Talk:5e Class Design Guide

This needs to be reworked into the preload walkthrough format of the other two 5e guidelines. --Kydo (talk) 14:37, 6 September 2016 (MDT)

Guide has been worked into the same format as the other 5e design guides. --Kydo (talk) 12:00, 17 October 2016 (MDT)

Unearthed Arcana Link

Could someone add this link where they think it’d be appropriate?
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/modifying-classes
Provides good insight for 5e class design. BigShotFancyMan (talk) 21:03, 24 April 2018 (MDT)

Initiative

Initiative in the Focused Optimization section is incorrect, as the highest initiative bonus you can attain as a level 20 character (with allowed multiclassing and books other than the PHB) is +28, using subclasses such as the Swashbuckler Rogue. LordDuncan (talk) 15:53, 16 November 2018 (PDT)

As a community guideline, this page is not finished. Feel free to make your changes. --Green Dragon (talk) 23:04, 19 November 2018 (MST)

Recent Additions

I got issue with this blurb:

• "Don't give a class exclusive access to mundane equipment. If a piece of equipment is craftable, why can't it be bought for money or used by anyone else? Why should a DM be forced to allow a piece of equipment to exist in his campaign world? Many "gunslinger" classes and the like on this wiki have been guilty of violating these assumptions and being illogical as a result."

DMs don't have to allow the class therefore a DM isn't forced to allow a piece of equipment. A DM can also alter the equipment for the class. I think there is something that can be said for exclusive class items but the gunslingers typical have disclaimers or notes on them about their situation.
In summary though, I think this bit isn't necessary and should be removed. ~ BigShotFancyMan (talk) 07:24, 20 February 2019 (MST)

I think it needs clarifying. It is true that if the DM does not want firearms in the campaign, they can disallow a character class that uses firearms. However, if a campaign does have firearms, a class shouldn't say "you gain the ability to craft firearms", since this can already be done by anyone with the correct artisan's tools. You could say "well only this class can create firearms", but that's a campaign decision, not a class decision.

Do you agree with this? Marasmusine (talk) 05:31, 23 April 2019 (MDT)

I don't disagree...but I don't feel like it addresses what I am talking about except that clarifying would help. Exclusive weapons and campaign design sort of go hand in hand that the DM is going to have to make a handful of decisions but giving a class exclusive access to weapon doesn't inherently prevent the item being bought for money or used by anyone else because that would be up to the DM. How would one create a class that uses mundane weapons not already in the Player's Handbook? For example a gunslinger.

Perhaps you don't. As WotC seems to have taken that path after community feedback they got about the artificer. ~ BigShotFancyMan 07:49, 23 April 2019 (MDT)

The Same Game Test

Instead of a "standard" score of 9 (-1 penalty) for the Same Game Test, a score of 10 or 11 (+0 bonus) ought to be used. These numbers give neither bonuses nor penalties to any score, and allow for slightly more realistic stats. 12 (+1 bonus) is also a possibility, as a set of all 12s is perfectly achievable with point buy, but a bonus to all stats may not be desirable.

A second option would be to assign the Standard Array of 15 14 13 12 10 8 (16 15 14 13 11 9 if using a Human as the SGT suggests) in order of the suggestions in the Player's Handbook for each class, found under "Quick Build". After that, scores would be assigned in a preset order based on importance, such as CON, DEX, WIS, STR, INT, CHA. A 1st-level Human Bard (for example) generated this way would have 11 STR, 15 DEX, 14 CON, 8 INT, 13 WIS, 16 CHA, as according to the Quick Buid, "Charisma should be your [a bard's] highest ability score, followed by Dexterity." These get the two highest stats, and the rest are assigned according to the preset order.

Please note that this order is a suggestion, arranged by what I see as the most valuable secondary scores. The final version could swap INT and STR, for example, or CON and DEX.