I agree, play the class how you want, it’s one of the major appeals of the game
I remember the first time I encountered systems that aren’t strict class + level, and realizing I had so much more freedom to make the ideas I had. D&D (and close relatives) are surprisingly anti-creative.
My partner is playing their first real D&D campaign after years of doing one-offs here and there, and the closed nature of classes and leveling is really tripping them up.
Narratively, it makes sense that their barbarian would want to take some druid levels. But mechanically, they’re making the game a lot harder than it needs to be.
Right? It’s so coarse. You can’t take wild shape without also getting full spell casting. The game is full of stuff like that. No fine control. Also huge opportunity costs. Dip into another class? Enjoy not getting your second attack for weeks of real life time.
The coarse bundling probably good for some kinds of beginner players, but it’s really restrictive.
I remember the first time I encountered systems that aren’t strict class + level, and realizing I had so much more freedom to make the ideas I had. D&D (and close relatives) are surprisingly anti-creative.
My partner is playing their first real D&D campaign after years of doing one-offs here and there, and the closed nature of classes and leveling is really tripping them up.
Narratively, it makes sense that their barbarian would want to take some druid levels. But mechanically, they’re making the game a lot harder than it needs to be.
Right? It’s so coarse. You can’t take wild shape without also getting full spell casting. The game is full of stuff like that. No fine control. Also huge opportunity costs. Dip into another class? Enjoy not getting your second attack for weeks of real life time.
The coarse bundling probably good for some kinds of beginner players, but it’s really restrictive.