Thirteen combinations

[Tanarii]

There are:
Thirteen PHB race or sub race, not counting Drow
Thirteen PHB background
Thirteen PHB classes, if you count Str Fighter and Dex Fighter as two.

That's 2197 total combinations. Combine them into Thirteen characters with one of each race, class and background. Think of them as a small adventurers guild of characters. Let's see what you think would be fun!

The "classic stereotypes" list would probably look something like:

Mtn Dwarf Guild Artisan Str-Fighter
Hill Dwarf Acolyte Cleric
High Elf Noble Dex-Fighter (EK)
Wood Elf Outlander Ranger
Human Hermit Druid
Lightfoot Sailor Sorcerer
Stout Folk Hero Monk
Dragonborn Soldier Paladin
Forest Gnome Entertainer Rogue (AT)
Rock Gnome Sage Wizard (Illusionist)
Half-elf Charlatan Bard
Half-Orc Urchin Barbarian
Tiefling Criminal Warlock

[HidesHisEyes]

Funnily enough I have made pregens a bit like this of level 3 versions of every class, with each pregen tied to a mini I own, so if I have people around to play a one-shot who are new to D&D I can present them with the minis and say “choose your hero!” Like they’re playing Goldenaxe or something.

[False God]

I feel like this demands a random character generator program for ease of quick pregen or NPC generation.

[Amechra]

So, replacing one of the Gnomes with Drow (because any opportunity you have to reduce the presence of Gnomes in your setting should be taken) and feeding the lists into Random.org...


Wood Elf Sorcerer (Entertainer)
Mountain Dwarf Druid (Folk Hero)
Tiefling Wizard (Acolyte)
Drow Elf Cleric (Urchin)
Half-Orc Str-Fighter (Sailor)
Lightfoot Halfling Rogue (Guild Artisan)
Dragonborn Paladin (Hermit)
Human Bard (Sage)
Half-Elf Dex-Fighter (Outlander)
High Elf Monk (Criminal)
Hill Dwarf Ranger (Charlatan)
Gnome Warlock (Soldier)
Stout Halfling Barbarian (Noble)


I find it really amusing that some of the results are very generic, while some of them are... odd. I like to think that the Tiefling and the Drow were raised/trained at the same temple.

[KorvinStarmast]

That's 2197 combinations.
You overdid the gnomes. :smalltongue: That's an interesting bit of analysis.

[Millstone85]

not counting Drow
reduce the presence of GnomesOh, is that how it is?

Then I am removing the bootleg hobbits and oversized kobolds to bring in the rest of the mates from the land down under (who already had sidebars, though no stats yet).

And after the classics and the randomized, lets try purposely odd combos.


Mountain Dwarf Druid (Charlatan) who loved trees and kept finding excuses to leave the mines.
Hill Dwarf Warlock (Sage) who left a hard-working community in search of wisdom to throw away.
Gray Dwarf Dex-Fighter (Hermit) who would seek isolation in the most complicated places, in vain.
High Elf Sorcerer (Outlander) who had the wrong kind of magic and was exiled for it.
Wood Elf Rogue (Soldier) who somehow became a noir detective of the woods.
Dark Elf Cleric (Criminal) who insists that made sense for a male in Menzoberranzan.
Human Bard (Folk Hero) who is disappointed there isn't a way for a human combo to stand out.
Forest Gnome Str-Fighter (Urchin) who got lost outside the forest and had to build muscle
Rock Gnome Barbarian (Entertainer) who kept losing his calm when tinkering, then playing it off.
Deep Gnome Monk (Noble) who personally punched everything he couldn't outlaw, like bugs.
Half-Elf Ranger (Acolyte) whose dream is to be turned by Corellon into a real elf.
Half-Orc Wizard (Guild Artisan) who purposely defied expectations for a half-orc and a merchant.
Tiefling Paladin (Sailor) who tries to right wrongs in every seaport despite not looking the part.

[Tanarii]

(because any opportunity you have to reduce the presence of Gnomes in your setting should be taken)


You overdid the gnomes. :smalltongue: That's an interesting bit of analysis.

5e gnomes are awesome and you guys are just heathens.

Clearly all right minded DMs should get rid of 5e halflings and substitute gnomes as the only sane alternative.

Of course, halflings might be acceptable if it wasn't for the art :smallyuk:

That said, notice I still left them in my list. Because I'm broad minded enough to accept some folks might actually want to play them. I'll just judge them for it. :smallamused:



And after the classics and the randomized, lets try purposely odd combos.

Very nice, exactly the kind of fun I was hoping for. :smallbiggrin:


Human Bard (Folk Hero) who is disappointed there isn't a way for a human combo to stand out.Hahaha generic Jack of all trades hero of destiny I love it.
I'm thinking standard human with 5 14s and an 11 for scores.

[TyGuy]

You're really going to do the ten dragonborn lineages dirty like that?

[Ortho]

Well, that was a fun little ten-minute coding project.


And by that I mean ten minutes of coding and half an hour of debugging.


#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <random>
using namespace std;

string getClass() {
string dnd_class[13] = {
"Bard",
"Barbarian",
"Cleric",
"Druid",
"STR Fighter",
"DEX Fighter",
"Monk",
"Paladin",
"Rogue",
"Ranger",
"Sorcerer",
"Warlock",
"Wizard" };

return dnd_class[rand() % 13];;
}

string getRace() {
string dnd_race[13] = {
"Dragonborn",
"Hill Dwarf",
"Mountain Dwarf",
"High Elf",
"Wood Elf",
"Forest Gnome",
"Rock Gnome",
"Half-Elf",
"Half-Orc",
"Human",
"Lightfoot Halfling",
"Stout Halfling",
"Tiefling"
};

return dnd_race[rand() % 13];
}

string getBackground() {
string dnd_background[13] = {
"Acolyte",
"Charlatan",
"Criminal",
"Entertainer",
"Folk Hero",
"Hermit",
"Guild Artisan",
"Noble",
"Outlander",
"Sage",
"Sailor",
"Soldier",
"Urchin"
};

return dnd_background[rand() % 13];
}


int main()
{
srand(time(NULL));
bool done = false;
bool valid_input = true;
char user_input;

do {
cout << "Your characters are:\n\n";
for (int i = 0; i < 13; ++i) {
cout << getRace() << " " << getClass() << " (" << getBackground() << ")\n\n";
}

do {
cout << "Reroll characters? (y/n)\n";
cin >> user_input;

if (user_input == 'n' || user_input == 'N') {
done = true;
valid_input = true;
} else if (user_input == 'y' || user_input == 'Y') {
done = false;
valid_input = true;
} else {
cout << "Invalid input. ";
done = false;
valid_input = false;
}
} while (!valid_input);

} while (!done);
}
Here's what I rolled:

Wood Elf Ranger (Guild Artisan)
Rock Gnome Barbarian (Noble)
Wood Elf Druid (Acolyte)
Dragonborn Dex Fighter (Criminal)
Hill Dwarf Dex Fighter (Folk Hero)
Human Ranger (Guild Artisan)
Dragonborn Cleric (Sailor)
Mountain Dwarf Barbarian (Hermit)
Wood Elf Wizard (Acolyte)
Mountain Dwarf Druid (Acolyte)
Rock Gnome Warlock (Entertainer)
Half-Elf Monk (Noble)
Rock Gnome Wizard (Entertainer)

[Tanarii]

Oh I meant one of each race, class and background. I'll edit to make that clearer.

[animorte]

So, replacing one of the Gnomes with Drow (because any opportunity you have to reduce the presence of Gnomes in your setting should be taken) and feeding the lists into Random.org...

My wife has taken this concept to the opposite, absolute extreme. She plays a Gnome almost every chance she gets and all their names start with the letter R, all of them hail from the very same R clan. The stories are entertaining indeed.

[Psyren]

Well, that was a fun little ten-minute coding project.

*snip*

Here's what I rolled:

Wood Elf Ranger (Guild Artisan)
Rock Gnome Barbarian (Noble)
Wood Elf Druid (Acolyte)
Dragonborn Dex Fighter (Criminal)
Hill Dwarf Dex Fighter (Folk Hero)
Human Ranger (Guild Artisan)
Dragonborn Cleric (Sailor)
Mountain Dwarf Barbarian (Hermit)
Wood Elf Wizard (Acolyte)
Mountain Dwarf Druid (Acolyte)
Rock Gnome Warlock (Entertainer)
Half-Elf Monk (Noble)
Rock Gnome Wizard (Entertainer)

Isn't the goal to make each factor unique, i.e. show up only once? i.e. you can only have one Entertainer, one Guild Artisan, and you need an Outlander and Sage etc.



The "classic stereotypes" list would probably look something like:

Mtn Dwarf Guild Artisan Str-Fighter
Hill Dwarf Acolyte Cleric
High Elf Noble Dex-Fighter (EK)
Wood Elf Outlander Ranger
Forest Gnome Hermit Druid
Human Charlatan Sorcerer
Stout Folk Hero Monk
Dragonborn Soldier Paladin
Lightfoot Sailor Rogue (AT)
Rock Gnome Sage Wizard (Illusionist)
Half-elf Entertainer Bard
Half-Orc Urchin Barbarian
Tiefling Criminal Warlock

I agree with most of yours but made a few swaps above that I feel would be more stereotypical archetypical.

[TyGuy]

Dragon Pirate Dragonborn barbarian pirate.
Lordly Outcast Tiefling strength fighter noble.
Private Investigator Forest gnome rogue spy.
Arcane Addict High elf warlock charlatan.
Hunter of the Dark Wood elf paladin outlander
One-man-circus Lightfoot halfling druid entertainer
Magic Thief Half-elf wizard urchin
Disciple of the Fist Stout halfling monk acolyte
Tavern Keeper Mountain dwarf bard guild merchant
Battle Healer for Hire Half-orc cleric soldier
Philosopher Warrior Human dexterity fighter sage
Wanderlust Adventurer Rock gnome ranger folk hero
Repentant Self-exiled Hill dwarf sorcerer hermit

[theNater]

Half-Orc Barbarian (Entertainer) who plays into the stereotypes to lull foes into a false sense of security.
High Elf Bard (Sage) who is learning bardic technique from books.
Half-Elf Cleric (Acolyte) who was a foundling at the temple of the trickster god, and has taken to deception like a duck to water.
Dragonborn Druid (Urchin) who is a blatant excuse to have a character that is a fire-breathing cat.
Human Str Fighter (Folk Hero) who journeys to fulfill the prophecy, and also figure out why oracles keep misspeaking it; "you will not overthrow the dark lord" can't be right.
Stout Halfling Dex Fighter (Noble) who is trying to adapt formal dueling training to adventuring combat, with mixed results.
Rock Gnome Monk (Outlander) who has forsaken all technological devices, or will after finishing this one...and that one...and maybe one more?
Forest Gnome Paladin (Charlatan) who defends the forests from all those who can't take a little joke.
Tiefling Ranger (Sailor) who is studying the ways of sea monsters to better defend ships.
Hill Dwarf Rogue (Hermit) whose deal I haven't worked out yet and would appreciate suggestions for.
Wood Elf Sorcerer (Soldier) whose powers manifested for the first time in spectacular fashion while scouting deep behind enemy lines.
Mountain Dwarf Warlock (Guild Artisan-Miner) who dug too greedily and too deep, and made a bargain with the power found there.
Lightfoot Halfling Wizard (Criminal) who turned to crime as a way of acquiring research materials and spell components.

[Tanarii]

Lordly Outcast Tiefling strength fighter noble.I'd definitely make this one an EK.

One-man-circus Lightfoot halfling druid entertainerAwesome!

Disciple of the Fist Stout halfling monk acolyteEver since I played neverwinter nights, when I think of halflings one of two things I think of is a monk, due to the Hin Fist. The other is gypsy caravaners or barge folk. From Mystara, the Irendi and Hollow World pirates. So for 5e, I mentally default to Stout monks and Lightfoot Sailors (river or ocean). Of course, from Dungeonomics I also get the wonderful idea of halflings as Vikings.


Dragonborn Druid (Urchin) who is a blatant excuse to have a character that is a fire-breathing cat.Does that work?

Human Str Fighter (Folk Hero) who journeys to fulfill the prophecy, and also figure out why oracles keep misspeaking it; "you will not overthrow the dark lord" can't be right.Nice way to make a straightforward combo very interesting.

Rock Gnome Monk (Outlander) who has forsaken all technological devices, or will after finishing this one...and that one...and maybe one more?
Forest Gnome Paladin (Charlatan) who defends the forests from all those who can't take a little joke.Definitely a gnomish twist on these. :smallamused:

Hill Dwarf Rogue (Hermit) whose deal I haven't worked out yet and would appreciate suggestions for.Simple version is entering a Life of Seclusion for a crime that they definitely didn't commit. A more interesting one would be a cloistered community of dwarven assassins.

[KorvinStarmast]

Clearly all right minded DMs should get rid of 5e halflings and substitute gnomes as the only sane alternative. If you throw out kender, kobold, and goblin also, I'll put up with gnomes, but only because my brother likes them.

[theNater]

Does that work?
I'm pretty sure it does. The relevant rules text is that characters in Wild Shape retain racial features "and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so". Dragon's Breath certainly doesn't require spellcasting, speech, or hands, which are explicitly not available in cat form.


Simple version is entering a Life of Seclusion for a crime that they definitely didn't commit. A more interesting one would be a cloistered community of dwarven assassins.
These are solid suggestions, and have clarified for me why I'm having trouble. I've just realized I don't want rogue to imply criminal. So I got to thinking about why those skills would be relevant in a non-criminal setting, preferably a hermity one, and here's what I've come up with:

Our hero's home village is a small, pastoral community on the edge of what used to be the territory of a major city-state. The central city was abandoned some millennia ago, due to a calamity they brought upon themselves. The specifics vary from telling to telling, but the stories are always a cautionary tale. The village encourages dwarves to go on a short(3-4 day) pilgrimage to the ruins of the city so they will know what decadence/hubris/whatever general wickedness the city is being used as an example of this year looks like, that they may better avoid it. They tend to go singly or in small groups, and barring the occasional wild animal it's not too dangerous. Our hero decided to go singly, and found the place fascinating. So he decided to just live there, studying the ruins. He spends his days examining the mechanisms left behind, avoiding other pilgrims, climbing through the buildings, and and ambushing the occasional edible animal. But just recently, he's discovered something about the downfall of the city that points towards an ongoing problem. It's definitely a problem bigger than he can fix alone, and he can't get support from his village because his discovery contradicts what they think they know about the city. Thus he must travel the wider world, looking for someone will understand the issue and be willing and able to help.

[Tanarii]

These are solid suggestions, and have clarified for me why I'm having trouble. I've just realized I don't want rogue to imply criminal. So I got to thinking about why those skills would be relevant in a non-criminal setting, preferably a hermity one, and here's what I've come up with:
Ah. Well in that case, when I'm going for that with Hermit, I usually focus on the religious studies aspect, as someone who worked for or was part of a small spiritual-oriented community seperate from society, possibly even just one with very tall walls you didn't go outside. Hermit doesn't necessitate alone.

I'll note that was an aspect of my suggestion about assassins btw, I was thinking of a mountain top based religious order of assassins. But maybe they were an internal investigator/enforcer for a spiritual retreat. Or just someone that had both duties as a scout/guard and as a student.

Your idea is interesting, but it does sound like worth considering asking the DM to swap Religion for History.

[narrator667]

High Elf Trickster Cleric (Sage)
Mountain Dwarf Champion Fighter (Criminal)
Rock Gnome Wild Sorcerer (Criminal)

Interesting trio. I pretty rarely see a High Elf really play into their snootiness. Both Cleric and Sage are a weirdly rare sight, but Trickster Domain brings it kinda closer to home for some reason. The Dwarf reminds me of the Dragon Age start, but I think if most people made a Mafia Dwarf they'd rather make them a Rogue. The Wild Sorc Gnome reminds me of the time a friend of mine played a Rock Gnome Wild Sorc, but swapped out Criminal for Charlatan and gave her gnome some Fire Genasi blood.

Half-Orc Lore Bard (Entertainer)
Human Fiend Warlock (Charlatan)

I've seen these two exactly a few times before. Half-Orc Bards are by and large good stock, some of the most fun new players.

Forest Gnome Nature Cleric (Knight)

This is one of the stranger ones. Makes sense, but I can't see too many people skimming the PHB and picking these out. I can see using an Oath of the Ancients fluff as Holy Site Protector. But I think I see this background tossed around more on forums than I've ever seen anyone actually talk about a player doing it

Half-Elf Wild Sorcerer (Guild Artisan)
Mountain Dwarf Vengence Paladin (Spy)

Spy is a little used Background isn't it? Interesting background for a Vengence Paladin. I see Wild Sorc Half-Elves a lot but I've never seen one hold down a job.
Human Champion Fighter (Folk Hero)

Lol

Half-Elf Fiend Warlock (Sage)
Tiefling Totem Barbarian (Guild Merchant)
Half-Elf Arcane Trickster Rogue (Entertainer)
Lightfoot Halfling Beastmaster Ranger (Gladiator)

I actually played something very close to the last one. Halfling Beastmaster was one of my first character ideas. I just liked the idea of a Halfling riding a Medium sized creature. I think I had a big pig. The Tiefling Totemist is interesting. My gut reaction is some kind of Cursed dying lands Raider who got a job as a Camp Caravan Guard, guiding explorers through the cursed lands for a price.

Interesting to take a look at it like this. I'm seeing a lot of character ideas that are recognizable but a notch from exact. A lot of Human, Near Human, or Elf Cha-Casters with Scholarly or Criminal adjacent backgrounds. But then you toss a wrench in there with something like Guild Artisan or make them a Dwarf.

[da newt]

My the thirteens abound - perhaps the Satanic Panic was linked to a kernel of truth ... tread lightly with this exercise or you may draw their fiendish ire.

[Arkhios]

This is purely for shiggles, as the least likely combinations I could come up with (obviously using racial traits and ability scores precisely as they are written in PHB).


Lightfoot Barbarian (spy)
Hill dwarf bard (soldier)
Rock gnome ranger (gladiator)
Tiefling paladin (sage)
Half-orc wizard (knight)
half-elf artificer (outlander)
Dragonborn monk (guild merchant)
Wood elf warlock (acolyte)
Forest gnome cleric (folk hero)
Human sorcerer (soldier)
Stout fighter (hermit)
High elf druid (urchin)
Mountain dwarf rogue (sailor)

[Tanarii]

This is purely for shiggles,
It worked, I shiggled at a lot of them :smallamused:

One thing that jumped out at me is there isn't a bad class for Mountain Dwarf. Druid are probably the closest, but even then they can technically benefit from Str, at least in Tier 1 or with the right magic weapon in Tier 2.

[Blackdrop]

Ooooh, this is similar to a thought experiment I did to help flesh out my world-building! Lets see if I can remember some of my combinations:


Half-Orc Pirate Berserker
Hill Dwarf Soldier College of Valor Bard
Tiefling Entertainer Cleric of Light, Devotee of Corelleon
Forest Gnome Hermit Circle of Land Druid
Lightfoot Halfling Charlatan Champion Dexterity Fighter
Half-Elf Knight Battlemaster S Fighter
Wood Elf Spy Way of Shadow Monk
High Elf Folk Hero Oath of Ancients Paladin
Stout Halfling Outlander Beastmaster
Rock Gnome Sage Thief
Dragonborn Acolyte Dragonblood Sorcerer, Devotee of Tiamat
Human Urchin Fey-Pact Warlock (Pact of Tome)
Mountain Dwarf Guild Artisan (Mason) Transmuter

[Witty Username]

I this reminds me of my Human Monk Outlander that I used for our learn 5e game. I basically played them like a mix of Yajirobi and Yamcha from DragonBall.

Acolyte dragonborn warlock is a neat one, a buddy is doing that in a game I am running. Something of a cult face type.

[Devils_Advocate]

Thirteen PHB classes, if you count Str Fighter and Dex Fighter as two.
One could argue for a division between heavy armor and medium armor Clerics instead, since heavy armor proficiency is an actual subclass feature for them, but I get that there's more of a functional difference between HA+Str and MA+Dex for Fighters. (There's also Divine Strike vs. Potent Spellcasting, but that's not until level 8...)


The "classic stereotypes" list would probably look something like:

I agree with most of yours but made a few swaps above that I feel would be more stereotypical archetypical.
I'd say...

Tiefling Charlatan Fiend Warlock
Lightfoot Halfling Urchin Wild Mage Sorcerer
Wood Elf Outlander Hunter Ranger
Half-Elf Entertainer Lore Bard
Silver Dragonborn Knight (Noble) Devotion Paladin
Mountain Dwarf Guild Artisan Champion Fighter
Forest Gnome Sage Illusionist Wizard
Hill Dwarf Acolyte Life Cleric
High Elf Soldier Eldritch Knight
Human Folk Hero Moon Druid
Half-Orc Pirate (Sailor) Berzerker Barbarian
Rock Gnome Criminal Thief Rogue
Stout Halfling Hermit Open Hand Monk

... within the stated constraints.

Tiefling Charlatan Fiend Warlock
Rock Gnome Guild Artisan Alchemist Artificer
Human Urchin Wild Mage Sorcerer
Wood Elf Outlander Hunter Ranger
Half-Elf Entertainer Lore Bard
Lightfoot Halfling Criminal Thief Rogue
Silver Dragonborn Knight Devotion Paladin
Dark Elf Noble Aassassin Rogue
Hill Dwarf Guild Merchant Forge Cleric
Mountain Dwarf Soldier Champion Fighter
Forest Gnome Spy Illusionist Wizard
Human Acolyte Life Cleric
Stout Halfling Hermit Open Hand Monk
High Elf Sailor Eldritch Knight
Blue Dragonborn Pirate Draconic Sorcerer
Half-Orc Gladiator Berzerker Barbarian
Human Folk Hero Moon Druid
Human Sage Diviner Wizard


I'm pretty sure it does. The relevant rules text is that characters in Wild Shape retain racial features "and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so". Dragon's Breath certainly doesn't require spellcasting, speech, or hands, which are explicitly not available in cat form.
I'm pretty sure that cats aren't physically capable of breathing fire. You could argue that dragonborn can use their breath weapons purely because of their knowledge of secret magical techniques or something, but I feel confident that the commonly assumed default explanation is that this capability is a product of their physiology.


These are solid suggestions, and have clarified for me why I'm having trouble. I've just realized I don't want rogue to imply criminal.
That's always at least a little tricky, since thieves' cant and thieves' tools pretty strongly suggest a larcenous background (or they wouldn't be called that). What with Class and Background being different things, one would think that they'd try to keep the concepts of Backgrounds, like Criminal, out of Class features, but apparently not so much?

Probably the easiest other explanation for familiarity with illicit stuff is work in investigation. The Inquisitive subclass most obviously lends itself to this.


Both Cleric and Sage are a weirdly rare sight, but Trickster Domain brings it kinda closer to home for some reason.
I suppose so, although Knowledge is the most obvious domain for a Sage Cleric, and Trickery for Charlatan.


One thing that jumped out at me is there isn't a bad class for Mountain Dwarf. Druid are probably the closest, but even then they can technically benefit from Str, at least in Tier 1 or with the right magic weapon in Tier 2.
A character of any class "can technically benefit" from any ability score. The question is how much. Dwarven mountain druid is a reasonably obvious character concept, but a hill dwarf is better for it. Even when it comes to walloping foes in melee outside of wildshape (see shillelagh), not that that's a major area of concern for a druid's effectiveness unless you're taking a pretty weird approach.

[Tanarii]

Lightfoot Halfling Urchin Wild Mage Sorcerer
Half-Orc Pirate (Sailor) Berzerker Barbarian
Great list. But I'd probably switch the Lightfoot to Sailor (or even Pirate) and the Half-Orc to Urchin. The latter because it fits very well for PHB half-orcs. The former mostly.because I'm used to Mystara, where halflings are accomplished sailors and even pirates. :smallamused: But also because Lightfoot are famously wagon/barge folk.

Also the difference between our gnomes made me realize I see Forest Gnomes as more tricksters and rock gnomes as more studious. So I flipped the Wizard/Rogue compared to your list.