New "which 8 classes are in PHB" speculation thread

[Olgar Shiverstone]

My prediction: 2 classes for each role.

Defender: fighter, paladin
Leader: cleric, warlord
Controller: wizard, druid
Striker: Rogue, ranger

Prediction: barbarian, bard, and monk get subsumed in feat/talent paths; sorcerer shows up looking like a cross between the current corcerer & warlock in PHB 2. Wizard & sorcerer have too much current baggage so they are likely to be very similar (and it wouldn't make much sense to double them up on the controller role). The druid, if you ignore his divine baggage, has always had battlefield controlling spells between entangles, summons, fire & lightning, etc. Druid is a nice complement to wizard: similar controller abilities but very different flavor.

 

[breschau]

I don't know what's going to be final, but most predictions point to the wizard and sorcerer being in PB1 so that all those arcane spells can be used by more than one class. Which is why is likely you're right about the druid being in there as another controller option (only divine). I'd put the sorcerer as an arcane striker myself.

 

[Aristotle]

Given the revelations in this thread regarding each set of core books being centered around specific power sources, I think the real acid test here is which classes are absolutely martial, divine, and arcane; and which can be explained away as another power source. Here is my best guess.

Fighter and Rogue (martial), Wizard (arcane), and Cleric (divine) all make sense.

Others I think will make it and why...

1. Druid: could be merged with priest, but I doubt it. Has been divine in the past. Could go with a new power source like "nature", but I'm giving this one good odds of being divine and in the PHB1. I'm also going to guess controller.
2. Paladin: Clearly divine. Definately has great odds of being in PHB1. Definately a defender.
3. Sorcerer: Unless another semi-confirmed arcane class is out there, this one is almost a definate according to what we currently know about the class. There definately has to be more than one arcane powered character class option. I'm going to guess striker.
4. warlord: We know *nothing* about this one other than that it is a leader. Assuming it is a character class, and not a PrC, I'm going to guess it is martial. I need another character class and this is my last option before dipping into the supplemental classes from various splat books.
   
   That would give me 3 martial classes (defender, striker, leader), 3 divine classes (defender, leader, controller), and 2 arcane classes (controller, striker). That just happens to be 2 of each role, and I didn't even plan that until I added it up.

Classes I don't expect to make the PHB1 cut...

1. Barbarian: could possibly be martial, could be consumed by fighter, or could be another power source like emotion, passion, or hatred. I'm betting another power source. I'm betting striker, though defender could make sense too.
2. Bard: could be arcane, but I'd guess another power source. It might go in a book with barbarian if emotion or passion isn't too cheesy a power source. Leader seems obvious.
3. Monk: Not really martial as it gets supernatural pretty quickly, and not really arcane or divine either. I'm betting this one shows up in a later book. I'm not sure what to call the power source here, unless they go with some sort of ki/chi (inner strength?) source and introduce a few oriental adventures type classes in that PHB.
4. Ranger: This one is a toss up. If it still has spells it might qualify as divine. If "nature" is a later power source it might qualify for that. If they totally get rid of spells then it seems martial, giving us two martial strikers. Despite previous confusion regarding the class' role, an archer type class seems to iconic to me to not be included. I'm going to say no, for now.

 

[JVisgaitis]

The only thing we don't know is who is the other controller. Here's my guess:

Defender: fighter, paladin
Leader: cleric, warlord
Controller: wizard, sorcerer
Striker: rogue, ranger

I'd like to see the druid stay, but I think that the warlord will have some sort of ability to minimize damage so he'll take the healer role. Plus, we need more then one class that uses arcane spells. Who knows? I hope we get an answer soon.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

For speculation, I'm continuing with my hypothesis (first put forth in the Warlord thread) that Warlord is the renamed Barbarian, & will function as a Leader through warcries (or similar mechanic) which incite allies to berzerk, buff them against fear, & other sorts of things like that.

That's really interesting, Snapdragyn. I hope something like this is true.

 

[Aristotle]

Interesting... but I really don't see both arcane classes being controllers.

 

[variant]

I say modify the Wizard to be a mix of 3e Sorcerer and Wizard. The new class can have two spell slot charts similar to the Sorcerer, but instead of Spells Known, they have Spells Memorized that can be swapped out when they study their spell book every night.

Then make the Sorcerer similar to the Warlock. Maybe even throw in a mechanic for powers similar to Force Powers from Star Wars Saga Edition.

 

[Alikar]

Personally I think there are going to be more than 8 classes. However, if we follow that assumption of logic I think we are going to find 3 pure classes and 5 mixed classes:

Pure Martial: Fighter
Pure Arcane: Wizard
Pure Divine: Cleric

Heavy Martial + Light Arcane: Rogue
Medium Martial + Medium Divine: Paladin
Medium Martial + Medium Buffs(Light Arcane and/or Light Divine): Warlord (An optional choice?)
Light Martial + Heavy Divine: Druids
Light Martial + Heavy Arcane: Sorcerers

 

[breschau]

Personally I think there are going to be more than 8 classes. However, if we follow that assumption of logic I think we are going to find 3 pure classes and 5 mixed classes:

Pure Martial: Fighter
Pure Arcane: Wizard
Pure Divine: Cleric

Heavy Martial + Light Arcane: Rogue
Medium Martial + Medium Divine: Paladin
Medium Martial + Medium Buffs(Light Arcane and/or Light Divine): Warlord (An optional choice?)
Light Martial + Heavy Divine: Druids
Light Martial + Heavy Arcane: Sorcerers

It's been confirmed that there are only 8 classes in the new PHBI.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

The new playtest report has the following quote, talking about converting characters from a 3e game for a 4e playtes: "Rich’s character was tougher. He was playing a warblade/warmage in the 3rd Edition game, which didn’t really convert at all. Fortunately, he was able to pick a class that was focused on tactics, and he picked up some wizard powers to feel similar to the old character."

That seems to suggest that the "Warlord" is in. I just hope that that isn't the name of the class. It's too grandiose and militant a word for a class that will have 1st level characters of many descriptions.