4th Edition
| Class | Primary role | Secondary role | Power source | Description | Sourcebook | Playtest/Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardent | Leader | Defender or Striker | Psionic | Ardents use their psionic power to use emotions to their advantage. They fill their enemies' minds with negative emotions, creating gaps in their defenses. At the same time, ardents fill their allies minds with encouraging thoughts and strengthen their resolve. | "Player's Handbook 3" | |
| Artificer | Leader | None | Arcane | The artificer acts to contain magic energy within vessels, whether it's animated constructs or infusing magic into his/her allies. | Eberron Player's Guide (July 2009) | Dragon Magazine #365 (July 2008) |
| Assassin | Striker | ? | Shadow | Assassins make a deal with Death, displacing part of their soul with a reflection from the afterlife. The deal struck gives them the power to move through shadows and gather power to strike at a creature's weakness. | Dragon Magazine #379 (September 2009), Heroes of Shadow (March 2011) | None Available |
| Avenger | Striker | Controller | Divine | Avengers act as the avenging agent of their faith, vowing enmity against a particular foe and gaining power from that vow. | Player's Handbook 2 | None Available |
| Barbarian | Striker | Defender or Leader | Primal | Rage is the main weapon in the barbarian's arsenal. By driving themselves into a state of primal chaos, they can crash through a battlefield and deal heavy damage. | Player's Handbook 2 (March 2009) | Dragon Magazine #368 (October 2008) |
| Bard | Leader | Controller | Arcane | Bards perform music that taps into arcane energies, imbuing allies with power and harming enemies. | Player's Handbook 2 (March 2009) | Dragon Magazine #369 (November 2008) (Ampersand Preview) |
| Druid | Controller | Leader or Striker | Primal | Druids control powerful flora and fauna to attack at long range. They also transform themselves into agents of primal power, such as bears, monkeys, wolves, cheetahs, boars, treants, etc. | Player's Handbook 2 (March 2009) | Dragon Magazine #370 (December 2008) (Levels 1-3 Preview) |
| Invoker | Controller | Leader or Striker | Divine | The Invoker channels the divine magic of their gods directly to castigate their foes and control the battlefield. They wear light to medium armor and can use simple weapons but they usually rely on divine spells to weaken, slow, or otherwise hamper their enemies while aiding their allies. | Player's Handbook 2 | Dragon Magazine #370 (December 2008) (Levels 1-3 Preview) |
| Monk | Striker | Controller | Psionic | Focusing psionic energy, monks act with little armor and usually unarmed. This energy also allows them to move about the field of battle quickly and in unexpected ways. | Player's Handbook 3 (TBA) | Dragon Magazine #375 (May 2009) |
| Psion | Controller | None | Psionic | Psions are the archetypical channels of psionic energy. They use either telekineses or telepathy to control and befuddle their foes. | Player's Handbook 3 (TBA) | Dragon Magazine #377 (July 2009) |
| Runepriest | Leader | Defender or Controller | Divine | Runepriests know the divine secrets inscribed in forgotten runes. Like other leaders, they heal and buff their allies. More importantly, they gain secondary effects to all of their powers depending on which rune state they are in. | Player's Handbook 3 | None Available. |
| Seeker | Controller | Defender or Striker | Primal | Versed in hunting techniques handed down through the generations, seekers combine thrown weapon and bow techniques with primal evocations. The combination allows seekers great range in which to deliver deadly attacks that confound and hamper their enemies. | Player's Handbook 3 (TBA) | Dragon Magazine #380 (October 2009) |
| Shaman | Leader | Defender or Striker | Primal | Shamans gather spirits to intervene in the material world, healing their allies and disabling their foes. These spirits group under grand marshals like the World Serpent, tied to specific abilities. | Player's Handbook 2 (March 2009) | Dragon Magazine #372 (February 2009) (Levels 1-3 Preview) |
| Sorcerer | Striker | Controller | Arcane | Sorcerers are wielders of raw arcane power. Where a wizard wields magic like a fighter wields a sword, a sorcerer wields magic like a barbarian swinging a greataxe. The magic they use is hardly controlled and may have some chaotic side effects. | Player's Handbook 2 (March 2009) | Dragon Magazine #371 (January 2009) (Levels 1-3 Preview) |
| Swordmage | Defender | None | Arcane | The sword is used as an arcane focus for the swordmage's abilities, including aegises of shielding, ensaring, and attacking. They ward themselves and enchant their blades to combat any foe. | Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (September 2008) | RPGA Forgotten Realms Player's Guide preview (July 2008) |
| Warden | Defender | Controller or Striker | Primal | The warden uses the power of the primal spirits to protect their allies. They are defenders of the wilderness and make moving around the battlefield very troublesome for their enemies. | Player's Handbook 2 | Dragon Magazine #371 (January 2009) (Levels 1-3 Preview) |
Read more about this topic: List Of Alternative Dungeons & Dragons Classes
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