Classes in 4E

Hey guys... you guys can create your own posts, if you ever want. /shrug

So here's the rundown of the 8 classes available in core.... keep in mind that they broke it down into a roles-based system now... each class is one of four roles, and they recommend that you have at least one of each of these types of classes (these just give an idea of the general job that the class performs):

Leader classes are a support class that provide healing/buffs/aid to other party members - while they can generally hold their own in battle, their main strength is improving the effectiveness of other allies and provide overarching tactical leadership in battle.

Defenders are tanks; they absorb hits and serve to shield the more fleshy "glass-cannon" allies in the party. High hit points, high defenses, powers that draw aggro with generally give out moderate single-target damage.

Strikers are the spec ops of the party - they deal high amounts of damage, usually to a single target, and generally concentrate on taking out enemies one at a time. They rely on mobility on the battlefield to seek advantage and deal high damage where it counts. Coupled with a defender for protection and a leader to increase mobility, strikers end up being the decisive nuker of the party (if they're played right and not totally cowardly and poorly-used like what's sadly happening with my poor luckless half-retarded Shuggo).

Controllers deal with large numbers of allies at a time. Think area effect, enemy debuffs, sustained damage over time... high offense and low defense means that if you're going to play this glass-cannon role, you're going to be hanging back and waiting for a good time to release a fireball without hurting your allies (well, without hurting them that much).

So here's how those roles are actually mapped to classes... I wish I could say it's an even spread, but it's not. If you want a DoT/AoE character, you're stuck with a wizard.

Cleric: A Leader; buffs allies through spells powered by the Divine and provides improved healing to party (although healing works a little differently now, so the cleric is no longer absolutely required... but since there's only two Leader classes, choice is still limited). Wis, Str, Cha are important to the class and humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves, and dragonborn can all make good clerics.

Fighter: Basic grunt that fills out a Defender role. High AC, high HP, and primarily melee, you'll be getting your hands dirty, up close and personal. It's not just mapping a macro to attack and going to make a sandwich... Fighters now have to actually think about stuff in battle, with how powers work. Str, Con, Dex, Wis are all important, with humans, dragonborn, and dwarves being best suited (although really any race can do a fighter role well.... we're back to 1e!)

Paladin: Another Defender, these elite warriors have devoted themselves to a code, and draw power from the Divine, like a Cleric. There's no alignment restriction or roleplaying constraints in 4E though, so as long as you are devoted to a cause of any moral persuasion, you won't have to worry about me putting you in no-win moral conflicts, trying to make you fall from grace. Doesn't happen anymore; Paladins can't fall from grace in 4E. I can make you fall from great heights, though... although you'll just dust yourself off and Lay Hands on self (you pervert, stop beating off and kill some monsters). Str, Cha, Wis are a big deal. Humans, dwarves, half-elves and dragonborn make the best pallies.

Ranger: A martial Striker class. You either go with a two-weapon build (pretty much the only effective dual-wielders in the game) for massive single target melee damage, or an archer build for high damage from afar. You'll be a skirmisher, playing the hit-and-run game in combat since you're generally limited to light armour (to start). No animal companions in 4e, sorry. And dual-weilding named scimitars is NOT allowed, DM decree. Don't like it, go home and cry yourself to sleep while reading the latest pulp from RA Salvatore, dickwad. :) Str, Dex, Wis are important... elves are your primary ranger race with humans, halflings, dragonborn, and even eldarin making okay rangers too.

Rogue: Another martial Striker class, this one being more mobile and sneaky. Relying more on mobility and sly tricks to gain combat advantage on the field to move in for the deadly backstab, this role takes some brains to play well, in a tactical sense (which is why I'm so useless as one). The non-combat role of the rogue is downplayed and no longer essential, so, like the cleric, it's not that big of a deal if this usually-mandatory class is left out of the party. If you come across locked doors and traps you can usually just smash em up and laugh at how the old schoolers used to be resigned to having a weak little asshole tagging along with his bag of wires and picks, hiding in the back rank and looting the bodies while everyone else is fighting. Dex, Str, Cha are primary stats... elves, tieflings and halflings make the best rogues.

Warlock: a Striker who draws from the Arcane sphere, these guys have made pacts with one of three different-flavoured supernatural entities for their powers. Generally a darker character, you cast curses and consort with demons and Outsiders as part of your daily routine. The entities you can consort with are Fey (dark fairy/woodland-y type), Star (think Cthulhu or the Great Old Ones), or Infernal (classic red goateed guy with pitchfork and contract signed with blood). Each flavour allows different powers and type of play. Cha, Con, Int are key... and tieflings (obv), halflings (lolwut), humans and half-elves making good Warlocks.

Warlord: the alternate Leader class, drawing from marital power... very tactical play on the board. You generally allow others to attack out of turn, give attack buffs to allies, move enemies into range of the big damage dealer allies. Although more tactics-based than a healer, nevertheless the morale-boosting and inspiration you provide your party can fill that out in a pinch (i.e. you can heal hit points through encouragment and cheerleading from the sidelines, weird - yes, I know HP is an abstraction, but it still seems weird to me). Str, Int, and Cha... with dragonborn, half-elves, eladrin, tieflings, and humans all able to make the class work in one way or another.

Wizard: the classic bookworm fills out the only choice for the Controller role (until the next "core" PHB is released). You want to do AoE, you generally want a wizard. No more Vancian system (no more memorizing at start of day). You're still weak as shit, but for some reason you can now use Int instead of Dex to calculate unarmoured AC. IMHO that's retarded, there's no way Einstein was AC 20. I could totally pimpsmack Albie with my dick at a -2 improvised weapon penalty, and hit on a 7. Int as affecting AC is just plain dumb. I'm not houseruling it away though, it's a balance thing... they just don't want people dumping a good stat roll into Dex just so you don't die so easy... so whateves. Oh yeah, you get rituals, which take the place of non-combat spells in 4E... think of it as spells that cost money with each casting and take too long to be used effectively in combat. You get spellbooks and all that, but your spellbook isn't as key as it was in older versions. Sounds like a fun class to play, but you'll still need to hang back and let the Fighters do all the heavy lifting. Int, Wis, Dex are the big stats, with eladrin probably being the best wizards out there, followed by humans and half-elves.

.......

So that's that - there's no race/class combo restrictions, but due to abilities and stats some races are just suited for certain classes... but remember that if you want to play tiefling or dragonborn, I want you to own your character by investing a little time and thought into his backstory and run it by me first.... since we're playing in 3E Forgotten Realms timeline and those new-to-core races shouldn't exist yet, if you want a potentially continuity-breaking race you'll need to prove you want it for other reasons than just because they're horribly overpowered (*cough* dragonborn *cough*)...

Oh yeah, you can play a gnome if you want. :D