Rating the D&D 2024 Classes and Subclasses on Rarity in the Multiverse

How common is your character in the D&D universe?

Fighter: Common

Fighters can represent people with actual careers and jobs like soldiers, guards and mercenaries. The D&D multiverse is full of armies, wars and crime that needs stopping (or starting). These trained warriors represent the fighters of the universe and certainly wouldn’t be an unusual sight.

Fighter subclasses

• Champion: Common – Gladiators and just extra tough fighters are represented by champions. These are likely some of the more common fighter types around.
• Battle master: Common – Not all soldiers and guards are trained to the levels of precision a battle master is, but it’s also not unusual.
• Banneret: Rare – Essentially, knightly commanders. Knights aren’t rare, but those that achieve the higher echelons of their order are. This makes bannerets a more rare occurrence.
• Eldritch knight: Rare – Magic is common in D&D, but it’s not commonly mastered. Having said that, eldritch knights are not mastering magic so much as dabbling in it. It’s likely to be rare to find the disciplines combined, but not extremely so.
• Psi warrior: Very rare – Similar to the Eldritch knight in some ways, but I think this would be more unusual simply because psi warriors can’t just learn psionics, there must be some innate element to it which would be rarer.

Rogue: Common

Rogues represent the stealthier and usually, more criminal side of the D&D universe. Cities are home to criminal gangs, syndicates and just desperate urchins. The wider world is home to bandits, thugs, spies and even more honest careers like treasure hunters and scouts that altogether, are reasonably common.

Rogue subclasses

• Thief: Common – The most typical type of rogue. Plenty of people are opportunists and even career thieves and this can include the likes of treasure hunters or even spies for something a tad more legal.
• Assassin: Common – A little less common than thieves, but still not unusual. Some are just thugs happy to knife someone in an alley, others are professional assassins sent by governments to take out political enemies, but assassins are not an unusual subclass.
• Arcane trickster: Uncommon – Magic is a very good complement to stealth and subterfuge. Most rogues will not be a magic wielding rogue, but you wouldn’t bat an eyelid if you met one with a couple of cantrips up their sleeve.
• Soulknife: Very rare – These rogues rely on psionics which means innate abilities that can’t be trained making them an unusual option.
• Phantom: Very rare – Similarly, phantoms are touched by the grave and negative energies that feels more coincidental than something a rogue might train to obtain.
• Scion of the three: Very rare – This one is limited to the Forgotten Realms, and more specifically, mostly to Baldur’s Gate. This already makes it unusual in the multiverse. On top of that, it requires a very brutal and sadistic devotion to one of three very evil gods. In the context of the multiverse, these guys are going to be an unusual occurrence.

Barbarian: Common

Where fighters are more common in areas that possess larger civilisations, barbarians tend to be more common among more rural areas. They are rarer in cities and urban areas, but still a common class in the context of the multiverse.

• Path of the wild heart: Common – The most in tune with nature, representing a more spiritual type of barbarian. These are likely one of the more common barbarian subclasses.
• Path of the berserker: Common – For less spiritual and more rage-filled barbarians, these reflect the more barbaric type of barbarian. Those that are more about fury and combat than spirituality and nature.
• Path of the zealot: Uncommon – The worship of deities isn’t uncommon among barbarians, but to be zealous enough to draw upon divine power is.
• Path of the world tree: Very rare – Most barbarians are thinking much smaller scale than multiversal threats. Normally they operate at the scale of a forest or a nation. It’s much rarer for barbarians to seek to protect the multiverse itself and then draw upon its powers.

Cleric: Uncommon

Clerics can be found in churches and abbeys or among armies. They aren’t as plentiful as some of the classes already mentioned, but they’re still a very normal occurrence, there just aren’t loads of them. There are many gods and many churches which can entice many people of the realms into the clergy.

Cleric subclasses

• Life domain: Common – Most clerics will be drawn to a life of service and healing. This likely leads them towards worship of god’s of life.
• Light domain: Common – For pretty much exactly the same reasons as the life domain, many clerics are drawn to bringing light and hope to a world filled with darkness.
• War domain: Common – Perhaps less common in churches and more so in armies, it wouldn’t be unusual to see clerics as army chaplains and providing care and healing to battle-wounded soldiers. Equally, more zealous and inquisitorial individuals may be drawn to the domain of war.
• Grave domain: Uncommon – Some religions place more emphasis on helping spirits pass on to the afterlife than simply preserving life and this is where the grave domain comes in. I think the appeal and worship is likely to be lesser here so think these will be uncommon, but not unusual.
• Knowledge domain: Uncommon – Similarly, the pursuit of knowledge isn’t the typical priestly desire or function, but it’s not unusual to see clerics of Gond, Ohgma or another inquisitive deity.
• Trickery domain: Rare – Most that seek mischief and misdirection do not engage in clerical pursuits. I think such clerics are likely to be rare, even if there are gods associated with exactly these types of things.

Ranger: Uncommon

My suspicion is that rangers are more common than druids as a ranger can fit a broad range of wilderness living, scout archetypes that may have some small amount of nature magic and lore. I suspect that they are not common, but if you needed one, you probably could find one without it being unusual.

• Hunter: Common – Probably the most common ranger subclass and it fits all the usual tropes of rangers. Stealthy, weapon wielding warriors that stay hidden, then pounce at just the right moment to catch their quarry.
• Beastmaster: Uncommon – Rangers are inclined towards the nurture of animals. While most rangers probably don’t have a beast companion, it’s probably also not a rare thing either.
• Fey wanderer: Rare – While fey-touched rangers won’t be the norm, fey influences also aren’t hugely unusual. Unsurprisingly, you may find more of these types of rangers in the feywild itself.
• Winter walker: Rare – While these rangers won’t be unheard of in the most frigid regions of the land, even there they’re pretty rare. Taken in the context of the entire multiverse, these are rare individuals.
• Gloomstalker: Very rare – The Shadowfell is not the type of place you normally want to draw power from or gain an affinity with. I think thes rangers occur out of harsh necessity rather than intentional training.
• Hollow warden: Very rare – The least common ranger subclass. I doubt many rangers at all end up as hollow wardens. They’re far too creepy and weird.

Bard: Uncommon

Bards are entertainers and there are colleges established to train them in the bardic arts. It’s not rare to see a bard, though their scarcity increases when you consider those bards that are trained to cast spells rather than those of the humble entertainer variety.

Bard Subclasses

• College of lore: Common – Probably the most common kind of bard. Bards are naturally studious anyway and these bards just happen to be even more learned than the rest.
• College of Valor: Uncommon – Many bards choose a life of danger for the renown it can bring. Training in weaponry is likely not a rare thing among bards.
• College of glamour: Rare – While the popstar persona perhaps isn’t unusual among such an enigmatic class, the ability to magically charm probably is.
• College of dance: Rare – Training in the art of dance isn’t rare for bards, but to be trained to the degree at which it can used as a combat form almost certainly is.
• College of spirits: Very rare – Most bards just don’t talk to ghosts, and those that do probably can’t summon their spirits to aid them in battle. I think this is a very rare subclass.
• College of the moon: Very rare – A subclass isolated to just those that have visited and trained among the Moonshae Isles and draws upon the magic of the Moonwells was always going to be very rare. Especially as it mostly excludes non-Faerunian adventurers.

Monk: Rare

Monks require dedication and intense training in both spiritual and physical aspects of self-improvement. They often train for extended periods and in many cases, shut themselves away from the usual comforts of the world. Such dedication not only to a discipline, but also the sacrifices demanded of them makes them a rarer class.

Monk subclasses

• Warrior of mercy: Common – I think what would drive someone to a monastic life is most likely bringing mercy to those that need it. While still warriors, these are warriors that do good.
• Warrior of the open hand: Uncommon – I also think that this monastic tradition is the least magical and therefore, the one most likely to be trained in. It demands the kind of training typical of warrior monks.
• Warrior of shadow: Uncommon – Becoming a ninja takes intense training, but also fits within the usual lore around monk-like warriors. I don’t think this would be an unusual type of monk to meet, but these monks tend to be willing to do harm more and those drawn to a life of harm tend to find less disciplined ways to accomplish this (thugs, bandits and the like). Not a rare monk subclass, but maybe not a common one either.
• Warrior of the elements: Very rare – This subclass requires much more than just physical training, it demands intense spiritual capabilities too which I think would make it rarer.

Druid: Rare

Druids tend to stay away from urban areas, but out in the forests and other rural regions, druid circles can be more common. But like some other classes that require a lot of self sacrifice for a greater cause, I think this makes them a rarer phenomenon. In this case, they eschew the comforts of urban living to become a protector of nature.

Druid subclasses

• Circle of the land: Common – Surely the most common type of druid. They embody the archetypical druid that you find in forests, glades and the like.
• Circle of stars: Uncommon – I think this embodies the types of druids that look to the skies to learn of signs and divine the future. Much folklore surrounds these types of traditions making it one of the more common druidic circles.
• Circle of the sea: Rare – I think it’s just harder for a druid to be a protector and carer of the seas and oceans than it is to nurture the land. For this reason, I think less druids find themselves as protectors of the sea.
• Circle of the moon: Very rare – I suspect this is a very common subclass choice for players, but imagine moon druids in the D&D worlds are actually a very rare occurrence. Not that moon worship would be unusual, but the moon doesn’t need protecting specifically and the types of transformations they’re looking to are often associated with curses (like lycanthropy).

Paladin: Rare

Less common than rangers and clerics. I think what makes paladins more scarce is that while there are orders of knights and squires, few demonstrate the dedication to both sword and divinity to be a paladin. Rangers, on the other hand, mostly don’t have criteria other than skill whereas paladins must make strict oaths.

Paladin subclasses

• Oath of devotion: Common – I think most paladins that make oaths are doing so out of a devotion for justice, law and goodness, which the oath of devotion embodies.
• Oath of glory: Uncommon – I think glory is still the kind of ambition that might often drive a paladin to forming their oath, just perhaps a little less commonly.
• Oath of vengeance: Uncommon – Similarly, I think a fair few paladins are driven by a desire to enact vengeance, usually against evil, just not as many as those that seek devotion.
• Oath of the ancients: Rare – This is quite a fey leaning path and while the virtues it embodies are noble, it perhaps typifies more the values of a druid or ranger and I think many seeking to embody these ideals would be drawn to those classes. I think that makes this a rarer subclass.
• Oath of the noble genies: Very rare – I don’t see this one happening much at all as most oaths are to uphold ideals, this one is more out of a desire to embody noble genie principles. I imagine many potential paladins aren’t even aware of what this would entail, let alone devoting themself to this oath.

Wizard: Rare

In theory, anyone can become a wizard. It takes an awful amount of study and practice and a certain intellectual acumen though. This high bar means that few actually become accomplished in these magical arts, making wizards rare.

Wizard subclasses

• Illusionist: Common – Among wizards, I suspect that this could be one of the more common forms of magic. I think a lot of less ambitious wizards of a low level might be drawn towards illusions (in the guise of magicians perhaps). While spell levels wouldn’t necessarily agree, I’d assume that creating an image of something insubstantial (an illusion) is easier than creating something of substance.
• Evoker: Common – I also think the evoker has such clear use cases for adventurers, armies and combat more generally that it wouldn’t be unusual for a wizard to be specifically trained in this discipline.
• Abjurer: Uncommon – My suspicion is that abjuration might also be seen as useful for combat specifically, but perhaps a little less so than evocation. But I can see a fair few wizards being trained for this school of magic specifically.
• Diviner: Rare – I feel like the realms of divination magic are shrouded, even for those that master it. It can also be a dangerous gift to possess (would you rather know when and how you die, or magic that could prevent your death?) For this reason, I think diviner’s are probably more rare than most other wizards.
• Bladesinger: Very rare – This is a discipline almost exclusively practiced by Elves. Even then, these are considered highly trained Elves in a very challenging art. I think bladesingers will be quite an unusual subclass.

Sorcerer: Very rare

Sorcerers cannot be trained to gain their powers, they only gain them through unusual circumstances, granting them innate magical ability. While the D&D universe is magical by nature, such arcana as to permanently turn someone magical is not common making sorcerers a very rare breed.

Sorcerer subclasses

• Draconic sorcery: Common – Of all the Sorcerous origins, draconic seems the most likely to flow through the veins of a sorcerer. After all, dragons do intermingle with mortals at times, even taking on their form.
• Spellfire sorcery: Uncommon – Since magic is common and the weave accessible to many, I can see this one being more likely than the rest of the options.
• Shadow sorcery: Rare – This is hard to gauge, but I think negative energy forces and influences of the Shadowfell are probably a little more common than some of the others here. This could well include the effects of undead, the Shadowfell itself or even its demiplanes like the domains of dread of Ravenloft.
• Aberrant sorcery: Very rare – Mind flayers, beholders and many other nasty creatures can be found throughout the multiverse. Normally they’re much better at just finishing their victims off, but they might occasionally leave their mark and this might be the origin of sorcerous powers.
• Wild magic sorcery: Very rare – Wild magic is rare, and it granting wild magic sorcery is likely even rarer so I’m going to suggest that this is one of the less likely sorcerous origins.
• Clockwork sorcery: Very rare – I’m still a little baffled as to how the influence of Mechanus can be a sorcerous origin, so I’m working under the assumption that it’s probably the rarest option.

Artificer: Very rare

With magic so prevalent, most look there to perform achievements that a pair of hands cannot accomplish by themselves, but some look to technology. Technically this is technomancy as magic is also involved. The exception here might be Eberron where artificers might just be rare or uncommon, but throughout the multiverse, I think artificers are very rare.

Artificer subclasses

• Alchemist: Uncommon – Probably the more common type of artificer as many people need potions and elixirs and they can become an easy commodity to sell.
• Armorer: Uncommon – Equally, armorers in the form of blacksmiths is a common and needed trade. Adding a splash of technology and magic into the mix isn’t unusual for someone already engaged in the arts of artifice.
• Artillerist: Rare – Explosives and guns are rare in D&D (they were optional in 5e). There will always be those seeking to enhance armaments and warfare, but artillery is still a new and unusual form of technology for the world’s of D&D.
• Battle smith: Very rare – Artificers are already very rare, but those that can build robot companions are even more so, especially because they are also competent at combat and healing too.
• Cartographer: Very rare – This one is mainly very rare because it solves so little. People can already explore and they can also already teleport without the very minor perks this subclass provides. I’m just not sure where it really fits into the world so assume not many people are becoming one.
• Reanimator: Very rare – These are the maddest of mad scientists. The Dr Frankenstein of artificers. A rare few stumble upon such reanimating arts and perhaps that’s for the best.

Warlock: Very rare

It must take a lot of desperation to be willing tomake a pact with the creatures that warlocks do. The promise of power is substantial, but as are the drawbacks. I’ve got to assume such pacts are very rare.

Warlock subclasses

With the warlock subclasses, it’s tricky to know what’s more rare. Are people more likely to make a pact with a benevolent being, or with the ones willing to enter into pacts (which are likely more sinister). I’ve generally landed on the latter. I think fiends and fey in particular are offering pacts far more than celestials (because they want to entrap mortals).

• Fiend patron: Common – I think fiends are actively looking for mortals to make pacts with meaning this is probably a more common pact than most.
• Archfey patron: Common – Similarly, I think fey often wants to make bargains and trick mortals making them a common pact maker for warlocks.
• Celestial patron: Rare – Sometimes a celestial being might seek a champion for their cause among the mortal realms, at which point, they may look to make a pact with someone of virtuous traits.
• Undead patron: Rare – I think undead creatures like liches and vampire lords are generally more self-involved meaning they’re less likely to look externally to make pacts.
• Great old one patron: Very rare – While some warlocks might strive to unlock the powers of immortality through undeath, I think those seeking out the horrors of the far realm are much fewer. I also suspect that planar separation makes this a harder pact to attain. Of course, this could flit the other way if aberrant forces have turned their attention to the mortal realms. Even so, I think this would be a rare pact to make.

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This is more of a fun, mental exercise and exploration of how commonly people might see the various classes and subclasses we play as in the D&D universe. Players love something unique and I suspect we have a lot of adventurers playing as adventurous archetypes that would be very rare to see in the D&D worlds (looking at you artificers, warlocks, sorcerers and moon druids).

There’s a fair bit of guestimation on my part in this one. What do you think of my estimates of class commonality? Let me know if you have a different opinion in the comments below.

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