unarmed warrior. The (Olympian*) is the ultimate athlete. The Adept is basically a class which trains their (or naturally has a) body to perfection. Batman multiclasses into Adept, and so does Captain America. Rocky Balboa and Hulk Hogan and Bruce Lee and Usain Bolt are all pretty much Adepts.

 

[Minigiant]

I think this list is very smooth and bright.

Here's a Q. Is the list of 40 archetypes supposed to have a range large enough to stand alone or is it intended to be supplemented with the O5E ones?

 

[Morrus]

I think this list is very smooth and bright.

Here's a Q. Is the list of 40 archetypes supposed to have a range large enough to stand alone or is it intended to be supplemented with the O5E ones?

Both. It's a standalone game, and if you had just the O5E player book you'd have a smaller list (28 v 40). But O5E material is fully compatible! There's a lot of 3PP A5E publishers out there, including one owned by Hasbro!

 

[Minigiant]

Both. It's a standalone game, and if you had just the O5E player book you'd have a smaller list (28 v 40). But O5E material is fully compatible! There's a lot of 3PP A5E publishers out there, including one owned by Hasbro!

What I meant is Are the A5E and O5E archetypes intended to overlap?

I see a Dragon and Wild Sorcerer A5E archetypes atm. Is the set of A5E archetypes intended to hit all the same notes as the O5E set? Most of the major ones? or just a Few of the iconic ones?

 

[Morrus]

What I meant is Are the A5E and O5E archetypes intended to overlap?

I see a Dragon and Wild Sorcerer A5E archetypes atm. Is the set of A5E archetypes intended to hit all the same notes as the O5E set? Most of the major ones? or just a Few of the iconic ones?

We have ours. They have theirs. You can use either or both, even if they're thematically similar. We've hit the notes we feel are core and would make a good experience, while acknowledging that the appetite for variety is open-ended.

 

[dwayne]

I would comment but don't want to be Anti-inclusive

 

[Eyes of Nine]

What is O5e? The thing published by WotC? And A5e is the thing published by EN publishing (ie, Level Up)?

Is archetype == sub-class?

 

[Morrus]

What is O5e? The thing published by WotC? And A5e is the thing published by EN publishing (ie, Level Up)?

Yup!

Is archetype == sub-class?

To my knowledge, the word 'sub-class' doesn't actually appear in O5E; it just refers to paths and colleges and patrons and schools and such. We're using the word archetype.

 

[Faolyn]

Oh, hey, another question: are warlocks going to be Cha-based or Int-based?

 

[Morrus]

We'll have a warlord playtest ready soon. We're taking a short break from playtests as we did a lot of them in very rapid succession, and posting news and previews for a few weeks.