So, somebody on the Discord, in the context of discussing the BAO preview classes, brought up the topic of classes for NPCs/worldbuilding vs. PC play. I started to reply, but the realized I had lots of thoughts. So I made this.
Pedantic’s 100% unbiased and objective (/jk) Class Tierlist! (Note: tiers are relative, not absolute)
Core Classes:
Fighter: A. Not the best at any particular way of fighting (look to the AXIOMS Greek supplement for options there), but very good at all of them. Nice for players who want to switch-hit, and S+++ for newbies who don’t know what they like and are intimidated by the size of the rulebook.
Explorer: S-. Evasion class power, plus Awareness and Alertness, means you can basically ignore wilderness monster encounters. Given that these can rip level 1 parties apart, the Explorer is a borderline must-pick. Falls off at higher levels when you have the muscle to fight through those encounters, though. As a d6 Medium Armor class, you want to be at range, but you don’t have Precise Shooting by default, and you can only have fighter damage bonus to melee or missile, not both. Rather annoying if you don’t roll the right template. As Helgeran rightly points out, I was wrong about this. You get both damage bonii.
Thief: C. You die if sneezed on. You have 4 hp and most traps do at least 1d6. You’re not even that good at sneaking at level 1. But if you stick it out, and you will level fast, you become quite dangerous. Overall lacks focus; does all the thiefy things on one character at the cost of survivability.
Crusader: B+. Heavy armor and d6, but no spears means you have to tank. You can heal, but it requires starting next to the target and pre-declaring it. Useful utility kit of divine spells, plus Rebuke, godly when needed.
Mage: D. 4hp and 0 AC. And one spell, with 2,500xp to level. Yeah, slumber can be an insta-win, but, boy, in a lot of encounters you will be doing nothing but Defending or throwing darts. Amazing at any advanced start option, at least B+.
Venturer: S-. You need Mercantile Network, and Bargaining is very nice. On top of that, you’ve got d6 with Medium armor, an excellent selection of weapons, Bribery, Treachery, Diplomacy, and will pick up more as you level. Dropping to A+ with the release of other classes with Mercantile Network.
Campaign Classes
Assasin: A. Unlike the Thief, the Assasin knows what he wants to be. And that is a maniac with a Polearm and a trail of dead bodies.
Barbarian. A-. Medium Armor, d8, and Savage Resilence makes a thematic and survivable frontliner. Stealth only works in all-stealthy groups, but suprise and evasion bonii are good everywhere. Moves to A if Jutland in nautical campaign, A+ if Skysos in exclusively aboveground non-city campaign (kite!).
Bard: C? Templates really drag this one down, as Precise Shooting is the common-sense pick for an F2 HD0 class. Jack of All Trades lets you fill a needed slot in the party (cough Evasion cough), but you could just play those classes. Inspired Courage is good but takes setup. Not entirely coherent, not sure who it is for. Never played with one, though.
Bladedancer: B+. Okay, Magical Realm joke goes here. With that out of the way, this is a well-built (ohfudgeno), uh, well-designed class. Polearm proficency (joke here) lets you hide in the back while dealing good damage, minimizing the low-level danger of Light Armor and d6. At higher levels, switch to double swords and murderblender. Full divine casting gives lots of things to do at high levels even if, for some reason, you don’t want to move from warrior-princess to warrior-queen. I may joke about the, uh, purient interest, but the Bladedancer is a great example of how to make a custom cleric, and ACKS is stronger for her inclusion. Now if ony the picture next to her introduction was something I could show girls without fear…
Paladin: A+. The Paladin is an excellent example of a Fighter with a clear career plan. He technically has ranged options, but not much. He can combat heal without pre-declaring and after moving, and he kills evil real good.
Priestess: D. D is for Drakima, RIP. Combat heals means you need to not also go down. And double-divine is just… not great. Useful toolbox of spells, and solid out-of-combat heals. Better as an NPC hench.
Shaman: C. You start with d6 and Light Armor, with mediocre weapons choices and one spell Some good class powers pull it up, but… why? Props to Helgeran for reminding me they aren’t studious (you can tell I don’t play Shamans…)
Warlock: F. Oh, the top-end class powers are great, insane even (summoned demons don’t try to screw you? Indefinite control undead?), but. Well. Randomly go insane, be hated by all Lawful and Neutral people, can’t recover spells… yeah, some of the drawbacks aren’t to bad, but who wants to invest time and effort to lose it all to that? Not me, and it’s my tierlist. Also, shares all the problems of the Mage. This is an NPC villain class.
Witch: F+. I don’t like double-divine progression, but at least when prayerful, it gets you more spells known. Well, toss that one out. Admittedly, I like the Sylvan Witch… ugh, might be a D-.
Demihuman Classes
Dwarven Craftpriest: B-. I don’t like studious divine, but I do like dwarves, and this is a d6 Heavy Armor combatant. Not being able to do rituals is thematic, and also annoying.
Dwarven Vaultguard: A+. A figher with better saves and better Listen/search. Get delving. Sure, a little more xp, slightly reduced level cap, and lose a couple minor weapons, but overall, very good.
Elven Nightblade: B. Not as tightly focused as the Assasin, but more focused than the Thief. More durable, too… the limited arcane magic can be quite good with the right spells. Spell research is your friend here.
Elven Spellblade: A. Yes, A. Excellent armor and shield address the feels-bad of your spell being disrupted by, uh, preventing it, and the uselessness of 1 spell per day with fully competent fighting. Yeah, glacial advancement, but not useless level even at level 1. Bad luck might hit anyone, though.
Nobiran Wonderworker: D-. Naked d4. Massive XP cost to level. Look, just pick divine or arcane. I vastly prefer the Nobiran Veildancer or Champion to this indecisive dweeb. Would be a great NPC, except they have that DMPC stink.
Zaharan Ruinguard: C. Elric-expy isn’t my fantasy, but the class works well. In an Evil campaign, I think I’d prefer a Zaharan Darklord or Thrassian Gladiator, though. Yes those classes are busted, what’s your point? At least they aren’t sporecasters… Weapon Bonding makes this class better.