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How to Build Subclasses: Core Design
🕑 Added 2024-05-14 16:00:10 +0000 UTCSubclasses are the most important tool for making new character options. In this series, I’ll break down my process of building them for each of the core character classes.
The Big Picture
In this installment, we’ll look at the big picture approach to subclasses in general. In later installments, we’ll look at each character class and break down the key considerations to making a subclass for it. Using requests placed by subscribers at the paid tier (how’s that for a plug?), I’ll build out a subclass for each character class as an example.
Step One: Thematic Resonance
Thematic resonance is a fancy, advanced game designer way of saying the following:
“The thing does what the thing should do, in a way that makes it really feel like the thing.”
Said perhaps more clearly: A subclass should deliver on its theme in an obvious, easily grasped way.
A subclass is, in essence, a set of character class features that are earmarked as swappable. A subclass tries to deliver replacements that have a thematic tie. As an example, let’s look at the wizard school of divination, a personal favorite of mine that I played in a complete playthrough of Curse of Strahd. It has the following subclass features:
Divination Savant arrives at 2nd level, giving you a discount on the gold and time needed to copy a divination spell into your spellbook.
2nd level also delivers Portent, perhaps one of the most powerful abilities in the game. Portent allows you to roll d20s and use their results to replace future d20 rolls.
Expert Divination kicks in at 6th level and gives you a replacement, lower-level spell slot each time you cast a divination spell.
The Third Eye is a 10th-level feature that gives you the choice of seeing invisible creatures and objects, seeing into the ethereal, and a few other options.
Rounding out the selection is Greater Portent, which adds an additional die to Portent.
This selection of abilities hits the critical rule of thumb I use with subclasses. If I described the basic effect of each one, would you be able to guess the subclass’s basic concept or story? I think this one, with its flavorful names and mechanics, passes with flying colors.
The school of divination shows that being subtle or coy with your design adds needless difficulty to your work. The word divination pops up in feature names. Some of them point to the specific school of magic. Save subtlety for other parts of your design. The louder and more obvious you make the subclass, the more it resonates with your reader.
Step Two: Building Out Subclass Features
It’s all well and good to say what you should do, but let’s take a step back and show you how to approach it.
Map Out the Fantasy
When building a subclass, think of how that specific character differs from other members of the class. The more obvious, the better. Imagine the character on an adventure. What are the cool tricks they use that make them unique? What’s their unique thing? If this was a character in a video game, what would their unique power set look like?
It’s a good idea to build a subclass around a single, powerful ability that the other features support or expand. This approach is easier on you as a designer (come up with one cool thing!) and better for making resonant design. Subclasses that try to spread their flavor too thinly can sometimes come across as muddled or difficult to understand in play. Powerful, iconic features have a bigger impact on play and do a better job of making a character stand out.
Building that Core Feature
Looking back at the school of divination, Portent towers over the rest of the features in terms of utility. That’s good design. It provides a clear, obvious trick that the wizard can use.
However, building such a feature can be tricky. There’s no magic formula to get it right every time, but in my experience, there are three key elements you should look for.
Flexible abilities tend to work better, as opposed to features useful only in specific situations. Portent can apply to an attack, save, or check. That makes it useful in almost any situation where you’re rolling dice. It can turn success into failure or failure into success. You can use it to buff an ally or debuff an enemy.
It’s better to start with an ability that is too powerful and then revise downward, rather than try the opposite. Adding power, unless an ability dishes out pure damage, often requires a more extensive redesign. Start strong, then winnow a feature down until your testers, players, or friendly local DM are pleased with its balance.
Balance, in my experience, comes down to fairness. Compare the ability to those given by other subclasses. Does it feel like it clearly outclasses them? Do they fit into the same scope and utility? Would you still consider taking other subclasses? Perform the same exercise by comparing the subclass feature to features gained by other classes (and their subclasses) at around the same level. Does it all still hold up?
Next Time
In the next installment, I’ll break down the steps behind plotting out a subclass’s progression using a subclass designed for the barbarian, along with tips and tricks to working with that lovable pile of rage.
Bonus Topic: Is Portent too Good?
I think it’s too good. Were I to revise it I’d remove its ability to mess with saving throws. Attacks and checks usually have a fairly narrow band of effects, setting aside the paladin’s smite. Attaching an auto-miss to a saving throw is rough. Every DM who has dealt with this feature in my experience ends up cursing it.
A good rule of thumb: Would players hate it if the DM used this mechanic against them? I’m 100% certain that any DM who throws a few divination wizards at a party would end up with some upset players.
Another path might be to roll a few d6s and apply them as needed as a bonus or penalty to d20 rolls. Even a pair of 1s can be useful if you know that you missed a save or attack by only 1 point.
Were I to choose, I’d remove saving throws as an option and otherwise keep the feature the same. I think that passes the fairness test for both players and DMs.
Comments
David Johnson
Awesome breakdown Mike! Makes me think of existing subclasses and analyze how well they hit those notes. I think of Echo Knight and Twilight Cleric... and how one can imagine, ahead of reading a word... what they might be like and do thematically... then the features/abilities just reinforce those visuals. Whereas Gloomstalker, (which I've never played) has never been as clear thematically in my head. I think of gloom... as a bad mood or an overcast day... and I'm blurry on how that translates to what I imagine a character would relate to that concept.
Mike Mearls
Good questions! I'll tackle those when I get to the bard.
Cem Alemdar
Hi Mike, Thanks for this. I find it quite helpful, actually. I would like to ask for your perspective on another interesting subclass, the Whisper's Bard. I think this bard was created to fill a role that is not easy to fill in conventional module campaigns and requires more spotlight from the DM. Additionally, I believe the Words of Terror feature can be challenging for DMs to rule, as fear is a tough-to-implement mechanic used in social encounters.
