Kaelik wrote:By insisting that the solution is a single class that replaces all the possible concept space of guy with sword instead of 14 classes you are committing yourself to fucktastic classes like Soldier that are really just the Fighter class PrCing into the 14 real classes....
Forcing them all into one class waters down every one of those and makes them all more like a fighter and less like a real concept.
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, you could totally split it up and just have Eldritch Warrior, Warmind, Templar, and Wildland Defender be their own base classes instead of having them all fall under one class that replaces the fighter. But I sort of assumed that we would
want to have a single class that replaces the fighter, that still is
sort of like the fighter, to satisfy those fighter people. You aren't going to stick 14 classes into the PHB to replace the fighter, you want a fighter-y class for those people that
doesn't force you to PrC out of it to be good. Having an arcane option for the Soldier doesn't prevent you from later making another base class that's an arcane sword guy, or a storm lord, or whatever. God knows there were tons of spell-sword classes in 3.5.
As long as you made the Areas of Study distinct enough, you could even have them alongside the Ranger and Paladin in the same book. You just want
one class that lets them feel like they earned it organically "Look, when I started I just had a sword. Now I'm fifth level and I've earned the opportunity to gain one of these cool options."
The wizard has a somewhat similar scheme, in that it allows you to focus on a specific school of magic, as does the ranger in that it allows you to pick one combat style at the expense of others. They don't do it to the same degree that the Soldier would, admittedly.
Now, if you wanted a single concept to put in instead of the fighter, that was nothing at all like the fighter but still filled the sword-guy role, I would say you get rid of the bard as the arcane-lite class and replace it with class similar in concept to the 4e Warlord but with arcane abilities that let it support the party from the front lines.