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<blockquote data-quote="Kurotowa" data-source="post: 7862836" data-attributes="member: 27957">First we have to stop and ask &quot;What is a class, in 5e?&quot; Because it's not as simple as just porting forward your favorite class from a previous edition.To begin with, a 5e class is a mix of baseline abilities that are universal to the class and open spaces that the subclasses fill. The corollary to which is that a class needs to be able to support multiple subclasses or else be demoted to a subclass itself. In other words, if you can't name at least three or four potential subclasses for the class, it's dead on arrival.Another guiding principle for 5e is that less is more. Instead of making a new class that fills an existing niche with a different flavor they make the existing classes more flavor neutral and print class options like new subclasses or Invocations to bridge the gap. If you can't explain how the proposed class is mechanically distinct from all existing classes, then it's another no-go.IMO most of the classes named on the poll fail one or both of those tests. They're either too specialized or can be accomplished already with the right build and some non-mechanical flavor tweaks. &quot;Like X but with a different power source&quot; no longer cuts it as a basis for an entire class.But, since I didn't want to deny the basis of the question, I threw my vote at Summoner. The recent change to make classes provide a stat block for companions rather then sending you hunting through the MM makes a Summoner class possible. You can clear the subclass threshold by making it a summoner, not of hordes of weak minions, but one with a single powerful companion. Then each subclass can offer a different type of companion and ways to mechanically interact with it. It's not a shoe-in, but of the offered choices I thought it was the best.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kurotowa, post: 7862836, member: 27957"] First we have to stop and ask "What is a class, in 5e?" Because it's not as simple as just porting forward your favorite class from a previous edition. To begin with, a 5e class is a mix of baseline abilities that are universal to the class and open spaces that the subclasses fill. The corollary to which is that a class needs to be able to support multiple subclasses or else be demoted to a subclass itself. In other words, if you can't name at least three or four potential subclasses for the class, it's dead on arrival. Another guiding principle for 5e is that less is more. Instead of making a new class that fills an existing niche with a different flavor they make the existing classes more flavor neutral and print class options like new subclasses or Invocations to bridge the gap. If you can't explain how the proposed class is [I]mechanically distinct[/I] from all existing classes, then it's another no-go. IMO most of the classes named on the poll fail one or both of those tests. They're either too specialized or can be accomplished already with the right build and some non-mechanical flavor tweaks. "Like X but with a different power source" no longer cuts it as a basis for an entire class. But, since I didn't want to deny the basis of the question, I threw my vote at Summoner. The recent change to make classes provide a stat block for companions rather then sending you hunting through the MM makes a Summoner class possible. You can clear the subclass threshold by making it a summoner, not of hordes of weak minions, but one with a single powerful companion. Then each subclass can offer a different type of companion and ways to mechanically interact with it. It's not a shoe-in, but of the offered choices I thought it was the best. [/QUOTE]

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