base classes

[techpriest35]

so i was looking through the various books i have as pdfs trying to find interesting base classes
this is what i have (sorry i didnt grab the name of the books i would have to go back through my list)

animal lord (sorcery & steam)

alignment any
hd d10
starting gold 4d4 x10

CLASS SKILLS:animal empathy(cha),balance(dex),climb(dex),craft(int),es cape artist(dex),hide(dex),intimidate(cha),intuit direction(wis),jump(str),knowledge nature(int),listen(wis),move silently(dex),ride(dex),spot(wis),swim(str),tumble (dex),wilderness lore(wis)

skill points at first level (4+int mod) x 4
skill points at each additional level 4+int mod

WEAPON AND ARMOR PROFICIENCY
all simple weapons. no armor no shields


level 1 bab +1 fort +2 ref +2 will +0 TOTEM=at 1st level choose an animal totem from the below list.once selected can not be changed. may select a new ability at 5th and every 4 levels after that.may not select the same ability unless otherwise noted
apes ability list:deceptive intellect +2 skill points may be selected multiple times, master climber +4 competence bonus to climb checks,animal agility +4 competence bonus to tumble checks,quick movement +1 dodge bonus to ac,jungle warrior doubled critical threat range with unarmed attacks

bear ability list:sturdy build +3 hp can be selected multiple times,natural swimmer +4 competence bonus to all swim checks,inner might +1 bonus to fort saves,thick skinned +1 natural armor bonus to ac,great strength +1d6 damage to unarmed melee attacks

boar ability list:acute senses gain scent ability,center of balance +2 competence bonus to trip attacks can be taken multiple times,eye of anger +4 competence bonus to intimidate checks,charge gain improved bull rush feat,ferocity as boar ability see monster manual

cheetah ability list:speed +5ft to speed can be taken multiple times,center of balance +2 competence bonus to trip attacks can be taken multiple times,moving target +1 dodge bonus to armor class,quick reflexes +1 ref saves,trip as the cheetah ability see monster manual

lion ability list:toughness +3 hp can be taken multiple times,ambush +4 competence bonus to hide checks, stalking +4 competence bonus to move silently checks,king of the jungle +4 competence bonus to intimidate checks,pounce as lion see monster manual

wolf ability list: skilled hunter +2 skill points can be taken multiple times,skills +4 competence bonus to wilderness checks,hard target +1 dodge bonus to armor class,pack tactics +4 instead of +2 when flanking,trip as wolf see monster manual

ANIMAL COMPANION
at first level an animal lord gains 1 animal companion with no more than 3 HD

FERAL CHILD HERITAGE FEAT
gain +3 handle animal and +3 intimidate skill checks

MASTER OF THE WILD
at 1st level gain 1/day each round gain +10 competence bonus to a chosen skill. the animal lord can change to any new skill each round only one skill can be affected at a time. lasts for 3+constitution modifier rounds
level 2 bab +2 fort save +3 ref save +3 will save +0 track feat
level 3 bab +3 fort save +3 ref save +3 will save +1 uncanny dodge
level 4 bab +4 fort save +4 ref save +4 will save +1
gain the feat feral athleticism +4 competence bonus to climb and jump checks
level 5 bab +5 fort save +4 ref save +4 will save +1 totem ability
level 6 bab +6/+1 fort save +5 ref save +5 will save +2 uncanny dodge can not be flanked
level 7 bab +7/+2 fort save +5 ref save +5 will save +2 master of the wild 2/day
level 8 bab +8/+3 fort save +6 ref save +6 will save +2 gain feat feral voice make opposed wilderness lore check against listen checks in order to imitate sounds of any small,medium or large animal.
level 9 bab +9/+4 fort save +6 ref save +6 will save +3 totem ability
level 10 bab +10/+5 fort save +7 ref save +7 will save +3
level 11 bab +11/+6/+1 fort save +7 ref save +7 will save +3 uncanny dodge +1 vs traps
level 12 bab +12/+7/+2 fort save +8 ref save +8 will save +4 gain the feral senses feat double the bonus granted by the alertness feat and gain the scent ability
level 13 bab +13/+8/+3 fort save +8 ref save +8 will save +4 totem ability master of the wild 3/day
level 14 bab +14/+9/+4 fort save +9 ref save +9 will save +4
level 15 bab +15/+10/+5 fort save +9 ref save +9 will save +5
level 16 bab +16/+11/+6/+1 fort save +10 ref save +10 will save +5 uncanny dodge +2 vs traps
level 17 bab +17/+12/+7/+2 fort save +10 ref save +10 will save +5 totem ability
level 18 bab +18/+13/+8/+3 fort save +11 ref save +11 will save +6
level 19 bab +19/+14/+9/+4 fort save +11 ref save +11 will save +6 master of the wild 4/day
level 20 bab +20/+15/+10/+5 fort save +12 ref save +12 will save +6 uncanny dodge +3 vs traps


artificer (2 versions one for ebberon one from steam & sorcery)

barbarian (player's handbook)

bard (player's handbook)

basiran dancer (kingdoms of kalimar player's guide)

battle dancer (dragon magazine compendium vol 1)

beguiler (player's handbook 2)

binder (pact magic tome of magic)

brigand (kingdoms of kalimar player's guide)

cleric (player's handbook)

crusader (dragon magazine compendium vol 1 tome of battle book of nine swords)

dragonfire adept (tome of magic)

dragon shaman (player's handbook 2)

druid (player's handbook)

duskblade (player's handbook 2)

favored soul (complete divine/minitures handbook they are the same)

fighter (player's handbook)

gladiator (from the master class set green ronin publishing not sure if different from kingdoms of kalimar player's guide)

hexblade (complete warrior)

incarnate (magic of incarum)

infiltrator (kingdoms of kalimar player's guide)

jester (dragon magazine compendium vol 1)

knight (player's handbook 2)

marshal (minatures handbook)

monk (player's handbook)

musketeer(steam & sorcery from legends and lairs set)

ninja (complete adventurer)

paladin (player's handbook)

ranger (player's handbook)

rogue (player's handbook)

samurai (there are 2 versions 1 in complete warrior and 1 in oriental adventures)

savant (dragon magazine compendium vol 1)

scout (complete adventurer)

sha'ir (dragon magazine compendium vol 1)

shadowcaster (tome of magic)

shaman (oriental adventurers kingdoms of kalimar player's guide idk if they are different)

shugenja (complete divine or oriental adventures they are the same)

sorcerer (player's handbook)

sohei (oriental adventurers)

soulborn (magic of incarnum)

spell thief (complete adventurer)

spellsinger (kingdoms of kalimar player's guide)

spirit shaman (complete divine)

swashbuckler (complete warrior)

swordsage (tome of battle of the nine swords)

totemist (magic of incarnum)

urban druid (dragon magazine compendium vol 1)

warblade (tome of battle book of nine swords)

warlock (complete arcane)

warmage (complete arcane vs encyledpedia arcane -war magic )

witch(master class green ronin publishing)

wizard(player's handbook)

wu jen (oreintal adventures grants +4 initiative vs complete arcane which grants advantage on initiative
sudden action vs watchful spirit. element mastery is different in oriental adventurers only applies once you learn all the spells in one of the 5 element categories saving throw dc increases by +2 and +2 saving throw vs that element loses mastery if wu jen levels up gaining a new level of spells they can cast, in complete adventurer gain ability at 6th level and is always active for that element regardless of if the wu jen knows all the spells of the element caster level +2 and +2 saving throw vs that element)


i feel like i am missing a few awesome classes i know there was a class called pirate but all i can find is the power class not a base class
i know there was a base class probally for ravenloft that was basically a vampire hunter
i skipped the psionic classes as i do not like the mechanics and i skipped any obviously evil class or any class dealing with necromancy

did not count any prestige classes

[Saintheart]

You can find a pretty complete list of base classes (and the sourcebooks with page numbers) here: https://dungeonsdragons.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons_3rd_edition_character _classes

A fair number are from Dragon magazine and thus not from the books as such, though a few of them were reprinted in the Dragon Compendium which has a small selection of the alleged 'best' of content from Dragon magazine. The rest are from 3.5 sourcebooks.

[Khedrac]

Death Master from the Dragon Compendium is missing (the original class was for 1st Ed as an NPC only class - I have that issue!)

[techpriest35]

@khedrac no i purposely left out death master if you had read the first post you would see i left out anything that was undead related that was evil alignment related or anything similar to demons or other evil creatures

[Khedrac]

@khedrac no i purposely left out death master if you had read the first post you would see i left out anything that was undead related that was evil alignment related or anything similar to demons or other evil creatures

Sorry yes - buried in the comment at the end - I admit to missing that.

[techpriest35]

these are the classes i skipped
archivist too dark
arden uses psionics
divine mind uses psionics
dread necromancer uses necromancy
eidolon ghost walk need to be a ghost
factotum(no idea what this is i dont have the book) dungeonscape
healer (minatures handbook) this is too much like an npc version of the cleric
lurk uses psionics
mystic(dragonlance campaign setting) this looks like an npc version of the wizards
noble dragonlance campagin setting this looks like yet another npc class or a player background not a class
psion uses psionics
soulknife uses psionics
spellcaster (unearthed arcana) feels like npcs version of wizard
truenamer (tome of magic) didn't include cause it seemed bit op honestly didnt read the class abilities just read the description of the class
wilder uses psionics


as for that list in the link it was ok but mostly variant classes were listed or monster classes

[H_H_F_F]

truenamer (tome of magic) didn't include cause it seemed bit op

NUCLEAR take.

[Metastachydium]

archivist too dark

At the end of the day, there's precious little that's dark about it mechanically. It's just "What If the Cleric Were a Wizard (but Still a Cleric): the Class".


factotum(no idea what this is i dont have the book) dungeonscape

What it says on the tin. All skills as class skills. A little arcane magic, a little divine magic. Some INT-based tricks. Trapfinding. Weapon proficiencies. Think Savant, just different (and some would argue, better).


mystic(dragonlance campaign setting) this looks like an npc version of the wizards

Nope. It's probably the best 1st party spontaneous Cleric in the game.


spellcaster (unearthed arcana) feels like npcs version of wizard

Not really. It's way too strong for that. It's one of the three generic classes (alongside the confusingly named Expert and Warrior(=/=the NPC classes of the same name)). It casts like a Sorcerer (rather than a Wizard) and can choose to be a divine caster. The main issue with it is that it's not usually considered compatible with non-generic games.


truenamer (tome of magic) didn't include cause it seemed bit op

NUCLEAR take.

You're big on the understatmenet thing!

[Eldan]

Truenamer is widely considered the probably worst class ever written. It's not only super weak, most of its powers just flat out don't work right.

[Clause]

The pirate class you want, is from the age of mortals book, from the dragonlance books

[techpriest35]

The pirate class you want, is from the age of mortals book, from the dragonlance books
sweet thx i think i have that book

[techpriest35]

ok i updated the first post mostly so i can remeber which books are needed for which classes

[Chronos]

Quoth Eldan:

Truenamer is widely considered the probably worst class ever written.
Second-worst. If you offered me "The next character you make, you're going to get to gestalt it with Truenamer", I'd say "Um, well, OK, I guess I get UMD as a class skill, some bonuses to a few knowledge skills, and if I hit 20 I can spam Gate. Thanks, I guess.".

On the other hand, if you made me the same offer with Mountebank (from Dragon Compendium), I'd ask "Do I have to? I'd really rather not.". Seriously, the class's main class feature is "Go to Hell".

[Inevitability]

The UA racial paragon classes (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm) count as base classes, surely? It's generally agreed upon they can be taken at level 1.

Kobolds also got a racial paragon class in a web enhancement, I'm not sure if any other races did.

[Metastachydium]

Second-worst. If you offered me "The next character you make, you're going to get to gestalt it with Truenamer", I'd say "Um, well, OK, I guess I get UMD as a class skill, some bonuses to a few knowledge skills, and if I hit 20 I can spam Gate. Thanks, I guess.".

On the other hand, if you made me the same offer with Mountebank (from Dragon Compendium), I'd ask "Do I have to? I'd really rather not.". Seriously, the class's main class feature is "Go to Hell".

Hard disagree there, from someone who did play a Mountebank(/Mountebank (yes, I really did that)). The issue with Mountebank is that it gives too little too late compared to other classes in its niche; and that it actively punishes the player for sticking with it all the way. Still, it also gives UMD, as well as Bluff and Diplomacy with good CHA synergy, Deceptive Attack (which does work conceptually insofar as it quacks like precision damage but doesn't care about discenible anatomy, even if it's a pain to use and scales slowly) and Alter Self a decent number of types at level 4 on a non-caster chassis, granting pretty good versatilty. (You want a fly speed? You can have it. You want +8 natural armour and three attacks a round at level 4? You can have it. And so on, and so forth.)

Truenamer, in the meantime, is not just poorly designed, and even more so than the Mountebank (reminder: using utterances becomes progressively more difficult as one advances), but also very poorly written.

[Eldan]

Second-worst. If you offered me "The next character you make, you're going to get to gestalt it with Truenamer", I'd say "Um, well, OK, I guess I get UMD as a class skill, some bonuses to a few knowledge skills, and if I hit 20 I can spam Gate. Thanks, I guess.".

On the other hand, if you made me the same offer with Mountebank (from Dragon Compendium), I'd ask "Do I have to? I'd really rather not.". Seriously, the class's main class feature is "Go to Hell".

I keep forgetting that's a base class.

[Metastachydium]

I keep forgetting that's a base class.

Probably because it shares its name with a prestige class (which is also better than levels in Truenamer, incidentally).

[Rebel7284]

I will say it's a bit odd to see what at first glance looks like it's meant to be a complete list just to find out at the very end of the list that it's filtered by personal preference. I think it would help with confusion if you noted it at the very beginning as well as that note in the end!

Truenamer is indeed bad (and poorly edited), and what's worse, kinda boring built-wise since all Truenamers need the exact same items to be competent. With that said, with enough optimization, there are a few interesting things that Truenamers can do. The most notable in my eyes is that Truenamers get access to Rebuild Item starting at character level 11, which allows all sort of abuse with Skull Talismans, Shalantha's Delicate Disk and similar items.

Indeed I think that in the mid-levels an Artificer/Truenamer would be a pretty nifty gestalt. Of course the artificer would be doing most of the work, creating items that allow the Truenamer to actually be usable and such, but Rebuild Item + a few of the other support utterances would make it definitely better than a regular Artificer.

[techpriest35]

i did not count any class that does not have 20 levels as all base classes have 20 levels
so all race paragons are not base classes they are a different type usually refereed to as paragons

i get that all of you do not like the truenamer class i didnt read the actual in game abilities as reading the intended story effect made me think they do not fit
was mostly looking for actual base classes that i may have missed
was particularly looking for the pirate base class and this vampire hunting class i saw once but can't remember the name of.

i checked the following books looking for classes


alchemy & herbalists
alrdiv's revenge
aasimar and tiefling
alchemist power class
allies & adversaries
anger of angels
an ansalonian gazetteer
arms & armor
arms & equipment guide
artificer power class
assassin power class
bastards and bloodline a guide to half breeds
encyclopaedia arcane battle magic the eldricht storm
encyclopaedia arcane blood magic oaths and sacrifices
beyond countless doorwars a planar sourcebook
book of challenges
book of eldritch might 1
book of eldritch might 2
book of eldritch might 3
book of exalted deeds
book of hallowed might 1
book of hallowed might 2
book of vile darkness(skipped)
bow and blade guidebook to wood elves
bride of portable hole the book of neurotic fantasy
cabalist power class
chainmail bikini
champions of darkness(skipped)
champions of ruin(skipped)
champions of valor
encyclopaedia arcane chaos magic wild sorcery
chaositech
children of the fey
encyclopaedia arcane chronomancy the power of time
cityscape
city of splendors waterdeep
city of the spider queen
city works
complete adventurer
complete arcane
complete champion
complete divine
complete mage
complete psionic(skipped)
complete scoundrel
complete warrior
defenders of the faith
deities and demigods
draconomicon the book of dragons
dragon compendium volume 1
dragon magic
dragon magazine compendium vol 1
dragonlance campaign player's guide
dragonmarked
drow of the underdark
dungeon craft
dungeon master's guide 1
dungeon master's guide 2
dungeon survival guide
ebberon campaign player's guide
elder evil(skipped)
enemies and allies
epic level handbook
exemplars of evil(skipped)
exorcist power class
explorer power class
expanded psionics handbook(skipped)
expedition to castle ravenloft
expedition to the demonweb pits
familiars crouching monkey hidden toad
fang and fury guidebook to vampires
encyclopaedia divine fey magic dreaming the reverie
fiend folio
fiendish codex 1
fiendish codex 2
fool power class
forgotten realms campaign settting
frostburn
ghostwalk
gladiator power class
hedge wizard power class
hero builder's guidebook
heroes of battle
heroes of high favor dwarves
heroes of high favor eleves
heroes of high favor half orcs
heroes of horror (skipped)
heroes of light
heroes of shadow
in the saddle fur and feather vol 1
kingdoms of kalimar player's guide
kingdoms of kalimar salt and sea dogs
kingdoms of kalimar stealth and style
knight power class
libris mortis (skipped)
lords of madness (skipped)
magic item compendium
magic items of the senses
magic of ebberon
magic of faerun
magic of incarnum
manual of the planes
masters of the wild
miniatures handbook
monster manual 1
monster manual 2
monster manual 3
monster manual 4
monster manual 5
noble power class
oriental adventurers
path of faith
path of magic
path of shadow
path of sword
pirate power class
planar handbook a player's guide to the planes
player's handbook 1
player's handbook 2
player's guide to ebberon
player's guide to faerun
player's guide to the wilderlands(alchemist,amazon warrior,witch)
plot and poison guidebook to the drow
portable hole full of beer
psionic handbook(skipped)
races of destiny
races of ebberon
races of faurun
races of stone
races of the dragon
races of the wild
rokugan campaign setting
sandstorm
savage species
school of evocation
school of illusion
seafarer's handbook
seas of blood
secret college of necromancy
secrets of xen'drik
encyclopaedia divine shamans the call of the wild
ships of the elves
ships of the goblinoids
ships of war
song and silence
spell compendium
spells & magic from bastion press
spells & spellcraft fantasy flight games
encyclopaedia arcane star magic wisdom of the magi
shaman's handbook green ronin publishing master class
steampunk from mongoose publishing
stormwrack
stronghold builder's guidebook
sword and fist
the assassin's handbook
tome and blood
tome of battle book of nine swords
tome of magic
unearthed arcana
weapons of legacy
witch's handbook



i have other books but did not think they would have classes as they seem to focus on other aspects of the game

[Inevitability]

i get that all of you do not like the truenamer class i didnt read the actual in game abilities as reading the intended story effect made me think they do not fit

Do not fit with what? You're clearly not making a complete list, because you will leave out classes if you dislike the mechanics, so what's the value of this final product? What's the point of publicly posting a list when it's based on criteria relevant only to you personally?

[pabelfly]

Yeah, I don't get this list either. You've included Kingdoms of Kalamar (questionable inclusion but okay), some third-party stuff like Witch from Green Ronin (sure, why not) without separating Wizards of the Coast official product and third party stuff, but you won't include Truenamer, Dread Necromancer, Spellcaster, or any psionic classes. For some reason, Urban Druid rates a separate mention to Druid, but a bunch of other base class variants don't. Oh, and you also forgot Commoner, Expert, Adept, and Warrior, but I'm sure there's some reason why they're not included.

Good luck with your list, but I'm also struggling to see any value here for anyone but yourself.

[H_H_F_F]

It should be noted, I think, that there's nothing wrong with OP asking for help to assemble a list for their own needs.

They just need to be a bit clearer on what kind of help they need, and what for.