Class pick help

[Mikaleus]

Hello everyone. Bout to join a level 1 campaign that consists of a Dwarf Forge cleric and a Wood elf ranger.

I’m not sure whether to go with

Wizard
Warlock
Druid

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

P.S dropped sorcerer for Druid.

[Neoh]

Hello everyone. Bout to join a level 1 campaign that consists of a Dwarf Forge cleric and a Wood elf ranger.

I’m not sure whether to go with

Wizard
Divine soul sorcerer
Warlock

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Wizard is the most complete out of the 3, it excels at battlefield control, does great damage, has the most utility spells and rituals.

Divine Soul Sorcerer like all Sorcerers are great at bursting down something, does excellent damage, Divine Soul has excellent healing (twinning a healing spell), less control and utility than the Wizard and doesn't have rituals unless you take the Ritual Caster Feat.
You could take 1 level of Hexblade Warlock somewhere down the line to get Medium Armor and Shield proficiency (and martial weapons if you want to give up your shield for some melee action), makes you kinda good in melee with Spirit Guardians.
A second level in Warlock could empower your Eldritch Blast with the Agonizing Blast invocation, that's a really powerful dip for a Sorcerer but you delay your spell progression, so that's up to you.

I'm not fond of Warlocks, they only have 2 spell slots until level 11, making them by far the less versatile caster in the game. You could get ritual spells with the Pact of the Tome and the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation, so that's still nice. But I still think it's not worth having only 2 spells per fight and then throw Eldritch Blasts 90% of your time.
It's a short rest based class but with your team, you would probably long rest more often than you short rest, so I guess that's a minus too.
Warlocks are great for RP purpose though, so if your main interest is roleplay over mechanics, definitely go for it.

[Emongnome777]

Assuming the wood elf ranger is, well, ranged, then you may want to go with melee. Since Charisma isn't represented in the other two, hexblade warlock would fit from your list, but maybe consider paladin (or some combination of the two).

[Nhym]

Shepherd Druid.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xXgYqPxkEHaCisQ0tteFF-KtsmfJxkOQojeWwHf22n4/edit?usp=sharing

[nickl_2000]

Assuming the wood elf ranger is, well, ranged, then you may want to go with melee. Since Charisma isn't represented in the other two, hexblade warlock would fit from your list, but maybe consider paladin (or some combination of the two).

A forge cleric can melee plenty well in my mind.

I see this party and it screams wizard to me, you can choose AoE spells, social spells, get pretty much all the rituals. You are good to go.

[RogueJK]

I see this party and it screams wizard to me, you can choose AoE spells, social spells, get pretty much all the rituals. You are good to go.

Yep. Wizard gets my vote.

Unless the Ranger already has it covered, you might also pick up some Rogue proficiencies from a background, like Thieves Tools and Investigation, to handle locks and traps for the party. Wizards are already geared towards DEX and INT, and excel in filling in for the party Rogue, especially with added help from spells.

If the Ranger is focusing on ranged and you want to assist the Forge Cleric in melee, Bladesinger would be a good Wizard subclass choice.


And if you really want to dive headfirst into the melee Thief-Wizard role, 1 to 3 levels of Rogue (Arcane Trickster if going 3 levels) is a nice dip for a Bladesinger Wizard, to get Sneak Attack plus some extra skills and Expertise, as well as potentially Cunning Action and some extra spells and Mage Hand tricks. But even if dipping Rogue, you'll want to get to Bladesinger 5 or 6 ASAP... Definitely 5 for 3rd level spells, and potentially 6 for Extra Attack, although Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade can hold you over for a while without Extra Attack. So if going this route, I'd take 1 level of Rogue early (1st or 2nd level), and then wait to take any additional Rogue levels after Wizard 5 or 6.

[Nagog]

Of the three, I'd also say Wizard, but I'd also look into Artificer. You've got healing/tanking and ranged damage/survival, what you're really missing is utility and support. Both Wizard and Artificer have a plethora of utility in their spells, Artificer has some good support spells in their list and their skills are effective and fun. Also if this is the full party, you may need somebody with decent Charisma as a party face, but not at the expense of somebody with good Int.

[Man_Over_Game]

I'd go with Warlock.

Charisma isn't something that can be replaced with high Wisdom, like Intelligence is.

Additionally, the Warlock is a bit tankier than the Wizard, and has more of a focus on dealing magic damage than almost any class.

[ImproperJustice]

The nice thing about Wizard, is that you are not “locked in” to a particular play style.

Party needs a blaster?
Go prepare AoE spells

Need Scouting and Utility?
Arcane Eye, Familiar, locate object, sending and ritual divinations ahoy

Need control?
Well, you get the picture.


As party composition and group dynamics change you can more easily adjust than say a Sorceror or Warlock to tge party needs.

Also, having played a Warlock lately from levels 5-11, I will say you have to break the mind set that you are a spell caster with that class.

It’s more like an Eldritch Knight that is a combat character, who can utilize some magic abilities as a supplement.
Then you need to decide if you wanna be about control, utility, or being a gish.

[Mikaleus]

Shepherd Druid.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xXgYqPxkEHaCisQ0tteFF-KtsmfJxkOQojeWwHf22n4/edit?usp=sharing
Don’t tempt me!
I tend to drift towards the Druid class, but figured this could be my opportunity to try another class.


Thanks for the replies everyone.

I’m sort of leaning towards Wizard or warlock.
Bard could be a nice filler too now that i come to think of it.

I’m just so used to playing Druids and paladins the option to play something new is kind of daunting 😰

[Mikaleus]

I'd go with Warlock.

Charisma isn't something that can be replaced with high Wisdom, like Intelligence is.

Additionally, the Warlock is a bit tankier than the Wizard, and has more of a focus on dealing magic damage than almost any class.
I’ve been wanting to try an archfey warlock but I believe this campaign will feature undead and fiends/ demons quite heavily - which I believe will ruin half the charm fun a feylock could provide

[djreynolds]

A moon druid is very good.

Full casting. Wildshape.

3 Pcs.
One ranged ranger.

A cleric with 1 attack trying to manage spirit guardians and spiritual weapon and struggling to max out wisdom and more than likely strength.

A moon druid can cover down on AOE or just simply soak up hits.

[Mikaleus]

A moon druid is very good.

Full casting. Wildshape.

3 Pcs.
One ranged ranger.

A cleric with 1 attack trying to manage spirit guardians and spiritual weapon and struggling to max out wisdom and more than likely strength.

A moon druid can cover down on AOE or just simply soak up hits.

True. Actually, I can’t help but think maybe I should run a paladin as an option too. - auras, spells, extra attack, smite ....

Hexblade could be fun for the arcane vibe I was going for, that said, sword or Valor bard would also fit in this category