New "which 8 classes are in PHB" speculation thread

[Glyfair]

Logan Bonner, Mechanical Designer for D&D, has confirmed there will be only 8 classes in the PHB in the "what we know about 4E" thread.

Nobody has said which 8 classes are in or out of the PH1. We've talked about classes in seminars and on the boards, and we've mentioned way more than eight classes in them. All the classes in the 3.5 PH will appear at some point in the game's lifespan, but the only ones you can call "confirmed" in the PH1 are fighter, rogue, cleric, and wizard.

So we *know*:

Cleric
Fighter
Rogue
Wizard

What do you think the other 4 are?

(Yes, I know there has been a similar thread out there, but given what we know now, I thought it best to start fresh).

 

[Glyfair]

My thoughts:

8 classes, 4 classic archetypes. (Wow, the number 4 is really heavily tied into 4E! Intentional?)

I think we will see variations on the 4 archetypes filling different roles than the primary ones. So, I think we will have 1 variation on each of the classic archetypes. Those 4 will probably be designed to cover each of the 4 roles as well.

I don't have any "calls" yet, but those are my thoughts.

 

[Shalimar]

We know that:

Ranger (said to have killed the scout and took its stuff)
Sorceror (Wizard and Sorceror are known not to have merged into 1 class)
Warlord (listed in a 4E character generator screenshot)

I don't know if the Paladin was in or not

We Know Bard is OUT.

So the real question is what is the last class?

Cleric
Fighter
Ranger
Rogue
Sorceror
Warlord
Wizard
???????

 

[TerraDave]

Key part of the quote:

"We've talked about classes in seminars and on the boards, and we've mentioned way more than eight classes in them."

Just cause its mentioned, doesn't mean its in the PHB. I would actually hope they have 12-15 they are playing around with, and put the best 8 in towards the end of the process.

My guess is that something like this is happening with races as well.

 

[Snapdragyn]

At this point, & based on Logan's statement, I don't think we can take anything for granted beyond the classic 4 archetypes, no matter who said it where. They seem to be playing a bit fast & loose with their statements as far as what 'in' means -- i.e. they're talking about a class, but they don't necessarily mean it's 'in' the PHB1, just that it's 'in' 4e at some point sometime in the next x years. Thus, ranger may've killed scout & taken his stuff -- in PHB2 when the ranger finally comes out (potentially). Or sorcerer could be quite different from wizard -- in PHB3 when they actually release the sorcerer class. From their perspective, I think bard is very much 'in' -- just 'in' a later PHB.

Blegh.

 

[Glyfair]

They seem to be playing a bit fast & loose with their statements as far as what 'in' means -- i.e. they're talking about a class, but they don't necessarily mean it's 'in' the PHB1, just that it's 'in' 4e at some point sometime in the next x years.

In fact, some of the mentioned classes might be in the DMG. Maybe they have a section on creating characters that discusses the 4 roles. Perhaps the DMG has 4 examples of ways to do those roles, and one or two classes appear there.

I do agree that it seems that sorcerer is in from not just mentions of him, but why they kept him. Those arguments weigh toward him being *in* the PHB, and not just *in* 4E.

 

[Veril]

We know that:

Cleric
Fighter
Ranger
Rogue
Sorceror
Warlord
Wizard
???????

The last class would be a 2nd divine caster: The druid

then there are 2 fighters, 2 scouts, 2 arcane and 2 divine

 

[SWBaxter]

In fact, some of the mentioned classes might be in the DMG.

Or online. IIRC, there's a quote floating around that the stuff released through D&DI will be official, in the sense of having equal weight with published supplements. So if the Barbarian or Warlord or whatever doesn't make the elite eight in the PHB, it could still be released two days later in an online article.

 

[Aristotle]

then there are 2 fighters, 2 scouts, 2 arcane and 2 divine

If they break it up so nicely then I think they will do so by role (defender, leader, controller, and striker), rather than by power sources (i.e. arcane and divine)

Also. Things are so spread out over various sites and forums that I'm having trouble keeping up. The designers are already refering to these books as "PHB1". Did I miss a confirmation somewhere regarding multiple PHBs? I've seen it mentioned on forums, but wasn't aware it was a sure thing.

 

[Masquerade]

My guess?
Fighter | Monk
Rogue | Ranger
Wizard | Sorcerer
Cleric | Warlord

Or online. IIRC, there's a quote floating around that the stuff released through D&DI will be official, in the sense of having equal weight with published supplements. So if the Barbarian or Warlord or whatever doesn't make the elite eight in the PHB, it could still be released two days later in an online article.

That would be a strong incentive to get people to sign up for D&DI early, but it would also create countless cries of "Why do I have to pay more money to get all the classes?! I didn't pay for an incomplete PHB!"