New 3.5 Base Classes-The Return

[Zaruthustran]

I've opened this thread before, but a few new ideas have spurred me to open it again. Please post *your* ideas for the new base classes (not prestige classes) that will be introduced for the D&D RPG in the upcoming D&D Miniatures Handbook. Me, I'm pretty excited--we haven't seen new base classes in quite some time. The sorceror is the only real new base class to D&D since Unearthed Arcana.

My ideas:
Each of these classes are iconic fantasy classes that are not currently served by a single class. They're also relevant to a miniatures game.

1. Class name: Swashbuckler. Role: The Smooth Fighter. Rationale: there aren't any Fighter classes with social skills. That's a void that should be filled. Right now, if you want to play a quick-witted, quick-moving guy who can hold his own in a fight you either have to pick Fighter and "waste" your heavy armor and shield feats, Ranger and get a bunch of wildernes baggage, Barbarian and get a bunch of perhaps unwanted abilities, or Paladin and get religious baggage--and none of those classes have Bluff! I picture this class as a light-armoured fighter with +1/lvl BAB, good Fort and Ref saves, d8 HP, 4 skill points, and access to a few social skills like Bluff, Intimidate, Perform, Sense Motive, and Diplomacy. This will better serve all those characters that are currently rogue/rangers or fighter/rogues. Think "urban ranger", except without tracking, spells, and the shoehorned fighting styles.

2. Class name: Commander. Role: The Leader. Rationale: there needs to be a party-support character that can lend a direct hand in the fight. I picture this class as a heavy-armoured combatant with +1/lvl BAB, good Fort and Will saves, d10 HP, 2 skill points, and access to Diplomacy, Spot, Profession: Soldier, Intimidate, and Sense Motive. For special abilities it'll have Inspire Courage (speech and orders, not music) and the Paladin's Fear immunity/bonus to saves for companions, but no spells. This will help serve those high-charisma martial-minded characters that don't want to be godly champions or musicians. Think "paladin" or "bard", without the Ethos or the jive.

3. Class name: Mystic. Role: the Witch. Rationale: Right now there's no spontaneous divine caster. Sure, Druids and Clerics can swap for healing on the fly, but this class can swap any divine spell for any other divine spell. Lightly armoured, with lots of skill points. Think "Bard", but divine.

Those are my guesses. I admit that the Mystic is pretty weak.

Any other ideas or thoughts? Has anyone heard any rumors?

-z

 

[Arani Korden]

3. Class name: Mystic. Role: the Witch. Rationale: Right now there's no spontaneous divine caster. Sure, Druids and Clerics can swap for healing on the fly, but this class can swap any divine spell for any other divine spell. Lightly armoured, with lots of skill points. Think "Bard", but divine.

Those are my guesses. I admit that the Mystic is pretty weak.

Any other ideas or thoughts? Has anyone heard any rumors?

-z

This one will actually be in the Dragonlance book, due out in August. Called the Mystic and everything.

 

[heimdall]

1) BAB is a prob, but Rogues and Bards are suited for this. I agree with you, though, and I've got it on my to do list to generate a swashbuckler class for my campaign to give players options.

2) Check out the Commander class from Way of the Sword by Fantasy Flight. That may work for you.

3) Agreed. I'm developing a healer class (takes the wounds upon themselves) that doesn't have to prepare spells and is a divine caster, but that doesn't fit with your mystic concept. I'll be looking forward to the DR source when it comes out. Should prove interesting.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Regarding 1, I guess my biggest beef is that there's no reason for a front-line fighter-type to have a high Charisma--unless you're a Paladin, or you're going for the Holy Liberator prestige class, or you're going to multiclass.

Even if you wanted to put a high stat in Cha for roleplaying reasons, you're out of luck because the social skills (except Intimidate) are cross-class. So at first level your 16 Charisma Fighter will be less persuasive than a 10 Charisma Rogue who put 4 points into Diplomacy, and it only gets worse from there.

I just think there's a real need for a flashy fighter who can talk. Look at the Three Musketeers, at the Dread Pirate Roberts, at Zorro. These guys were masters of wit and blade. They're iconic fantasy characters, and they're not in D&D.

2) As above, but look to Russel Crowe's Gladiator, or Mel Gibson's Braveheart, or Bruce Campbell's Ash, or anybody's Robin Hood*. These guys were fearless leaders, they could take a lot of punishment, they increased the fighting abilities of their companions, they could kick butt--but they weren't lawful good, and they didn't sing. And they're not in D&D.

-z

* Gamers usually think of Robin Hood as a Ranger, but he didn't really have much to do with animals, and he was a nobleman, not a hunter. Aragorn was a Ranger, Robin Hood was a Commander/Swashbuckler. Or, in D&D 3E, I guess he's a Fighter/Rogue/Bard/Holy Liberator without the "holy" part.

 

[am181d]

As long as we're just talking about what we'd like to see, as opposed to what we expect, I would add:

Brawler/Pugilist

An unarmed fighter with a western flair. Less finesse oriented than the monk, maybe borrowing some from the barbarian. The monk is just too specific of a class to be the only unarmed fighting option.

 

[Iron_Chef]

There are no cross-class skills in 3.5e, right? So this is a moot point.

 

[Fedifensor]

1) Rogue/Fighter fills that role pretty well. A slightly-lower attack bonus than the fighter, but still pretty effective (and you can take Duelist or some similar prestige class after a few levels).

2) Sounds like either a fighter prestige class, or a bard/fighter combo. The former would probably end up being more effective, though.

3) Agreed. Spontaneous casting seems more appropriate for the divine than the arcane. In older editions of D&D, my gaming group just let the cleric ask in character for the spells instead of memorizing. Granted, the cleric didn't always get what he asked for...

 

[Chun-tzu]

There are no cross-class skills in 3.5e, right? So this is a moot point.

There are no exclusive skills in 3.5e, but the rules about cross-class skills have been kept.

 

[Arani Korden]

There are no cross-class skills in 3.5e, right? So this is a moot point.

There are no more exclusive skills in 3.5. Cross-class skills are still around.

 

[Zaruthustran]

As long as we're just talking about what we'd like to see, as opposed to what we expect, I would add:

Brawler/Pugilist

An unarmed fighter with a western flair. Less finesse oriented than the monk, maybe borrowing some from the barbarian. The monk is just too specific of a class to be the only unarmed fighting option.

Well, hey--feel free to post both. That's what I did. I hope I see a class for high Cha fighters and a spontaneous Divine caster, and I expect that we'll see them.

What classes do you expect?

-z