Help building a 2nd level Character

[Pefgis]

I am currently co-dming a campaign, taking alternating turns as dm with a friend. We work and communicate well together. We are playing with four other people, only one familiar with fifth edition, but the others have played past editions and are familiar enough and eager to play and learn.

I originally designed a ranger to play, to kind of be a guide to the other players. But K. wanted to play a ranger last minute, and D. and J. were playing a dex fighter and dex rogue, so I shifted focus. There was a lot of delays for our first session due to real world events, so all of this was fine. I decided on a barbarian, but my dm partner had the same idea, changing his monk-bard concept to a barbarian. Plenty of time still, this was fine. N. is playing a bard and R a wizard. I decided to go back to the drawing board.

I came up with an aasimar nature cleric due to story and world building reason, and to aid in a story telling conceit that would explain when our dm controlled characters would go MIA. A cleric would help fill the healing niche and I could second as a frontliner in heavy armor if needed.

I dm-ed the first session and it went really well, setting up a mysterious shape changing npc and lots of fun story hooks that the others said they enjoyed. The plan was for my character to kind of displace the body of the dm, due to story elements we introduced during world building. Ancient wizards basically messed the world up through wishes, so a dimension of nothingness that people disappear and reappear to exists. It was working out.

A couple days ago, the other dm contacted me asking to alter the plan. He didn't want the two dm characters to feel like special, chosen one characters that relied on dm fiat to function. I was disappointed because I thought the plan we made was clever, but I thought about it and agreed with him. I decided to abandon the aasimar cleric concept, and just play as the changeling woman I introduced as a npc. The party has met her, is intrigued, and it has already been established they are traveling together. She is also a blank slate and easy to make a player character.

I contemplated Paladin, it provides healing and a frontliner, but I'm already playing a sword and board champion in another game, and would like to play something else. It is an option though.

My co-dm recognized that I'm having trouble choosing a character because I'm trying to fill a role the party lacks and trying to please everyone. He said don't worry about the party, play what I want and have fun.

So now my choice....

The party consists of now level 2...
Human dex fighter
Human ranger
Human rogue
Halfling bard
Human wizard
Human barbarian (The other dm.)

The dm controlled characters will be staying every session, perhaps in a limited capacity, but they will not be disappearing or going on contrived fishing trips. So the barbarian can be relied on to be there.

I already introduced that the character I'm going to play as a mysterious shapeshifter, so I will be playing as a changeling on the run from a cult of love and beauty seeking to control and exploit her.

Knowing that I'm not beholden to a party role or to fill a gap, but still not wanting to step on toes, what would work best for this party?

I'm thinking ...

A cleric, squandering the Cha I can get but making a solid, reliable support. Trickster or life would fit thematically best, but nature is still an option.

A paladin-probably ancients-frontline, high cha. This might be what the party needs best but I'm least excited about it.

A warlock-celestial or archfey fit the story best- wildcard, not the squishiest caster, could be fun. I'm not interested in hex blade here.

Or a divine soul sorcerer-fits the story absolutely best-healing and blasting available. I'm a little worried about stealing the bard's social thunder, but he is the most experienced fifth edition player and can handle it I think. Very squishy and vulnerable, but thematically fitting and fun.

I'm not interested in multi classing.

What should I go with or what other builds would work? I'm sorta paralyzed by indecision, a wealth of options, and wanting to please everyone. Outside perspectives would help a great deal.

Thanks!

[CTurbo]

Play what you want and stop trying to please everybody else. Honestly. I would not NOT play a character just because somebody else wanted to play that character too. Would it be the end of the world to have 2 Barbarians? No.

4 out of 7 characters in my last campaign were Sorcerers and it worked just fine.

I vote Aasimar Paladin or Divine Soul Sorcerer for you. Paladin is plenty different from a S&B Champion. You could even be a Dex Paladin and dump Str if you want. Paladins make the entire party better so never a bad choice. Divine Soul Sorcerers are possibly the best support characters in the game so again the party will appreciate having one.

[Eldariel]

If you want to make the party as good as possible, adding a Druid (Moon on this level, Shepherd on higher levels - but for a Changeling specifically, Moon feels more natural) is obviously the way to go. Goodberry is the tier 1 survivability option, and even post-nerf Healing Spirit is still a solid level 2-3 healing spell and you get to add a massive sack of HP in yourself in the frontline (through Wildshape). The catch? You're playing a Changeling. You're already changing shape! So it all fits in perfectly well (as long as she isn't wearing metal armor already). So you get to be everything. You also add the second character capable of casting Healing Word, which makes it pretty reliable to keep the party together and all the restoration effects you'd want anyways. And you add an extra frontliner (which the party really only has a Barb and potentially the Dex Fighter for, which in a party of 6 is quite few), you're quite stat independent and you can add anything the party needs, really (in the one spell list the party currently doesn't really have access to).

Changeling stats aren't optimal for a Druid but ultimately Druid is so good that it doesn't really matter. Get the +1 Dex +2 Cha option and enjoy the fallback of being a secondary face (and really good at talking to animals, too), putting reasonable scores at both Wis and Cha (you can afford it, you don't really need combat stats as a Druid due to Wildshape; average Con and Dex suffice). You also get to be a good utility character, and Unsettling Visage is actually a rather nice defensive boost to a Moon Druid's array of options (especially since your reactions aren't especially busy). And you add good AOE control, damage, and of course minionmancy and problem solving if desired.

[Pefgis]

I appreciate the input, especially the thoughtful advice on going druid. So often, guides you find online focus on optimization, not the fine details, so the insights on doing something unconventional like druid changeling aren't considered.

That said, though sorely tempted by divine soul, and intrigued by the druid consideration, after talking to my co-dm, my interest for paladin has increased. There are a lot of fun backstory things I can play with in the unique world we built, like my god basically being a woman locked in a room for five hundred years that I talked to the walls through. So there are a lot of fun things I can play with, and paladin is robust and dependable.

Thanks for the help.

[Eldariel]

Of course all of Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul, and Paladin lend themselves well to interacting with the deity. But nothing wrong with a Paladin indeed: it's really good with the Cha buff, and a solid class in general. Happy to hear you found an option satisfactory for all. All the best with the game!