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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fralex" data-source="post: 6608072" data-attributes="member: 6785902">Re: the whole "A class is more than the sum of its mechanics" thing:Every class has unique mechanics and a unique narrative. Both of them strengthen each other.You need to be able to feel how a class's mechanics are tied to its narrative for it to be successful.Both are factors in whether something should be its own class or a subclass of a pre-existing class. But there is a third factor: Breadth, or potential for specialization.For example, the druid and cleric have several similarities one could point out as an argument for making druid a cleric subclass. They have the same spellcasting mechanic, and both have a powerful class feature that can be used a small number of times between rests. Both have a spiritual flavor to their magic. You could simply make Wild Shape a Channel Divinity feature and make "Druid Domain" spells be a small selection of all the most iconic spells druids have. Use the domain's narrative to add in the druid's flavor. That would definitely result in something which could be described as "the druid option." But few would be happy with it.The reason, of course, is that demoting the druid class to a small part of another class stifles all the potential it has for interesting variations. The narrative of a druid calls forth many interpretations, and the existing mechanics aren't expansive enough to support them all. You could really only be one kind of druid, even if in your head you have a very specific idea that differs from someone else's idea. And that's no fun!So, a druid is not just a kind of cleric because it has similar mechanics and narrative, but both are still distinct enough that they invite many varying interpretations of the core mechanics and narrative.It is for the same reason I feel the artificer should be made into its own class. Yes, mechanically it has enough in common with many other spellcasters to have the unique parts be covered by a subclass. And in terms of narrative, well, it could be thought of as a kind of wizardry. But the core concept of "guy who builds magical things and relies on them for power" invites many more narrative ideas than can be covered in the space of a subclass's supportive mechanics, and that combined with the uniqueness of the narrative and mechanics causes it to cross the threshold into "full class" territory.</blockquote>

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