D&D General What is the right amount of Classes for Dungeons and Dragons?

[Aldarc]

clerics do not work roleplay-wise in most games, theurge or gifted power does not work in most game's construction.
the cleric was normally a support option and that fails in single-player.

Basically video games realized, single-player or not, that a lot of magic healing and support utility can easily be put on the mage. There was no reason that it needed to be a separate class. And when you expand classes beyond the three, what often happens is that instead of having a Cleric, the Paladin analogue becomes the armored holy magic-wielder.

hell a warcraft cleric is not remotely god loving and that is a damn old setting these days.

Fun fact: "God" is referenced a number of times in the cleric spells of the Warcraft: Orcs & Humans game manual. However, over subsequent games, "god" was removed from human religion as it more generally became the "Church of the Holy Light."

In Warcraft 2, clerics are replaced by Paladins, and we get more about "the Light." In Warcraft 3, we still have the Paladin, which maintains the whole bit about "the Light." We also get the elven priest, which really becomes more of a light-armored mage with healing and some utility. By the time that we finally get to World of Warcraft, the Priest has shifted to a more generic mage focused on "the Light" and "the Void," with their magic power being fueled by conviction. In some ways, the contemporaneous Warcraft Priest is something between a mix of a Cleric, a Psion, and a Jedi Counselor. I admittedly quite like it. But the role of the heavily armored holy representative of the Light was taken by the Paladin. Then in WoW: Cataclysm we also saw that it was possible for there to be Void Paladins but we have not been able to play one.

If I could, I probably would make a Priest or Mystic as a light-armored spellcaster because I think that the identities and aesthetics of the Cleric and Paladin in D&D overlap a little too much.

 

[Chalice]

why do so many want four?

Fighter, Cleric, Thief, Magic-User.

Personally, I like some variation on those too: Ranger & Paladin, Druid, -, and Warlock perhaps.

So, whether that’s 4 or 7-8, is yeah, open to interpretation. But I see it as fundamentally 4.

 

[Aldarc]

why do so many want four?

Not me, but I suspect that it's mostly...

 

[TiQuinn]

why do so many want four?

I think because everyone read the question as “what’s the lowest number of classes I need for D&D?”

 

[GrimCo]

Also, cause with four broad classes, you can mix and match to make pretty much any concept you want and still keep game relatively simple.

Althoug, i would stand by that cleric and magic user are one class, cause they use same basic mechanic, spellcasting. Slots, levels, spells. Only difference is in fluff, not so much in crunch.

 

[fuindordm]

I think we can have any number of "full caster" classes as long as their spell lists are significantly different. AD&D cleric, druid, MU and illusionist supported different play styles largely by this means.

In contrast, in 5E, almost any caster can access the best spells of any spell list via domains, bloodlines, patrons, magical secrets, etc. And there is a lot more overlap between the base spell lists than there used to be. This is why I would favor a cleric/druid and wiz/sorcerer merge... in 5E.

 

[Remathilis]

why do so many want four?

The idea of quantum classes where every possible character idea can be siloed into the classic BD&D four without sacrificing their flavor and while keeping the game simple. See: pony, shiny saddle.

Of course, the idea breaks down the minute you put even an ounce of real thought into it. What you get is either a dozen ideas expressed in the most superficial way (warlock: a wizard who gets a cool cantrip and a few invocations) or generic over class that has to encompass so many diverse class elements that it's functionally no different from a bunch of unique classes anyway.

Outside the realm of Internet discussion though, you find most people do not feel making the wizard, warlock, sorcerer and maybe bard into one class and then either making you spend your customization points on making them feel different to be worth it. People hemmed and hawed when they proposed replacing pact magic with spellcasting, but they will be cool with making the whole warlock into a half-dozen subclass features for a generic magic user class? Right...

 

[Corinnguard]

why do so many want four?

Probably because some people look at some of the classes, and think they are a variant of another class.

Barbarian- a Fighter with serious Anger Management Issues.
Bard- an extroverted Wizard who likes to put on a performance.
Cleric- Kobold Press has a divine version of the Wizard known as the Priest. So a cleric is really a priest who learned the ways of the Fighter in order to go spread the faith while being armored up.
Druid- a back-to-nature priest.
Fighter-as is.
Monk- a really introspective Fighter known using their hands and feet in combat. Pathfinder 1st edition has the Unarmed Fighter archetype. Fighters with this archetype have been known to dress up as monks.
Paladin- a Fighter who has learned some ways of the Priest while being a zealous defender of their faith.
Ranger- a Fighter who operates in the wilderness and learned some of the ways of the back-to-nature priest.
Rogue- as is.
Sorcerer- a Wizard whose magic stems from a distant supernatural ancestor.
Warlock- a Wizard who has made a pact with a supernatural being in order to use magic.
Wizard- as is.
Artificer- a Wizard known for their technological prowess.

So all of this is a bit of class reductionism. However, each of these classes are based on a specific concept that sets them apart from one another. When you think of the word, Ranger, you are thinking of someone like Aragorn, not Gimli, who happens to be a Fighter. And while Gandalf isn't technically a wizard, he's probably the first person who comes to mind when you think about Wizards.

 

[GrimCo]

Mechanics wise, Aragorn is half elf fighter. Pure and simple. Stealth, athletics, survival, perception and herbalism kit. Here you go.

D&D has 3 main mechanics. Attacks (melee and ranged), spells and skills. And that's class trifecta. One class for each of 3 main mechanics.

 

[pemerton]

Mechanics wise, Aragorn is half elf fighter. Pure and simple. Stealth, athletics, survival, perception and herbalism kit. Here you go.

Paladin. He turns undead and heals with a touch.