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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eldritch_Lord" data-source="post: 5947252" data-attributes="member: 52073">Paladin auras aren't just a WoW thing; D&D paladins have had magic circles against evil, auras of courage, and the like throughout their career.  If anything is to define the paladin as being different from a fighter/cleric, I think auras are probably the right way to go.Note that we already know there will be class-specific themes--Mearls said that Necromancer is a theme for arcane and divine classes only--so it's entirely possible to go with a "themes = subclasses" approach and make paladin a theme for clerics and fighters only, for instance.-------------------------------------A thought on paladins being a class.  Those who played 2e probably remember how UA turned paladins from a fighter subclass into a cavalier subclass.  Whether one liked that particular change or not (I'm guessing many fall into the latter category), it does bring up the issue that paladins don't have to be a fighter++ to "feel like D&D."So far, people have been talking about the paladin as if he's "basically a fighter, with cleric-y stuff" and a ranger as if he's "basically a fighter [or rogue], with wilderness stuff."  What if that's not the only option?  We know they're not going with just the fighter/wizard/rogue/cleric quartet for core, so the more niche classes don't have to be variations on just those four.  What if there's a Champion class (or whatever other name works) for niche classes that are partly magical and are devoted to a cause?The defining features of the Champion could be that it casts a certain thematic subset of spells, has combat stuff making it particularly effective against enemies of the cause, has a special companion of some sort that grows in power with him, and has social stuff making it get along particularly well with friends of the cause (possibly among other things).<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Paladin becomes a Champion of lawful goodness, or Good, or whatever: it casts some alignment- and healing-related spells to find evildoers and heal the sick, it smites evil, it has a holy mount, and has knight-like social perks in good society.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Ranger becomes a Champion of nature, or small communities in the woods, or whatever: it casts some plant- and stealth-related spells to command his environment and stalk his prey, it has favored enemies, it has animal companions, and it has wild empathy or the equivalent.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Samurai, if there's a 5e Oriental Adventures, becomes a Champion of his ancestors, or his lord, or whatever: it casts some divination- and fear-related spells to commune with the spirits and intimidate his foes, it is particularly effective against shadowlands creatures, it has an ancestral weapon, and it is highly honorable.</li> </ul>And so on.  I could see similar themes for bladesingers (Champions of the elven people), templars (Champions of the Dark Sun dragon tyrants), demon worshipers (Champions of non-divine patrons), barbarians (the 4e primal version or 3e animal totem version, Champions of their totems) and more.  There could be other "hybrid" base classes to help bring niche classes out from the shadow of the classic four:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Mystic class, for the classes that have a divine flavor (power from a patron or source, magic themed from that source, etc.) but an arcane playstyle (e.g. more blasting/CC/summoning than healing/buffing/protection) and have a magical schtick that doesn't clearly fit into either the arcane or divine mold perfectly, like the shugenja (elements), the druid (shapechanging), or the warlock (curses).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">a Gish class (needs a better name), for the classes that are sort of magical but have a really narrow magical skill set and only or mostly have personal-range stuff while the rest of their shtick is nonmagical, like the monk or swordsage (mostly does mobility and unarmed strike enhancement, has some defensive stuff), the swordmage (mostly does teleporting and weapon enhancement, has some defensive stuff), and the ninja (mostly does detection and stealth enhancement, has some offensive stuff).</li> </ul>Essentially, we know that there are going to be more than 4 base classes, so we don't need to keep trying to fit niche classes as variants of the classic four.  If it works well enough, like the illusionist or sorcerer being a wizard variant and the barbarian or ninja being a rogue variant, that's fine, but don't feel constrained by those four, since having another class as a base could provide some interesting variety.  Heck, the assassin class is one example of a class people don't think should exist but could do a lot of different things based on its classification: as a Rogue theme/variant, it's a sneaky, nonmagical killer who focuses the rogue more towards combat; as a Champion theme/variant, it's a guy who gets benefits against a contracted target and has some minor stealth magic; as a Gish theme/variant, it's a callback to the 4e assassin with his shadowy powers.So...yeah.  That's my crazy suggestion of the day.  Carry on.</blockquote>

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