character advice for gritty realism campaign

[n00b]

We're starting a new campaign soon and the DM is going to use some of the Gritty Realism variant rules. Specifically slower natural healing, short rest=8 hours, long rest=24 hours. Also for food and water a day's worth of rations will be consumed every 8 hours of travel. We will have access to healer's kits but healing potions are not guaranteed.

What I'm looking for is suggestions on what to play within those parameters. I'm not looking to avoid or negate any of the variant rules but I also don't want to be hamstrung entirely by them. Basically, don't let me make bad choices!

Melee or ranged is ok with me. I tend towards melee with some limited casting/utility ability. But I'm not adverse to a dip in a casting class but there is the recovery rules to consider.

Starting at level 1 so there's that to consider as well. Setting is Forgotten Realms. I expect there to be a mixture of urban, wilderness, and dungeon exploration.

Thanks for your input!

[Naanomi]

Depends a lot on your party makeup but... a Celestial Tomelock plays well in that scenario to me.

-healing on the short rest
-access to temp HP to mitigate struggles in healing (combine with Inspiring Leader?)
-consistent resourceless damage
-other at-will magic abilities potentially
-full spectrum ritual casting
-face capabilities to avoid unnecessary conflict and preserve resources (consider Prodigy for a social skill of choice)

[Vogie]

That's funny, I was thinking Celestial Bladelock or Chainlock for mostly the same reasons. If Bladelock, You pick up the false life invocation at 2 (swap it out when you reach 10) to have THP at will. If Chainlock, grab Gift of the Ever-Living Ones at 3, so you always heal to the max every rest. (If UA is available, that can be done with Archfey Patron via Green Lord's Gift as early as level 2)

The normal way to have absurd healing is Druid X / Life Cleric 1-2 to abuse the heck out of Goodberry and Healing Spirit (if it's allowed). I'd also suggest Circle of Dreams Druid with a single dip in Grave Cleric - your job would be to wait until someone hits zero, Stabilize them with a bonus action, then use Balm of the Summer Court or a spell to boost the target at max roll. You'd also gain access to False life for yourself or someone else before the fights start

[Specter]

When in doubt, go Champion. All your subclass features are forever.

[Armored Walrus]

The more folks you have proficient in Survival, the better. If your DM is going to use the tool proficiency rules from Xanathar's it probably will be useful to have someone with Cartographer's tools, Brewer's tools (for purifying water), navigator's tools in the party. The Healer feat is a very good idea. The Catnap spell is probably worth learning. Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow becomes a more valuable feature. Not dumping Strength, or at least having a nice strong goliath in the party is probably also a good idea.

Also, learning to run from fights is probably going to be a necessary skill.

[hymer]

Wizards' Arcane Recovery functions independently of long rests, and so works great with the gritty variant.

[Armored Walrus]

Wizards' Arcane Recovery functions independently of rests, and so works great with the gritty variant.

Are you sure? I'm AFB, but the wiki's wording of this is "Once per day when you finish a short rest..." SRD is worded the same way.

[hymer]

Are you sure? I'm AFB, but the wiki's wording of this is "Once per day when you finish a short rest..." SRD is worded the same way.
You're absolutely right, thanks! It should be independent of long rests. I'll amend my post accordingly.

Edit: The point I was trying to get across is that druids' Natural Recovery only functions once per long rest, as opposed to once per day for Arcane Recovery. In normal games this is mostly the same thing, but in gritty rests it's a different story.

[mephnick]

It really depends on how your DM runs rests. A lot of DMs fall into the trap of using Gritty Realism and over-using Short Rests, having 3-5 encounters a "week" with short rests in between every fight. This majorly benefits Short Rest classes. That would be my assumption going into a game with a DM I don't know, so your Warlocks, Fighters and Monks are a good bet. Or you could go the route of a character that isn't dependent of rests at all, like most Rogues. I would be wary of Long Rest classes until you figure out the DM's style.