"Some" traditional classes to get the axe - Which ones do you reckon?

[Snapdragyn]

The playtesting notes do not say that psion is essentially a wizard. What they say is that the player had wanted a psion, but since there was no such class ready for playtesting, he was playing a wizard & just calling it a psion (for ingame flavor). Very different situation there.

 

[an_idol_mind]

Where might I find these notes?

Can you link me?

On WotC's web page, which is down right now. I think it's under the Dragon tab on the left.

 

[XCorvis]

In James Wyatt's Gen Con Blog, he specifically mentions playtesting both a Paladin and a Ranger. While this doesn't mean they are core classes any more, it still seems quite likely.

 

[WampusCat43]

Am I missing something? It doesn't seem to me that any of the classes is necessarily "getting the axe" - they're just not part of the core book. And thus could be re-introduced in supplements as the duskblade was.

 

[Aloïsius]

In James Wyatt's Gen Con Blog, he specifically mentions playtesting both a Paladin and a Ranger. While this doesn't mean they are core classes any more, it still seems quite likely.

This is a dirge for the bard
Something I'm happy with.

 

[Winterthorn]

I'm guessing something a little "radical", all classes dumped to supplements but these four:

Cleric
Fighter
Rogue
Sorcerer (being easier to play than Wizards)

Remember the generic classes presented in UA? I'm thinking they'll borrow from that simpler concept and then provide the rules material to allow us to quickly build our own Druid, Paladin, Ranger, and Wizard. If this is the case then the Barbarian, Bard, Monk, and Warlock would appear in supplements... They have to make money so the supplement trick is still the tried and true way to bring in the $$$...

YMMV

 

[pawsplay]

Paladins will be prestige. Rangers and barbarians are getting rolled up into some kind of scout, with the ranger class as we know it going prestige.

Bards will be reconceived.

Druids will be rolled up into cleric.

 

[Someone]

Found this image on the 4e forums. Note the "warlord" class (as well as fighter, ranger & wizard).

Isn't the "9th level human wizard" the (ex-)bartender with the "NO SPELLCASTING" sign behind him?

 

[Cadfan]

My predictions:

Barbarian- Axable. With just a few new feats, the present system could let fighters customize into pseudo barbarians. They should get the axe, and have the barbarian abilities available through customization. Will they get the axe? Not sure. Certain players absolutely love the simplicity of the barbarian, and the game has room to hold them.

Bard- Should be axed, and turned into a PRC. They're essentially three classes all mooshed together, plus one iconic ability. That's what PRCs are for.

Cleric- Going nowhere. Spellcasting might get an overhaul, but the class is going nowhere.

Druid- Also going nowhere, though it may get a major overhaul. Expect wildshape to be massively different. It was one of the biggest mistakes in the original rules in terms of elegance of game design, and the designers have admitted as such.

Fighter- Going nowhere, but will probably be very different. I hope it eats some of the classes nearby.

Monk- 50% likely to be axed. With proper support, you could roll this class into Fighter by making unarmed combat and martial arts stylization part of the fighter choices.

Paladin- Should be axed, and turned into a PRC. Make characters earn their way in.

Ranger- Obviously not getting axed because its in the screen shot. Needs a significant overhaul.

Rogue- Definitely not getting axed. Its too iconic. Sneak attack seems likely to get significant edits.

Sorcerer, Wizard- I expect a major overhaul. The only real difference between these two classes is spellcasting mechanic. If spellcasting gets overhauled, there will be less reason for both of them to exist. I expect a class labeled "Wizard," but I don't know if it will resemble the present day wizard or not. I kind of hope for not.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Musings by someone who didn't vote in the poll:

Depending upon how they do things, Druids could be rolled into Clerics. Like Illusionists became one of a 8 core specialist wizards, Druids could be an exemplar of a more flexible Cleric class that is customizable by particular faith & ethos.

The same could be done with the Paladin, Ranger and Barbarian, rolling them into a more flexible Fighter class, or the Sorcerer and Wizard becoming exemplars of 2 options within a single class.

Just like the Bard could become a PrCl- much like it was in 1Ed AD&D, so too could the Monk.

OTOH, the Monk could become tweeked into a more flexible general unarmed combatant class of some kind.

I will say this- depending upon how all of this is handled, it could drive me away from the game or really grab me.