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View Full Version : Contest D&D 5e Base Class Contest IV Voting Thread



Requilac
2018-11-25, 07:58 PM
Welcome playgrounders, here is the thread in which you vote for which homebrewed class entered in the current D&D 5e Base Class is the greatest. The voting period will take place between 1:00 am on November 25th to 11:59 pm on December 2nd 11;59 PM Eastern Standard time. Votes made outside of that time range while not be included in the total score of each class. You do not need to be part of the competition to vote. If you wish to vote, then give a first, second and third place vote. A first place vote is worth three points, a second place vote is worth two points, and a third place vote is worth one point. A person who votes for their own class must change their vote before the voting period ends or be disqualified. It is suggested that you include the reasoning for your votes, but it is not necessary. Let us begin.

When you make your vote, please also tell us what you would like the next competition's theme to be. It is not necessary to do this, but it would help us out greatly. So far people have suggested the following themes

1) Dragons

2) Monsters (such as vampires, mind flayers or angels) represented as PC classes

3) Time

4) Winter

If you would like to come up with your own theme, please submit that here.

Submissions Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?570496-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-IV-Does-Not-Meet-Expectations

Chat Thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?570497-D-amp-D-5e-Base-Class-Contest-IV-Chat-Thread

Voting Points
The Destined: IIII III (8)
The Mesmer: IIII III (8)
The Whitescourge: IIII I (6)
The Deathwalker: IIII 4
The Deadeye: II (2)
The Biotinker: II 2

Ivellius
2018-11-26, 01:05 AM
The Destined. I wasn't sure I was going to like this, but it's pretty cool and has a clear theme with room for options.
The Mesmer. An interesting concept, would add another Intelligence class, and has a distinct mechanical niche. I do think it's probably a bit weak, and the flavor doesn't carry it like the Destined would, where I can think of "Yeah, there are some pop culture characters that make sense here."
The Deadeye. It seems fine, but it's also been done before, so not the most creative.

pygmybatrider
2018-11-26, 02:19 AM
1. MoleMage's Destined. I loved this class from the start from a pure thematic/conceptual point of view, and the mechanics have filled out nicely. I particularly love the Cross the Threshold/Returned Hero feature - definitely unique, and definitely unexpected. I think I'd enjoy playing each of the subclasses, and that's something that can't be said for many official classes.

2. SunderedWorldDM's Whitescourge. Clearly a labour of love, the Whitescourge has an appealingly concrete thematic vision that is laid out in the opening blurb, and a truly unique spellcasting mechanic. I still honestly have no idea whether it is balanced or not, and I think the subclasses/features themselves vary widely in power level, but I also think it is close enough that I would let one of my players test it out and make adjustments as we go.

3. BlueHairedKat's Biotinker. I really like this class mechanically - the 'talent tree' style of picking your own augmentations is very appealing, and in contrast to the Whitescourge I think it works that the flavour is left mostly up to the reader - a Biotinker could easily represent an alchemist or a shapeshifter or a cyborg without any mechanical adjustments. I'm also a fan of the writing style - I think my favourite is "you have a whole bunch of poison in you."

I'd like to suggest 'time' as a theme for the next contest, and throw my vote that way. Thankyou to Requilac for making these contests, and well done/good luck to everyone who entered!

MoleMage
2018-11-26, 09:05 AM
1. pygmybatrider's Mesmer. I feel like the Mesmer's simplicity works in its favor here. Big fan of the extra reactions. And the theme of a guy whose fighting prowess comes from reading minds is straight out of a comic book. Great all around.

2. Requilac's Emissary of Zihnn. I'm still a little sad that the minionmancy isn't the core feature but reading the rest of the class I see why that would never have worked. It's a little hard to transfer outside of your homebrew setting but I'd let my players use it provided they fitted it to other lore.

3. SunderedWorldDM's Whitescourge. I'm still not 100% sold on the casting from hit dice function but I feel like all the tools are there to balance it back; I would let someone play this at the table and readjust after the first couple sessions if necessary.



For theme I would like to add to the ring Holidays or Seasons. That said, my vote this time I think goes for Monsters.

SunderedWorldDM
2018-11-26, 11:39 AM
1) The Mesmer. I've sung its praises before, and I'll sing them again. The theme is tight, but it's simple despite the temptation to go overboard with useless mechanics. I'd definitely allow this at my table. The one qualm I have is the lack of the 'average archetype', but it's a minor one. Good job!

2) The Emissary. In many ways a diametric opposite to the Whitescourge, the Emissary is highly thematic, well-designed, and versatile. The only problems I have are the complexity (there's a lot of stuff in that class, and I feel like if you had shortened the scope it wouldn't have taken away from the final product) and how grounded it is in your world (every archetype is specific to your world- I'd have to do some conversion/reflavoring to allow it at my table). Otherwise, the class is solid, balanced, and deserving of my vote.

3) The Biotinker. I'm legitimately surprised that I'm voting Biotinker, but as far as subverting typical expectations go, bioengineering in a medieval setting is definitely off the beaten path, and the class mechanics, while feeling a bit clunky and stifling, are used in a way unlike anything else I've sen for 5e so far.

As far as new class contest themes go, Time is the one that we can probably have the most creative freedom on, so that's my vote. But it might be cool to have a winter- or holiday-themed one, and make the cutoff for submissions either Xmas or Dec 31st.

Requilac
2018-12-02, 08:37 PM
The Mesmer: I always appreciate simplicity when designing a class for 5e, but I think you may have took it so far that the class lacks any sort of interesting distinguishing characteristics. To add on, the class really isn't all that powerful and I struggle to imagine it managing to pull its when compared to other class. These factors, compounded by a lacking flavor description and a theme which I don't fully understand is largely off-putting. As a DM I would allow a player to play as a Mesmer, but I can't imagine myself ever wanting to play one. There is a lot of potential here for something that could turn out well, but in its current state it is simply too lacking in power, complexity and flavor. I am sorry for the harsh review, but I feel like I will not be able to help you unless I am being honest.

The Destined: I have already stated most of my opinions on this class during my review, so I will not say much here. I really liked the direction this class was going in after the editing, and although I am concerned about its balance, it has a theme and mechanics that are novel and interesting. Psychology really is what built the fantasy genre, so I find this representation of Jungian/Campbell Theory over D&D fascinating.

The Deadeye: When I was first reading this class I was imaging something closer to a classic "Fastest Guns in the West" sort of character, but the features and their descriptions seem to indicate that the Deadeye is depicting a more modern soldier. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it represents a level of technology that is really paradoxical for most D&D campaigns, and although I know the theme is does not meet expectations, I feel like this may suspend disbelief or bring up imagery that a group wouldn't want. The mechanics are okay, a little bland but with some novel perks and good balance that make up its name. I don't have a strong opinion either way about the Deadeye; its not bad, but Its hardly something I would remember for very long.

The Whitescourge: Not only is this theme very suitable for the contest, it is also a brilliant idea that doesn't receive as much support as it should in D&D. There is something very attractive about this harkening back to the evil side of the light which creates some captivating imagery and symbolism. I have my concerns about the mechanics I must admit, they don't seem very powerful, but the ease in which a Whitescourge can regain hit points makes me doubtful of that. While due to some mechanical lackings I am not going to crown it as one of the best homebrew projects I have ever seen, but the theme is definetely one of the most interesting I have come across. I too find it interesting to how similar the Whitescourage and Deathwalker are. Cudos for the Deathwalker reference though, as soon as the competition is over I plan on returning the favor by mentioning a whitescourge in the Emissary flavor (even if no one will get it).

The Biotinker: The theme although sc-fi is a familiar trope in D&D, and I am always a fan of good old fashioned horrific body modification, so I don't see anything off with the theme. But the mechanics are a lacking in originality and power. The base class is clearly identical to the monk's in many regards, and even with the sub classes the Biotinker would have severe trouble pulling their weight in a party. They simply don't have a whole lot of useful things for them except for Body Augmentations, too many of which are passive. Its not the most underpowered class I have ever seen, but I worry that in play it couldn't function well.

_________________________

Due to the reasons above, here is where my votes must go

1st) The Whitescourge by SunderedWorldDM
2nd) The Destined by MoleMage
3rd) The Deadeye by Vogie

And for my theme, I am going to vote for Monsters.

Requilac
2018-12-05, 04:14 AM
The Voting period has ended and no more votes may be made.