Characters for Avernus

[TerakasTaranath]

So I have 3 character concepts for Descent into Avernus and I cant pick. My friends are no help, they say "idk man play what you want."

So I turned to you guys!

First is a Bronze Dragonborn Sorcerer, bronze dragon descent draconic sorcerer. He'd take elemental adept lighting and his goal is to really just become the embodiment of a bronze dragon(my fav dragon.) I think I may save him for Mad Mage because I'd like to see him get the high level abilities where he becomes almost literally a dragon, and it'd be fun to see him have a cool mage duel. I'm only considering him now because I've had this idea for a long time and love the concept.

Second is probably the most optimal but I haven't had in my brain for awhile. Tarathiel Taranath, a high elf arcana domain cleric. He's a relative of my favorite character Terakas Taranath who was a cavalier in 1e AD&D. I just love the domain and I've never given the cleric a shot before. I know high elf isn't optimized for cleric but, I love the way it fits with arcana for RP.

Third is a fiendlock who has an acolyte background. He was a former priest/exorcist and the only way he could save a child from a particularly bad possession was to make a pact with the fiend himself. He sacrificed his own humanity and goodness for the child. He's a human variant and starts with magic initiate cleric as a show of what little power he still retains from his days a priest. He also has been in the back of my mind for probably over a year now.

[Chugger]

I don't see how I can help you. You are not asking for help optimizing a char - you're not asking for help rounding out a party.

You seem to understand that fire isn't going to work against things that are immune to it.

If you can't tell us more about why this is a hard choice - I have no logical way to help you.

[TerakasTaranath]

I don't see how I can help you. You are not asking for help optimizing a char - you're not asking for help rounding out a party.

You seem to understand that fire isn't going to work against things that are immune to it.

If you can't tell us more about why this is a hard choice - I have no logical way to help you.

I just cant decide whats cooler or more fun. I was hoping someone would have some cool ideas or experience with similar characters or classes that they could shed some light on. Or just tell me what they think is cooler.

[pragma]

Fiend pact seems likely to yield some fun roleplay hooks for Descent into Avernus, but I think eldritch blast warlocks are dull in combat.

Cleric looks like the most fun mechanically to me, but the RP hook isn't as clear

[Jaryn]

For Descent into Avernus is be tempted by the Fiendlock. The character definitely had an interesting background that could tie in - what happens if you meet your patron down there, or some demons who you exorcised in your previous life? All sorts of interesting RP opportunities in my opinion.

Having said that, clerics would be good at *fighting* demons with all their radiant damage.

[jaappleton]

I’ll say this about any themed damage type characters, like a Lightning Dragon sorcerer:

Fire, Ice and Lightning are damage types to avoid in this adventure.

Aim for Psychic, Thunder, Radiant, Force and... kinda odd, but Necrotic.

[Hruken]

I’ll say this about any themed damage type characters, like a Lightning Dragon sorcerer:

Fire, Ice and Lightning are damage types to avoid in this adventure.

Aim for Psychic, Thunder, Radiant, Force and... kinda odd, but Necrotic.

Eh, elemental adept (which OP mentioned) clears the lightning resistance up nicely. Shouldn't be a problem.

[jaappleton]

Resistance.... not immunity.

[Theaitetos]

There are just 2 kinds of fiends with Immunity to Lightning, the Shadow Demon and ofc the Blue Abishai. The latter doesn't really matter here though, since no matter what Dragon heritage is chosen as Draconic Sorcerer, there's always the chromatic counterpart Abishai with immunity. The Shadow Demon has so many immunities and resistances, … it will always be a pain, no matter what is chosen as Dragon heritage (if it even appears in the campaign). So once Elemental Adept is taken, it shouldn't be a problem. Lightning even seems the best choice for a Draconic Sorcerer, imo.

As for the Fiendlock:
The Nine Hells are large, and an Archdevil patron from the lower planes is unlikely to be found in Avernus. However, the warlock might meet some agents of his patron, that are keeping an eye on Zariel.
And if the fiend patron is a powerful Demon or evil Deity, the warlock is even less likely to meet his patron or one of his agents in Avernus.
Yet if the Warlock indeed meets his (not too powerful) devil patron down there, remember that the Nine Hells are the only place where devils can actually be (threatened to be) killed!

The Arcana Cleric is great too, even if it comes down to simply shooting Magic Missiles at all the resistant fiends. But usually radiant damage works as well. Chill Touch might be a good wizard cantrip to take, as it prevents regeneration/healing and you'll never know when such enemies might come around; if you take it and are low on known cantrips (who isn't?), you might forego Toll the Dead in exchange. If you go tank in melee, then Word of Radiance becomes really strong with Potent Spellcasting.
Your Channel Divinity feature ("Turn Outsider") is strong against fiends, but it is unlikely to achieve its full effect, as you cannot banish devils in Avernus – though it would work on any encountered demons.
Also, I suggest taking Sunbeam (6) and Crown of Stars (7) as your Arcana domain spells. For some reason clerics lack radiance damage spells above 5th level. Illusory Dragon (8) provides some damage type diversity, for outside of Avernus. Wish (9) is obvious. Edit: An alternative to Sunbeam & Crown of Stars would be to take Scatter (6) & Forcecage (7), as that might make your clerical Dawn spell useful; this might also work well with the skills of other party members (e.g. Warlock with Maddening Darkness).

[AgenderArcee]

The fiendlock or cleric sound most suited to the module. If you really want to see those higher sorcerer levels with your bronze dragonborn (which sounds fun btw), the adventure ending a level before dragon wings is going to sting!

I'm curious what wizard spells you're thinking of using for arcana cleric, and cleric spells for the warlock.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

There are just 2 kinds of fiends with Immunity to Lightning, the Shadow Demon and ofc the Blue Abishai. The latter doesn't really matter here though, since no matter what Dragon heritage is chosen as Draconic Sorcerer, there's always the chromatic counterpart Abishai with immunity. The Shadow Demon has so many immunities and resistances, … it will always be a pain, no matter what is chosen as Dragon heritage (if it even appears in the campaign). So once Elemental Adept is taken, it shouldn't be a problem. Lightning even seems the best choice for a Draconic Sorcerer, imo.

Looking at the tables of monster resistances vs monster immunities, Lightning is one of the best choices for Elemental adept in general.

And, while I haven't played Avernus, Shadow Demons are probably not common in the home dimension of Devils.

[Evaar]

This campaign seems to start off assuming your character isn't especially noble. Even if you aren't a bully, you have to work with people who are. At least, not having read the book, that's the impression I get.

So given that, I wouldn't go with the elven cleric or the altruistic warlock as both seem like they'd have a hard time slotting naturally into the inciting incidents of the adventure. That said, your DM can work with you to make it work a little better.

The dragonborn sorcerer can work, but I'd recommend throwing a little ambiguity in there. Maybe you're not actually certain whether your ancestry is bronze or blue. And over the course of the campaign you can make some decisions vis a vis whether you learn more about your ancestry and whether you choose to let that ancestry define your nature.

But to start with, you can be someone who has some moral ambiguity and isn't certain when ideals should trump pragmatism. And you can blast things with lightning magic, too.

[Great Dragon]

@TerakasTaranath
(1) a Bronze Dragonborn, bronze draconic sorcerer.
Could be interesting, but like you mentioned: seeing the full potential needs something beyond 15th level.
So, Dungeon of the Mad Mage - or for (IMO) best effect - Tyranny of Dragons.

(2) Tarathiel Taranath, a high elf arcana domain cleric.
Might be a bad choice for Avernus. Mostly because it's based on an old favorite PC.
Depending on how the DM is running the Game: Clerics in Hell aren't guaranteed a Get Out Free clause.

(3) is a fiendlock who has an acolyte background.
This might be the most interesting for RP.
Does his choice give him the best chance to break free of the bonds that bind him to the Patron? Does the Power granted tempt him onto a darker path and seep ever deeper into his soul, condemning him even more?

[Daithi]

I'm going to go with "I don't know man, play what you want."

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Personally, I like the Cleric idea. I would think it would be the best fit for fighting Demons, and the Arcana Domain sounds like it would be a pretty good fit as well. I haven't played this module yet, but my understanding is that you will be in a lot of situations where you won't be strong enough to fight your way out of the situation and may need to compromise your ideals, so just keep that in mind.