D&D 5E What new classes do you think we need?

[Xeviat]

Hiya everyone. For a long time, I thought 5E had the most perfect set of classes for traditional D&D. The twelve base classes of 5E feel like they could cover pretty much all of the archetypes I can imagine. The archetype/subclass system makes it easy for them to branch out.

If the archetype system were expanded to allow reductive abilities as well, I think the twelve base classes could cover for even more classes. For instance, if the Fighter's Archetypes allowed for swapping out Extra Attack for other abilities (like how the UA Ranger was redesigned), the Fighter could cover the Warlord a lot better (give up Extra Attack for "grant attack" for instance).

The Psion always stood out as a needed 13th class. Despite my recent theorizing thread, the existing Sorcerer couldn't really cover for the psion. And now the UA Artificer has me nodding in acceptance to it being a different class (especially because they rolled engineer and alchemist together under it).

With all that said, what archetypes can you think of that you feel are deserving of their own classes. Do you think a fantasy Samurai would need its own class that a fighter subclass couldn't cover? Do you think the Sorcerer has base abilities that wouldn't lend themselves to an Elementalist? Is the Pyschich Warrior, Ardent, Soul Knife, Wilder, or Battlemind so different from the Psion that they couldn't be housed under the Mystic together? Do you want a shadowy Assassin, or do you hold onto hope for a true Warlord?

Here's my offering:

I think a true Summoner or a Shapechanger could be deserving of their own class in the right setting. Sure, a Summoner could be handed by the Wizard, a new subclass, and plenty of new summoning spells, but they'd have to ban other spells for it to feel right (unless "I summoned fire" flies with you). The same could be said for a shapechanger being a wizard with new spells, but again, banning all other magic would feel odd.


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[Yunru]

Warlord, Psion, Runesmith

All have niches that can't be covered by current classes. Warlords come closest with a Bannerret/Mastermind MC, but that has it's own problems.

 

[Shiroiken]

The only class I could see added to the base game would be the Psion (or some variation). There are several classes I could think of that are needed for specific settings, such as Artificer for Ebberon. I know that many people REALLY want to see a Warlord class, but I doubt that will ever happen (I could see it as a sub-class of Fighter, however). I could see a Swordmage as an Int based half-caster, just to balance things out a bit, but I don't think it's really needed thanks to the EK and Bladesinger. Other than that, I think most concept can be done better as sub-classes, feats, or backgrounds.

 

[S'mon]

I'd like a real 4e Warlord and maybe a 4e Ranger, though the Fighter arguably covers the latter ok.
It definitely does not cover Warlord - I tried a 5e Fighter with warlord type build, and am currently playing a 4e Warlord, and there is no comparison.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Personally? None that I can think of, although I'd like to see the Artificer adjusted and a more official version produced.

However, there seems to be a demand for a Psion class to use different mechanics to the spell system, so that would probably have to be a separate class. Likewise there are people demanding a Warlord with various mechanics that couldn't be delivered by current classes.
The issue that you have is that concepts can vary, and there is no guarantee that the official WotC version of the Psion or Warlord will actually satisfy everyone who is demanding them.
There are four or five different options for playing a 'gish' type character I think even before you start looking at multiclassing. There are still people wanting their own personal preference of a gish turned into another official class though.

Unless something actually requires unique mechanics, I think current classes and possibly subclasses can already cover most concepts. Samurai fits into Champion Fighter fine for example. Many of the psionic classes would work as subclasses of the psion or psionic subclasses of other classes etc.

I think that we're unlikely to see a dedicated Summoner class. There are already a couple of subclasses that come close, and the devs have stated that they're leery of the concept because it tends to mess with the flow of the game and the action economy. The existing Necromancer, Conjuror and possibly one of the UA Druids are probably the closest that we're going to get to that.

 

[CydKnight]

What new classes do we "need"? Nothing. It's not like I am at a point where I can't/won't play if I don't get a new class.

That said there are already plenty of interesting homebrew character class ideas out there and I'm sure that many, if not most, would be fun to play. In fact, I believe the 5E rules even allow for you to create your own.

 

[jasper]

DM 100 How to behave if your dm is a goober?
PH 100 How to behave if you are goober?
PH 050 How to ID goobers?
DM 100 How to spot dice cheats at table?
PH 050 Clean Player Sheet or does your hand writing suck?
MM 400 How not to use your knowledge of monsters at the game table?

 

[Yunru]

DM 100 How to behave if your dm is a goober?
PH 100 How to behave if you are goober?
PH 050 How to ID goobers?
DM 100 How to spot dice cheats at table?
PH 050 Clean Player Sheet or does your hand writing suck?
MM 400 How not to use your knowledge of monsters at the game table?

Forums 101: How to be relevant to the thread?

 

[Sacrosanct]

Need? Nothing. Honestly, I think most of the things people want can be achieved through things like additional feats and subclasses, including the warlord. Maybe a class that uses a different mechanic like psionics, but that's always sort of been the red headed stepchild of D&D classes anyway. We don't need it, but I can see where some people would like to have it.

 

[TwoSix]

We already have all those, unless you don't consider third party sources to be "real". A collated list of the best 3rd party material is better crunch than anything in SCAG, VGtM, or the UA articles.