Unfounded Power/Role Speculation OR What I Want for Christmas

[AverageCitizen]

This is to talk about how we hope the currently unassigned classes fall on the power/role chart.

Necromancer: Arcane Defender. This would definitely provide a different take on the role.

Monk: ? Controller. Although, they seem to be pretty stringent with the controller role. Is it confirmed that Wizards are going to be the only controller in the PHB?

Anyway, hopefully people just throw out some ideas that sound cool.

 

[The Human Target]

I really like the idea of Monk's as Martial Controllers.

I hope Bard is the Arcane Leader.

I'd like a straight up Priest/Favored Soul to be the divine controller.

I'd like Druids to be Divine (I don't like the assumed Wild power source idea) Striker/Controllers.

 

[Saishu_Heiki]

Personally, I wanted the Necromancer to be an arcane/shadow leader. I liked the idea of the necromancer using powers to drain the life out of his enemies and use that same lifeforce to bolster his allies.

As for the monk, I am hoping to see a version of the monk that has powers that trigger off of the new grappling rules. I am a big fan of the simplified grapple, but having a class that use an action to grapple, then that opens up new powers (hip throw, armbar, etc) would be cool. Of course, this monk would probably have to have a class feature/feat that lets him grapple monsters outside of the +/- 1 size category limitation.

 

[DJCupboard]

Necro as defendier is a really cool spin on the concept. Throwing up skeletons and zombies to keep the baddies away from the strikers and controllers. Neat!

 

[AverageCitizen]

Personally, I wanted the Necromancer to be an arcane/shadow leader. I liked the idea of the necromancer using powers to drain the life out of his enemies and use that same lifeforce to bolster his allies.

But then who would raise the dead to be their unholy servitors?

Necro as defendier is a really cool spin on the concept. Throwing up skeletons and zombies to keep the baddies away from the strikers and controllers. Neat!

Yeah, I think if they're going to use undead as any major kind of class feature they're either strikers or defenders. I personally like the defender idea better.

Otherwise they'd have to go with Saishu_Heiki's kind of idea... but I must admit I'd be disappointed. Not that I don't like the idea of a shadow/leader, but I'd be sad if it was the necromancer.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Let me think here...

Necromancers as a Shadow Leader is a good idea.

A Shadow Defender or Striker class based around the idea of a warrior who augments his own strength by using the power of Shadow would be a good thing to see (and the more it resembles the character Oswald from the videogame Odin Sphere, the better).

I would like to see a Divine Controller class called the Monk, with no martial arts abilities inherent to the class at all. This Monk class would use Prayer abilities to create wards, seals,, perform exorcisms, and other stuff like that.

I want a class that is a lot like the Bo9S Swordsage or the 3.5 Monk class, which would probably be a Martial Striker or Controller, though the idea of a Ki Power Source seems popular (not that I like the idea...). Just any kind of lightly-armored fighter who can reasonably pull off things like bare-handed combat or iaijutsu combat would be a lot of fun.

Proper Ninja and Samurai classes would be great. I can imagine the Samurai being either a Martial (Ki?) Defender or Striker who uses heavy armor and can use either a sword or a bow (since samurai were archers long before they identified themselves as swordsmen). A Ninja would not be martial, and probably be either Arcane, Ki, or some more unique power source, and probably either a Striker or Controller (or different classes that can do both). Trying to stick to historically accurate ninjas is a very easy way to create a boring class...

 

[Dark080matter]

All I want for Christmas is my two favorite classes.....

Well well nice I like the topic OP. Here's my wishlist, complete with relevant links to any ongoing forum discussions being had over at the Wizards message boards. In order of how badly I want it

1.) 4e Duskblade Thread I really want this one because it fits one of the NPC characters I'm concepting for my upcoming 4e setting much better than the Swordmage (probably) will. You can see the thread for more details on that. Basically the topic of discussion is a Arcane melee Striker, flavored off the Duskblade from the 3.5 PHBII. I think it would be a great counterpart to a Swordmage Arcane defender, would really round out the Power source (along with the upcoming Bard, I suppose), and also... I really dig the idea! Good job Wizardmon for his work on it!

2.) Another controller for pete's sake! Finding the Holy Remote: another divine controller! This sadly neglected thread, OP'ed by the peerless (and indefatigable!) Ironblue, is a promotion of ideas for a Divine Controller that would actually be very unique in mechanics from the Wizard. Concepts include the use of "retributive" Prayers that mark allies/terrain/etc. with delayed ranged attacks that trigger at the approach of enemies, and also abjuration-like effects that deny enemies their abilities. Cool flavor, and it fits the archetype of the evangelizing Inquisitor quite well ("Pelor consecrates this ground, trespass fool and be ye Smote!" "By the will of Bahamut, molest not my brethren, or face his Divine Wrath!") Go check it out and post to save this unjustly dying thread (oh yeah also cuz I made a really good contribution to it!)

3.) from the Psionic power source, I would quite like to see this: Psionics and Soulknife?. Buncha ideas kicking around for taking the Soulknife and somewhat merging it with the Lurk (from Complete Psionic) in order to form a more perfect Union... errr, Psionic melee Striker. Huh, that makes two melee Strikers I want. Guess that kinda stuff just excites me. Oh, as a corollary to this, I suppose that it would make the Psychic Warrior the Defender of Psionics. But that wouldn't surprise anybody, would it?

4.) The Druid! But not what you think! In direct opposition to what Wizards has said in R&C about the Druid focusing on shapeshifting more, I want to see the shapeshifting reserved for some other darn class (the Shapeshifter, Primal Striker perhaps? w/e I guess), and instead make a real Druid: Primal Controller! I can't find any living threads devoted to this anymore, but this class needs to happen! (even if by some other name :\) There is just so much great potential for summoned lightning storms, blasts of wind, insect swarms, terrain-effecting powers, Wild Overgrowth, Earthquakes, etc. that it's mind-bending.

5.) well... my last one and I swear I'll leave peacefully. This is a class that I made! The Dragoon, A truly Martial Controller I won't say much more about this, other than to say it's at the bottom of the list because I can very easily see Wizards choosing not to make a Martial controller for sake of leaving a deliberate gap in the Power source, and also because most of the ideas out there are just a tad too contrived and/or limited (and I almost tend to agree with them...). It was a fun mental exercise however.

Thanks for listening! Keep some of these great threads alive!

 

[Dark080matter]

ah... whoops. I just realized I kinda colored outside the lines in my response to the thread, the OP specifically asked for our wishes of the way existing classes would end up in 4e. And two of the classes I bring up are hypothetical only, without any earlier precedent. But to actually answer the question:

Duskblade - Arcane melee Striker
Druid - Primal Controller (sans shapeshifting )
Soulknife - Psionic melee Striker (merged with the Lurk)
Barbarian - Primal Defender
Shapeshifter - Primal melee Striker (the other half of Druid)

 

[AverageCitizen]

Well well nice I like the topic OP.

Thanks.

ah... whoops. I just realized I kinda colored outside the lines in my response to the thread, the OP specifically asked for our wishes of the way existing classes would end up in 4e. And two of the classes I bring up are hypothetical only, without any earlier precedent.

I'm not picky. I didn't intend to be exclusive. I shall check out your threads tomorrow, but tonight I must sleep. It has truly been the Sunday of Smash, and my eyelids are heavy.

 

[Enverxis]

In reply to some of the power source / role speculations, this is how I think it will turn out.

Martial - Fighter (Defender), Rogue (Striker), Ranger (Striker), Warlord (Leader)
Arcane - Wizard (Controller), Warlock (Striker), Bard (Leader)
Divine - Cleric (Leader), Paladin (Defender)
Primal - Barbarian (Defender), Druid (Striker or Leader), Sorcerer (Controller)

The monk could be either Martial or Divine, and a Controller or Striker.

That leaves room for an Arcane Defender (Spellsword / Swordmage type?), a Divine Controller or Stiker (whichever the Monk isn't) and another Primal slot (whichever the Druid and Sorcerer doesn't fill, to round out to 16 base classes, and perhaps adding a Psionic Source as well with the four styles.

With the Druids will mainly be working with a choice of shapeshifting or Animal Companions, otherwise they would still kind of be too similar to the cleric. This ties in with the main thing Druids do in the fantasy novels and whatnot, and their other "spells" will be a more minor feature.

That's how I think they will design it, since it seems to be very mathematically based, it would make sense to keep the trend of a role from each power source.

They will probably releasing new classes tied in with new power sources. So they'll bring in the Primal Source with the Barbarian, Druid, Sorcerer and something else (to fill out the four roles). Then the Psionics with four roles for that. Then perhaps a Shadow power source, and so on and so forth.