Most commonly played classes in your games

[DwarvenGM]

So I'm feeling curious so please tell me, what classes do your players seem to enjoy playing most?

In my games hands down it's barbarians, I've not run a single game without at least 1 of them. Of course rogues are the second favorites around my table.

So far I've run 4 campaigns with multiple groups and I've gotten

5 barbarians, 4 rogues, 3 paladins, 3 bards, 3 druids, 2 clerics, 1 ranger, 1 monk, 1 sorcerer, 0 fighter, 0 warlock, 0 wizards

[Naanomi]

Hrm... counting the games I've been a player in and those I've ran... rogue and warlock are pretty common. Cleric seems to be the least represented

[Millstone85]

We had a similar thread just recently:
What do you feel is the most commonly played class? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?513275-What-do-you-feel-is-the-most-commonly-played-class)

[Potato_Priest]

One player at our table regularly complains that wizards are OP and fighters suck, so we get a LOT of wizards, and he's the only guy who plays a fighter with any regularity. The only person at our table to have ever played a cleric whined a ton about not being a wizard anymore (his last wizard got 2 18s rolling for stats), and we haven't seen another one of those since.

[Draco4472]

I see a lot of the martial classes in my games. Paladins, Barbarians, Fighters, Monks...

There's usually only one full caster per party at the tables I go to, and about as many rogues or warlocks.

[TripleD]

When I DM for kids, without fail, there will be at least one Ranger (Beastmaster) and one Druid (Moon) in the game.

[JumboWheat01]

When I DM for kids, without fail, there will be at least one Ranger (Beastmaster) and one Druid (Moon) in the game.

I find it somewhat interesting that it's the nature classes that are the most popular.

Anyhoo, might as well throw this over here, keep on collecting data and all.

http://www.strawpoll.me/12206346

[Sicarius Victis]

I find it somewhat interesting that it's the nature classes that are the most popular.

Little kids like animals. Until the world makes them cold and cynical, of course.

[JumboWheat01]

That's actually a fair point. Furry critters generally do make kids smile.

[Sariel Vailo]

5 fighters 4barbaians 2clerics

[solidork]

These are the parties I've played in:

Rogue, Monk, Bard
Warlock, Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer
Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric, Custom Class
Barbarian, Cleric, Wizard, Paladin

[gfishfunk]

To my memory:

- Ranger, Rogue, Fighter, Paladin
- Ranger, Rogue, Warlock5/Barbarian1, Gunslinger, Bard
- Rogue, Paladin, Warlock, Fighter

Ongoing party that has changed a bit:
- Bard, Warlock, Sorcerer, Druid
- Bard, Warlock, Sorcerer, Fighter
- Bard, Warlock, Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Monk

[DwarvenGM]

We had a similar thread just recently:
What do you feel is the most commonly played class? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?513275-What-do-you-feel-is-the-most-commonly-played-class)

I'm sorry I probably should have looked more thoroughly before posting.


Moon druids are the only kind played in my games despite me trying to convince players of their worth.

[Breashios]

Three campaigns: 1 barbarian, 1 bard, 2 cleric, 1 druid, 6 fighters (4 were in first campaign, one each last two), 1 paladin, 1 ranger, 3 rogues, 2 sorcerer, and 4 wizards.

[King539]

Lots of clerics in my game.

[Âmesang]

My current group is made up of 4-5 rogue variants (depending on one player's work schedule), and 1 shadow monk. :smalltongue: Glass cannons the lot of us.

(Now if I can just remember to use my Uncanny Dodge!)

[INDYSTAR188]

We have a Blood Hunter, Barbarian and Arcana Cleric. Occasionally we have had appearances from a Hunter Ranger, Four-Elements Monk and a Rogue| Blade Warlock but very few and far between.

[Puh Laden]

Spring Campaign: 2 moon druids (gnome and half-elf), 1 drow rogue, 1 dragonborn noble barbarian, 1 human wizard, 1 tiefling warlock, 1 dwarf bard

Summer ravenloft campaign: 1 gnome moon druid, 1 human ranger, 1 dragonborn noble fighter, 1 human wizard

Campaign where I'm a player: 1 tiefling sorcerer, 1 dragonborn barbarian, 1 human cleric, 1 half-drow monk, 1 gnome bard

New campaign where I'm a player: 1 human wizard, 1 human cleric, 1 dragonborn warlock, 1 gnome artificer, 1 Goliath barbarian

[Drackolus]

Got one player who always plays barbarians and one who frequently plays rogues... Other than that, it is pretty balanced, I think.

[Dr. Cliché]

Most of my games have warlocks in them, but I'm not sure that should count because they're usually being played by me. :smallwink:

That aside, I think every game I've played thus far has had at least one fighter, and all but one has had a Monk.

Interestingly, I can't recall any of them having a single cleric.

[Naanomi]

I did the math, and counting all the characters from campaigns I've played in and run, the breakdown is as follows:

Barbarian: 3
Bard: 6
Cleric: 2
Druid: 3
Fighter: 4
Monk: 5
Paladin: 4
Ranger: 6
Rogue: 7
Sorcerer: 5
Warlock: 8
Wizard: 4
Significantly Multi-classed Characters: 5

[HidesHisEyes]

Warlock is very popular in my experience. I find it slightly irritating to be honest.

[Dr. Cliché]

Warlock is very popular in my experience. I find it slightly irritating to be honest.

Why's that?

[vostyg]

Little kids like animals. Until the world makes them cold and cynical, of course.

This is well in keeping with the what Stephen Colbert terms "the Five F's of Childhood": Family, Faith, Furry Friends, and Fear of the Elderly.

[HidesHisEyes]

Why's that?

I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's because the warlock concept strikes me as, in lore terms, sort of unusual and exotic. These strange otherworldly people who have willingly compromised their souls for eldritch power by seeking out forbidden lore about how to attract the attention of remote planar beings. When every game I get involved in has a warlock in the party it precludes any sense of this being a secret, difficult, forbidden path with a big stigma around it, and instead suggests there are fiends and archfeys on every street corner going "psst- you want some eldritch power?" at every passerby.

Obviously not the fault of players who choose to play warlocks, and probably not entirely rational either, but there you go.

[Gwendol]

Bards are popular, rogues too. Druids and rangers. I have yet to see a monk in play.

[Plaguescarred]

Rogue is the most commonly played class in my campaigns

[JumboWheat01]

I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's because the warlock concept strikes me as, in lore terms, sort of unusual and exotic. These strange otherworldly people who have willingly compromised their souls for eldritch power by seeking out forbidden lore about how to attract the attention of remote planar beings. When every game I get involved in has a warlock in the party it precludes any sense of this being a secret, difficult, forbidden path with a big stigma around it, and instead suggests there are fiends and archfeys on every street corner going "psst- you want some eldritch power?" at every passerby.

Obviously not the fault of players who choose to play warlocks, and probably not entirely rational either, but there you go.

Mental note: write in fiends at every corner whispering eldritch secrets for story.

[Oramac]

In the last thread I said Fighters and Wizards, but the more I think about it, I see mostly Rogues and Wizards.

I have a Rogue in every single game I'm currently playing, and a Wizard in all but one of them (that game has a warlock instead).

[Byke]

Most game I play in we have a surplus of melee, Barb/Champions being the most common...I'm the only one who plays casters.

**EDIT 1/2 Orc Barb/Champions are the most popular***

[Demonslayer666]

"I'm not the healer."

[Jyuasnteisn]

Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, and Cleric are the most played among my group, in equal amounts. Barbarian, Monk, and Ranger have only been played once each.

[Potato_Priest]

"I'm not the healer."

Wow. Same.

[Kane0]

Common: Paladin, Rogue, Warlock
Uncommon: Sorcerer, Fighter, Barbarian
Rare: Monk, Bard, Cleric
Very Rare: Wizard, Ranger, Druid

[JumboWheat01]

Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, and Cleric are the most played among my group, in equal amounts.

Well, you can't go wrong with the D&D standards of the holy quartet.

[Sigreid]

Well, you can't go wrong with the D&D standards of the holy quartet.

True, though in older D&D versions I have had to teach a few clerics and wizards that if instead of using their buffs on themselves to equal or better the fighter in a melle fight they cast those buffs on the fighter you could just send him in a room and hold the door shut until the screaming stopped. :smallbiggrin:

[Naanomi]

"I'm not the healer."
Healer is my favorite archetype in any game system. Glad to see it fade as a required role, sad to see it not viable by itself for several editions

[JAL_1138]

In League, I see fairly few parties without both a Cleric and a Fighter.

[Crusher]

Lets see, I've either played in or DM'ed 5 campaigns in the last year or two that were stable enough to say who the regular players (and thus characters) were.

Those 5 campaigns were:

Out of the Abyss
- Cleric (Life), Rogue (Assassin), Warlock (GOO), Wizard (Necromancer), Rogue/Monk (Shadow, rogue dip)

Homebrew
- Fighter (Eldritch Knight), Ranger/Rogue (Beastmaster/Assassin), Druid (Land), Barbarian (Berserker), Wizard (Divination)

Homebrew
- Paladin (Devotion), Cleric (Life), Ranger (Beastmaster), Druid (Land), Fighter (Battlemaster), Warlock (Fiend)

Storm King
- Barbarian (Berserker), Cleric (Life), Paladin/Rogue (Vengeance/Assassin), Fighter/Rogue (Battlemaster/Thief), Paladin/Warlock (Devotion/Fiend), Warlock (Fiend), Ranger (I honestly have no idea)

Strahd
- Fighter/Rogue (Battlemaster/Assassin), Sorcerer (Dragon), Fighter (Champion), Ranger (Beastmaster), Monk (Shadow), Rogue (AT)

So, adding them all up and nudging the multiclass characters towards the "type" they basically played as (so, in the Storm King group, the Paladin/Rogue and Fighter/Rogue both play like Rogues, while the Paladin/Warlock plays like a Paladin), we get:

Barbarian - 2 (both Berserker)
Bard - 0
Cleric - 3 (all Life)
Druid - 2 (both Land)
Fighter - 3 (One each of all 3 kinds)
Monk - 2 (both Shadow)
Paladin - 2 (both Devotion)
Ranger - 4 (at least 3 Beastmaster)
Rogue - 4 (3 Assassin, 1 Thief)
Sorcerer - 1 (Dragon)
Warlock - 3 (2 Fiend, 1 GOO)
Wizard - 2 (1 Divination, 1 Necromancy)
Total: 29

The distribution is more even than I would have guessed other than Bard and perhaps Sorcerer. Worth noting is that one of the Fiend-Locks was originally a Bard who made some questionable life decisions and was forcibly re-rolled as a Warlock instead of dying outright.

Other observations are that if there's a bias in selection its slightly in favor of the sneaky classes, people love pets, and that people really like multi-classing into Rogue.

[Sicarius Victis]

The distribution is more even than I would have guessed other than Bard and perhaps Sorcerer. Worth noting is that one of the Fiend-Locks was originally a Bard who made some questionable life decisions and was forcibly re-rolled as a Warlock instead of dying outright.

Now that is a story I'm curious to hear. See. Whatever.

[Kane0]

Worth noting is that one of the Fiend-Locks was originally a Bard who made some questionable life decisions and was forcibly re-rolled as a Warlock instead of dying outright.


Ooh, do tell.

[JobsforFun]

Within my games we have Fighters and Barbarians that are common a lot of the time. I am playing a cleric in 2 different campaigns and a druid in another because out of all the classes I enjoy those the most (Haven't gotten a chance to try bard though)

[Frogosaurus]

I don't have much 5e breadth of experience, since I've been running the same campaign for two years, but here's what I've got:

current players:
Human sorceress (draconic)
Human paladin (valor, or honor or whatever it is that you call the standard one)
Human life cleric of Ilmater
Gnome arcane trickster

previous players:
half-elf land druid
Halfling rogue
human enchanter
Vhuman polearm champion

(My campaign is limited to PHB classes, though I'd be open to UA ranger. No classes from PHB are forbidden, but I do prohibit drow, dragonborn due to campaign construction limitations)

[Lord Il Palazzo]

I've only been involved in a couple of ongoing campaigns though I've run enough one-shots that I feel like I can give see the trends forming.

Nearly every game I run ends up with a Paladin (pretty evenly spread across subclasses) and there's also usually a fighter (almost always a Battlemaster). I've seen a lot of Rangers too (usually Hunters, but the first Ranger I DMed for in 5e was a Beastmaster). I've only seen one monk, one barbarian and one druid in the games I've played/run.

To be fair, I've seen a few of the rarer classes as dips in other builds. My current game includes a cleric with one level of monk and a fighter I played with briefly was dipped into barbarian (and rogue) for advantage (and expertise) on grapple checks.

[JobsforFun]

I've only been involved in a couple of ongoing campaigns though I've run enough one-shots that I feel like I can give see the trends forming.

Nearly every game I run ends up with a Paladin (pretty evenly spread across subclasses) and there's also usually a fighter (almost always a Battlemaster). I've seen a lot of Rangers too (usually Hunters, but the first Ranger I DMed for in 5e was a Beastmaster). I've only seen one monk, one barbarian and one druid in the games I've played/run.

To be fair, I've seen a few of the rarer classes as dips in other builds. My current game includes a cleric with one level of monk and a fighter I played with briefly was dipped into barbarian (and rogue) for advantage (and expertise) on grapple checks.

I see a lot of people saying that Palidans are common in their game and I have only done one campaign where we had a palidan.