D&D 5E (2024) What should the 15th Class be?

[Minigiant]

So... smites.

Nah the other way

The way to do it is a combination of a feature to add the effect of a cantrip to an attack with a weapon, and spells that are only work taking to use with weapon attacks.

Half caster spells aren’t weak, they’re only weak in the hands of someone not focused on weapon use. People compare them to wizard spells as if the wizard is also stabbing someone as a martial character in the same turn, rather than only casting the spell. The smites and similar Ranger spells make the paladin and Ranger deal damage and apply strong conditions to a degree that makes them competitive with any other class. (Ranger in 24 isn’t weak, just frustrating, and Paladin is still one of the best classes)

The other thing to do for a gish is to give monk-like discipline moves they can do as a BA or alongside casting or attacking, and/or warlock invocation style features that let you do basic magic stuff at-will that others need spell slots to do. The game doesn’t even fit from “what if Wish, but with a sword”, but it would benefit from a class that at high level can deal any damage type with each attack while making a spell into a rider effect on an attack, with some spells that do stuff that other classes don’t really do involving both magical effects and physical attack/movement/etc within the same action.

I'm not talking about Ranger/Paladin right now.

I'm talking about the Gish.

The way I would do it is heavy spell that lets you attack five times. You cast it it gives you temporary haste which allows you to attack five times.

You cast another spell that lets you attack from 100 ft away.

You cast another spell that lets you teleport to the Target anytime someone makes an opportunity attack against it.

You cast aspell that leaves a clone of yourself next to the Target which continuously attacks them as you go to other things.

You cast a spell that temporarily makes you invisible when you're attacking for that turn only so your target cannot see where you're stabbing them.

In exchange you do not get extra attack.

Basically instead of getting extra attack indomitable and movement bonuses from your base class you have spells that you cast on yourself or your enemy which gives you a offense defense and movement buff. Your base attack is better than a spellcaster and your spell list allows you to use your better basic attack.

 

[Peter BOSCO'S]

What if there was one new class per year, in a book about a setting that features that class? So 2025 = Eberron = Artificer. 2026 could = Dark Sun could = Psion. 2027 could = Exandria could = Gunfighter. 2028 could = Dragonlance could = Warlord

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Exandria is by a 3PP and there is a gunfighter class in D&DB. A warlord in Dragonlance? Maybe but this would be better for Birthright. For Dragonlance I would suggest the knight class.

Other point. If the arcane warrior casted spells that needed somatic components.. couldn't she use a shield or would that hand too busy for somatic components? What is the difference in the battlefield of a "gish/duskblade/swordmage" and a warmage or a wizard with sword and shield? If a duskblade casted spells for ranged attacks then she would be a "warmage" from 3.5 complete arcane. Do you understand what I mean?

Swashbuckler is now a subclass but I would like a "gallant" class, a "fencer" with "martial maneuvers". Althought this would be practically the swordsage with a different name.

* I have got an idea for an arcane+stealth hybrid class. The origin of this class is a criminal or illegal group, maybe they weren't bad guys, only rebels against a tyrant or like this. These needed magic against the "expensive" spellcasters hired by the nobles and they found a "cheaper option". Then these wannabe-ninjas can use "hand-seals" and like this for arcane effects, but the handicap is their magic can cause "backslash". Do you remember when rogues fail "use magic item" checks and they suffer any penalty? Now let's imagine those "nokizaru" ( = macaque on the roof) with too many "backslash points" and these turned into a hostile power (chosen by the DM), for example a monster giant frog appears in the middle of the battlefield. Or after a hard enemy to be defeated, this healed misteriously by an unknown power (this could be really bad when it is the sentinel being about to cry alert for the intruders).

 

[Jim Cummins]

As I was scanning through this thread an idea hit me of a Spirit Walker class.

They talk to/ or bind/ or contract with different spirits, and the sub classes are spécifique to the type of spirit they work with, Ghost, elemental, Cthulhu style insanity, alignment entities ( ie the guiding spirits of each alignment, animal guides, etc. each one provides different abilities, can be summoned for different effect, etc.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

A Spirit-Walker class sounds like a remake of the vestige binder from 3.5. Tome of Magic. If she couldn't change the patron then it would be only a "primal warlock". There was a sourcebook about shamans in 2nd Ed. This had got three subclasses, tribal (she works for the tribe or group), solitary (more focused into spirit world than ordinary people) and spiritualist (survivor who lost her tribe. you can't trust her very much). These subclasses had got exclusive spells. The interesting part is the "invisible landscape" could be altered by the beliefs of the humanoids. Then this "spirit realm" could become "liminal horror" like the backrooms or fundation SCP.

Could the shaman class work like a mixture of druid, warlock and binder with any touch of totemist (Magic of Incarnum)?