Previously: The Arcane Conduit and the Satellite Acolyte
Druid and Fighter: The Polythrope
Another reasonably distinct pairing, although we have to think past the surface level here, and understand that the answer is not “ranger.” I think we’ll focus on wild shape for the druid – 5E has too many casting classes for my taste, so an animal-transformation-warrior is a nice twist. Keying off the previous entry, we’ll assume a sort of far future, post-apocalyptic, fallen earth, sword-and-planet scenario for all of these hybrid classes.
Axis: Transformation/Training
Unregulated body modding and DNA fusion in the runup to the apocalypse had predictably chaotic results after The Fall. Many humans fell from sapience into novel new hybrid animal forms, adapting vigorously to a new world. The vast majority of these creatures think, feel, and act like animals, with only the barest glimmers of their past human selves still evident. But in a small few, that flame of human awareness burned bright. Through rigorous training with weapons and tools, they preserved their humanity, and learned how to control the animalistic elements within them.
Mechanics
Animal transformation can be another push-your-luck, cost/benefit mechanic. To distinguish it from our sorcerer-wizard, who is bottling up the transformation and then releasing it, perhaps the druid-fighter easily transforms, but the more ambitious the form – and the longer they stay in it – the harder it is to get back. The most feared fail-state for this character is not necessarily death, but becoming lost in the animal dream, forgetting your way back to humanity and self-awareness. Weapons and tools serve as focal points for reinforcing civilization. Regularly training them with them provides the rigorous mental pathways that guide the transformed warrior back to their sapient state.
Rogue and Paladin: The Speaker
Another good one, as long as we avoid the lawful good / chaotic neutral cliches. This pairing actually gives us a good way to interrogate civilization on an axis quite different from the barbarian-cleric and the druid-fighter.
A paladin is defined by an oath. They’ve given their Word to a principle or power bigger than themselves. A rogue is defined on some very broad level by breaking the law. But a rogue needs civilization to function. Absent civilization entirely, there is nothing so subtle as “stealing.”
Axis: Oath/Betrayal
Many things did not survive The Fall. Few expected the laws to survive a lawless age. But some swore they would not be forgotten. The Speakers memorized the laws, and took an oath to spread them everywhere they went. Everywhere the oath is honored, the old customs hold, and the Speakers are dedicated judges and oral historians of the law. But woe to the community that does not honor the laws; that does not hold principles and ideals above power and brute force… for their property is forfeit to the law.
Mechanics
In 5E combat, rogues and paladins are both nova strikers, which I would keep, but rather than smite-backstab, what if it is the words themselves that give them power? This would be a nice way to mechanically implement 5E bonds, traits, flaws, and ideals in a much more literal way. You better believe players will care about them once enforcing your ideal equals extra dice on a smite/sneak attack analogue. Damage can scale relative to the degree the fight enforces an ideal. If the character violates the ideal, they might temporarily lose this damage advantage; but their skills of stealth, deceit, theft, and law could get them through, until such time as they make re-establish their ideal.
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