Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour: The Warlord

[SkidAce]

Let's be honest, if it wasn't for D&D, would anyone know what a paladin was, other than someone on an old TV Western?

Yes.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Yes.

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Everybody I was friends with in middle school read those, so I can extrapolate and infer that everybody has read those, and thus would know what a Paladin is.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Odysseus is an excellent choice as an archetype for the Warlord, and I recall that he had been mentioned before in Warlord discussions. Naming Odysseus for inspiration is also smart because it indirectly addresses one of the criticisms lobbed at the Warlord: what would an adventuring Warlord look like? Well, here is Odysseus and you may recall one of the most famous literary adventures ever. Odysseus also creates a nice contrast between him and other warriors from the Trojan War. Odysseus is the Warlord while Achilles, Ajax, and Hector were the Fighters.

That's a very good point. A PC Warlord leads and/or is a member of a band of heroes, and is a capable hero themselves. They're not the commander of an army of grunts operating on the battlefield but away from the front line, or plotting troop deployments for an empire. They're closer to a member of a special forces team in modern terms.

 

[mellored]

I'd just like to point out that Merls did float the idea of making the warlord offical.
At some point.
After extensive playtesting.
Possibly in dark sun.

 

[Remathilis]

That's a very good point. A PC Warlord leads and/or is a member of a band of heroes, and is a capable hero themselves. They're not the commander of an army of grunts operating on the battlefield but away from the front line, or plotting troop deployments for an empire. They're closer to a member of a special forces team in modern terms.

I'm pretty sure that's the nail on the coffin for princess builds

 

[Kinematics]

YouTube link for the latest episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpmbrXdBt1U

 

[Zardnaar]

Gee, with that write up, I'm getting more and more sold on the idea. Seems to be hitting the right notes. I'd love to see the finished product.

On a side note, on the naming conversation, what about Sirdar? Yes, I realize it's a real world word, but, it's esoteric enough to not really have any particularly connotations for anyone, kind of like a paladin in that sense. Let's be honest, if it wasn't for D&D, would anyone know what a paladin was, other than someone on an old TV Western?

Dunno. Just thought the name sounded cool to my ears. I'm a Sirdar.

Bad name for the class, basically tells you nothign about what the class is. Its a worse name than the warlord.Warlord is a bad name but may as well use it for fans of the class, not that he will please everyone with another fighter subclass.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'd just like to point out that Merls did float the idea of making the warlord offical.
At some point.
After extensive playtesting.
Possibly in dark sun.

Early Darksun (original box, Dragon Kings) did have reference to the old Battlesystem rules for mass combat. It was even a class feature of Fighters and Gladiators.

I had a look at the abbreviated version in the Rules Cyclopedia and it looks compatible with 5E if a bit complicated (bring a calculator).

 

[Hussar]

Bad name for the class, basically tells you nothign about what the class is. Its a worse name than the warlord.Warlord is a bad name but may as well use it for fans of the class, not that he will please everyone with another fighter subclass.

Because a name based on a 40 year old novel that pretty much no one has read because it was out of print BEFORE AD&D came out, yeah, that's solid. People know what a paladin is because of D&D, not the other way around. Or, heck, monk? That wouldn't cause any confusion would it? Or cleric?

We accept these terms now because of the history of the game. At least Sirdar has the bonus of not setting off every edition warring weenie every time it gets mentioned.

 

[Tony Vargas]

. At least Sirdar has the bonus of not setting off every edition warring weenie every time it gets mentioned.

What is it, anyway?