Which Class Would You Like to See?

[Andor]

You missed some important options in your poll.

Powersource: Ninja
Powersource: Pirate
Powersource: Dinosaur
Powersource: Dragonboobs
Powersource: Robot
Powersource: Teh awesomesauce!!?!

 

[jaldaen]

You missed some important options in your poll.

You forgot "Power Source:mojo/Role:Swinger" (for those Austin Powers fanatasy settings out there)

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I voted "other," because none of the options appealed to me and I have an obsessive compulsion to vote in polls.

I'm not interested in seeing power source/role combinations. I'm interested in seeing character archetypes. If filling the classic character archetypes of fantasy resulted in dozens of martial defenders and zero divine strikers, then I'd be fine with that. I don't like looking at character classes at this level of mechanical precision, I prefer to judge how interesting they are based on a more general level of theme and archetype rather than mechanic.

I feel this way, but perhaps even more strongly. What I really *do not* want to see, and indeed will not buy, is books full of character classes arbitarily created to fit "source/role combos". I want to see stuff with mythic resonance, stuff that's exciting on a visceral, non-nerdy level. Stuff that's not "neat-o" but genuinely cool and interesting.

To be brutally honest, I think the whole source/role thing is going to create some really god-awful character classes, dozens of them, in fact, and push a lot of other classes into inappropriate places. I'd rather see re-imaginings or expansions of some of the basic combinations (like Martial Defender and Martial Striker) than "exotic" stuff like "Shadow Leader".

If I'm forced to pick power sources, I want more non-magic power sources, really, but I know I'm not going to see it. Martial is a start, but if that's supposed to cover all non-magic/psi/ki power, I'm a little disappointed.

What I'd most like to see from third-party publishers would be them coming up with a cool and elegant way to completely remove the role/power source deal, and create classes without regards to that. I'm sure it's a minority interest, but it'd interest me.

 

[Serendipity]

To be brutally honest, I think the whole source/role thing is going to create some really god-awful character classes, dozens of them, in fact, and push a lot of other classes into inappropriate places. I'd rather see re-imaginings or expansions of some of the basic combinations (like Martial Defender and Martial Striker) than "exotic" stuff like "Shadow Leader".

I would be hard pressed to believe the proliferation of character classes could be any worse than in 3.x, wherein some of the base classes and IMO a lot of the PrCs were an arbitrary array of Kewl Powrz with the barest thread of fluff text to hold them together. (Not *all* Prestige Classes of course, but a good many.)
To be clear, I pretty much agree with you on the point you raise, but I don't think it will be any better with 4e than it was was 3.x - though I am trying to keep an open mind.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

There's a lot of mention of "needless symmetry" going around (maybe not in this thread, but in general). In other words, is there really a need to assign every role to the various power types. The answer of course is no, it's certainly not necessary. But if something meaningful and interesting can be done, then it should be.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I would be hard pressed to believe the proliferation of character classes could be any worse than in 3.x, wherein some of the base classes and IMO a lot of the PrCs were an arbitrary array of Kewl Powrz with the barest thread of fluff text to hold them together. (Not *all* Prestige Classes of course, but a good many.)
To be clear, I pretty much agree with you on the point you raise, but I don't think it will be any better with 4e than it was was 3.x - though I am trying to keep an open mind.

Obviously, I hope you're correct, and I do agree about many of the 3.5E base classes (the Hexblade and Dusk Sword or whatever that crude Fighter/Mage attempt was called, come to mind). However, I'm pretty sure that whilst the WotC designers will likely make fairly good use of the source/role combos (after all, they mostly seem to have so far, though the prospect of the Assassin and Necromancer as "Shadow" classes makes me roll my eyes), but third-parties? I think we're going to see a LOT of arbitary role-filling. Oh, there's no Shadow Defender? Time for the Tenebrous Guardian! No Arcane Leader? Looks like a job for the Wizardlord! /facepalm.

It's not that they *can't* be done well, it's that the very nature of the source/role combo encourages people to make a class to fill the socket, rather than come up with a strong class idea, and see how it fits into the structure.

As for the proliferation of PrCs, I think we'll see that repeated, only this time with Paragon Classes. I also have no doubt that we will see at least one book of Epic Destinies where the word "Epic" as been confused with "overpowered and overwrought" in over 60% of the Destinies present.

 

[drothgery]

However, I'm pretty sure that whilst the WotC designers will likely make fairly good use of the source/role combos (after all, they mostly seem to have so far, though the prospect of the Assassin and Necromancer as "Shadow" classes makes me roll my eyes), but third-parties? I think we're going to see a LOT of arbitary role-filling. Oh, there's no Shadow Defender? Time for the Tenebrous Guardian! No Arcane Leader? Looks like a job for the Wizardlord! /facepalm.

I think you're pretty much right, though the specific examples are a bit off. I mean, the Hexblade is an obvious Shadow Defender if there ever was one (though you might not see it for a while if the FR swordmage is a good enough catch-all warrior mage type), and the bard's already been cast as an Arcane Leader. It seems kind of odd that Arcane looks to be the first power source with all roles filled (with warlock/striker and wizard/controller in PH1, swordmage/defender in the FRCG, and bard/leader in PHB2); I'd've thought it would have been divine.

I'd imagine that a lot of the arbitrary role-filling will come when a 3rd party introduces a new power source and decides they need to fill all four roles with it, or decides to 'fill in the grid' where it shouldn't be filled (martial controllers and psionic leaders come to mind, and despite my Hexblade note above, shadow defenders are borderline).

 

[Imp]

Obviously, I hope you're correct, and I do agree about many of the 3.5E base classes (the Hexblade and Dusk Sword or whatever that crude Fighter/Mage attempt was called, come to mind). However, I'm pretty sure that whilst the WotC designers will likely make fairly good use of the source/role combos (after all, they mostly seem to have so far, though the prospect of the Assassin and Necromancer as "Shadow" classes makes me roll my eyes), but third-parties? I think we're going to see a LOT of arbitary role-filling.

I am pretty sure a proliferation of base classes is the 4E model. I am not super crazy about the source/role combo as a method of class generation either – I'm still unconvinced that power sources even mean anything – but, it's there. It's just that 4E is expressly not a system where you can gracefully (sort of) build all sorts of character types by mixing and matching and customizing a few base classes. So you're gonna get a lot of base classes. It will be "worse" than 3.x if that sort of thing drives you crazy.

(It doesn't me. I personally didn't mind the number of base classes in 3.5e with the splatbooks. Some could have been a whole lot better. The duskblade was fine. Hexblade, not super compelling.)

 

[Mostlyjoe]

Psi Striker - I want the Soul Knife back.

 

[Pale]

What I'd really like to see are classes not constrained by role. But I voted Primal Striker.