Rage of Demons- what should I play?

[EroGaki]

Hello all,

This coming week, our group will be starting Out of the Abyss, and I'm looking for advice on what I should play. We rolled our stats, and I came out with some good ones: 11, 17, 16, 9, 14, 14

So far, we have a goliath barbarian and a human warlock. Myself and one other player are still undecided.

I'm aware that the ap has madness rules (ugh) and lots of underdark travel, so I'm leaning towards something that can manage those two things. I'm sort of on the fence between a sorcerer or arcana cleric, though I'm uncertain how useful the arcana domain will be for this adventure.

[Sabeta]

Warlock seems like it would be useful. Several Sight-based Invocations allow you to see in darkness or through magic.

[CaptAl]

With those stats anything is possible. I highly recommend going with something stealthy, and with darkvision. My first thought would be a wood elf druid (finding food can be tricky in the underdark and goodberry fixes that plus brings a load of utility) or Ranger (great utility and damage possibility, but arrows can be difficult to procure for an archer). Those two mesh well with the nature theme of Barbarian and possibly a feylock.

I chose a Bladesinger for my group, and have had a load of fun being a scout and secondary tank/skirmisher.

[EroGaki]

Warlock seems like it would be useful. Several Sight-based Invocations allow you to see in darkness or through magic.


We already have one warlock. I'm not sure two would be useful.

[Falcon X]

Between the two, I think I would go with the Cleric. Rage of Demons will likely favor spell versatility than a few solid spells. That being said, some of the arcane spells (invisibility, fireball, terrain-changers) would be nice. But that's more wizard territory.

I second the idea of a druid or ranger. Those are nice to have in the party next to a meatshield and warlock.

[Axorfett12]

I will third the Ranger reccomendation, and add that Unearthed Arcana: Light, Dark, Underdark contained rules for the Deep Stalker ranger archetype. Said archetype is a ranger who excels at a hit and run playatyle, gaining extra spells, attacks, and stealth capabilities. A wood or dark elven ranger could make great use of it. Dark elves have 120 ft darkvision, so it becomes even easier to move forward, attack a bunch, and then move beyond the range of your enemy's darkvision and hide.

[EroGaki]

I will third the Ranger reccomendation, and add that Unearthed Arcana: Light, Dark, Underdark contained rules for the Deep Stalker ranger archetype. Said archetype is a ranger who excels at a hit and run playatyle, gaining extra spells, attacks, and stealth capabilities. A wood or dark elven ranger could make great use of it. Dark elves have 120 ft darkvision, so it becomes even easier to move forward, attack a bunch, and then move beyond the range of your enemy's darkvision and hide.

I thought of ranger, but they still seem rather...not good. And unfortunately, my DM isn't allowing the unearthed arcana articles, as they aren't very polished, something I agree with him about. Not to mention the chances of the good options being nerfed into oblivion (I'm looking at you storm sorcerer) are strong.

[Gastronomie]

Bards and Druids.

Bards, because they can both heal, and help with saving throws (including madness saves).

Druids because Wildshape is extremely versatile when traveling through a bizzare, but yet still "naturally created" environment.

[Ivogel]

def something with darkvision. i was deafened for 1d4 days by something and could basically do nothing for over 4 sessions

[EroGaki]

So the more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards cleric. Someone spoiled that there is madness checks in the game (ugh, I HATE madness checks. I don't play Call of Cthulu for a reason) and being proficient in wisdom and charisma saves will come in handy in thwarting the stupid madness cheese, along with restoration spells.

That being said, I'm as of yet undecided on which domain to focus on. As mentioned above, I like the new arcana domain, but I'm not sure how often (if at all) some of the effects will be of use.

[mgshamster]

Don't worry so much about which mechanics will interact the best with the campaign. Play a character that sounds fun to you. Have you been wanting to try out a champion or a paladin? Go for it. Think a bladelock sounds cool? Give it a try.

This campaign doesn't really focus on mechanics so much as it does engaging in the environment, the mood, and different cultures (not only underdark cultures, but other-Worldy influences on those cultures). Exploration and story decisions are big - your actions and choices can change the outcome of the campaign.

So it doesn't really matter what you play as far as mechanics are concerned, just pick something you'll have fun with and enjoy it.

[EroGaki]

Don't worry so much about which mechanics will interact the best with the campaign. Play a character that sounds fun to you. Have you been wanting to try out a champion or a paladin? Go for it. Think a bladelock sounds cool? Give it a try.

This campaign doesn't really focus on mechanics so much as it does engaging in the environment, the mood, and different cultures (not only underdark cultures, but other-Worldy influences on those cultures). Exploration and story decisions are big - your actions and choices can change the outcome of the campaign.

So it doesn't really matter what you play as far as mechanics are concerned, just pick something you'll have fun with and enjoy it.

Normally, that's how I play. But I cannot stand tacked on handicaps that my character has little to no way of resisting. Especially when it's done to try and invoke a certain atmosphere that could better be done with good storytelling. I'd rather thumb my nose at it as much as possible.

[Gastronomie]

Ehh, if you don't like madness rules, I'd suggest you either ask your DM to not bring it up often, or just go play a different campaign. It's a pretty big part of OotA, and a fun one if DM'd right.

As for Clerics - sorry, dunno much about Arcana, but the PH+DMG ones are like this:

Knowledge: Good for fluff, meh for combat
Life: Heal. Overheal. Heal much more than you actually need. Or alternatively, restore the entire party's HP after a close call from a TPK.
Light: He be blastin' like a boss
Nature: Be a Druid
Tempest: Pretty fun, with both good control spells and good damaging spells. Also allows you to go melee with Heavy Armor and Martial Weapons
Trickery: If you're good at thinking up bizzare and creative ideas, fun. Otherwise meh TBH.
War: Do damage. Not as consistent as Figher, but you also have the spells.
Death: Be emo. Do consistent Cantrip damage. Also, there's a chance that the DM might set up some special encounter for you concerning Orcus...

BTW, I understand very well what your username means, and I'm laughing.

[EroGaki]

BTW, I understand very well what your username means, and I'm laughing.


Heh, glad to be of service. :p

[mgshamster]

Normally, that's how I play. But I cannot stand tacked on handicaps that my character has little to no way of resisting. Especially when it's done to try and invoke a certain atmosphere that could better be done with good storytelling. I'd rather thumb my nose at it as much as possible.

Most of the madness effects aren't a big deal and don't last very long. In the DMG, there are three levels of madness. The first goes away after 1d10 minutes. The second goes away after 1d10x10 hours. The third is indefinite.

The first two can also go away with lesser restoration, remove curse, or dispel evil (depending on the source and the GM). The third requires greater restoration. So none of them are truly permanent and you can get rid of them.

In my game, the PC who has suffered madness the most is the cleric with a high wisdom. So that doesn't necessarily save you. They've gotten rid of their madness levels via NPCs to cast the higher level spells.

Madness for the PCs also doesn't have that big of an effect in the game. The indefinite ones are all just personality changes; note that all of them are quotes and phrases. That ones that effect your heavily, like "can't speak," are temporary any go away after so many minutes or hours (or lesser restoration).

In my game, the cleric has an indefinite madness where he occasionally sees hallucinations. And the bard has an indefinite madness where he rubs mushrooms on his skin, believing that he is cleansing himself.

But really, the madness affects the NPCs the most. Not necessarily your companions, but people out there in the world.

Given all that, if you're really concerned about it, give this to your DM. It's from the book on Pandemonium from 2nd Edition AD&D, Planes of Chaos Box Set, Planescape Campaign Setting:


“The madness rules that follow are intended to add flavor to the perils of Pandemonium. Problem is, all such rules run the risk of robbing players of control of their characters or demeaning their character's heroism. Consequently, the DM has to keep in mind that the rules are designed as a guide to roleplaying, not as a replacement for it. Other than where specific mechanics are given, players should apply these descriptions as seems to best fit their own characters' personalities. When player characters begin to fall prey to madness from Pandemonium's winds, the DM should explain the relevant section to their players, and then trust them to play the part. If a player feels uncomfortable with a situation, though, don't push. The point - as always - is to have fun.”

Wolfgang Baur and Lester Smith, 1994.

Madness should be a roleplaying tool, not a detriment to it, and I feel the cautionary note above is something to remember when running this campaign.

I also worry that once you get into the mindset of "I need to combat rules I don't like with rules and mechanics for my PC," then you may start to lose enjoyment of the campaign itself.

So instead of trying to combat it through mechanics, I suggest the following:

1) Talk with your GM about it. Ask if the madness rules can be ignored and replaced with flavor and descriptions (so you can decide for yourself if your character is going mad).
2) If s/he doesn't want to remove the rules, ask if you can heavily interpret the madness rules for yourself and your own character. That way you can minimize the effect while someone else can maximize it if they so choose.
3) If nether of the above work, then either try to just roll with it or go your current route.

For the last point, cleric could work well for the wisdom save, but then you could also take a feat to gain a wisdom save proficiency (which works with every class). Paladins gain an aura that gives charisma mod to all your saves. Any casting class that gets the spells mentioned above to make the madness go away will work.

And lastly, since the game is called "Rage of Demons," I bet you can figure out where the madness is coming from. Make a character who specializes in studying demons, and maybe work with your GM to design a background feature (see my signature below) that allows your character to ignore the madness rules. Heck, may even be a decent discovery for the Hermit background. Doesn't provide much narrative power like a normally recommend, but it could work rather well in your case.

[silvertree]

You might not need to prioritize darkvision. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you that Out of the Abyss has you starting as a prisoner who has a daily work routine. I play a human cleric, and my DM decided that my drow captors have a few sets of Goggles of Night for such prisoners, and they pop one on me when I'm doing my chores, and take them away from me when they throw me back in the cell.

During our escape, I cast my Light cantrip once, but after that I came across the stash of goggles and nabbed one. The item is rated as uncommon, so I don't think it's a gamebreaker for a 1st level character to acquire it.

Might be worth chatting to your DM about it. Before we started our campaign, I sent my DM a list of uncommon items my character wouldn't hate coming across (so as to make loot less random). That may or may not have contributed to his decision to get me the goggles right away, as they were on my list.

[Cybren]

You should play a friendly blink-dog that became an adventurer after getting bit by a radioactive human.

Alternatively, I think Arcana cleric is fine. You can effect fiends with your Channel Divinity, which I would assume are in abundance in an adventure called rage of demons, and getting to lift two wizard cantrips is great.

[CaptAl]

Normally, that's how I play. But I cannot stand tacked on handicaps that my character has little to no way of resisting. Especially when it's done to try and invoke a certain atmosphere that could better be done with good storytelling. I'd rather thumb my nose at it as much as possible.

Cleric gives you better odds of getting lucky with Madness checks. Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Paladin give you even better odds with proficiency and charisma being a main attribute. In the current OotA game I'm in the Light Cleric has indefinite madness, while my Bladesinger hasn't failed a madness check yet.

As for Arcana Cleric's, they're pretty stout. Their channel divinity works against fiends, and they can go melee with SCAG cantrips, or ranged combatant pretty easily. Its a solid choice, just don't expect Cha saving throw proficiency to save you from madness checks.

[Cespenar]

Moon Druid has combat forms which climb, do stealth, etc.; spells like Goodberry, Darkvision, Pass without Trace, even Mold Earth as a cantrip if you have Elemental Evil.

It pretty much hits all the combat and survival spots of the module. At least the Underdark portion.

[RSP]

Clerics are good. Haven't seen a Druid in play yet, but I'd imagine they're good for any campaign based on their abilities, and can help the "we need to survive" aspect of OotA.

With those stats though, if go Halfelf Paladin and start with a 18 Str, 18 Chr and 14 or 15 Con (depending if you want to take Resilient later on). Should get you some amazing defense and solid offense.

[Vogonjeltz]

So far, we have a goliath barbarian and a human warlock. Myself and one other player are still undecided.

The great thing about D&D is that party make-up isn't the most important thing.

That being said, a Ranger would be pretty great since you can pick Underdark right off the bat. And a Cleric would probably be useful for the healing magic/restoration line of spells.

If you want to balance out who is on the front lines, it's worth knowing what the other undecided is thinking of; a Sorcerer is fine, but maybe less great if the other player picks something like a Bard leaving the party with just the Barbarian for taking a hit.