Previously, classes had been structured a couple different ways. In one setup, some subclasses amounted to "mandatory combat roles" (with actual roles being mechanically optional upgrades) while other subclasses were... more or less a proper class, but jammed in with another class, under one set of shared mechanics (or at least a shared class die.) Archetypes were another layer of optional customization that existed over top of all of these, and were class-specific; in the 2018 rules, these were referred to as Specialist Classes.
I bring this up because basically what I'm looking at doing is to bring back a 4th form of class customization/subtype; subclasses and roles will remain, but Specialist Classes are going to be split into Archetypes and Domains, both of which will expand in number. However, your class will specify whether it uses one or the other -- but usually not both -- so effectively, either an archetype or a domain will be used to "fill" the Specialist Class "bucket" within your class' progression.
Filling in the Grid
One thing I'll throw out there right off the bat, is that I've decided to associate each Skillset with one Power Source.
- Arcane: Subtlety
- Divine: Presence
- Martial: Athletics
- Primal: Detection
- Shadow: Infiltration
Probably the mechanics of that will be implemented something like this:
When you gain a Power Source at 1st level, you add its associated Skillset to your class skill list, allowing you to take training with that Skillset. When you gain a Specialist Class (Archetype or Domain) you gain a rank in the Skillset tied to the Power Source of that Specialist Class.
One other specific quirk that I've settled on, is to allow some of the existing Archetypes (from the Fighter/Bard/Adventurer class category) to instead be used as subclasses for their current classes, while also functioning as Archetypes for certain power sources -- thus allowing other classes to also gain them.
Anyways, here's what I have in mind, for the various Specialist Classes; whether or not this changes, will depend on how well I can implement these ideas:
Arcane
Domains: Enchantment, Divination
These will be derived from the existing Sage 'schools'
Archetypes: Skald, Psionic
Psionic is the first instance where I'll have to do some research and build out some new mechanics. I think some sort of 'power point' mechanic is a useful, fun little extra thing to staple onto existing classes, without making an entirely new class, or slate of classes (or Power Source, for that matter.)
Divine
Domains: Life, Devotion
So we already have some Life domain mechanics being used on the Cleric and Paladin; I'll just have to expand that out to give mechanics that'll fit for the other classes that will have access to Divine Domains. In terms of flavour, the 5e D&D Paladin's Oath of Devotion seemed the most in-line with the power source, so I'm going to see what I can mine from that inspiration.
Archetypes: Avenger, Runepriest
Here, I'm going to try and get a good mix of 4e D&D's Avenger with 5e D&D's Oath of Vengeance. Similar to the Psionic, I think the 'rune state' mechanic is something fun that could be stapled onto traditional Divine classes, but also Fighter or other Martial classes.
Martial
Domains: War, Leadership
It just seemed logical to move the War domain over here, from Divine. Leadership is where I want to implement my idea for a "Lord archetype" which would get 'followers' (likely, minions) to aid them in combat.
Archetypes: Brute, Soldier
These will be taken from the existing Fighter archetypes.
Primal
Domains: Blood, Stone
Here we're going to be taking the existing Guardian totems, and will have to tweak and smooth them out to fit the various class dice.
Archetypes: Scout, Elementalist
Scout is already in the designs (for the Adventurer class) and I thought that could be spread around a bit; in 5e it's used as a Rogue archetype in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, as well as a Fighter archetype in Unearthed Arcana form. Elementalist might be a little bit trickier to pull off, but I wanted that sort of "primal sorcerer" idea, as it was used in 4e's Heroes of the Elemental Chaos.
Shadow
Domains: Trickery, Death
Trickery is going to mostly be a re-skin of the 'Misdirection' Sage school, but may borrow from the 5e equivalent. Death Domain is still very much up in the air, since there is wide swath of source material to draw from, and I haven't settled on anything specific yet.
Archetypes: Vampire, Revenant
Again, Vampire is one of the more unique (but very niche) classes, from 4e's Heroes of Shadow; I think we can boil down the core mechanics of the class (as well as the Vryloka race, from the same book) and get something to layer onto our Archetype-using classes. As for Revenant, I still have some reservations about how to implement it mechanically, but I think this would be a welcome addition, if done right.
Piecing Together the Puzzle
Now that I'm finally (I hope) done shuffling around which classes are part of which categories, what I've decided to do is fundamentally expand the customization options for each category, using these new tools that we have at our disposal. Here's how I see that rolling out:
Category 1: Cleric, Sage, Guardian
- Uses existing subclasses
- Can take any Domain, regardless of Power Source
Category 2: (Skill Specialists) Acrobat, Rogue, Ranger
- Uses existing subclasses
- Can choose Archetypes, based on their Power Source
Category 3: (Generalists) Fighter, Bard, Adventurer
- Uses existing class archetypes as subclasses
- Can gain Roles
- Can take any Archetype, or pick a Domain specific to their class slate*
Category 4: Paladin, Spellbinder, Druid
- Uses existing subclasses
- Can choose one Archetype and one Domain, both based on their Power Source
Category 5: Warlord, Occultist, Barbarian
- Can take certain class-specific archetypes as subclasses**
- Can gain Roles
- Can choose Domains, based on their Power Source
*Fighter domains would be Martial; Bard domains would be Arcane; Adventurer domains would probably differ depending on the subclass taken.
**Warlord subclasses would be likely be Skald, plus any Divine or Martial archetypes; Occultist subclasses would likely be Psionic, Elementalist, plus any Shadow archetypes; Barbarian subclasses would likely be Runepriest, Scout, plus any Martial archetypes.
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This post is already running a bit long, so I'll try and touch on Power Source distribution another time. It's obviously inter-related, with having them now closely linked to class customization.
Next post should be up on May 5th, so get in touch before then, if you have other suggestions for discussion topics.
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