D&D 5E Which classes have the least identity?

[Clint_L]

I think this poll suffers from very unclear definitions.

For example, the identity of a fighter or wizard (formerly "magic-user") is very clear: person who fights, person who uses magic. Everyone gets it, right away.

On the other hand, maybe identity needs to be specific. In that case, the more narrowly defined a class is, the more identity it has. A paladin would therefore be more specific than a fighter, since they are a fighter with an ethos plus faith-based magic. And so on.

In terms of my personal experience, the following are the most confusing to explain to new players:

1. Sorcerer (and it isn't close). "It's like a wizard. But their spells come from inside them, instead of from study. Or maybe from outside them."

2. Ranger: "It's like a fighter. But in nature. And some of them have a pet."

3. Barbarian: "It's like a fighter, who gets very angry. And doesn't wear much."

 

[MoonSong]

I'd have to check, but I thought they were first introduced in Pathfinder (before the split, when it was still a D&D campaign setting.)

They actually came first in Dragon Magazine.

 

[Stormonu]

Can we talk about the Artificer a moment? They are essentially "wizard(/sorcerer/warlock) who makes magic gear", and while they certainly have some unique abilities, their subclasses are so constraining. If their abilities were just rolled back into Wizard downtime creations, I wouldn't miss them - and having just recently started playing one, I think that's a shame. They really need a lot of development to turn them into a much broader class. They also tend to stick out like a sore thumb in "typical" S&S style campaigns, like trying to justifying including the monk.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Funny how much sorcerer hate there is in the comments yet wizard has twice the votes.

A lot of people are still smarting about never receiving their letter from Hogwarts.

 

[CleverNickName]

Funny how much sorcerer hate there is in the comments yet wizard has twice the votes.

Even funnier, is how both Fighter and Wizard manage to win every single poll. Most popular, least popular, best, worst, most or least powerful, doesn't matter. It's always Fighter and Wizard at the top.

 

[MoonSong]

But the class itself doesn't tell us what innate magic is or how they acquire it.

You know that if something is innate, it wasn't acquired, do you?

 

[Remathilis]

If one can't model what is probably the most popular fantasy TV show of all time in D&D, I think that's an issue.

Your campaign might need more blood hunters and fewer champions, but the game is bigger than any one campaign world, for better or worse.

You can't model it now, unless you ban every species but human and every class and subclass but two. You want GoT? Get the ASoFaI RPG. I care about Dungeons and Dragons, not Generic Fantasy Simulator d20.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You can't model it now, unless you ban every species but human and every class and subclass but two.

Right, you can model a popular fantasy series if you do the sort of curation that many DMs do for their campaigns already.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Tell me the story of the fighter without relying on background or subclass.

they are the warrior, the knight, the general, who lives by their mastery of (typically mundane) combat and battle, their strength and steel and their skill and smarts are all they need to achieve great deeds, they have survived a thousand fights and led a thousand charges, their deeds in battle are the stuff of legend.

 

[Remathilis]

Right, you can model a popular fantasy series if you do the sort of curation that many DMs do for their campaigns already.

Right. I don't give a fig about a version of D&D that fits on a Post It note. I want the whole PHB to work together when you use it all at once like the game assumes you will.