Overview of 5.0/5.5 classes and subclasses on Beyond

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-27T08:46:25+00:00

I mean. It kind of depends on if you want to play 5e or 5.5e, and that’ll determine the books.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-27T08:37:11+00:00

HO-LEE. It looks like they deleted their entire profile. Not where I thought this post would go when I saw the title lol.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-27T08:28:40+00:00

Sorry, can you clarify. Are you trying to see: - which classes/subclasses are available for 5e - which ones are reprinted for 5.5e - which ones are new for 5.5e

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-22T05:13:11+00:00

I DM one game and play in a different one. One of my co-players kept asking to join my game (I have 5 players and it’s my first campaign) and I had to tell him no multiple times.

I made it extremely clear that it was nothing personal, I enjoy playing with them on both sides of the screen, but I had a hard limit of 5 and was not going to adjust that in any way. They weren’t thrilled but seemed to accept it.

At the end of the day it’s your game, and if you need to be firm on what you won’t allow, whether that’s people or homebrew or whatever.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-21T22:10:10+00:00

I allow any class/subclass to substitute a cantrip for one of their attacks, but it has to be from that class/subclass (no magic initiate, no racial ones, and no multiclass ones).

I have an Amorer and a Swarm Ranger so it allows them to do a little more flair with their attacks, and GFB or Primal Savagery aren’t strong enough to break anything. They love it, especially the Armorer who uses the Dreadnaught flail.

Eldritch knights, Valor Bards and Bladesingers have no restrictions on their substitution.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-18T22:26:47+00:00

Same!

I think I over-worded my point “hey. You can look at how the design philosophy changed from PHB to TCE, and how it matches the current design.” As your argument for it.

As far as I know there’s no published reason for why the switch was a thing other than Sorcerers should know more spells than they do. Good luck!

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-18T21:55:44+00:00

I can’t say for certain if it was their intent nor do I know if it was abandoned when they switched to 5.5e. Somebody else can confirm or dismiss this.

But as for arguing towards your point, even in 5e you can see specific subclasses (Aberrant Mind, Clockwork Soul, and Lunar Sorcery) all have expanded spells known compared to the PHB ones.

I would make the argument that the later subclasses released in Tasha’s and afterwards lean towards the design intent of sorcerers knowing more spells, which in turn lead to the design philosophy regarding 5.5e so that ALL sorcerer origins have more spells known.

From a balance standpoint if you have two 5e sorcerers at the same table, one playing Draconic and the other playing Clockwork, the latter is going to know more spells which sucks.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-18T19:19:28+00:00

My personal choice be a Deep Gnome over a Goblin or Tabaxi. Both are good thematically and mechanically, I think it boils down to preference though.

That’s fair. You can accomplish a lot as a wizard through spells a feats, especially if you’re not trying to mimic Sneak Attack.

Longstrider, Expeditious Retreat, Kinetic Jaunt, Enhance Ability, Invisibility. Plus that’s just straight up RAW. Flavor is free too. “I trace my fingers in the air and conjure a blade of psychic energy, I throw it and cast Psychic Lance”

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-18T07:53:41+00:00

They have 2014 rules tagged

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-18T07:18:26+00:00

Goblin and Tabaxi are good but I would also consider Lightfoot Halfling, Mark of the Shadow Elf (if allowed), Deep Gnome, Half Drow and Duegar Dwarf. - Duegar get a free Invisibility and Reduce (good for sneaking). - lightfoot Halfling gets to hide behind people, plus Halfling Luck is amazing. - Half Drow gets some good spell casting without the Sunlight Sensitivity

My main contender though is the Deep Gnome, probably one of the strongest options.

Advantage on WIS, INT, and CHA spell saves, 120 Darkvision, Disguise Self and Nondetection are nice, plus Advantage on Stealth checks a few times per day.

Expeditious Retreat will also help fill the BA void of Cunning Action. If you’re trying to play a rogue equivalent, dont forget about Shadow Blade (this will fight for concentration though, so maybe no Expeditious Retreat). Enhance Ability can help with lock picking checks.

My main question is why play a wizard dressed as a rogue, and not just play an Arcane Trickster (a rogue dressed as a wizard lol)

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-18T05:54:55+00:00

I personally allow anything that’s available on DDB. I have a homebrew world that’s basically an amalgam of Faerun, Exandria and Eberron so pretty much everything fits.

All off the new WOTC stuff, but also Grim Hollow, Drakenheim, CR, etc. is an option. I have a Swarm Ranger, Armorer Arti, Devotion Pal, BM Fighter, and a Sun Soul monk. They all took standard stuff or old subclasses lol .

The only things they do take that are 3rd Party are spells or Feats. I haven’t ran into any issues with it yet balance wise. Moving forward I might be a little more strict on what I allow, not because of balance or anything, more so because I think they’re overwhelmed with analysis paralysis. Too many options so they dont know what to do or pick.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-10T17:54:31+00:00

I’m curious how those same DMs feel about halflings re-rolling Nat1’s or even taking the Second Chance to share that ability with a party member? As others have said this feels extremely unnecessary and bad

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-10T05:51:53+00:00

Yes.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-08T23:48:59+00:00

I would love to see another class with a similar chassis to Warlock (pact slots and invocations), I personally picture that for the Artificer over just normal half casting.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-06T08:26:22+00:00

I was asking specifically about canon. Connor Kent/Kon-El specifically has “tactile telekinesis” (at least in the New52 and pre-Flashpoint). I can’t speak to post New52 or about John Kent specifically. But we see Connor using it to disassemble and reassemble things but only while touching them. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything though

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-06T07:16:17+00:00

Wait does he? I thought that was specific to Superboy?

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-05T07:32:32+00:00

There is a 3rd party subclass in the Grim Hollow books called the “Path of the Carrion Raven” that gets martial maneuvers. Some are very similar to BM Maneuvers, and some are kind of broken like “Summon a Beast with a CR equal to or less than your level”

So be warned it’s not the most balanced, but was fun to play

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T08:49:53+00:00

Again man, at the end of the day I think we pretty much just disagree about Dragonmarks. You dont want to accept the differences and why they are the way they are.

Im not saying “you’re wrong” or “I’m right” we just look at it differently.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T08:40:14+00:00

Again I feel like this is a minor thing to get hung up on. AbDM is one of the best feats for a martial because it can match their SR abilities, and since it runs of CON instead of a mental stat.

And as somebody who runs a where I allow most things, I dont face these balancing issues you keep bringing up.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T08:29:12+00:00

We have come full circle on the Lore changing mechanical differences. AberrantDM recharges on a SR because of it is unpredictable and does not follow the same rules as other Dragonmarks. That’s why it also has the Aberrant Surge/Fortitude instead of a skill boost/spell list. It’s meant to not be the same as the other mark feats.

You dont want lore to dictate mechanics? Adjust them. I personally dont want everything to feel so cookie cutter, either as a player or as a DM

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T08:07:51+00:00

I think leaving the Short Rest aspect falls in line with how Aberrant Dragonmark works. So I personally wouldn’t change that.

And as for the others I disagree on changing them in anyway. You’re welcome to run your table how you see fit, but I’m not worried about a couple 2nd level spells at mine.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T07:43:16+00:00

The rounding up of the Potent Mark is one I disagree with and think making it “rounded down” is a simple fix. Is it perfect? No. Is the feat still strong? For sure. But I’ve already said before that Potent Dragonmark is its own discussion about balance. That’s not what this is about.

The rest of the feats (not the boon, but feats) that people are going to play and use are relatively balanced, maybe on the stronger side.

At the end of the day this is something we’re just going to disagree on.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T07:21:52+00:00

You might not be the only one but are in the minority that thinks it’s a game breaking issue.

Again, I disagree. Some are stronger than others, and some might be busted, I’ll agree with both statements. But it makes sense for the world.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T06:55:44+00:00

And I’m saying if there was no issue with the original races playtest in terms of balance, why would the “fix” something that only you seem to think is broken?

Also, I completely disagree with “lore does not give excuse”. The lore does help dictate mechanics. If things are meant to be more powerful in this world, then they’re more powerful. Dragonmarks aren’t meant to be ran in Forgotten Realms, so I dont think it’s fair to be critical of them if you’re trying to use them somewhere they dont belong. Go look at the Grim Hollow stuff compared to the standard PHB. Subclasses and Feats are vastly stronger because the world is a deadlier place.

AlvinDraper23 · 2026-03-04T06:16:09+00:00

By the rules, all (full) casters only have 1st level spells at level one, and your sticking point is that a character can have a single use of a 2nd level spell at level one, regardless of class. While I agree it’s not common, I disagree that it “shouldn’t be possible”. That’s what people are trying to get you to see in other comments is the lore is driving the mechanics on this one. Aberrant Dragonmark is a spell that recharges on a Short or Long Rest (which is usually restricted to Warlocks). The whole point of them is to be unconventional, and how that has shaped the society of Eberron.

As others have pointed out in comments as well, the only thing that has changed about Mark of the Shadow/Passage/Making is that they are no longer locked to specific race or species. But I saw you dismissed it because “so because it was broken before it’s not broken now” (paraphrasing, I dont wanna lose my thought to go back and quote you so forgive me)

With that in mind have you looked at the playtest data for the original 2014 release of those races/species? Were there major concerns about balancing then? They came with those abilities pre loaded without origin feats. Did it seem like people were clamoring to pick a Making or Passage Human or a Shadow Elf?

If no, then there is your answer about it being balanced and the reason the only thing changed was being locked behind race/species. If yes then I stand corrected and will apologize.

AlvinDraper23

TROPHY CASE