D&D 5E Turn 2 full casters into pact casters

[TwoSix]

In the core 5e rules, there is one pact caster (Warlock) and 5 other full casters (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard).

Assume, as a hypothetical, you wanted to have 3 pact casters and 3 full casters in your version of the core rules.

What 2 classes of the 5 full casters would you turn into pact casters, with the full suite of Pact Magic, Invocations, and Mystic Arcanum, tailored to the class?

What informed your choices? What other changes to the class would you make to support that change?

 

[mamba]

Does that mean they also have to have a pact with something, or is this purely mechanical?

 

[TwoSix]

Does that mean they also have to have a pact with something, or is this purely mechanical?

Purely mechanical.

 

[ezo]

Clerics and Druids. Warlock are really just wanna-be Clerics anyway.

or go old-school vs. new: Bards and Sorcerers join Warlocks; Clerics, Druids, and Wizard carry over from the old editions.

 

[Dausuul]

Sorcerer is a no-brainer. The warlock mechanic fits the sorcerer concept perfectly; better, in fact, than it fits the warlock concept.

For the third option, I'd pick druid. It would make druidic magic feel truly distinct from clerical magic, and their invocations could be different wild shapes.

 

[bedir than]

I'd make Bard's half-pact casters

Druids I'd like to change because they need more differentiation from Clerics and I think having Wild Shape be an invocation type thing adds more granularity

 

[mamba]

Bard and Druid. Bard because I never felt they should be full casters, have them be the Half-Rogue, Half-Caster. Druid so it is more different from Cleric, focus it more on wild shape.

 

[Quickleaf]

In the core 5e rules, there is one pact caster (Warlock) and 5 other full casters (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard).

Assume, as a hypothetical, you wanted to have 3 pact casters and 3 full casters in your version of the core rules.

What 2 classes of the 5 full casters would you turn into pact casters, with the full suite of Pact Magic, Invocations, and Mystic Arcanum, tailored to the class?

What informed your choices? What other changes to the class would you make to support that change?

I actually homebrewed an "Archivist" class that did a version of what you propose. It's not one of the core classes like you were asking for though, so not sure if it's relevant for discussion.

 

[overgeeked]

go old-school vs. new: Bards and Sorcerers join Warlocks; Clerics, Druids, and Wizard carry over from the old editions.

Came here to say this, despite bards being in AD&D.

 

[Minigiant]

Sorcerers. Sorcery is internal. You could interpret it of "soul stamina" and make it regenerate with rest.

Druid. Druids could regenerate spells fast because they are restored from the earth, sky, and water.