In the 50 years of its life, Dungeons & Dragons has evolved the idea of the player class quite a bit. In the original version, an elf was considered a class, for instance. Subsequent editions delineated race and class, even introducing subclasses to give players a choice in what specific flavor of individual classes they would play.
DnD game designers are not the only ones introducing new player classes, though. Take 5e, for example. Dozens of third-party publishers and indie designers develop unofficial DnD classes and subclasses to give players more choice in how they experience the game. Some change very little and are simply tweaks of existing official rules, while others are entire classes made from the ground up to create an all-new playstyle at the table.
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10 Theurge Class From Kobold Press
A Caster With Arcane And Divine Magic
In the successfully crowdfunded Deep Magic books for DnD 5e, Kobold Press introduced the theurge. Theurge is a full class that comes with three subclasses devoted to it. The class can cast both divine magic and arcane and is, as the book describes it, “the epitome of what a spellcaster should be.”
The theurge class gets spells from the 5e wizard spell list, as well as the cleric’s. At later levels, theurges can cast multiple lower-level spells per turn at the cost of their reaction, and they can eventually treat certain first-level spells as cantrips. It is a very powerful class, but it takes until later levels to realize its full potential.
9 Gunslinger Subclass From Matthew Mercer
This Fighter Subclass Balances Risk And Reward
The Gunslinger is a subclass, or martial archetype, for the fighter class in DnD 5e created by Matthew Mercer. Unlike the artificer, who also often focuses on firearms, the gunslinger is more of a Wild West-style outlaw than an inventor. That isn’t to say that the gunslinger does not have technical prowess.
The subclass is tuned around the idea that firearms will misfire and need to be repaired, which can be handled by innate abilities that come with the class. Gunslingers can craft ammo and new guns as they grow. Fans of Critical Role may recognize the gunslinger archetype from the popular character Percival de Rolo (Percy) from The Legend of Vox Machina.
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8 Psion Class By KibblesTasty
Filling A Major Gap In 5e Classes
Psionics is a fan favorite in DnD, and it has been for decades. Unfortunately, Wizards of the Coast has not fully implemented psionics into 5e. There are some subclasses that deal with it, like the soul knife rogue, psi warrior fighter, and aberrant mind sorcerer, but these are nowhere near as fleshed-out as other psionic classes and subclasses from previous editions.
KibblesTasty, a well-known homebrew creator, designed the psion class to give players the kind of mind-based powers they have been yearning for. It feels very different from other classes, too. The psionic talents and features are designed with the class in mind and not attached to existing class mechanics.
7 Dragon Warlock Patron By KibblesTasty
Gain Power Based On Elements And Hoarded Gold
Some of the more popular DnD classes and races are based around dragons. Like the draconic bloodline sorcerer origin, the dragonborn race itself. It only makes sense that a mighty dragon as a warlock patron would be great, too. KibblesTasty created a dragon warlock patron that grants elemental powers like chromatic dragons’ breath weapons and even has bonuses for the player acquiring riches in a hoard of their own.
New invocations grant players armor from scales and give them dragon wings so they can fly. The level 20 ability lets players transform themselves into an actual large-sized dragon. The level 20 dragon is actually quite balanced, but that’s no surprise because KibblesTasty’s work is known to be very solid in that regard.
6 Witch Class From Kobold Press
Use Covens, Curses, And Cauldrons For Casting
Kobold Press’s witch class uses covens as subclasses for this full class in the Deep Magic, Vol.2 supplement. Players can enchant brooms, brew concoctions, and prepare hexes to use against their enemies. The witch will allow players to have a deep connection to the spiritual realm of their 5e world, making it a great alternative to primal players who want more of an arcane twist than the typical wild shaping druid provides.
5 Pugilist Class
A Brawling Street Fighter That Gains Skills From Fight Clubs
Hand-to-hand combat tends to fascinate DnD players. The pugilist class by Benjamin Huffman is a far cry from the martial artist seen in the 5e monk. Based on bare-knuckle brawlers, the pugilist learns moves from special fight club subclasses and uses a system of moxie points to show off their swagger. The fight clubs they can join include some themed around detectives who can hold their own, traditional boxers, and even luchador-style brawling.
4 Necromancer Class From Mage Hand Press
Master The Undead On The Way To Becoming A Lich
Necromancers are always a fan favorite in RPGs. Controlling the undead, using other creatures’ life forces against them, and simply looking cool with bones and skulls all over their clothes make necromancers nearly irresistible. The problem with Dungeons & Dragons 5e is that the school of necromancy for wizards is lackluster in a lot of ways.
Mage Hand Press has rectified that by creating a full necromancer class, moving it from the default 5e subclass. As with most necromancers in games, the class is based in utilizing pets called thralls. The ultimate ability for the class is called lichdom, which lets the player retreat “for 30 days in an isolated location of [their] choice, and emerge as an immortal lich, an undead of unsurpassed power.“
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3 Blood Hunter Class By Matt Mercer
Draw Power From Their Own Blood And Their Enemies’
The blood hunter player class was created by Critical Role‘s Matthew Mercer. In one of the few instances of unofficial homebrew being included as a default option on D&D Beyond, the blood hunter is available for players to use in the character builder alongside standard 5e classes. Users do have to enable Critical Role content to have access, however. The blood hunter is a martial spellcaster and draws power, blood curses, and blood maledicts that often cause damage to the hunter himself. These abilities give them greater benefits in exchange.
Four subclasses come with the blood hunter, the ghostslayer, the mutant, the profane soul, and the lycan. The order of the lycan subclass is an interesting change from normal Dungeons & Dragons lycanthropy because the were-curse can’t be spread by accident, only by direct intent. The order of the mutant is also incredibly popular, as they use potions and alchemy to gain supernatural abilities, much like Geralt in The Witcher.
2 Alchemist Class By Taron Pounds
Use Chemicals And Potions To Keep Enemies At Bay
Taron Pounds, better known as Indestructoboy to the Dungeons & Dragons community, homebrewed one of the best unofficial 5e player classes out there. “The alchemist is a low defense, high damage and utility martial blaster. It’s highly recommended that, in combat, you stay a safe distance away from the enemies to use your alchemical items on them, but as far back as is safe.”
The most interesting part about the alchemist is that it’s a martial class and not a spellcaster. Not having a spell list makes the chemistry part the actual focus and not an afterthought like some unofficial subclasses have done. The class comes with downtime activities, specialized equipment, and subclasses like the apothecary and toxicologist.
1 The Illrigger Class By MCDM
Dark Paladins With Hell-Fueled Spells And Abilities
The 5e Dungeon Masters Guide comes with rules for an oathbreaker subclass for paladins. That doesn’t always fit what players want, though, when they want a dark knight. MCDM created the illrigger to fit into that niche. They’re a martial class at the core, but gain some spellcasting abilities, too. Like fighters, they select a fighting style, and then, much like warlocks, the illrigger signs a diabolic contract as a subclass to make a deal with an archdevil for even greater power.
Painkiller illriggers wear heavy armor and serve as tanks for the armies of hell. Shadowmasters are assassins who sign contracts with Moloch. Architects of ruin are the third subclass available to illriggers, and it focuses on the spellcasting component more than martial combat. There is an illrigger for anyone who has ever wanted to play a death knight or doomknight in Dungeons & Dragons.
Sources: Kobold Press, MCDM, DMs Guild (1, 2, 3), KibblesTasty (1, 2), D&D Beyond, Mage Hand Press
Dungeons and Dragons
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974-00-00
- Publisher
- TSR Inc. , Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax , Dave Arneson
- Player Count
- 2-7 Players
