What would you play in a campaign with mostly humanoid foes in an urban setting?

[Wasp]

Hi everyone

if you knew you were about to play a tier 1 and 2 campaign in a Venice inspired City State with lots of intrigue and investigation where encounters will be mainly with humanoid factions while Dungeons, Wilderness and Monster encounters would be very rare - what would you play? Aside from Rogues and Bards who are probably the best for such a setting?

Bonus questions: Any house rules you would want to use for such a campaign?

[Amnestic]

Shadow Monk is a solid choice, speaking from experience. Might also be a good time to grab Mercy Monk since you'll have a lot of enemies who aren't resistant/immune to poison.

Aberrant Mind Sorcerer with component-less Detect Thoughts is possibly a massive game-changer.

Swamkeeper Ranger with a swarm of rats probably isn't optimal for social settings but it is very cool, and therefore high up on the list.

A Divination Wizard who pays the bills as a private detective/investigator solving crimes and finding lost cats.

A big chunky race (eg. Goliath, Dragonborn) barbarian who serves/served as muscle for local crime syndicate. Sometimes you don't need a fast talker, sometimes you need a big dude who hits hard.

[Chronic]

Sorcerer with subtle metamagic is the king of social interactions. And spellcasting is always useful. But as you said rogue and bards would work great.

[stoutstien]

Hi everyone

if you knew you were about to play a tier 1 and 2 campaign in a Venice inspired City State with lots of intrigue and investigation where encounters will be mainly with humanoid factions while Dungeons, Wilderness and Monster encounters would be very rare - what would you play? Aside from Rogues and Bards who are probably the best for such a setting?

Bonus questions: Any house rules you would want to use for such a campaign?

-Knowledge domain clerics are subtly amazing at this kind of stuff. Reading minds, floating skills and the expanded spell list is perfect. Still has all the basic cleric tools as well.

-ranger with Tasha variant rules. Extra languages, movement, and a spell list that works just as well in the streets and the wild. Conclave is open to fill gaps.

- genie warlock. having a shuttle service, flight, and potentially bludgeoning resistance on top of everything else is a good starting point.

- artificer (any). If you have any holes in the party this is a solid way to plug them.

-monks with Mercy, shadow, and long death as primary picks. Mobility and lockdown.

- conquest paladin. Less issues with fear immunity means a long shelf life with lockdowns.

[yellowrocket]

Going a different direction with mine

Moon Druid gets lots of infiltration and surveillance capabilities here. While not the top pick, makes for an excellent support member here. Combine with mask of many faces invocation on a warlock for various strangers and their pets and you don't have to split the party.

[da newt]

Warlock w/ mask of many faces. Always disguised, high CHA. Maybe a rogue MC for expertice etc to really lean into the ability to impersonate anyone.

[Eldariel]

Druid is superb here. Wildshape makes for very sneaky infiltration. Add Moon to make it a combat option too though Stars is also pretty sweet (the auto-10 on Int/Wis skills is really good). Druid with the variant from Tasha's to summon familiar instead of WS is extra great. Add to that Enhance Ability + Guidance and you're really just golden.

Though Wizard with familiar is also a superb scout and gets Enhance Ability (but no Guidance without a feat though the party having access to one Guidance is generally enough). In general, tiny animals thrive in cities. Classes that have access to high amounts of tiny animals on low levels (Wizard and Druid) are thus amazing.

Wizard also shines in terms of adapting to sneaking, information gathering, etc. from day to day. As said, Diviner is great on these levels (Portent basically means you can plan around certain checks and be sure that your partner-in-crime is failing their save vs. Charm or Suggestion or whatever, or that you're making that key skill check) and Expert Divination is just ridiculous in an intrigue-heavy game; turn all your Arcane Eyes into Clairvoyances, all your Clairvoyances into Detect Thoughts, all your Detect Thoughts into any level 1 spells you might want (Silvery Barbs, Disguise Self, Charm Person, etc.). Familiar, Unseen Servant, the minionmancy of a Wizard on these levels is great. Oh and Mold Earth + Minor Illusion are obviously stupid useful here as ever. Message/Mage Hand/etc. are relevant too.

Eldritch Adept is actually a great feat though, to get Mask of Many Faces or Misty Visions both of which have quite a bit of potential (Misty Visions probably more so if you're creative; it's a significant improvement over Minor Illusion where your Concentration doesn't matter, like is often the case outside combat - Mask of Many Faces is mostly for maintaining disguises indefinitely and using Charm Person/Suggestion/Friends/etc. with abandon). Going Vuman and picking it up isn't a bad call; it remains ever useful even if the game shifts since you can just switch to e.g. Devil's Sight if you want that instead.

And to that end, Warlock isn't bad either; those two invocations alone plus Pact of the Chain on 3 make for a solid set. Though it takes a bit longer to pick up than Wizard or Druid, it is a perfectly viable alternative (that said, it has worse cantrips and ritual casting, not to mention no day-to-day spell swapping, all of which are fairly big in this kind of game); that said, given Eldritch Adept can mimic the most important part of Warlock but no feat can mimic the whole of what a Wizard or a Druid can provide, I would still rather pick one of those two.


Indeed, of the big 4 (Wizard, Druid, Cleric, Bard) only Cleric is really meaningfully worse in this kind of campaign than a generic campaign and even they have Guidance + Enhance Ability as a solid baseline. Warlock is probably better than average but being able to swap spells is of great value too, which tempers the advantages of Warlock and Bard somewhat (Bards are notably great in multiples since they can't Inspire themselves and inspiration busts Bounded Accuracy; Stars Druid gets "Inspiration" on 50% of the days too on level 6 but that's kinda late for a Tier 1-2 game - Rogue is nothing to write home about though).

[BerzerkerUnit]

Necro wizard or Warlock (possibly GOO depending on level).

Mostly humanoid NPCs and threats means plenty of potential carcasses. GOOlock capstone is interesting, permacharming the mayor or sheriff so you can run wild.

Enchanter and illusionist would also be top tier since humanoids aren't going to have true sight or enhanced senses to see through illusions and Charm Person stays useful all the way up.

Any Sniper build will work bc humanoid means limited mobility and urban environments mean good sight lines if you can sit higher. An eldritch sniper build could be something else with Spider Climb and later free levitate.

Good luck!

[Second Wind]

Some kind of 'possumfolk and eat trash.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Hmm Venice like? So lots of water filled canals.
Lizardfolk

[Catullus64]

The Assassin doesn't get many campaigns that play to its strengths, and this is one of them. That'd be my pick, possibly with a side of 3 Levels of Bard (College of Whispers) or 2 Levels of Druid (Circle of anything really, utility Wildshape is the real pick, probably Land.)

[heavyfuel]

Bonus questions: Any house rules you would want to use for such a campaign?

Not a house rule, but an optional rule. The stupidly-named but well thought out "Gritty Realism" rule found in the DMG.

In a game with lots of intrigue and investigation, it's very very difficult to cram 8 encounters in a single day. It's far easier to place a good number of encounters over the course of some time and allow players to have the necessary downtime to Long Rest over a week.

If your DM doesn't use this rule (or something similar), then I honestly expect you to have a lot of 5-min adventure days, which means that Long Rest casters will lose their only disadvantage. In which case, I'd go for AM Sorcerer, which is just an extremely fun caster in social campaigns.

Enchanter Wizard would also be great, as would mostly any Bard, but especially Eloquence Bard.

[MachineWraith]

Others have mentioned this in part, but I'd play a Genie warlock with Pact of the Chain for an imp familiar and the MoMF invocation. You're CHA primary and just as good at social interaction as anybody else (barring expertise, I suppose). You can be disguised literally all the time, even to your allies if you want. You have an intelligent, flying, invisible familiar with opposable thumbs. You can hide in a ring that said invisible familiar can carry around whenever. And on top of all that you can still pull off many warlock shenanigans just like you would in any other campaign. I think it would be particularly strong for this type of setting.

[Athan Artilliam]

Half Elf (bastard son of a) Noble Swords Bard. He is a legitimized bastard of some noble who does a lot of work with the ports. He drinks, womanizes, & generally has a debauched good time. Somewhere in there he might even have the heart of a hero

[Kane0]

What I would consider

Whispers Bard
Knowledge Cleric
Battlemaster fighter (all ability check maneuvers)
Fey Ranger (actually trying to get use out of Favored Enemy)
Mastermind Rogue
Aberrant Sorcerer
Fey or Goo chainlock (mask of many faces)

Edit: feats that would be really good:
Actor
Eldritch Adept (Beguiling influence, Mask of Many Faces)
Martial Adept (Ambush, Commanding Presence, Tactical Assessment)
Metamagic Adept (Subtle)
Skill Expert
Telepathic

[sambojin]

I'd go for my standard Firbolg Moon Druid. Plenty of disguise self, plenty of spider climb, any animals that are around can be spoken to for even more infiltration (good berries are great animal bribes). Hold Person gets a bit more valuable with so many humanoids around, but so does any form of invisibility, due to slightly less detection abilities.

Conjured familiars for scouting by lvl2, a Monkey summoned beast at lvl3 for an extra pair of hands, Enhance Ability for social stuff (it still lasts an hour, so can be cast well before), and being able to turn into a bear or giant snake in the middle of town is always good for a laugh. Being super strong to impress the locals is good too. Remember just how targetable and how many lights a Tidal Wave can turn out in a city by lvl5.

I'm not really sure what I'd do for my reason to be there. Maybe the "making sure the city doesn't deplete the surrounding countryside too much" thing, or maybe the "bring the countryside to the city" thing. Conjured Animals shenanigans ahoy! The verticality of a city/urban environment works really well for druids, especially Moon or Wildfire ones (I only didn't say Wildfire, because it automatically stamps you as potential city-wide danger, instead of general nuisance that poops everywhere).

[Kane0]

I'm not really sure what I'd do for my reason to be there. Maybe the "making sure the city doesn't deplete the surrounding countryside too much" thing, or maybe the "bring the countryside to the city" thing. Conjured Animals shenanigans ahoy!

Make it your mission to convince the mayor to open a state-funded botanical garden.

[sambojin]

Or just offer to make one yourself. Between Druidcraft's insta-blooming for rare plant specimens (as well as helping any maritime activities with weather forecasting) and Plant Growth's double crop yields or thick vegetation, you can make food & prosperity wherever you feel it necessary. Feed some poor people with Good Berries while you're at it too. Grass Roots, merchant and Noble support at the click of your fingers.

Be a thespian in your downtime if you want, with wildshape and disguise self allowing you to play any role, or a scholar and assistant to the nobility with all of the above and Guidance and Enhance ability being able to make them good at anything. The world is your oyster. If it really is a Venice-like, getting a swim speed in wildshape at lvl4 could be super handy as well. The Leap ability of a Fe/male Steeder and the Spring of a Jaculi is nice as well (leap small buildings in a single bound, possibly while invisible! Add in the Jump spell, and you can save Spiderclimbing anywhere, you just leap to wherever you want). Later on in the campaign, things like Conjure Woodland Beings is gold. Brigganocks are your one-stop-shop for getting things done around a town, for when pixies aren't available, with 8x1hr of work done in a matter of seconds (need a drainage system or irrigation for your botanical gardens, or a cathedral roof painted within a week? They're your guys).

Take the pirate background, so you can punch people and break stuff without problems, or a sailor background for any maritime stuff, but also so that you've travelled heaps and seen and know a lot too. Helps tremendously with wildshape knowledge as well. It's amazing what can be backstoried in as a pirate. Maybe you were a privateer for the city-state, so are already well-liked by at least some factions. Backstory it in 😎.

[(Un)Inspired]

Gotta do a Swarmkeeper Ranger. Make a Fagin style character with a swarm of Oliver Twists.

[JonBeowulf]

Me? I'd play a (v)human Battlemaster Fighter and let everyone else do the talking while I did the killing or a (v)human Conquest/Devotion/Vengeance Paladin and do both the talking and the killing.

Then again, "Paladin" and "BM Fighter" are pretty much my answers to everything. I find them cathartic.

[Wasp]

Wow, many interesting and diverse ideas! Thanks a lot! I can definitely see myself playing something with subtle metamagic and the mask of many faces for a sneaky magical con man of sorts...


Not a house rule, but an optional rule. The stupidly-named but well thought out "Gritty Realism" rule found in the DMG.

In a game with lots of intrigue and investigation, it's very very difficult to cram 8 encounters in a single day. It's far easier to place a good number of encounters over the course of some time and allow players to have the necessary downtime to Long Rest over a week.
Good point, I think "Gritty Realism" might be must in such a setting where you don't do a lot of dungeoneering... Thanks!

[EggKookoo]

I'm running a mostly urban campaign. It works well.

I recommend Outclassed (https://www.dmsguild.com/product/302037/OUTCLASSED-The-NPC-Statblock-Compendium) if you're looking for good PC-like enemies.

[KorvinStarmast]

Warlock w/ mask of many faces. Always disguised, high CHA. Maybe a rogue MC for expertise etc to really lean into the ability to impersonate anyone. Both are choices that came to mind, and I think Swashbuckler might be a surprisingly effective pick here since the ability to get someone off to the side might be good. My current warlock has MoMF and changes her disguise as the situation warrants. We have been in a lot of towns and she's looked different in each one.

Oh, any bard.
And a monk. So the party is:
Warlock, Rogue, Bard, Monk.

Others have mentioned this in part, but I'd play a Genie warlock with Pact of the Chain for an imp familiar and the MoMF invocation. Like it.

Me? I'd play a (v)human Battlemaster Fighter and let everyone else do the talking while I did the killing or a (v)human Conquest/Devotion/Vengeance Paladin and do both the talking and the killing.

Then again, "Paladin" and "BM Fighter" are pretty much my answers to everything. I find them cathartic. Heh, add the vengeance paladin to the above party and you've got a lovely part of five. :smallsmile:

[Pildion]

I think this campaign would be great for a Half Elf HexBlade2\Swashbuckler18

grab Mask of Many Faces and Beguiling Influence. You'd be SAD with CHA as your main stat and can even put Expertise in Persuasion\Deception.

[nickl_2000]

Currently playing a campaign with mostly humanoid foes in an urban setting. I'm playing an Arcane Trickster 8/ War Wizard 5 and he is terrific. He frequently upcasts hold person, his thieving skills are extremely useful in an urban setting, and the urchin background comes in handy (and is fun when another PC, who also has the urchin background, and him argue about the best ways to get from one place to another during the time of day).

He can deal solid damage with GFB/Sneak attack, he is an effective support character in spells for the Paladin, he rarely fails saves due the arcane deflection and the paladin, and he is a crazy skill monkey.

[MoiMagnus]

Bonus questions: Any house rules you would want to use for such a campaign?

Not that much a rule and more a question to the GM:
A lot high level creatures get immunity to charm/fear/etc. Will high level NPCs of this campaign also get similar immunities despite being humanoids?

[f5anor]

Hi everyone

if you knew you were about to play a tier 1 and 2 campaign in a Venice inspired City State with lots of intrigue and investigation where encounters will be mainly with humanoid factions ... - what would you play?

Sorcerer with subtle spell metamagic.

[ScoutTrooper]

Kenku, Barbarian; Path of Wild Magic

[Psyren]

A grappler would be great here since you're unlikely to run into Large enemies and Huge+ would be pretty nonexistent.

As someone else noted, poison would suck a lot less too.