I want the best small support character.

[Ravinsild]

If any of you have played Warcraft III or DotA you'll already be familiar with the concept of the character I'm running. If you haven't I'll explain it as best I can.

I want to either be a Halfling, Gnome, Goblin or Kobold and one of the people in my party is playing a Centaur and has given me explicit permission to ride them. Permanently. The idea is we are more or less playing one character. They do all the moving in combat and I provide offensive spells (Acid Splash, and poison/acid/fire attacks), buffs (make them stronger, hit harder, more durable) and healing and basically just enhance them whilst riding around on their back.

We both think it would be funny, and I've been looking at the Alchemist class (I don't know the full list of their spells, but they don't exactly seem like a perfect fit) and other thoughts went to Bard, Cleric and maybe some other classes. I want to be the ultimate support bot and just ride my friends character who does all of the fighting.

What's the best way to accomplish this? This is a casual campaign for fun, but I do want effective healing, buffs and damage abilities to help my "mount" haha.

http://classic.battle.net/war3/neutral/goblinalchemist.shtml for reference haha. I don't want an exact replica (after all my "mount" is a centaur, not an ogre!) but with the same vibe and feeling and spirit of mad scientist + experiment and mount. This is like wacky, crazy, self exploding goblin technology trope from so many series!

We are not allowed to multiclass in this campaign, so which class has the whole and best support package in 1 is what I'm trying to sort out.

[Yakmala]

Here's something along the lines of what you are describing that I played a while back and had fun with.

Halfling Grave Cleric with Bountiful Luck. You can use your reaction to cancel out 1's rolled by anyone in your party. And once you get to level 6, you can use your reaction to cancel out 20's rolled by the bad guys.

Sure, you can only cancel one 1 or 20 per round, but that's usually enough, and your party will love you when either situation arises.

And you get all the standard cleric buffs and healing, plus special Grave Cleric benefits such as spare the dying as a ranged bonus action, automatic max heal rolls on downed allies and best of all, a Divine Domain ability that lets you double the damage of the next hit on the target.

[Galithar]

Divine Soul Sorcerer all day.
Spell selection can be difficult, because you don't get many and have two lists (Cleric and Sorcerer) to pick from.
Twinned meta magic can allow you to buff your mount buddy and yourself/another ally.

Taking some levels in Warlock can let you become a sort of turret riding in his back with Eldritch Blast with Hex. Or skip that and take 3mm/4 levels of fighter Battlemaster for crossbow expert shenanigans. That one will drastically slow your spell progression.


I have a character built for a similar purpose that is an even split on the levels for Divine Soul and Great Old One Warlock. I'm not super optimized, but I have lots of options. End level will be 9/11 (not sure which direction I'm splitting it yet).

This also allows Spirit Guardians so you can make you and your mount a little stickier and deadlier at the same time.

Tl;Dr Divine Soul Sorcerer is my favorite buff class in 5e

[Ravinsild]

Here's something along the lines of what you are describing that I played a while back and had fun with.

Halfling Grave Cleric with Bountiful Luck. You can use your reaction to cancel out 1's rolled by anyone in your party. And once you get to level 6, you can use your reaction to cancel out 20's rolled by the bad guys.

Sure, you can only cancel one 1 or 20 per round, but that's usually enough, and your party will love you when either situation arises.

And you get all the standard cleric buffs and healing, plus special Grave Cleric benefits such as spare the dying as a ranged bonus action, automatic max heal rolls on downed allies and best of all, a Divine Domain ability that lets you double the damage of the next hit on the target.

Oh that's an awesome idea! I was going to reflavor everything to be steampunk anyway, as like mechanical and alchemical, so regardless of class the RP would come out the same :D This is a great suggestion, thanks!

[Ravinsild]

Divine Soul Sorcerer all day.
Spell selection can be difficult, because you don't get many and have two lists (Cleric and Sorcerer) to pick from.
Twinned meta magic can allow you to buff your mount buddy and yourself/another ally.

Taking some levels in Warlock can let you become a sort of turret riding in his back with Eldritch Blast with Hex. Or skip that and take 3mm/4 levels of fighter Battlemaster for crossbow expert shenanigans. That one will drastically slow your spell progression.


I have a character built for a similar purpose that is an even split on the levels for Divine Soul and Great Old One Warlock. I'm not super optimized, but I have lots of options. End level will be 9/11 (not sure which direction I'm splitting it yet).

This also allows Spirit Guardians so you can make you and your mount a little stickier and deadlier at the same time.

Tl;Dr Divine Soul Sorcerer is my favorite buff class in 5e

Oh I should have mentioned multiclassing isn't allowed. We're stuck to 1 class because the DM doesn't want to track too much (his explanation). Which I'm totally cool with! I should edit my OP. Big oopsie.

[Rukelnikov]

What class is the centaur taking? Its kinda important for this 2 person build.

If its something that doesn't get Evasion, you should get Mounted Combatant to grant him/her evasion :D

[Galithar]

Oh I should have mentioned multiclassing isn't allowed. We're stuck to 1 class because the DM doesn't want to track too much (his explanation). Which I'm totally cool with! I should edit my OP. Big oopsie.

That's fine. It works exceptionally well as a straight class Divine Soul as well. I use the Warlock levels for the social abilities (Mask of Many Faces mainly) and the short rest recharge slots, but you don't need either of them.

In some ways the straight class is better because you'll have more sorcery points for metamagic and better/faster spell progression. I would take Twin and Quicken (replace with subtle if you want to manipulate social situations) and that way you can put damage with minimal resources. Twinned Cantrips can be pretty powerful and aren't terribly expensive, though using it in leveled spells is obviously more powerful. Quickening Spirit Guardians and then blasting two enemies with Ray of Frost (twinned obviously) can make you and your buddy extremely sticky and help protect your other party members.

Healing isn't super efficient in combat, but if you need it twinned healing spells make the cost almost worth it. Besides that you can pick up 2 downed party members in one turn if things go bad with a single level one heading word. Very action efficient since you can then blast with a cantrip still.

I'm just biased to Warlocks because I like the invocations.

[Ravinsild]

What class is the centaur taking? Its kinda important for this 2 person build.

If its something that doesn't get Evasion, you should get Mounted Combatant to grant him/her evasion :D

I believe I find that out on Thursday! Hopefully a barbarian, fighter, or paladin! Or some other front line heavy fighter with a big weapon that deals tons of damage haha. I'm going to be working with my friend to help create their character as well. I guess it'll be a co-op project cuz our characters will be so linked we'll make them together!

[Rukelnikov]

I believe I find that out on Thursday! Hopefully a barbarian, fighter, or paladin! Or some other front line heavy fighter with a big weapon that deals tons of damage haha. I'm going to be working with my friend to help create their character as well. I guess it'll be a co-op project cuz our characters will be so linked we'll make them together!

Great, in that case I'll give you a couple general ideas, and then you channel them as you see fit depending on what you both decide on Thusday.

Mounted Combatant allows you to choose becoming the target for any attack directed at your mount. This means if the centaur has bad armor, and you have good armor, it can pretty much use your armor. This is a good incentive to go for some heavy armor class if he's going for something with notably less armor, it would also allow a barbarian to reckless attack with impunity, since disadvantage wouldn't be a thing (as long as you have hp of course :P).

Sentinel on the centaur would work wonders, if someone in melee attacks you, he gets to make an attack on the aggressor.

Bountiful Luck is awesome.

Warding Bond spell could be very useful in "either direction".

Sanctuary can work really well if you plan to

In general, I think going Cleric would work wonders, either Grave to negate crits, Forge to buff your ally's weapon, or Order to gran extra attacks, all would work. Plus you would be able to heal, cast many buffs like Aid, and Bless, and get access to Warding Bond by lvl 3, which the more I write, the more I think its mandatory for the dual build.

Bard could also work very well, inspiration, and cutting word in case of Lore are pretty noticeable buffs.

[Beechgnome]

Though you won't benefit from the ranged aspect of the ability, Mastermind Rogues being able to Help as a bonus action would be a good way for your buddy to have advantage all day long which would be good if her were a champion or hexblade or smiting Paladin fishing for criticals, while still letting you take advantage of his proximity to get your sneak attacks in. Plus, you are clearly the brains of the operation, right?

[MagneticKitty]

Hear me out,
Eldritch knight Fighter with dual weilding fighting style
Any non kobold race (we need our str)
Dual weilder feat, mounted combat feat
Stat priority str>con>wis/dex>cha/int
You don't need high int for buff only spells)
You dual weild lances and tank damage for your mount. Eldritch knights are very tanky, and mounted combatant forces foes to target you, and gives your mount better dex saves.
Ranger also works but doesn't get heavy armor.
Paladin would work if they could take dual weilding fighting style, because their aura is nice
Other option might be magic initiate wizard on a rogue for booming blade, prevent targets from moving without damage, your mount would have mobile and you have bonus action disengage. This forces target to move if they want to melee you

Keep in mind if riding you will be hit so you want something that can take a hit.

That's why I suggest martial on the rider who can choose to take hits for you two, and caster on the mount . Otherwise the opponents chose who of you two to attack, and you can bet they will knock down the squishy rider all the time

[Teaguethebean]

I would recommend a ghost wise halfling life cleric with heavy armor master and warding bond. With this spell you could make your centaur take half damage from everything while you take the rest -3 on you if it is bludgeoning, piercing or slashing. Then you can bounce back with either mace strikes or buffs and heals like bless, healing word, and even spirit guardians making the two of you a ball of terror especially if your centaur is any control tank like a crown paladin, or ancestral barbarian (or just has sentinel). Also if you take the mounted combatant feat your friend gains evasion and you can make them attack you while you can rock a 20 ac with full plate and a shield. Also your strength wont be needed for your armor to work because you will be riding a mount you wont even need your speed.

[nickl_2000]

Kobold Paladin 6 (or 7 if you are Ancients) with a Saddle of the Caviler and Mounted Combatant. Then whatever else you want after that.

You get pack tactics all the time since you have an ally within 5 feet, they get your auras just like you, you can take damage off of them. It's a silly powerful combo.

[Man_Over_Game]

It'd be a lot easier for you to be the tank while the Centaur is the one who avoids combat, if your DM is allowing you to ride the Centaur.

Oh well.

Life Cleric with Heavy Armor Master. Cast Warding Bond on your friend to ensure that he receives massive damage mitigation, while you absorb half and then deduct 3 from the damage. At level 6, healing him also heals you. It's a win-win combination.

Generally, it'll be better to pick a build that just makes enemies not want to attack you rather than making them unable to attack you (which would probably require you to be a Rogue). Sanctuary and Heavy Armor Master are some of the best examples of this. Combining both while you cast things like Bless, Cure Wounds or other spells is a solid way of making you the least ideal target.

It'd probably look like this:

Before Combat: Warding Bond
Turn 1: Word of Radiance, Sanctuary
Turn 2: Bless
Turn 3+: Either Cure Wounds or Healing Word+Help

[KorvinStarmast]

1. Lightfoot Halfling Divine Soul Sorcerer
2. (If your DM allows SCAG material) Ghost Wise Halfling Life or Nature Cleric.

[Arkhios]

Ghostwise Halfling (for Telepathy)
Mastermind Rogue (for Master of Tactics)
Magic Initiate and Spell Sniper for three cantrips in total (really up to you which classes, but Warlock could be fun for MI, as even without adding your ability modifier on your Eldritch Blast damage, it's one of the best cantrips around. Ritual Caster is an option if you want a little more utility spells on top.

[Keravath]

The best choice depends on the centaur's class.

If the centaur is melee oriented - fighter/paladin/barbarian (paladin might be a great choice since you would always be in his aura) - then a cleric might be a good option since you will get a lot of mileage from spirit guardians and/or spiritual weapon as well as their other spells.

However, will you be able to melee attack from your friend's back? Will you be able to use ranged weapon or spell attacks against adjacent targets without disadvantage?

What happens if you are indoors and exploring dungeons? Will there be times when you are on your own?

Anyway, if multi-classing isn't an option, then I would say cleric or lore bard give best support options with the lore bard being very good as a party representative and applying skills. Divine soul sorcerer is also a good choice and probably better at supporting combat but their AC isn't as good and their very limited spell selection makes it especially difficult to choose between damage/crowd control/healing/buffing.

[Ravinsild]

Well I know for a fact now that the Centaur is going Barbarian but I don’t know which path yet, just that they’re being a Barbarian.

I myself have decided to try out Artificer with plans on going for Alchemist and I chose as many support spells as I could like Resistance, Longstrider, Cure Wounds and Shield of Faith. Hopefully the spells for Artificer are buff spells in nature and useful for helping my Centaur Steed perform well in combat!

[Man_Over_Game]

Well I know for a fact now that the Centaur is going Barbarian but I don’t know which path yet, just that they’re being a Barbarian.

I myself have decided to try out Artificer with plans on going for Alchemist and I chose as many support spells as I could like Resistance, Longstrider, Cure Wounds and Shield of Faith. Hopefully the spells for Artificer are buff spells in nature and useful for helping my Centaur Steed perform well in combat!

Be careful about that. With the Barbarian having resistance to damage, making him tankier will be a problem as you'll become a much more preferable target. Focus on increasing his damage, not his survivability. You should really start looking for ways to make you less of an ideal target.

The only reason you should neglect making yourself harder to hit is if he decides to go Ancestral Guardian. Otherwise, expect to get pounded on.

[Ravinsild]

Be careful about that. With the Barbarian having resistance to damage, making him tankier will be a problem as you'll become a much more preferable target. Focus on increasing his damage, not his survivability. You should really start looking for ways to make you less of an ideal target.

The only reason you should neglect making yourself harder to hit is if he decides to go Ancestral Guardian. Otherwise, expect to get pounded on.

Well I can always cast the spells on myself, and I don’t see too many combat buff spells. There’s Arcane Weapon but it looks like it only works for me personally, I don’t even think I can use it on a weapon and pass it off and it retain the effect.

Maybe Artificer isn’t the best class for buffing my friends damage :(

[Rukelnikov]

Be careful about that. With the Barbarian having resistance to damage, making him tankier will be a problem as you'll become a much more preferable target. Focus on increasing his damage, not his survivability. You should really start looking for ways to make you less of an ideal target.

The only reason you should neglect making yourself harder to hit is if he decides to go Ancestral Guardian. Otherwise, expect to get pounded on.

This is true, Artificers havs Sanctuary in their lists IIRC, so thats a good start if don't plan to deal damage often.

[Ravinsild]

This is true, Artificers havs Sanctuary in their lists IIRC, so thats a good start if don't plan to deal damage often.

Nope the idea is that I pump my mount full of drugs and stimulants and support so they do all the killing for me :D I just help them alive and make them hurt things more haha

[Rukelnikov]

Nope the idea is that I pump my mount full of drugs and stimulants and support so they do all the killing for me :D I just help them alive and make them hurt things more haha

Sounds like you will make for a fun duo. Tell us how the builds ended up once they're made.

[Brawnspear]

Well I know for a fact now that the Centaur is going Barbarian but I don’t know which path yet, just that they’re being a Barbarian.

I myself have decided to try out Artificer with plans on going for Alchemist and I chose as many support spells as I could like Resistance, Longstrider, Cure Wounds and Shield of Faith. Hopefully the spells for Artificer are buff spells in nature and useful for helping my Centaur Steed perform well in combat!

Now that we know Barbarian, I would like to throw my vote at Divine Soul Sorcerer as well. You can get decent AC with Mage armor and a decent Dex. For single class Buffing you can't beat it, and twinning is your friend. You get access to a useful buff spell at just about every level. Bless/Shield of Faith, enlarge/enhance ability, Haste (mimics the ult nicely). If he's going polearm master, you can drop Holy Weapon on him. And then there's vitriolic sphere and cloudkill to mimic another of the iconic moves and hold person/monster for the stun effect. Not sure how to make enemies drop more money, but towards the end of the game you do have access to regenerate for that sweet health regain!

I may or may not have really enjoyed this character....

[Man_Over_Game]

Now that we know Barbarian, I would like to throw my vote at Divine Soul Sorcerer as well. You can get decent AC with Mage armor and a decent Dex. For single class Buffing you can't beat it, and twinning is your friend. You get access to a useful buff spell at just about every level. Bless/Shield of Faith, enlarge/enhance ability, Haste (mimics the ult nicely). If he's going polearm master, you can drop Holy Weapon on him. And then there's vitriolic sphere and cloudkill to mimic another of the iconic moves and hold person/monster for the stun effect. Not sure how to make enemies drop more money, but towards the end of the game you do have access to regenerate for that sweet health regain!

I may or may not have really enjoyed this character....

I like the Divine Soul Sorcerer, too, but its reliance on Concentration spells, the 1d6 HP, the lack of spells known (making Mage Armor VERY expensive), and the lack of armor all makes it a VERY poor choice as a support that's going to be moving in the front lines regularly.

Remember, this support is planning on being on the Barbarian's BACK the entire time.

[Ravinsild]

I like the Divine Soul Sorcerer, too, but its reliance on Concentration spells, the 1d6 HP, the lack of spells known (making Mage Armor VERY expensive), and the lack of armor all makes it a VERY poor choice as a support that's going to be moving in the front lines regularly.

Remember, this support is planning on being on the Barbarian's BACK the entire time.

Yes! For all intents and purposes we are 1 character with two parts! I provide the buffs, heals and support and they provide the damage.

Of course I will be taking pot shots with my crossbow and using my handaxe after we get close.

We are a tag team each doing our part in the symbiotic relationship! I get to experiment on her body and test out performance enhancing drugs..... and she get to be stronger and kill things!

[Man_Over_Game]

Yes! For all intents and purposes we are 1 character with two parts! I provide the buffs, heals and support and they provide the damage.

Of course I will be taking pot shots with my crossbow and using my handaxe after we get close.

We are a tag team each doing our part in the symbiotic relationship! I get to experiment on her body and test out performance enhancing drugs..... and she get to be stronger and kill things!

The question you need to answer then is, what's your plan is when you're 5-10 feet away from a badguy and they want to kill you?

You start with 2 spells, have around 8 HP (when the average is closer to 12, and the Barbarian has twice as much HP as you) and no armor. Do you lose 50% of your spells known for Mage Armor or Shield? Do you cast Shield of Faith on yourself? Do you just hope for the best?

[MilkmanDanimal]

Lightfoot Halfling Lore Bard/Celestial Warlock; you have Bardic Inspiration which you can use to both buff your ally and to prevent hits thanks to Cutting Words, healing via Warlock, plus you can cast Eldritch Blast with an action while concentrating on all sorts of useful Bard spells.

[Galithar]

Lightfoot Halfling Lore Bard/Celestial Warlock; you have Bardic Inspiration which you can use to both buff your ally and to prevent hits thanks to Cutting Words, healing via Warlock, plus you can cast Eldritch Blast with an action while concentrating on all sorts of useful Bard spells.

No multiclass allowed :P

[DrKerosene]

I wanted to point out that you can cast Longstridsr and Jump on your Centaur, but Wizards don’t heal too well.

I wanted to say a Lore Bard with a few good spells should be fine, but I think the Favored Soul Sorcerer might be better for this idea.

On Clerics, I guess you can focus on healing if you really want to use Warding Bond. Or you could be a Storm Cleric and provide emergency escape paths for your Centaur buddy.

[Ravinsild]

I wanted to point out that you can cast Longstridsr and Jump on your Centaur, but Wizards don’t heal too well.

I wanted to say a Lore Bard with a few good spells should be fine, but I think the Favored Soul Sorcerer might be better for this idea.

On Clerics, I guess you can focus on healing if you really want to use Warding Bond. Or you could be a Storm Cleric and provide emergency escape paths for your Centaur buddy.

The Artificer does have Longstrider, Jump and at least Cure Wounds :)