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Saturday, July 10, 2021

Minimalist D&D XII - twelve classes; what are your favorite features?

Here is the previous post.

And here are the twelve classes of the SRD and what features I'd keep. I find almost everything else a bit uninspiring or too detailed.

Consider that: everyone has access to all weapons and armor and all saving throws.


Warriors

Fighter: Second wind, action surge; I'd add simplified battlemaster maneuvers.
Barbarian: Rage, reckless attack, maybe unarmored defense and brutal critical.
Paladin: Divine smite, aura of protection.
Ranger: Probably just favored enemy (with foe slayer). Terrain stuff should be folded into skills (or druid).
Monk: Probably some ki, martial arts, stunning strike, quivering palm, deflect missiles, movement... lot's of cool stuff here. I'm is not my favorite class at all. Just a class with many good bits that I can't seem to turn into a simple thing.

Spellcasters

Wizard: just spells. Some signature spells.
Warlock: mostly Eldritch blast. Dark One’s Blessing is cool, I'll admit. Patrons should be NPCs instead and you can change allegiances if necessary!
Sorcerer: Metamagic.
Cleric: turn undead, divine intervention.
Druid: wild shape is a bit complex, but I guess I need to keep this one. Or it could be a spell.
Bard: bardic inspiration.

Experts:

Rogue: sneak attack and some skill stuff.

Things to remove:
- Spells, or features that allow you to cast spells, or that empower spells, etc.
- I'm sorely tempted to cut spell lists entirely, but choosing a spell would become a nightmare. Not sure.
- Advantage and bonuses to skill or saves.
- I'm half convinced that rangers and druids are just specialized fighters and clerics. Clerics are wisdom casters (so maybe druids should go here?); wizards/warlocks/sorcerers are incredibly redundant.

And here is my question: did I miss anything?

Is there a feature in any of the classes that you find awesome/iconic and that I haven't added here?

3 comments:

  1. My comment got eaten. So a shorter (better?) comment. This is good stuff.

    1) Spell words are cooler than spell lists IMO. You can always have a two-word sample spell list.

    2) the ranger niche should be a "prepping" warrior. Instead of a favorite foe, the ranger should be able to prep his hunt. In my homebrew, rangers pick an enemy and a hunting style at a s/l rest. The ranger could also use a spell-less hunter's mark:

    As a bonus action, you designate a creature you can see as your quarry.
    *„ Your attacks against your quarry deal dX extra damage.
    „* If at the start of your turn, you do not have line of sight to your quarry, this effect ends.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment!
      Spell words are a great idea. It would be a bit hard to keep the balance with zillions of existing spells, but maybe with some guidelines... not sure.
      I like your ideas for the ranger, too.

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    2. Yeah, there is a tension between spells feeling like magic and balance. Magic is best if it feels weird, unpredictable, and creative. Balance requires codification. Damage is easy to codify but other guidelines are harder to create.

      None of the guidelines I have so far have moved beyond the first draft stage and my audience is experienced players and myself. New players and DMs would need much clearer guidelines.

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