Help for a new D&D player

[gankaginger]

Hello all!

My friends and I have recently decided to start playing d&d and we are all very excited to get started! None of us have played before (aside from the DM who has a good amount of experience). I have much more of a background in gaming (not tabletop) and I have the most interest so I have been doing a lot of research into what class to play. I was hoping you all could help me out! I have read a lot of class guides and think I have a pretty decent idea of the classes. So far our group has a Totem Barb, Moon Druid, Beast Hunter, and a Old One chain lock.

I think we have a lot covered but we are missing some still. I was thinking I wanted to be support type character. I have been primarily looking at Divination Wizard, Lore Bard, Tempest Cleric and Land Druid (probably grassland or underdark).

My biggest concerns are wanting to be able to have strong buffs, debuffs and BC. However, our group doesn't have much in the way of heals and we have few INT based skills. I have been leaning more towards bard and wizard because of this however I am worried the bard has too little large BC (like walls) and not enough utility for the group.

Can anyone help me out with this decision? From an RP and "fun" perspective I feel like I would have an awesome time with either and have pretty solid backstories developed for all 4 classes. Thank you for your time and help, your community seems great!

Quick Edit: My biggest concern between bard and div wizard is if our group should have some source of emergency healing word and a short rest recovery mechanic (song of rest or magical secrets: Aura of vitality). I know we could get away without it but with how new we are im wondering how pivotal this is...

[MrMcBobb]

Lore Bards have amazing functionality. They have decent crowd control with conditions such as fear and have a very wide spell base to pick from (and even get to pick other classes skills later on, excellent). Also because you get Expertise you might think about putting on of those on Arcana or Investigation to give those Int skills a little buff to make your skills more useful to the party.

Land Druids are a bit "meh" I can't say I'm a fan. I prefer them thematically to Moon Druids but they're just not as powerful (Moon Druid Wild Shape is amazing at lower levels)

I've never played a Tempest Cleric but I've built one for a friends campaign that never got off the ground and also played a knowledge cleric. Clerics are pretty solid all rounders. Decent durability (if you go one that gets heavy armour which I believe Tempest does?) and a really cool spell list that's got Bless (one of the best buffs in the early game)

Divination Wizards are also f**king brilliant. The substituting dice rolls is aaaaamazing fun and wizard spell lists are so huge and great fun to tinker with (read TreantMonk's guide to wizards)

It all depends on what sort of campaign your DM is running (so maybe speak to them about that) but one of the things about 5th is that part comp can be pretty much whatever you want and you can get away with it. As long as your RP is sound you should be golden with all of those choices.

Sometimes what I do if I have too many characters to choice from is I make a random table real quick and roll a dice to choose which one to play. I can't think of a better use of a d4 (unless you go Druid...in which case spike growth)

[Ninja_Prawn]

I vote bard. There's plenty of control in the bard list, if that's your main concern: you've got Silent Image, Cloud of Daggers, Silence, Warding Wind, Fear, Hypnotic Pattern, Plant Growth and Stinking Cloud as obvious low-level options. Plus there's always Magical Secrets. Chances are you'll only have room for a couple of control spells anyway, since you'll also want some healing, support and offense. You'll probably be better placed than the warlock to deliver AoE, as well.

[Gawayne]

By Beast Hunter you mean Beast Master Ranger, right?

Anyway, if you want an optmized group, you should go with the Lore Bard. Actually you should get your first level as Lore Bard, for the extra Skills, get a single level of Life Cleric for the Disciple of Life healing bonus, and them go back to Bard all the way. You'll cover several roles your group is not really LACKING but is kinda weak:


Utility Arcane Caster: As a Bard you'll have access to a ton of utility spells. Remember that you're not a Blaster(DPS), altough you'll be able to do some Arcane Blasting if needed, you're support and control, be creative with your spells in and out of combat. Actually, if you're creative enough, people will think you're downright OP.
Healer: Get Healing Word as a combat healing, you'll also have Cure Wounds and Bless as a Life Domain Cleric, wich are both nice. When you get access to Magical Secrets you can get extra Cleric spells for healing, resurrection and buffing. Or any other spell form any other class. Welcome to Barding.
Skill Monkey: Check with the other players wich skills they are lacking, and cover those. Or tell them to drop something important, preferably Charisma related like Persuasion, get Expertise on it and convince everyone to do your bidding.

[Herobizkit]

When you're not sure what class to play, Bard is always the answer. ^_^

That said, if you want to focus on skills, a Mastermind (found in the Sword Coast Adventure Guide) Rogue is pretty amazing. Should your DM allow feats, Healer is a great way to be a mobile Battle Medic. You can slap patch each PC for 1d6+4+character level HP per short rest; by using your Cunning feature, you can Disengage as a bonus action and get anywhere you can move without getting hit.

Investing in Int and going for Int-based skills will cover your losses there as well.

[Honest Tiefling]

Also ask your DM for advice. DMing styles vary greatly, and matter a lot more then many other factors. The DM might also be tailoring encounters to whatever you WANT to play, so the question might be a tad moot. There might be story elements at play that might make one character better.

If you are new, edge away from the druid, unless you can communicate with the other player. Newer players unfamiliar with the system are more inclined to feel like their spotlight is being hogged, due to not being as familiar with RP or the mechanics. Unless the other player really wants another druid buddy, in which case I'd go with a character others seem interested in to foster RP.

[Marvnmartian]

Quick Edit: My biggest concern between bard and div wizard is if our group should have some source of emergency healing word and a short rest recovery mechanic (song of rest or magical secrets: Aura of vitality). I know we could get away without it but with how new we are im wondering how pivotal this is...

My favorite character I have ever played was a Half-Elf Knowledge Cleric 1 Lore Bard x character, I was Primarily buffing, healing and most social encounters went through me.

With Beacon of hope as one of my lore bard magical secrets learned which let me max healing on people that got low, it was mostly used as a potion maxing service as I would behind our two melee players cast it when they were low and they would each use their bonus actions to take a potion on their turn so as i only had to waste 1 spell on healing them a significant amount.

But i played my character mostly offensively using polymorph to turn allies into trex's animating the 10 daggers i kept in my bag to swarm 1 person to keep them busy or just tossing out Mass suggestion and turning half of the people we were fighting into allies.

lore bard with knowledge cleric gets you expertise in 4 skills and proficiency in 8 others so you basically can take care of the party in town as well as not be too slacking in offense

Ps. Take Major image whenever you can cast it at 6th level create a black 10ft square the day before your team goes off on whatever adventure you are going to. Congrats because it only goes away when dispelled you have 3/4s cover everywhere just have the illusion move underground underneath you until you need it. I have used this to make an Oversized Tower Shield which looked like it was on my back for great effect

[FinnS]

Lore Bard is the answer.
The Bard, specifically the Lore Bard, has gone from being among the worst classes in previous editions to being one of the best if not the best all around, catch all class in the game.
With expertise and Jack of all Trades they are the top skill monkey.
Cutting Words makes them the most successful controllers.
Magical Secrets combined with not having to prepare spells makes them the most versatile casters.
It's all win win with Bards now.

[gankaginger]

Awesome guys thanks for all the help! I think I will go with the lore bard! It seems like a great community so far and I'm very happy to have found all of you!

[gankaginger]

You all have helped out a ton but I was hoping for just a bit more help with some backstory problems I'm having?

He is going to be a Bard who was a street urchin who played music on the corner for a living. One day he was brought in by a temple since he inspired a priest. He kept his streetwise knowledge of grifting and his tendency to run scams and realized this religion thing was a real racket. That's when he decided to start a cult. His motivation for going into the world is to try to recruit new members into his cult (Including the party.)
My questions that I need some advice from are:
Will being a bard impersonating a cleric be a RP issue (actual gods/deities smiting me down for blasphemy)? there are no paladins or clerics in the group.
Should anyone else in the party know about my cult leanings? If they find out about it should I just deny it?
I think that this background will allow me to do most anything as long as I declare that it is in the name of my god (sleeping around will get more kids for the lord, stealing will benefit the church and the word of god etc)
Finally, What alignment would this tie into?
Thanks for the advice!!!

[Honest Tiefling]

Will being a bard impersonating a cleric be a RP issue (actual gods/deities smiting me down for blasphemy)? there are no paladins or clerics in the group.

Depends greatly on setting, but...NPC clerics/paladins are more likely to be a concern. Can be still quite dangerous.


Should anyone else in the party know about my cult leanings? If they find out about it should I just deny it?

If there are good aligned PCs in the group, this could lead to conflict, because once they learn of it they might feel compelled to save people from you. Many groups enjoy conflict, but maybe not for a group of newbies? I would ask the DM (again), and perhaps spin it in a way to suit the party. Got good aligned folks? Then he only cons rich, greedy people because the poor suffer. Got more cutthroat people? Bring them in on the con and spread the wealth.


I think that this background will allow me to do most anything as long as I declare that it is in the name of my god (sleeping around will get more kids for the lord, stealing will benefit the church and the word of god etc)

...No. Don't do the first one. That...Can rub some folks the wrong way. (also, making children that aren't supported doesn't exactly get your god anywhere and makes them seem mildly stupid.) A slightly less creepy (in my opinion) version would be a cleric spreading personal freedom. Which could be implied to have this aspect, but is a bit more tasteful.


Finally, What alignment would this tie into?

Tricking people into giving you their earnings and sleeping with you? Somewhere in the evil/neutral range, depending on who he targets and how badly off he leaves them.

[gankaginger]

Haha I should have worded that better. I wasn't deceiving anyone into sleeping with me. No rape. But I can't imagine many real gods/deities would be cool with their clerics going to the occasional whore house. I wouldn't really be killing anyone either just more tomfoolery and messing with npcs. Occasionally stealing though but not from poor people. Just things that aren't exactly valorous or honest things to do.

[Honest Tiefling]

Hence the personal freedom angle. I assume some sort of dashing rogue type, not...Conning people into sleeping with him.

I would like to point out that many real-life religions don't have prohibitions against visiting whorehouses, and there are many historical examples of sacred prostitution, so I wouldn't even assume that's not an option even if you were in your priest costume. Fertility rites are a thing, after all...

Heck, is there any particular reason HE can't be a sacred prostitute? I mean, if you're gonna fake it, you could just fake a fun one.

[bid]

Will being a bard impersonating a cleric be a RP issue (actual gods/deities smiting me down for blasphemy)? there are no paladins or clerics in the group.
Classes are mechanical. A real priest doesn't need to be a cleric, even if it helps.

You could be a pure bard and still get the support of a god or patron. Or get a preacher on your case because you interfere with his god.

[NecessaryWeevil]

So, you're starting your own religion? Depending on your DM, other gods and their followers may or may not object to the competition. I can't see anyone objecting to the fact that you're not mechanically a Cleric, especially since you're the prime/only authority on your new religion.

Starting a cult that you don't actually believe in yourself does not seem Lawful. If you simply amuse yourself and don't really harm others with it, it's probably Neutral. If you benefit from it by harming others, it's Evil. I'd be inclined to peg you as Chaotic Neutral.

[Herobizkit]

I think the question that needs to be asked is "what KIND of cult"?

In D&D terms, Evil cults tend to be small gatherings of Evil-worshiping types, usually Demons, Devils, Evil Elementals and other Outsiders. Usually, the less "normal" the thing being worshiped, the better the odds that there's a cult of it SOMEwhere.

In religious terms, a cult can be a group of followers of any Deity. What makes them a cult is that the groups follows most precepts, but changes a few here and there to suit their own purposes. There's a cult (or "Order", because "cult" has negative connotations) of Torm, for example, that believes that Torm is just one part of a "Threefold God" and use questionable tactics to mete justice in their name.

In real life terms, cults can be religious or simply "a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing". There have been many cults surrounding specific individuals in our own history. There are some who might even think, say, the kink culture, or perhaps a group of swingers, or even Star Wars fans are cult-like.

In your character's terms, is the cult an off-shoot of some other deity's following, or is it a "cult of personality" where you use your charisma to garnish obedience and favors from your flock? Are you pretending to be a Cleric (the class) or are you merely acting like a priest (non-magical layman) for support? Remember, in D&D, Magic Is Real - if you're in the Forgotten Realms, Magic Is Everywhere and not necessarily miraculous.

Given your background, I'd suggest Charlatan or Criminal over Urchin... and if you really want to get into it, take Actor as your 1st-level feat if you're allowed one.