Help creating a new character.

[Blue Lantern]

Hello Playground,

I am soon to start a new campaign and am a bit undecided what character to play, so I come looking for some help.

I rolled some really good stats 8 11 14 14 15 18, I will start at level 3 and the DM says he hopes to keep the campaign going up to 20.

I will join an existing party, made of a Wizard, a Fighter and Two rogues, plus another player is joining with me and will play as cleric or paladin, in any case it seems that all the basics are accounted for, my idea was to play as a secondary arcane caster, because that is what I like to do :)

So far I have two possible ideas.


Halfling or gnome sorcerer, shadow origin, considering going more supporter role with battlefield control and buffing as pure blaster.

Elf Warlock, pact of the blade, undying light patron, supportive fighter with some utility.


Note, I am not looking for heavy optimization, just some general suggestion on where to focus my character, I also prefer limiting multiclassing.

What do you guys suggest?

[BelowAvgNinja]

I recommend a Bard of some kind. With a fighter and two rogues and maybe a paladin potentially in melee, dissonant whispers making enemies provoke Attacks of Opportunity is kind of amazing. Sneak attack triggers once per turn, so you potentially double their damage output on a turn. Also bards can generally fit into any role as needed. Not as well as someone dedicated to that role perhaps, but solid and fun to play.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Are those stats you listed in order? Or can you re-arrange them?

If the first case, you're going to have AC problems. You don't much dex or str.

To fix this I'd recommend you choose a dwarf race and take 1 level of cleric for heavy armor. Then switch to bard and/or warlock and/or sorcerer.

[Blue Lantern]

Those are the rolls, I have yet to create the character and assign the stats.

As for bard, I don't feel particularly inclined to playing one right now.

[Sillybird99]

Well your party will be lacking utility spells, but I think wizard is a better choice than sorcerer due to spells known and ritual casting.

[BelowAvgNinja]

If you go warlock, half elf instead of full elf with those stats can start you with a capped CHA. Which frees up ASIs for feats at higher levels.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

Those are the rolls, I have yet to create the character and assign the stats.

In that case you've got tons of options. You could realistically make nearly anything, even a few wonky, MAD, feat-starved builds become options. Maybe a Paladin/Sorcerer with high STR & CHA? Or just do the Pact of the Blade Warlock with DEX & CHA. On the Warlock you could take the medium armor feat to use a shield and high AC without getting more DEX. Or you could raise DEX and dual-wield for extra damage. Also you could take a level of fighter for proficiencies and a fighting style.

[Blue Lantern]

Well your party will be lacking utility spells, but I think wizard is a better choice than sorcerer due to spells known and ritual casting.

There is already a wizard in the party, I don't want to step on his toes too much.

[BelowAvgNinja]

Totem barb gets a teeny bit if niche ritual casting. And your stats would make an amazing early level grappler/tank. Eldritch Knight could be pretty cool if the existing fighter is going Battle Master and you're worried about stepping on toes. Also common house rule I've seen; some DM's just roll in Champion into the other two archetypes making fighter a much more attractive option.

[Temperjoke]

It looks like you've got a lot of melee range players in your group, aside from the wizard.

Couple of suggestions:

Knowledge Cleric - provides some social and out of combat skills, as well as casting and healing (having multiple healers means less pressure on one person to keep a larger group stable)
Arcana Cleric - more spell casting options, damage and healing
Hunter Ranger - allows more ranged options without stepping on the wizard's toes
Land Druid - spell casting with a different range than the wizard, plus with healing options to support the group

[Oramac]

I'll throw out a recommendation for a Tempest Sorcerer. Two levels of Tempest Cleric for Destructive Wrath, heavy armor and martial weapons, then the rest of your levels in Storm Sorcerer.

Destructive Wrath gives you solid damage 1/rest with upcasted Chromatic Orb/Lightning Bolt/Chain Lightning, and you can use most/all of your other spells known for utility.

Plus being able to Twin Healing Word as a bonus action is surprisingly useful. (I know from experience. :P )

Also, with levels in two full-casters, you end up with a ton of cantrips and 1st level spells, which will help round out your utility.

Go Half-Elf with that 18 in Cha, and you'll start with maxed Cha, which opens up a lot of options for feats or other stat boosts.

[Roiyal-T]

I dig the Sorcerer idea. Wild magic is a lot of fun and with the ability to gain careful magic where you can choose to not blast your allies with meteor storn is pretty nifty.

[Herobizkit]

If your buddy goes Paladin, you could enjoy an Arcane Cleric (from the Sword Coast guide). Focus on de/buffs and have some magery in your back pocket.

But, of the two you picked, I'm kind of drawn to your Elf Warlock. If you think you'll want to melee as much as ranged, go for it.