D&D (2024) Which subclasses “should” have been in 2024

Stormonu · 2024-07-14T18:27:02+0100

Corinnguard said:
Agreed. Level Up managed to do this with their Arcanist subclass.

Arcanist | Level Up

a5e.tools

I wonder, if they had made the School specialist abilities “signature spells” only on that school’s list, would it have freed up wizard subclass design?

steeldragons · 2024-07-14T18:46:20+0100

Stormonu said:
I really wish there was a way to condense all the different wizard schools down into one subclass

There is. It's called a "generalist" or "universalist" mage/wizard. It's the default uses-(all)magic guy. Is there no way to play 5.whateverwe'recallingit WITHOUT taking a subclass?

Stormonu said:
and then go another route for the other three - maybe an Artificer who focuses on making items such as potions, scrolls and wands (separate from the Artificer class), order of scribes and a "delver" who is a kind of indiana jones/laura croft who combines book spellcasting and a bit of "athletic rogueishness".

Alternately, you could move the Eldritch Knight (if one must have one) and Arcane Trickster (if one must have one) into the Wizardly subclasses, and kept the Fighter and Rogue magic-free. So...a "Mage" - all-school utilitarian spellcaster; the Illusionist (for nostalgia and tradition) specialist magic user; the "EK/Swordmage/PF Magus/"Witcher"" for the fightery-wizard/arcane magic-user; the "Arcane Trickster" for a thiefy-illusion-based roguish archetype.

I, personally, am very pleased to see the Abjurer getting their due, finally. Hope it's good. In a magical world with magicky people and creatures all over, the "defense magic specialist/guy who knows how to counter-curses and undo baleful magic" has ALWAYS been a clear and obvious archetype for the game that -until 5e, and I wasn't super impressed, but still- really should have been a no-brainer.

Stormonu said:
Also, the thought about not revolving the cleric around domains seems like it would have had a lot of potential. Have domain something akin to the Warlock's patron in that it give set spells, and then go for some meaty tropes - the crusader (the typical chain-mail wearing, mace wielding cleric who turns undead), the shaman (calls on spirits and some barbarian abilities and forgoes heavy armor), shukenga (calls on "small gods" and has elemental themed spells) and the cloistered cleric (gives up the armor and weapons for powerful spells and abilities).

Love this . Would totally be down for that.

Remathilis · 2024-07-14T18:57:57+0100

Tales and Chronicles said:
I started typing the same, then decided to avoid the controversy.

Still, it's a good point: to make it as an adventurer in a high magic setting, you gotta level the field a little to your advantage. If any creature you may face past level 3 are somehow magicaly infused, you gotta have some magic too.

Nah. Adventuring is dangerous and anyone who is remotely competent is going to look for an edge. Magic in D&D is that edge. Not learning a little magic in the D&D world would be akin to going to a modern battlefield without a firearm, gps, communication device or other modern tools.

Parmandur · 2024-07-14T18:57:58+0100

pukunui said:
For the cleric, I think having the subclasses tied to domains is a problem as there will never be enough then. I think it would have been better to have cleric subclasses be a little more generic - like an armored warrior priest and an unarmored invoker-style priest - and then maybe have a minor thematic bonus depending on patron deity. That way you can make a cleric of just about any deity right out of the PHB. No need to wait for WotC to come up with more thematically appropriate subclasses later on or, worse yet, never get one that's a good fit (e.g. Nature is not a good fit for a winter-themed deity like Auril, but WotC never gave us an ice/snow/winter domain).

Yeah, Clerics getting something like Warlock Invocations to simulate specialty priests from 2E or the more granular domains from 3E would have been a good idea.

Mike Mearls at one point in his streams that he would have designed the ranger from the ground up for "Favored Terrain" to be the Subclass, so Forest ranger or Mointain Ranger.

Oh, well.

CreamCloud0 · 2024-07-14T19:02:15+0100

steeldragons said:
Alternately, you could move the Eldritch Knight (if one must have one) and Arcane Trickster (if one must have one) into the Wizardly subclasses, and kept the Fighter and Rogue magic-free.

Ahahaha, oh i would love to see all the fires started if bladesinger got replaced by eldritch knight/arcane trickster, people would riot at the downgrade for the wizard! but also, while in a general sense people want the martials to remain martial as base there is as much desire for dedicated magic using subclasses within them to exist too

Henadic Theologian · 2024-07-14T19:28:47+0100

Divine Soul Sorcerer. Twilight Cleric. Conjurer Wizard.

Stormonu · 2024-07-14T23:47:23+0100

We just need a fighter/m-u dedicated class so the Bladesinger and Eldritch Knight can be moved there (and the Swordmage, and the Gish, and the dusk blade and so on).

Corinnguard · 2024-07-14T23:59:13+0100

Stormonu said:
We just need a fighter/m-u dedicated class so the Bladesinger and Eldritch Knight can be moved there (and the Swordmage, and the Gish, and the dusk blade and so on).

Well, there is Laser Llama's Magus class. I've been told that it looks like a cross between the Bladesinger and the Eldritch Knight.

Stormonu · 2024-07-15T00:01:45+0100

Corinnguard said:
Well, there is Laser Llama's Magus class. I've been told that it looks like a cross between the Bladesinger and the Eldritch Knight.

Yeah, I have used elements of it to build my own class from it.

D&D (2024) Which subclasses “should” have been in 2024

Stormonu

Legend

Arcanist | Level Up

steeldragons

Steeliest of the dragons

Remathilis

Legend

Parmandur

Book-Friend

CreamCloud0

One day, I hope to actually play DnD.

Henadic Theologian

Legend

Stormonu

Legend

Corinnguard

Hero

Stormonu

Legend

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