Converting 4E Classes to AD&D: The Ardent

It seems a lot of people are critical of the 4E 'grid system' for character classes. The grid system basically consists of the idea that each character has a power source (Martial, Divine, Arcane, Primal, etc.) and a combat role (Defender, Leader, Striker, Controller). Though it's impossible to say for sure, it seems like part of WotC's design process for new classes is to look at this grid and try to fill in the blanks. For example, the Barbarian and Druid filled up the places of Primal Striker and Primal Controller, respectively, but the new classes of Shaman and Warden were created to fill the role of Primal Leader and Primal Defender.

I actually like this process, because it brings out a lot of new and interesting character concepts. The Shaman, for example, may have started off as nothing but 'Primal Leader', but the final concept (which is based around communing with animist nature-spirits) is more than the sum of its parts. On the other hand, these interesting core concepts can kind of get buried under all the At-Will/Encounter/Daily powers and the rigid adherence to the character's combat role. So I thought I'd make a project of converting some of my favourite 4E classes into AD&D-style format, in order to distill their essence as it were. I'll start with one of 4E's most obscure and sometimes ridiculed classes: the Ardent.