Level 7 5e Character Help

[newbi]

Hi! I'm still a newbie when it comes to character creation but my friend will be running a one shot D&D campaign this end of December. I usually ask him for help in creating characters but since he's the DM, he won't be helping as much in character creation.

We rolled for my stats in DC and I got the following:
6 15 15 11 15 13

I'd just to ask for help, what class or race is good for those kind of stats. We also need to pick a feat.

Thank you in advance!

[animorte]

As with any of these things, do you know anything about the campaign, the other player’s characters, what source books are available, or what particular style of play you prefer?

That’s a solid stat spread and you could definitely do just about whatever you want.

[newbi]

As with any of these things, do you know anything about the campaign, the other player’s characters, what source books are available, or what particular style of play you prefer?

That’s a solid stat spread and you could definitely do just about whatever you want.

Hi animorte! All i know so far is that there's gonna be a boat, we would be starting there and we are going towards an island. There is a water genasi druid already.

I like being away or in the back when there is a encounter. I usually play ranger in the campaigns I tried.

DM said any sources as long as in dndwiki.

[Anymage]

What kind of characters do you like playing in other games? And do you know anything about who all else will be playing? I can tell you right now that trying to play a team game by having everyone show up with disconnected characters is going to be making it harder on everyone than it needs to be.

This (https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/basic-rules) doesn't have rules for feats and it's behind the time on a lot of things (D&D is currently prototyping some pretty major changes), but it's decent and it's free and it's a good way to get your feet wet. Details beyond that, D&D can't really be distilled down to one meta build.

[animorte]

You could go with an aquatic themed Warlock in Fathomless patron. Definitely take Repelling Blast invocation to keep baddies away from you and if everything absolutely goes south, Tomb of Levistus invocation can be extremely useful (though maybe not often enough to warrant that invocation slot, admittedly).

Or you could do Genie Warlock and go with Marid for more water theme. (GenieLock OP)

I just love Warlocks. You really don’t need to go Warlock or an aquatic theme though. Your information just sparked those ideas off the top of my head immediately.

Another Warlock trick I absolutely love is having Pact of the Chain and casting hex on your familiar (Imp, probably) for a free all-day misty step through the Relentless Hex invocation.

[Xihirli]

When I see five odd stats I think it’s time to make a human character. When I see 3 15s I think it’s time to make a human monk or barbarian.

[animorte]

When I see five odd stats I think it’s time to make a human character. When I see 3 15s I think it’s time to make a human monk or barbarian.

Monk was one of my first thoughts as well. A lot of fun to be had there as well.

[Skrum]

I would recommend paladin. They are a very good, well-rounded class that'll give you a good intro to melee combat, spells, and a nice selection of other resources to manage. But, the key part is they are good enough you don't really need to be using any of these anywhere near optimally to still be a force.

With so many odd stats, human would be a solid pick. Put your 15's in str, con, and cha, each of them goes to 16 with racial modifiers, and you have an excellent base for a paladin. For an oath, vengeance is generally considered the strongest, but you're a paladin...there are no bad options. Vengeance is fun, but I'm also a fan of oath of glory. Peerless athlete gives you a nice grappling option if the situation calls for it.

For a feat, take an ASI and bump strength to 18. This is the most straight-forward option, and considering you're new, is optimal (it's close to the optimal choice for anyone TBH). Something like polearm master might be technically better for damage per round, but 1) you're going to have plenty of other things to manage, and 2) it locks you into certain weapons, which can be annoying.

[animorte]

With that stat spread, again there’s a lot you can do, especially based on other recommendations of Monk of Paladin,

You did mention preferring distance, but those stats might give you the opportunity to step in the front line and get more experience with that, if you’re willing (as others are mentioning).

If uncomfortable with that, we’ll work on providing more in-depth ranged options, if you’d prefer.

[newbi]

What kind of characters do you like playing in other games? And do you know anything about who all else will be playing? I can tell you right now that trying to play a team game by having everyone show up with disconnected characters is going to be making it harder on everyone than it needs to be.

This doesn't have rules for feats and it's behind the time on a lot of things (D&D is currently prototyping some pretty major changes), but it's decent and it's free and it's a good way to get your feet wet. Details beyond that, D&D can't really be distilled down to one meta build.

I know most of the other players. But I haven't asked them what class and race they are creating. Only one, water genasi druid.

Thank you for the link! Will ready it thoroughly. This will help, I usually just use the 5e app and just pick what sounds good.

[Frogreaver]

Level 7 is a fun place to start. You are far enough in that you can start multiclassing without having a bumpy road. Alternatively, it's also a great place for any full caster.

Fighter 5 / Warlock 2 - very strong melee warrior, with eb for ranged backup
Barbarian 2 / Rogue 5 - amazing battlefield mobility and tankiness with strong OA's if you pick swashbuckler. Also good for skills.

Warlock (Hexblade) 7 - summon fey is amazing at this level. Couple that with EB and you are a combat powerhouse. Also having short rest refresh slots means you can do cool stuff out of combat and typically have your slots back by combat time. Warlocks also have strong control spells.

Just some initial thoughts. There's alot of good stuff at level 7.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

As per the other posters level 7 is pretty solid for all classes, with the provision that martials at least have some sort of a magical weapon. Without that you might find yourself doing 1/2 damage with some regularity. If you are considering a Ranger I'd at least check in with the DM on that point. Also, a lot of common multiclasses are online at this point as 6/1 and 5/2 splits are available.
If I was in a boat, particularly one on a large bit of water, I'd be looking for something with either light or no armor. Getting dragged overboard, sinking, and drowning doesn't really seem like a good way to go if it's preventable.

So yeah, other than the heavily armored sinker with no magic weapon, play what you want.

[Unoriginal]

Hi animorte! All i know so far is that there's gonna be a boat, we would be starting there and we are going towards an island. There is a water genasi druid already.

I like being away or in the back when there is a encounter. I usually play ranger in the campaigns I tried.

DM said any sources as long as in dndwiki.

Human 4 Elements Monk can be pretty great for a campaign with boat stuff, with those stats.

[CTurbo]

With those stats, and knowing you're going to be playing in and around water, I'd make a Triton Paladin which comes with a +1 to Str, Con, and Cha and can breathe underwater.

There is no heavy armor swim penalty and Tritons play just fine on land too so no drawbacks there.

Just pick which Paladin Oath you like best. It's hard to go wrong.


Another completely different idea is a Envoy Warforged Forge Cleric. Warforged don't need to breath so being underwater would be no issue, and Forge Clerics are great. Envoys get +1 to Con and any 2 other stats so you'd choose Str and Wis and start with 16 in all 3. You'd choose Smith's tools to be a part of you.


So yeah it may be kind of meta, but if I know I'm going to be playing a campaign that heavily involves water, a race I wouldn't have to worry about drowning would be high on my list.

[newbi]

You could go with an aquatic themed Warlock in Fathomless patron. Definitely take Repelling Blast invocation to keep baddies away from you and if everything absolutely goes south, Tomb of Levistus invocation can be extremely useful (though maybe not often enough to warrant that invocation slot, admittedly).

Or you could do Genie Warlock and go with Marid for more water theme. (GenieLock OP)

I just love Warlocks. You really don’t need to go Warlock or an aquatic theme though. Your information just sparked those ideas off the top of my head immediately.

Another Warlock trick I absolutely love is having Pact of the Chain and casting hex on your familiar (Imp, probably) for a free all-day misty step through the Relentless Hex invocation.

I'll look this up! Thank you for your suggestion! I haven't tried a char with a class of warlock before.

[Reach Weapon]

All i know so far is that there's gonna be a boat, we would be starting there and we are going towards an island. [...] I like being away or in the back when there is a encounter. I usually play ranger in the campaigns I tried.

We also need to pick a feat.

I can't help reading that and thinking that you're all but getting a gilded invitation to just take what you know about playing a Ranger, mustering a little confidence and build one yourself. Deft Explorer Roving makes a lot of boat/island stuff easier, especially coupled with a race that breathes water or doesn't need to breathe.

I might recommend a Reborn, as a solid, but less obvious choice for that.

On the other end of the spectrum, I could see using the (presumably extra) feat for Fighting Initiate (Mariner) to climb and swim, and going full-speed Monk towards the front. (This might be especially good if the DM is shipwrecking away your gear.)

Between these two poles (Ranger and Monk), I could see multi-classing the two, and/or trying the no spells variant Ranger.

[LostBenefit]

With those ability scores and your penchance for ranged combat, I suggest a Variant Human Battlemaster Fighter wielding a hand crossbow with the following score distribution, maneuvers, and ASI/feat(s):

Variant Human
Sailor Background

STR 11
DEX 15 + 1 Racial
CON 15 + 1 Racial
INT 6/13
WIS 15 (+ 1 Resilient: Wisdom)
CHA 6/13

1st Level ASI/Feat: Crossbow Expert
4th Level ASI/Feat: +2 Dexterity
6th Level ASI/Feat: Sharpshooter/+2 Dexterity
Resilient: Wisdom

Trip Attack
Goading Attack/Menacing Strike
+1 Maneuver of your choice