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...

 

[Caliburn101]

<pedant>

Athalon, apparently, is a brand of sportsgear.

Athlon, as in triathlon, comes from the root meaning contest. Since we probably don't want people saying "hi, I'm a contest," then maybe just go for Athlete.

</pedant>

The point was to create a word for a fantasy world which didn't equate to one anyone uses but which has touchstone similarity for the purposes of association. Athelete is boring - changing it was the whole point n'est pas?

 

[Faolyn]

The point was to create a word for a fantasy world which didn't equate to one anyone uses but which has touchstone similarity for the purposes of association. Athelete is boring - changing it was the whole point n'est pas?

I think it might be better to have blander names, considering this is a core rulebook and not a setting book.

 

[Aldarc]

Sure. A "paladin" is a specific thing - a knight of Charlemagne. A herald can be that, but it doesn't have to be. We've tended to avoid class names (monk, paladin, barbarian) which come with cultural elements and move those cultural elements into the archetypes while having the class itself focus on the abilities. Thus the Adept can be a monk, a bare-knuckle pitfighter, or an athlete who has perfected their body; and the Berserker can be the barbarian we're familiar with, or a heavily armored knight-like figure, or Thor.

I think that I would have personally gone the PF2 route and call the base version the "Champion." Then have the subclasses address the "Champion of What?" question.

Also, I think it's kinda weird to have both Mage and Firemage be wizard subclasses as the latter sounds like a more specific variety of the former so the difference between them does not feel either distinct or evocative enough.

 

[niklinna]

Do you have handy any brief descriptions of the archetypes? Many of them are clear from the names, but for some I get several ideas. I'm specifically curious about the Druid & Ranger ones.

 

[niklinna]

Found some info on Ranger in the podcast (begins at the 1:02 mark, archetypes at 1:25). More exploration knacks than other classes.Beast Master as you'd expect, yet stronger than O5E. Warden more like Aragorn: skilled rider, uncanny tracker (think of that scene in LotR where Aragorn infers how that whole fight with the orcs went), part of an organization with a purpose. Wildborn is the 1/3 spellcaster archetype.

 

[Charibolt]

How will O5e ranger subclasses that give spells work with A5e ranger now that spellcasting isn’t the default?

 

[Morrus]

How will O5e ranger subclasses that give spells work with A5e ranger now that spellcasting isn’t the default?

Yep, we have a special sidebar for those.