Can we have Archetypes back?

[Liir]

Can we have Archetypes back?

I like choices. I like reading through splat book after splat book and trying to match a specific archetype’s (or two!) ability with a feat chain to fit a character’s theme or just come up with something unique and interesting. I like considering if I should multi-class, what level I should multiclass and how that fits my character. Many players are not like me.

I don’t like scrounging through 1,000 combat feats to find the 20 that are relevant to me. I don’t like feats that nobody should take because they are so specific or situational that they are “trap” options. I don’t like reading through one hundred 1st level spells to find the ones with meat on them.

Over 60% of the druid class feats are order specific, over 33% of the Barbarian class feats are totem specific. Can you imagine 3 years from now when you’re reading the “Complete Guide to Druids” handbook (or webpage), and you’re skipping 30 of the 35 first level class feats because they aren’t relevant?

We need archetypes back. The barbarian class should have a very limited set of “generic” class feats that any barbarian can choose. Not a lot of choices, making a “standard” barbarian easy for a new player to create. The specific totems should be archetypes. You can continue to add new ones in book after book, but a barbarian with the animal totem archetype would only need to consider the barbarian class feats, and the animal totem class feats. They don’t need to even skip by the dragon totem class feats, because they are found under the dragon totem archetype.

In my opinion spells (and what were previously known as combat feats) need to work the same way. New players (and I) don’t want to comb through 30 1st level spells, which would surely become 100 or more 1st level spells in 5 years. You can capture the essence of the wizard or cleric in 10 or fewer spells per level. Add any additional spells to Archetypes, specific Schools or specific Domains. A cleric of Iomedae would only review 10 1st level cleric spells, and the 3-6 additional spells (from domains).

Using the design set forth so far, these Archetypes don’t even need to be limited to specific classes. A generic Archer archetype that in 1st edition was limited to Fighters, in 2nd edition it could easily be cross-class. Instead of the choosing the Storm Order archetype, perhaps an Archer archetype would be a better fit for a elven druid character concept.