Need Solid Direction for Human Character in New Campaign

[Ghost Nappa]

A friend of mine allowed me into a new campaign, and after playing around with some ideas, I realize I have...way too many options.

My Rolled Stats are 17 / 17 / 15 / 13 / 11 / 11. My first instinct was Human and I'm pretty happy with that decision.

The existing party is already set in stone and is mostly unoptimized.

Dwarven Bard
Dragonborn Ranger
Dragonborn Cleric
Half-Elf Fighter
Half-Elf Druid

I don't really know that much more about them other than that they're about to hit Level 2 (where I'll be starting from).

I've been toying with the idea of a Barbarian (character should be effective in melee) but I'm honestly not too sure what I want to do besides not be a spellcaster (or at least a full one) and I want to avoid being a Monk (I'm a Monk in a different campaign).

The DM is very relaxed with what I'm allowed to do, but RPing wise I will be involved with Griffon Poaching somehow.

I've got no sense where to start at the moment. I can very easily get to 17 or 18 AC with a Barbarian, but a Rogue character could also be really handy to the group. The DM suggested many things but she specifically asked for Wizard first, and then mentioned that a melee character (what I intend) would be handy.

[Callin]

Warlock could cover all your points. The group does lack an arcane caster and a melee lock isnt a horrible thing.

[Human Paragon 3]

I think Barbarian is on the right track. With those stats you will be able to max out STR DEX and CON, which will be perfect for an unarmored barbarian. Everything else will be respectable. Just pick whatever archetype appeals to you and go to town.

Another option you have is to go Fighter and do something interesting like max out skills for utility. Pick up the skilled feat, dump STR, then have good stats in DEX, CON, and your favorite mental attribute. You can have a knowledgable fighter, an outdoorsy fighter, a fighter who's a great leader and master of social skills, whatever. This is a nice roleplaying opportunity.

You could also make an Eldtrich Knight fighter that dumps STR and has a great DEX and INT for superior spellcasting. Multiclassing into Wizard would not be a bad move.

The secret of 5e is everything is good, and with those stats, whatever you choose will be awesome. Paladin, Shadow Monk, Elemental Monk, and blade-pact warlock all sound great, and your ability array will let you excel no matter what direction you go in.

[Madfellow]

Dwarven Bard
Dragonborn Ranger
Dragonborn Cleric
Half-Elf Fighter
Half-Elf Druid

I've been toying with the idea of a Barbarian (character should be effective in melee) but I'm honestly not too sure what I want to do besides not be a spellcaster (or at least a full one) and I want to avoid being a Monk (I'm a Monk in a different campaign).

The DM is very relaxed with what I'm allowed to do, but RPing wise I will be involved with Griffon Poaching somehow.

I've got no sense where to start at the moment. I can very easily get to 17 or 18 AC with a Barbarian, but a Rogue character could also be really handy to the group. The DM suggested many things but she specifically asked for Wizard first, and then mentioned that a melee character (what I intend) would be handy.

Let's see....

Assuming you don't want to play the same class as someone else in your group, no monk, and no full spellcaster, that brings your options down to: Barbarian, Paladin, and Rogue. If your party is in need of a front-line fighter, then Barbarian and Paladin fit that bill better than the Rogue. And if you want a griffon poacher, then... I guess Barbarian fits that better than Paladin. I can't really envision a Paladin breaking hunting laws. Not quite working.

Barbarian seems to fit best.

[Shadow]

See, and I was going to put my vote forward for an Arcane Trickster.
Following the same reasoning as Madfellow, but I would be under the impression that the fighter has the front line covered. If the bard and ranger play more ranged roles, and the fighter has the front line covered, a secondary melee with a rather large bag of tricks is what's needed, and no one does that better than rogue.
Plus I'm just a huge nerd for the rogue class, and always have been.

But what we really need to know is what *kind* of other classes you have. Not just [bard, cleric, etc] but what they do and what you're missing. A simple class list really doesn't tell us much to be honest. Is the ranger an archer? Is the bard going to be a caster? What kind of spells is he going to focus on? Is anyone stealthy? Do you have traps covered?
The bard and the ranger being there means that a rogue might not be needed, and then again it still might be, we don't know.

[Ghost Nappa]

See, and I was going to put my vote forward for an Arcane Trickster.
Following the same reasoning as Madfellow, but I would be under the impression that the fighter has the front line covered. If the bard and ranger play more ranged roles, and the fighter has the front line covered, a secondary melee with a rather large bag of tricks is what's needed, and no one does that better than rogue.
Plus I'm just a huge nerd for the rogue class, and always have been.

But what we really need to know is what *kind* of other classes you have. Not just [bard, cleric, etc] but what they do and what you're missing. A simple class list really doesn't tell us much to be honest. Is the ranger an archer? Is the bard going to be a caster? What kind of spells is he going to focus on? Is anyone stealthy? Do you have traps covered?
The bard and the ranger being there means that a rogue might not be needed, and then again it still might be, we don't know.

That's the part I don't know, actually. I managed to get a "lots of ranged combat" answer out of the DM, but truth be told, I'm going in a bit blind tomorrow.

The Cleric is STR/WIS based....that's...like everything I know about how the party fights. :smallsigh:

I keep looking over Barbarian and I'm not really impressed. Half-damage to melee weapons is nice, but I'm not a big penchant of Risk Vs. Reward.


Hell, I don't actually know what they're skill proficiencies are, although I imagine between two half-elves and a bard they're pretty well-rounded.


Edit: I think I'm going to propose either an (Eldritch Knight) Fighter. I already have a strong idea for a background and I think I'm gonna go with 18/14/16/18/12/12 in medium armor and shield. I've never played a caster before and the dm seemed to want a wizard, so I'm gonna tease that third level-up as incentive to keep games going in the near future. I can easily get an AC near 18 and decent HP along with it. It seems like a natural fit here and I like it a lot more than Barbarian honestly.