Let's get stranger: ideas for new classes

So, I was looking at the "What new classes do you want to see in PF2" thread, and I kind fo want to toss my hat into the ring, but my problem is that I've already answered that question. I've answered it repeatedly, at length, in multiple places. My desires haven't changes *all* that much since. I feel like just saying the same thing again... kind of has limited utility, you know?

So this thread is not that thread. It's not about saying for the 12th time that you want to see an Intercessor, Shifter, Kineticist, Bloodrager, Medium, Bombardier, Mutagen Warrior, Symbiote, or Aberrant Inheritor. This is a place to come up with wackier ideas. It's a place to be somewhat creative. Don't worry about whether you personally want to play the thing, just try to come up with some cool new ideas, or even cool new remixes that people haven't talked about yet. Just try to come up with cool stuff and/or riff off of other people's cool stuff. Okay, fair's fair. If it'll help you get into the mood you can also list off all of the classes that you'd personally like to see (as I have) but that's not the purpose of the thread. So, anyway... here's mine.

I'm not sure what to name this one. I keep coming up with names, and they keep being bad for one reason or another. This is something like a synthesist summoner, something like a medium, something like a kineticist, something like a 3.x Binder, but distinct from all four. The idea is that the character summons some magical entity - an aberrant, a demon, an elemental, or whatever - and imprisons it inside themselves physically and spiritually, in a way that lets them draw off its power. This generally means a small selection of benefits and magical abilities that can be used repeatedly, with different inhabitants granting different abilities. Variations would exist for type specialists (who would always get the same sets of powers but would generally get a few more of them) and more flexible types (who could swap out during 10 minute rests and thus adjust better for upcoming fights). General chassis is probably something like that of a magus. Differs from the synthesist in that their powers tend to be magical rather than melee. Differs from a medium in that their powers tend to be blatant and concrete and flashy rather than subtle buffs. Different from a kineticist in that they're drawing their power from this other thing, rather than from their own abilities. Also, their flavor changes pretty blatantly depending on what kind of creature they're binding at a time. Differs from the Binder in that we skip the whole "vestige" weirdness, and your'e dominating a prisoner rather than making a pact with a superior power. Probably has some sort of overdraw mechanic where you have a safe level of power you can draw, and then you *can* draw more at the cost of making increasingly difficult fortitude and/or will saves. If you fail that save you lose your grip for a moment, and bad things happen. If you critfail, then you lose your grip entirely, and worse things happen... including losing access to your powers until you can spend 10 minutes rebinding. Possibly include the ability to fire your prisoner at an enemy like a sort of spiritual cannon, leaving them with the badmojo, but, again, leaving you deprived of your primary powers until you can spend 10 minutes rebinding.

…what are Symbiote and Aberrant Inheritor?

I think that the single most interesting new class would be the oft-requested nonmagical support, which I recently saw called the Herald and quite liked. Draw on the legacy of the 4e Warlord and the Starfinder Envoy to make a party face who’s the master of morale, shouting rallying cries and giving orders to help the party as a unit. Sometimes you don’t want to be a Bard or a Cleric, y’know?

I think that alchemy could use another class to utilize it. It would be like what the magus is to the wizard. A focus on mutagens and morph effects. A Frankenstein sort of class. Maybe the "Fleshwarper".

…what are Symbiote and Aberrant Inheritor?

I think that the single most interesting new class would be the oft-requested nonmagical support, which I recently saw called the Herald and quite liked. Draw on the legacy of the 4e Warlord and the Starfinder Envoy to make a party face who’s the master of morale, shouting rallying cries and giving orders to help the party as a unit. Sometimes you don’t want to be a Bard or a Cleric, y’know?

Something to scratch the itch that the marshal archetype wont. Not enough effects to add more control to your party's side of the field. A class dedicated to that would be fun.

I'd like to see something based on shadows. Like a better attempt at the old Tome of Magic Shadow Caster. Bulmahn's Penumbrist from Eventide is a pretty cool shadow themed caster but perhaps a shadow based class doesn't necessarily have to cast spells.
Maybe the class is so connected to shadow that it almost is one and it would work similar to the Nanocyte

I'd like an Occult Martial where the premise is "mind over matter" in that you can use your incredible self-discipline to overwrite the limits your body puts on itself to prevent you from hurting yourself during normal operations. Like the stories about the mom who lifts a car to save their kid in a crisis, except you can do this sort of thing normally through practice (though it takes a toll.) Let us also do stuff like "iron shirt kung fu".

Mechanically I would love for more classes that accrue resources in combat, like the swashbuckler in 1e or vanguard in starfinder. I hope that sort of design is still in the cards for 2.

As far as flavor, that's a bit harder imo. I would have a hard time finding something that fits a trope wide enough that a lot of people would be interested in, is an easy concept to grasp, and you could find examples of in popular culture.

I'd like an Occult Martial where the premise is "mind over matter" in that you can use your incredible self-discipline to overwrite the limits your body puts on itself to prevent you from hurting yourself during normal operations. Like the stories about the mom who lifts a car to save their kid in a crisis, except you can do this sort of thing normally through practice (though it takes a toll.) Let us also do stuff like "iron shirt kung fu".

I’m a little confused how this would play differently from a Monk and/or Barbarian.

I have an idea for a character I loosely call a "flesh witch" - through a pact with an outer God or similar such entity they have gained the ability to warp their flesh into monstrous shapes, growing extra eyes or teeth, or use their flesh shaping magic to heal wounds or perform transmutation upon their victims. Aside from the ability to fleshwarp others, I'm not sure what of the flesh witch is distinct from the notional Shifter, but the character concept I don't have an outlet for yet. A synthesist summoner would almost qualify aside from the emphasis on body shaping magic not lining up with the Occult spells coming from the aberrant eidolon.

A swarm-using class that can go the whole game without an attack roll. Preferably with options for different kinds of swarms- animals (living or undead), spirits/ghosts, minor elementals, etc.

Class that has a customizable aura, building out different effects for it and having options to temporarily boost those effects as the situation requires. Psychedelia Psychic and aura-focused Antipaladin from PF1 would both be viable builds to emulate.

I have an idea for a character I loosely call a "flesh witch" - through a pact with an outer God or similar such entity they have gained the ability to warp their flesh into monstrous shapes, growing extra eyes or teeth, or use their flesh shaping magic to heal wounds or perform transmutation upon their victims. Aside from the ability to fleshwarp others, I'm not sure what of the flesh witch is distinct from the notional Shifter, but the character concept I don't have an outlet for yet. A synthesist summoner would almost qualify aside from the emphasis on body shaping magic not lining up with the Occult spells coming from the aberrant eidolon.

If you want to hit on this fantasy in another system, HEART: The City Beneath has a Witch class (expanded from the related Blood Witch in SPIRE) absolutely nails it, IMO.

A swarm-using class that can go the whole game without an attack roll. Preferably with options for different kinds of swarms- animals (living or undead), spirits/ghosts, minor elementals, etc.

Class that has a customizable aura, building out different effects for it and having options to temporarily boost those effects as the situation requires. Psychedelia Psychic and aura-focused Antipaladin from PF1 would both be viable builds to emulate.

I was shocked the other day to realize there’s no option for a swarm-based animal companion yet!

Other than all the 1e Classes that have room grow in 2e and some of the others mentioned; there aren't too many unusual class ideas I can think of that I want. There are two in-particular, however, that I feel could occupy their own sort of identity.

One of them I've thrown out a few times, which is basically a spelltheif, but not in the way you would think. Rather than being a magical rogue of sorts, I'm thinking more someone whose source of magic is literally to steal it. Whether from a another mage, a creature, the environment, or other places, they gained their might by force essentially. Inspiration behind this was Shang Tsung, whose siphoning of souls fuels his magic and mimicry abilities (as well as his immortality). Could also see it sort of like a Blue Mage to a degree, maybe capable of temporarily taking on a creatures abilities. I sort of conceptualized it as a reimagining of a Warlock, who are usually seen in a deplorable manner due to their proclivity to deal with dark forces. Instead, they have an often negative reputation due to the manner by which they acquire their magic. It isnt their own; they don't gain it through study or birthright, or any other legitimate means. They take it. And very few people appriciate a theif and a cheat. Depending on their source, they have varying abilities tied to it; and are likely Pick-a-Tradition for that reason. I also sort of visualize them as a sort of anti-mage class, really capitalizing on counterspelling, magic nullification, and taking beneficial magic for themselves and their allies. It's an idea I've tossed around for a while in my head and may even try to out it on paper at some point. But I certainly wouldn't mind if Paizo pilfered it and made it official.

The other one, which I think would maybe work best as an Archetype, is basically just FF14's Astrologian. Someone who utilizes the power cosmic to perform magic. The rely on the energy from stars, moons, constellations, zodiacs, planetary alignments, supernovas, and black holes (to name a few) in order to work their wonders. They could maybe even tap into the maddening powers found within the Dark Tapestry. Madness, after all, is sometimes tied to lunar bodies. My main desire for this comes from the focus on astrology found within Jaha society, as well as other sources of inspiration. Celestial bodies are often used in media to impart power. Would be interesting to see. Could have enough for a full class I think. But, being able to latch it on to any class as a source of their might could work fine as well I feel.

PossibleCabbage wrote:

I'd like an Occult Martial where the premise is "mind over matter" in that you can use your incredible self-discipline to overwrite the limits your body puts on itself to prevent you from hurting yourself during normal operations. Like the stories about the mom who lifts a car to save their kid in a crisis, except you can do this sort of thing normally through practice (though it takes a toll.) Let us also do stuff like "iron shirt kung fu".

I’m a little confused how this would play differently from a Monk and/or Barbarian.

Probably the thing I should have mentioned is that I see this as a "pain for power" class, a thing we don't have in the martial space yet.

I think something that would be cool is a character who uses their body as a sort of container for mystical or divine power, drawing on artifacts and a connection to powerful entities to access abilities beyond their ken at the cost of their body and spirit.

I'd also really love a Spontaneous Caster who gets to learn as many spells and have as many spell slots per level as a Wizard, but the trade-off is that all of their spells are like a deck of cards you have to draw from. Like you roll a die and the number that comes up is the spell you have access to that turn. Feats could let you cheat the system a bit, but overall you basically have to come up with creative ways to use the spells you roll. It'd be especially cool if one of the boons to this trade-off is base-class access to metamagic and maybe even extra actions to apply them to your spells, so that you can adapt the spells you roll into whatever situation you happen to be in. I think something like that could be really fun and interesting and give off that sort of fun wild mage feel.

A little part of me does wish they’d take the leap on a full Harrower class. PF2 is already so married to Golarion, why not make a uniquely Golarion class?

A class (or maybe archetype) that plays with luck / unluck, including the ability to transfer Hero Points between PCs.

A class (or maybe archetype) that plays with luck / unluck, including the ability to transfer Hero Points between PCs.

Affecting the rules for criticals might be cool too : get a critical if you roll DC+9, rather than +10, conversely an opponent could need DC+11 rather than DC+10 to get a critical against you.

Or would these be more of a future Mythic thing ?

I want a martial that's quick, mobile, lightly or unarmored... but wields a giant weapon.

Sounds pretty simple and not a good fit for a "strange" thread but more than half the martials in the game have combat mechanics hard or soft coded to be incompatible with big weapons and the only direct mechanical support for strength + less armor comes from two unarmed-only options. So I guess it is kind of out there.

I don't have a name for this class yet, but here it goes: You are the child your people sing about in their legends. The one who even before his birth would already have an agenda to be fulfilled in the world. You are the child of ancient prophecies. The very incarnation of an aspect and it is from that aspect that you draw your powers. As an avatar of this aspect you carry a great mission, whether you like it or not, linked to your own existence and the mysteries behind your birth.

- This is a martial class with Focus Spells mechanics similar to Champion, Ranger and Monk.

- Your powers are linked to an aspect or theme.

- Along with this theme there are agendas that need to be fulfilled. (Something like Anathemas)

- Example of Aspects: Sun, Moon, Apocalypse, Nature, Darkness... (Must be names covering a range of descriptors)

Example: Sun (Day, Light, Dawn, Fire, Good, Positive, Leadership, Strength).

- Along with your Aspect you end up receiving an "Antithesis". An Antithesis would be a category of creatures in which they become your main enemy.

Example: Aspect of the Sun its antithesis would be creatures with Shadow Trait or undead.

The feats of this class would be related to Abilities with the Furtune and Misfortune trait, Divination, combat against your main enemy, aspect feat tree, Intelligent Animal Companion to guide you and so on.

- Committing Anathemas Make creatures attached to your aspects more lethal against you.

That's basically it.

WARLOOOOOOORD

My first idea is a Theurge, a class that is like the Magaambya's approach to magic: the class. They straddle the line between two traditions that share an essence and then leverage that essence the traditions have in common to do some truly wacky things with their spells. Kind of like the tradition and essence Evolution feats Sorcerers get, but ramped up to 11, and with four slots per level along with some limitations on what those various spell slots can be. I sadly can't think of any other especially unique mechanics they might have, but I'd still like to see a class along these lines as a kind of logical end-point of the new emphasis PF2E puts on traditions rather than bespoke spell lists for each casting class.

The other class I have ideas for hasn't really got a name, but I invision as a kind of martial whose abilities allow them to toss out new things to litter the field. They don't summon, but rather create hazards or objects that grant benefits to allies or weaken enemies, perhaps also playing around with auras and relying a ton on the spatial elements of the game, perhaps both literally and figuratively, having a kind of space-warpy feel to it while also relying heavily on the fact that this game is played on a grid with objects that can be moved around.
Ironically this would make it basically unplayable for me, but I've always been a fan of the kind of character who likes to literally mold the battlefield to something that suits them better.

I just want something that satisfies the fantasy of turning into a monster as like, their core schtick. Make the Shifter more interesting, bring back the Synthesist, give us a fantasy take on the Evolutionist, whatever… but I know /so/ many people who want to play exactly this.

Prophet of the coming kaiju, imbued with some of their behemoth strength? Fleshwarped horror, built for killing? Feral Druid who doesn’t care for spellcasting? Fiend bound within their skin? There’s just so many great characters it opens up.

This thread feels like it was made for me.

1. A stance-based occult bounded caster that draws power from warping their body with some stances and their mind with others.
2. Occult magic is all about connections and narratives, right? An occult focus-point martial who is a member of a secret society, closer in combat function to a rogue or investigator rather than a fighter, dedicated to obfuscating occult connections to hide the truth.
3. An arcane bounded caster functioning similar to a swashbuckler-barbarian of sorts, whose spells build up energy that can then be released in a state of martial power. Differs from magus because a magus combines spell and sword and the same time, this would be a caster that, after casting a bunch, stops casting and starts hitting things.
4. A logger class focused on axes in the way the gunslinger is focused on guns, sporting the energy of a survivalist, with an animal companion and a panache-style resource that can be expended to better direct your companion.
5. A class that draws on the land in the way that a bard draws on music, using skills and focus cantrips to control the battlefield and evoke powers based on the terrain.
6. A divine caster that functions similarly to a psychic, with focus cantrips that can be amped, with the theme that you worship a god who has been forgotten or who is in charge of a very small purview, and you seek to bring them to greatness. "I worship Iggivandria, the tiny god of a pond in Isger, but one day she will be the god of all the world's waters!"

I have more ideas but I figure this will do for now.

1. Martial Sorcerer that isn't a Bloodrager. Focus on using the physical abilities, attacks, and themes of a type of creature without being a spellcaster. Good fit for anyone that wants to lean into a more monstrous ancestry as well as shapeshifters. See: Draconic Ravager

2. Chef. Like a mix of alchemist, bard, and rogue. Excels at social skill challenges, providing long-lasting buffs in the form of food, and knife work. Lots of utility focused around rests and daily preparation time. Subclasses with Tea Making, Brewing, etc.

3. Some sort of skill-based magic user who has lots of abilities like Battle Prayer which key off of magic skills and don't run out but aren't actual spells.

A class that specializes in using skills in combat. They could be kinda like the rogue, with multiple options for the key ability score based on the subclass. They get multiple class paths that give them those skill feats that can be used in combat for free and their class feats and features are all about buffing them, so they can be a solid foundation for combat rather than a nice ribbon to use every now and then. It could be called the "Savant" or something like that.

Since this is the thread for wild ideas: Ancestral Paragon classes (or archetypes). Something like the class archetype in Battlezoo Dragons but blown wide open to a full class. Be the dwarfest dwarf that ever dwarfed, or whatever.

Since this is the thread for wild ideas: Ancestral Paragon classes (or archetypes). Something like the class archetype in Battlezoo Dragons but blown wide open to a full class. Be the dwarfest dwarf that ever dwarfed, or whatever.

I love that! At this point, why not go even wilder, with monster classes? I loved the idea in Savage Species, but the actual implementation left a lot to be desired. It would be interesting to see a more modern take on it.

One of them I've thrown out a few times, which is basically a spelltheif, but not in the way you would think. Rather than being a magical rogue of sorts, I'm thinking more someone whose source of magic is literally to steal it. Whether from a another mage, a creature, the environment, or other places, they gained their might by force essentially. Inspiration behind this was Shang Tsung, whose siphoning of souls fuels his magic and mimicry abilities (as well as his immortality). Could also see it sort of like a Blue Mage to a degree, maybe capable of temporarily taking on a creatures abilities. I sort of conceptualized it as a reimagining of a Warlock, who are usually seen in a deplorable manner due to their proclivity to deal with dark forces. Instead, they have an often negative reputation due to the manner by which they acquire their magic. It isnt their own; they don't gain it through study or birthright, or any other legitimate means. They take it. And very few people appriciate a theif and a cheat. Depending on their source, they have varying abilities tied to it; and are likely Pick-a-Tradition for that reason. I also sort of visualize them as a sort of anti-mage class, really capitalizing on counterspelling, magic nullification, and taking beneficial magic for themselves and their allies. It's an idea I've tossed around for a while in my head and may even try to out it on paper at some point. But I certainly wouldn't mind if Paizo pilfered it and made it official.

I have a homebrew versatile heritage that kinda does the same thing -- in general it revolves around absorbing a spell and then getting benefits from it. With different feat chains around casting the spell back (with different daily limits and/or chances of losing/keeping the spell absorbed), another feat chain around passive benefits from the spell(s) absorbed and the ability to have two at once, and a third chain around reactions/abilities that focus on cycling through capturing spells/expending them for benefits

Probably would be an archetype or kineticist but I'd love to see something that deals with cold magic.
Would love to use it with a Witch to make an actual winter witch or combine with a melee class to get that wow deathknight feel.

1. Martial Sorcerer that isn't a Bloodrager. Focus on using the physical abilities, attacks, and themes of a type of creature without being a spellcaster. Good fit for anyone that wants to lean into a more monstrous ancestry as well as shapeshifters. See: Draconic Ravager

Using your bloodline to make you stronger. Martial power with casting options if the creature tends to cast spells. Feats that gradually turn you into the creature of your bloodline by taking on similar features. Awakening the blood to eventually have all the monstrous qualities of that creature. Go from lightly resembling the creature, to being a half breed and finally full on being one of those creatures.

Doppelganger: a more roguelike take on shapeshifting that's not about becoming the biggest brutest hulk, but about basically seamlessly shifting from one humanoid shape to another, infiltration, misrepresentation, impersonation. Maybe with a dash of body horror because a lot of people freak out when fighting themselves. More of a Dex-y martial than a Strength-y one.

Okay, I’ll give this a shot. This one’ll be weird. Full disclosure, I’m pretty relaxed on rules as a GM, being the most experienced tabletop gamer at my table (I only got seriously involved in tabletop after Starfinder, and only one of my players had played a ttrpg before I started with them). So I don’t have much of any experience actually creating content. So consider this all conceptual. Hope it’s a fun read anyhow. So here’s my idea.

The Spellbound

The basic thrust of this class is that you are a martial, monstrous character afflicted by a curse of some sort, that may make you a vicious predator, stalking your prey, or an unlikely guardian, bound to protect people by some strange terms in your enchantment. Your monstrous nature may be readily apparent, or only glimpsed at rare moments, but you carry your curse and remnants of your very lair with you, with your party. You walk in two worlds. The real one – and one transformed by your curse, ever encroaching upon the edge of your senses.

In combat, you fight in a manner not dissimilar to a haunt. The same magic that gave you your mysterious nature is tied to something concrete — like a lair, or an idol, or a foreboding prophecy — called a Source. You may find this Source a melancholy refuge infused with sentimental memories, or a relic of accursed magic you seek to destroy, or a very specific moment in time you are making pilgrimage to throughout your journey. Whatever it is, your spiritual connection to this Source is strong enough to warp the very landscape around you in subtle ways, where unwitting strangers may glimpse your true nature, and stumble down the rabbit hole. These strangers, called your Guests, you may regard as a welcome visitor into your home, or perhaps an unwelcome interloper. Regardless, while they are under the influence of your place of power — your Dominion — you exert tremendous power over their fate. But then, so do they, over yours. In your place of power, you are at your most vulnerable. Inside your own familiar home, even you can no longer hide from your own mortal weakness, and your hubris.

Inspirations for this class are characters like the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, Nie Lang from The Dragon Pearl, La Llorona, Inuyasha, Medusa, or Gollum. This character has partially lost their humanity, struggling against their monstrous transformation, and a fatal flaw or weakness that may have been the origin of this curse. It might be this monstrous adventurer's design to destroy the magic that grants them their power, or to master it, or even to let the curse finish its work on them and complete their monstrous transformation. They may use their power to serve as a benign guardian, watching over the most vulnerable in their company. Or they may use their power to become a terrifying predator, luring helpless victims into shadows to prey upon them at their most vulnerable. Whatever your intentions, this class is for all those players whose singular desire is that they just really, really want to play as a monster, instead of a boring ole humanoid. This class should functionally be pretty modular: about 2/3 martial and 1/3 support, with better than average mobility and some weird, supernatural utility elements. Narratively, it’s all about creating a personal mythology revolving around your curse, and your efforts to overcome or embrace it.

Encouraged class builds could include a monster that stalks and antagonizes/protects their guest from the shadows, a DPR-mauler that keeps their guest close while receiving the full benefits from their Dominion, or maybe even being this inspiring/antagonizing, ethereal presence that uses their feat budget to buy extra reactions that push checks in their party's favor — at the expense of abilities that further empower their Dominion. As for what Dominion is, that’s this class’s big battle mechanic.

The real catch with new class ideas is to come up with the theme or mechanics that aren't already represented in existing classes/archetypes/builds.

I'd really like something with mechanics similar to the Solarian from Starfinder, which builds up attunement to photons or gravitons the longer they're in either stance. Could translate it very easily or make it elemental as well!

I'm a big fan of the Mesmerist from PF1 so translating that would be great as well. I've been fiddling around with a homebrew Mesmerist that includes a supportive therapist subclass, which helps avoid some of the ethically dubious aspects of the class.

Lastly, this would work better as an Archetype, but some kind of Mageslayer would be neat. The dedication feat could give you better saves against magical effects and bonus damage against spellcasters. Later feats can give you tricks to help against different schools of magic (anti-conjuration gives you bonuses against summoned minions, anti-enchantment can trick the enchanter into thinking you failed, etc.) Eventually you can cut through magic like a knife through butter!

Doppelganger: a more roguelike take on shapeshifting that's not about becoming the biggest brutest hulk, but about basically seamlessly shifting from one humanoid shape to another, infiltration, misrepresentation, impersonation. Maybe with a dash of body horror because a lot of people freak out when fighting themselves. More of a Dex-y martial than a Strength-y one.

Some good news on this front; doppelganger is going to be one of the monstrous ancestries Roll For Combat is going to be releasing. It's totally possible that it'll come with an archetype, if not a full class, so that's neat.

PossibleCabbage wrote:

I'd like an Occult Martial where the premise is "mind over matter" in that you can use your incredible self-discipline to overwrite the limits your body puts on itself to prevent you from hurting yourself during normal operations. Like the stories about the mom who lifts a car to save their kid in a crisis, except you can do this sort of thing normally through practice (though it takes a toll.) Let us also do stuff like "iron shirt kung fu".

I’m a little confused how this would play differently from a Monk and/or Barbarian.

To build on this, one idea that I had was a Luck based class. And not luck like actual player luck, but the fortune/misfortune mechanic. Being able to add 2 fortune or misfortune actions to a single roll seems like a powerful yet not inherently gamebreaking mechanic to design a class around.

If you somehow pay for your fortune by giving yourself misfortune (and eventually learn to push that misfortune off onto your foes), or accept misfortune to boost your allies rolls, that could be interesting. And allow for POssiblecabbage's "mom lifting an SUV" gameplay by giving you a controlled fortune spike at a later cost.

…what are Symbiote and Aberrant Inheritor?

I think that the single most interesting new class would be the oft-requested nonmagical support, which I recently saw called the Herald and quite liked. Draw on the legacy of the 4e Warlord and the Starfinder Envoy to make a party face who’s the master of morale, shouting rallying cries and giving orders to help the party as a unit. Sometimes you don’t want to be a Bard or a Cleric, y’know?

The Aberrant Inheritor was my idea for an Aberrant-based class for the Aberrant version of Book of the Dead. Effectively, you'd have a bunch of oozemorph-style archetypes that made you freaky in one direction or another, and then you'd have the Aberrant Inheritor class which was basically a ranger-like "four archetypes in a trenchcoat" class. You'd just keep getting more and more freaky by adding on more and more aberrant attributes from various lines as you went. More or less a martial chassis, with a focus on unarmed combat and debuffs, and a fair chunk of weird utility. "Why yes, I can fit my entire body through a hole the size of my fist. Why do you ask?"

The Symbiote (I think I might have called it the Host at the time) was an idea I'd had about a character whose whole schtick was providing safety and shelter for various weird entities inside their own body. You might have a hive of wasps or bees inside yourself or have an eldritch entity hiding inside your soul (where it's all warm and glowy and the predators can't find it) or have some creature of living darkness take up residence in your shadow or have a very strange sort of demon that had replaced your left hand entirely or whatever. You'd start out with one and work up. Some/many/most/all of them might come with various quirks that would make your life more interesting, but they'd also come with useful powers and as you leveled up the powers would get stronger and you'd get more of them. I suppose that from a build standpoint it looks sort of like what the Thaumaturge would be if the implements got more complicated and interesting and maybe sprouted built-in disadvantages and then ate the rest of the class.

Okay. Now... here me out...
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Super Sentai Class...

Okay. Now... here me out...

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Super Sentai Class...

GO GO FLURRY RANGER

I would really like a class that revolves around using hp (or lack thereof) as a resource and key mechanic.

I originally thought it could be an archetype but I think it might warrant a class.

It would be a martial class with some inherent focus spell like abilities. With feats enabling you to opt in to more of a caster vibe.

Let's call the class Bloodseeker, crimson knight, mutilator, whatever.

3 subclasses

The flaggelant/berserker:
You deal more damage and gain special buffs the lower your hp is, and the more wounds and debuffs you have.
With the ability to inflict damage and wounds on yourself.

The defiler / violator:

You gain special abilities the more damage you deal, and the more you kill. Or amp up abilities by doing it.

The ??:

You can buff and support by sacrificing hp, gaining debuffs etc.

I know this is a rough draft, but I think there might be some design space here

Okay. Now... here me out...

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Super Sentai Class...

This is a big part of why I’m crossing my fingers for Synthesist Summoner to come soon and stick the landing.

I would like to see a gun based class that trades full fighter weapon training (so capping at master like the other non-fighter martials) for more impactful trick shots than the Gunslinger has. Go full whacky with it. Give them a mechanic similar to Prey, call it "Call Out" or some such. Then have a series of more powerful trick shots that have to be done against a "called out" opponent perhaps. A Hunted Shot analogy, so two shots for 1 action. A trick shot that forces the opponent to "dance" by shooting at their feat, making them fascinated. Etc..

I like to think of it as a cross between a gunslinger and a swashbuckler, so maybe even "borrow" from the finisher mechanic. With their finisher style abilities only being able to be used against a called out opponent.

Call it the "Desperado" perhaps.

Ly'ualdre wrote:

Okay. Now... here me out...

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Super Sentai Class...

This is a big part of why I’m crossing my fingers for Synthesist Summoner to come soon and stick the landing.

Same, I refuse to try Summoner out until I can have a cool and functional mech.

So after reading this I think I have a potential interesting idea for a class. It takes some inspirations from the 3.5 class thrZealot and some stuff here. For now I will call it The Zealot or luckbringer.

The Zealot is a martial class that uses a mix of power zeal/passion, and luck to win victories, using its own momentum to further prove victorious but also not letting its enemies set it back either. There are a few key features. This class can function either as a heavy armored warrior or a light armored berserker depending on what's needed for the mechanics, balance theme.

- A delayed damage pool. The Zealot would have a scaling pool that they can fill with an amount of damage they choose to delay the effects of(untill the end of their next turn I think would be fine). Depending on the amount of damage in the pool they either get a bonus to attack or damage( maybe both if it's balanced right. The bonus to attack would probably be status.. the bonus to damage could be flat) this is their main resource. They are designed to take hits and dish out harder hits. Perhaps their damage delay could also come with some mitigation as well but I'm no expert on design balance. Perhaps only some of the damage is released at the 3nd of a turn.

- They can leverage critical hits or critical failures from saves that cause damage to them to their favor, causing them to push forward. The exact details are murky and maybe it should be just attack rolls, and maybe only critical from Nats 20 so as to not encourage munchkin builds were people try to have bad ac. But I was thinking a resource... or maybe more of a switch like panache, when they are crit they can then use that resource/switch for some kind of benefit such as perhaps getting a fortune effect on an attack roll?

I think other effects feats could include learning to take damage for allies, learning to mess with crit ranges. Perhaps even a high level feat that removes the effects of a natural 1 on attacks or saves(Perhaps separate feats?) I could also see feats based around using skills like Athletics, intimidation, diplomacy, and survival. The luck aspect can either be purely a mechanically fun niche or could be tied to the lore/fluff of the class.

Perhaps there could even be feats that let you get other bonuses from your delayed damage pool.

Chaomancer - Something sort of like "Wellspring Mage: The Class". You get a small number of spell slots and a small number of spells known - like, wave caster levels of spell slots, and maybe three spells known per level. At the start of every fight, you roll randomly to see which spell slots fill (maybe one per fight on average?), and which of your spells known they fill with. That's what you have for this fight. You get a reasonably standard set of cantrips, but every fight you roll and see what happens to them. Maybe you'll be able to add statmod in damage. Maybe your ranged attacks will have their range cut in half. Who knows?

Basically, the idea is that you walk into each battle not only needing to adjust your strategy based on your enemy, but also needing to adjust it based on what you suddenly have for yourself. You have basically two paths - one that would give you a degree of control over the madness (possibly letting you reroll things, or removing possibilities from the list) and the other that goes all-in on embracing the madness (like a self-buff focus spell that lasts 10 minutes and rolls on a random table to see what it does for you)

I think you could get it to work as a full caster (by beefing out the spellcasting and chaos effects to the point that it could serve) or as a hybrid (by trimming the magic back to wave caster equivalent, dialing the chaos back a little, and letting them have good old reliable weapon damage to fill in when the dice came up weird)

One power I could definitely see: "Beg for more". Three actions. Only usable if your'e out of spell slots. You roll on a random "This is probably something bad happening to you" table, then roll for a random spell known, and cast it immediately at the two-action level. If it's a one-action spell, you just wasted an action. If it's a three-action spell... hilarity ensues. You probably want to stick with two-action spells in general, if you intend to make much use of this.

Okay. Now... here me out...

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Super Sentai Class...

This is why I'm hoping that we revisit the Soulforger and give it more feats. A class like this would do a lot with summoning up their signature weapon and armor and so far Soulforger is the only class that scratches that itch enough for me.

Ly'ualdre wrote:

Okay. Now... here me out...

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Super Sentai Class...

This is why I'm hoping that we revisit the Soulforger and give it more feats. A class like this would do a lot with summoning up their signature weapon and armor and so far Soulforger is the only class that scratches that itch enough for me.

Yes! I want something with a little more power budget than an Archetype is allowed to have for this particular fantasy.

Oh, and just for clarity - in my idea of the Chaomancer, the spell slots are all empty by default. You *only* have spells from your random refills, and they are only available in the fight they refill for.

I realized on the re-read that my description could have been easily misunderstood.

I love the idea of the Chaomancer, since "roll on tables- the class" would be my favorite thing ever. I just think Paizo is somewhat allergic to put out a class whose power budget is almost wholly unpredictable.

I love the idea of the Chaomancer, since "roll on tables- the class" would be my favorite thing ever. I just think Paizo is somewhat allergic to put out a class whose power budget is almost wholly unpredictable.

Many many players do not like randomness in their PC's abilities. PF2 goes even further in this direction than PF1 did. Example : fixed HPs by level.

I highly doubt we will ever see a Paizo class that is all about randomness.