D&D General The Hall of Suck: Worst Classes in D&D History (Spoiler Alert: Nothing from 5e)

[Kobold Avenger]

2) Truenamer, 3.5, Tome of Magic. Well, it has better flavor, at least. But how about a class that uses skill checks to cast spells (ahem, utterances), except those spells just don't function very often? And if you do actually succeed in casting a spell utterance, your reward is that all your utterances for the rest of the day are even harder to cast? Just for fun, since the class uses the 3.5 skill system, which isn't really balanced around controlling skill progression, you can eventually load up on magic items to be so good at skill checks that you can gate in solars many, many times a day?

I've always brought up the Truenamer as an example on why Skill Checks should never be used for the magic powers of any class out there.

 

[Mecheon]

I see the Truenamer get mentioned, but I'd like to offer up the 3.5E Complete Warrior Samurai as another one as I feel, even though the Truenamer barely functions, the CW Samurai is weaker.

The OA samurai was fine, the CW one. Hooly dooly. It was early 3.5E and the understanding wasn't quite there of the power gap we all know between martials and casters. So, minimal points per level, only one good save, weak powers the whole way through, AND its got the paladin problem of a 'abide by this code of conduct or lose everything' going on. It doesn't get any good stuff that other classes can't get better versions of with feats. You could literately just play a fighter and, with the right feats, outdo everything this class does.

Its worse than the Truenamer, which at least can do some things once you master the mess of its system and has the payoff of "Struggle through 20 broken levels, become Angel Summoner at the end and exploit a rules loophole". CW Samurai never accomplishes anything that other classes can't pull off simpler.

 

[Zardnaar]

2e Templar: Found only in the original Dark Sun campaign setting, this class was left out of the revised boxed set put out later, and it's not hard to see why. While the mechanics of the templar class aren't terrible, the design is practically tailor-made to cause conflict within the party. When's the last time you saw a PC class that couldn't be good-aligned? Or had a list of political powers that not only didn't work outside of their home city-state, but encouraged them to act like a petty thug within it (e.g. earning the right to have freemen, and later nobles, thrown in jail on the templar's say-so; as I recall, this could include other PCs)? And the list of class-based experience awards gave the biggest bonuses for advancing the agenda of their sorcerer-king, the local despot whom the templar worshiped for power. Unless you were running an all-templar party, or an evil-themed campaign, this class was just asking for trouble.

Erm Templar was strong as. Could cast any spell, lots of money in its state and just had to be non good.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

vampire isn't something that should've been a class in the first place.

Vampire as a class is still one of the best ideas that dnd has had in like 30 years.

It's perfect.

The only way it could have been better would be if it was explicitly a Hybrid class, so that you have to mix it with another class. But only the execution of the class actually being any good was wrong with the class. The concept was spot on.

 

[Jadeite]

3.0 Bard - While the songs per day were tied to the class level, their effect depended on ranks in performance.

 

[Azuresun]

I see the Truenamer get mentioned, but I'd like to offer up the 3.5E Ultimate Warrior Samurai as another one as I feel, even though the Truenamer barely functions, the UW Samurai is weaker.

Do you mean Complete Warrior? An Ultimate Warrior class would be something completely different, though I'd play it!

 

[The Glen]

BECMI halfling. Just a short fighter that caps at level 8. All the penalties of the halfling and few of the benefits of the fighter

 

[Alzrius]

Erm Templar was strong as. Could cast any spell, lots of money in its state and just had to be non good.

It went beyond "just having to be non-good." As I said, it wasn't an issue of mechanics, it was an issue of the templar lending itself much too easily to intra-party strife. Why do you think the class was dropped when the revised boxed set came out?

 

[Alzrius]

BECMI halfling. Just a short fighter that caps at level 8. All the penalties of the halfling and few of the benefits of the fighter

I seem to recall that the Master Set (and, later, Rules Cyclopedia) established that demihumans still gain some benefits for accruing experience points after they hit their level cap. I think it was better to-hit chances and the ability to advance in weapon mastery?

 

[WayOfTheFourElements]

BECMI halfling. Just a short fighter that caps at level 8. All the penalties of the halfling and few of the benefits of the fighter

Well, the OD&D halfling capped at level 4 and had a grand total of 0 special abilities to make up for it.