Hello again,

I am happy to finally introduce to you the beta version of the Harbinger, an elemental striker that can be played from level 1 to level 30, with two complete builds and two paragon paths. The Harbinger features polymorphing into elemental forms and a choice of steady or explosive additional damage. Please click on that link to the PDF, give it a look and tell me what you think. All input is valuable. Thanks in advance!
Note: As with the Xaosmith, powers which would otherwise be replaced with higher-level powers instead have a higher level version displayed as an additional line beneath the original power. 

Developing the Harbinger

Of the elemental classes, the harbinger has been changed the most since I first introduced it as the Chaos Bringer. While the Chaos Bringer

Before I say anything else: Within this wall of text you will find details of the first public draft of the Xaosmith, an elemental defender that can be played from level 1 to level 30, with two complete builds and two paragon paths. But we’ll get to that in a minute…

Chaos and Time

The revelation of 5^th edition makes it exceptionally unlikely that we will see true, official elemental classes produced any time soon, so I would like to reaffirm my commitment to proving the viability of the elemental power source by creating four fully-functional elemental classes. I’ve been doing quite a lot of tinkering these past months, albeit less than I would have liked, and for a few months I was bound to silence on the topic; I have sent in, and received a rejection for, a Dragon

In the Elemental Power Source article, I proposed a number of ways to approach creating new, fully-realized elemental classes that can stand on their own, without being associated with another power source. In the previous Elemental Heroes articles 1, 2, 3, and 4, I proposed a one new elemental class of each role along with an extremely rough level 1 Encounters-style character sheet example for each. Since I wrote those articles, I’ve had some great feedback and a lot of vocal support, and I’d like you to know how much I appreciate it. Additionally, Gencon has recently concluded for the year, bringing with it some new information on the upcoming Player’s Option: Power of the Plane Below… which appears to have no elemental classes whatsoever (though the builds themselves

Introducing the director, an elemental leader class that specializes in indirect attacks, sewing confusion, and empowering allies with elemental traits and auras. Their most prominent ability is their Elemental Presence, an aura of elemental energy that benefits allies or hinders enemies, and which provides a special Elemental Boon, usually gained through the healing ability Weave from Chaos, and which affects the damage type of their attacks. Directors have a lot of choices to make and can greatly improve their allies’ effectiveness with the right ones.

Director

Most directors were once ordinary folk living day-by-day in whatever profession they found themselves in, but since birth, at the center of their being, the veil between the elemental chaos and the world was unusually thin.

Introducing the Chaos Bringer, an elemental striker that not only hurls the elements but sometimes polymorphs into an elemental. Their striker damage mechanic comes with a rhythm and hard choices; their elemental attacks gain a constant bonus from their secondary statistic, and then are augmented by their Elemental Inertia bonus. Once they’ve gained Elemental Inertia, they must choose whether to continue using the constant bonus, or to try their luck with Elemental Wrath. What’s more, many powers are enhanced by Elemental Wrath, making the standard first round nova a less obvious choice.

Chaos Bringer

Chaos bringers have learned to channel the elemental chaos through their bodies, allowing them to alter matter – even living matter – into their desired elements.

For the second in my short series of example elemental classes, meet the exulter, a sturdy, heavily-armored controller that excels at controlling at medium to melee range. The exulter channels the forces of the elemental chaos with their entire body and lashes out with them through a gauntlet used as an implement, often unleashing their powers through physical blows and gestures. Some exulters use their cunning minds to focus their attacks, careful to avoid allies, while others let the flames and thunder fall where it may, while funneling their passion to ensure that if their allies suffer, their enemies suffer far more.

Breakstone

Warforged Exulter

 “Flee, you fleshy things, but the elements have you surrounded!”

Str 10 (+0) | Dex 10 (-1)

With the recent news that Amazon.com lists what appears to be a player's book of elemental power source material, I thought it would be worthwhile to throw together a few concrete examples of what an elemental class could be.  My hope is to produce a total of four level 1 PCs more or less ready for play at something like an Encounters session, one for each role.

First up is the xaosmith, a defender that channels their strength through a blob of tumultuous elemental chaos matter called a chaos node, from which they can create a weapon identical to whichever one they hold at the moment, allowing them to make melee attacks from a great distance and to be effectively in two places at once. While the chaos node can be used simply as a way to extend the range of your defender abilities,

The elemental power source is one of 4^th edition’s milder speculative controversies. Some people are excited to see what “elemental” entails (I’m one of them), some think it’s redundant, and others just don’t know what to expect. As someone who has been interested in the idea of true elemental classes since the late 90s – before 3^rd edition was even announced) – I have been contemplating this for a long, long time, and the announcement of the elemental power source in the 4^th Edition preview material excited me more than even the new rules structure. Moreover, 4^th edition’s take on the cosmos is quite thematically generous to the Elemental Chaos by merging the old Inner Planes, Limbo, the Abyss, and adding new forces and places and ideas,

"I. Love. Parties!" - The Gnome

The recent revelation of the Vampire player class has made monstrous player characters topical lately, and I would like to take the opportunity to go over the issue in detail. Monstrous PCs have been with us since the early days of the game, and have slowly but surely become a staple of Dungeons and Dragons, though not everyone is happy with the fact or how it’s been done. Despite naysayers, many players enjoy playing monstrous characters, and over the years many products, particularly The Complete Book of Humanoids and Savage Species, have given them the opportunity to do so. In 4^th edition, monstrous options have been available since day one in the form of dragonborn and tieflings. In addition to playable monstrous races, D&D also has a