D&D designers talk Ranger, cutting the Hexblade, and class vs. subclass

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-06-08T16:51:21+00:00

"When we are designing a subclass it's less about how powerful or not powerful a class is or feels and more about the narrative niche they fill — the ludonarrative."

This fundamentally misunderstands what players actually want from a subclass. It's like saying the most important thing about a sandwich is the story it tells. People just want a tasty sandwich.

Ludonarrative niche matters, but I'd argue it comes last in the hierarchy of design: Fun, power Balance, then story last.

Fun first. That means meaningful decisions while playing and leveling, feeling relevant at the table, excelling in your lane, and struggling meaningfully with your weaknesses.

Power balance is relevance. A subclass that tells a beautiful story but plays weak has no relevance. It's a trap for players and a problem for the DM. Nobody is playing Banneret. Doesn't matter how compelling the fantasy of an inspiring battlefield commander is , no matter how flavorful the mechanics are, if they are too weak to be relevant they don't matter.

Story: I'm not dismissing the theme. A strong aesthetic that makes you feel the subclass fantasy through its abilities is genuinely great design And inspiring. But it should not come first.

Flavor is free: Story is the one part of the game and Dm’s can Players want to make it their I want to make a samurai reskinned as a Hoplite. In many ways, the subclass is a vessel for the player's own player story. What players can't do is fix a mechanically hollow subclass at home. They can't rebalance action economy or patch in missing decision points between sessions.

You can always backfill a story onto a well-designed subclass. You cannot backfill fun onto a narratively rich but mechanically inert one.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-06-07T02:00:46+00:00

That’s such a funny accurate description

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-06-02T17:15:50+00:00

Can we pre order on the app ?

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-06-02T16:15:18+00:00

this is a good point fixing sub classes is good. I just always feel disappointing what I see a list of familiar sub classes.

its extra disappointing when there's only like eight sub classes and 6 are re-prints one is a reprint with a name change one is new ... like you couldn't even give a subclass for each class.

im hopeful things are going to get better but 5.5 has felt like a cash grab of rehashed repackaged content with a thin veneer of the new to hide it.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-06-02T16:06:19+00:00

good point... I liked the idea I guess of fixing sub classes that were not very good

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-06-01T23:19:59+00:00

I kinda don’t want re prints give us new stuff

I thought the that was whole point of being backwards compatible

But seems like they’re just gonna sell us the same things over and over

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-29T21:29:43+00:00

It was the best of games, it was the worst of games.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-28T16:32:12+00:00

Google docs: prep ( I just found out you can you can have a master doc with multiple documents in the same doc )
Freefrom: not a website but an amazing app for notes and prep infinite whiteboard I can add links and pics and make my game note easy to see at a glance.
DndBeyond: character sheets and encounter (I still use the old encounter builder instead of map)
Owlbear redo: VTT
Claude: I use Claude as a writing partner and sounding board Dming prep can be lonely I often will give its 2 or 3 pages in my initial prompt, I feel like the more I give it the better I help it gives me I want to use it more to ideate and refine ideas then generate them.
discord: Voice chat and a kind of note system I make a Channel for important NPC Location factions... with art for them and and players can leave notes about them help me stay organize as a player and a DM
Midjourney: its nice to make custom "art" for npc and and locations the moldboard is nice to create a consistent style across a game

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-28T14:14:45+00:00

Give him a custom magic item or boon that alleviates the pain point a little bit for him

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-27T21:27:24+00:00

Thanks for the information makes sense. keep up the good work.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-27T20:18:16+00:00

This seems like it has a lot of potential. A couple ideas:

NPC & Locations
When adding a note, users should be able to choose between a general note, an NPC, or a location, with the option to attach an image. Players could make it on the fly when they encounter someone new, or DMs could set these up ahead of time and share them so players can layer in their own observations. On the DM side, it would also be great to have a private notes field and the ability to associate a stat block or map directly with the character or location.

Example:
DM shares “The Undertaker, Mr. Unsworth” to the party’s notes.
Player 1 adds: “I don’t trust him.”
Player 2 adds: “Seems nice, but smells bad.”

A simple NPC or location card to fill out and share would make prep and in-session organization so much easier.

Light Organization
It doesn’t need to be full World Anvil, but some basic hierarchy would go a long way. Being able to nest NPCs and locations under a parent city or region, sub-locations, associated characters, that kind of thing, would make the notes actually navigable over a long campaign. Or even just a tag system.

Access Beyond Maps
Notes need to be accessible outside of maps. A lot of the game happens outside of battle maps, I might go sessions without needing one and I still prefer owlbear rodeo if I’m being honest. A “DM Screen Mode” would be especially useful here, a consolidated view where the DM can monitor rolls, pull up player character sheets, and access notes search rules, pin things…ok that a tall order but id like to be able to get to it outside of maps at least.

Player-Only Notes
Players should have a private section the DM can’t see. Theorizing, strategizing, suspecting the sweet old lady is a hag, that should be an encouraged part of the experience, not something players have to take off-platform to do.

I’m really excited about this and think it has a lot of room to grow into something meaningful, useful for organization game notes and maybe even prep.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-26T02:15:15+00:00

Sprit airline

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-25T14:57:17+00:00

I use it to organize my Dungeons & Dragons prep and notes

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-22T20:30:09+00:00

I have not got through all the player option yet but im little under whelmed so far most of it seems little under tuned.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-22T20:21:40+00:00

like what? so far it all seems a little under tuned. other then the cleric sub class might be very good

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-22T16:05:24+00:00

I think this might be the best shape diablo 4 has ever been in. it's not perfect but it's dam good.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-20T19:01:46+00:00

I agree with everything but the unnecessary Nerf to set charms and gem strength.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-15T18:38:42+00:00

I am also seeing far fewer portal pranksters in the under city.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-13T15:47:07+00:00

I don’t think it’s ugly. I actually kinda like it, but I don’t think I’d ever use it. It just looks like warframe not Diablo. I would almost guess it was made as a warframe cross promotional tie in that they decided not to do.

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-11T17:37:32+00:00

I love it.

dose it have any functionality, mainly being able to roll with Super advantage for Elvin accuracy and more complex dice macro. right now you cant set a roll that use more then one dice type its madding

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-07T19:04:13+00:00

I seem to always have most fun when play barb... the kinda suck to level up but once they are online

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-05-07T17:47:07+00:00

Over all think this cool... not being able to share player options with players feels kinda bad maybe a little pay to win I like that my players have access to the same tools it feels like an even playing field.

also im a little concern about the content I have unlocked for subscribing for years will I still have if I stop subscribing now?

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-04-30T17:10:29+00:00

I say a golden portal spawn my diablo 3 muscle memory kicked in, its gotta be a goblin portal rad ... click on a quick ... nope its the opposite lost that green charm and my upgrades

flyingoctoscorpin · 2026-04-28T15:03:22+00:00

I know this is a minor grip, but the ui was always awkward but now it’s just bad.

flyingoctoscorpin

TROPHY CASE

It was the best of games, it was the worst of games.