Favorite Subclass for the Long Haul?

[Yakmala]

Having just wrapped up a year and a half long campaign, our DM is starting things fresh, with all of us making new Level 1's with the hope of going all the way to 20. We've got a pretty dedicated group so there's a very good chance the campaign lasts all the way to 20.

I'm trying to decide which subclass to play this time around. I'm not really opposed to any ideas. I've played my share of tanks, DPS, healers, buffers, controllers, skill monkeys etc, but I do want to set the following two criteria:

1: Single class all the way. I know there's a nearly endless variety of multi-class shenanigans to be had, but I want to build their story and background around a core subclass.

2: Fun at every stage of growth. OK, they don't have to be amazing at Level 1, but they should be fun at every tier of play, with new features, spells or abilities coming on line at a regular basis. You should be having fun with what you currently are, but be eagerly anticipating what's coming just a level or two away.

Given those two criteria, what would be your choice to play? I should note that this is homebrew, not AL, so UA is allowed, as long as it's not some broken UA that was axed with good reason.

[J-H]

Artificer always has something going on, getting even harder to kill at higher levels. For fun factor, I think Iron Man Armorer is the way to go. It doesn't have the most damage, but doing a Tony Stark Briefcase when you're attacked at night is pretty sweet.

Barbarian Zealot is pretty good (damage, radiant) and gets even better at level 14 when the list of things that can kill you shrinks down to a short-list of about 10 spells. It's a bit one-note, but if you want to be an unkillable death-dealer, it's a very solid choice.

Monk is pretty good. I like Shadow Monk as a subclass because you get some crowd/vision control abilities, and can blip all over the map in dark environments. Mobility is enjoyable. If you play theater of the mind, this probably isn't as good. At 18th level you can become as tanky as a barbarian, plus invisible, for a minute for 4 ki points.

Paladin is always good. You can get a flying mount from your spells at mid levels, and Circle of Power and a +15 CON save is a very solid "carry the entire party" aura at high levels.

Warlock has a lot of good single class options, although the capstone isn't that great.

I haven't seen or tried out Rune Knight or Psi Warrior for Fighter, but they both look good. I favor Samurai, as you can self-buff, get extra attacks, get an extra save and skill proficiency, and it stays good at level 18, as when you're reduced to 0 you can take an entire turn, including using Action Surge and Second Wind to self-heal and make a bunch of attacks. Samurai goes well with archery if you pick up Elven Accuracy, as well.

Cleric depends on how you play it. High level spell selection is kind of "meh" but things like Gate do solve problems for the party if you like that.
High level druid switches from "nature means plants and animals" to "nature means AOE weather and damage" and I find it meh.
Sorc and wizard, do it if you like it. Abjurer is a fun subclass if you like being hard to kill, but for a long game I'd probably go with Diviner or Enchanter. Don't count on the Enchanter's defensive feature to help a lot, though.

High end rogue is very one-note, you get one sneak attack and you move around. High end ranger is only mid-end, there is no high end beyond "a few more arrows." Power level drops off.

tl;dr if I had to pick one single class to play 1-20 without knowing anything about the game, it would currently be Shadow Monk. It can move, do okay archery, good melee, several ways of crowd control, scout, and be hard to kill.

[Psyren]

BM Ranger (Tasha version) scales smoothly all the way up, and is useful not just in every tier but in every pillar of play with its utility spells and expertises.

[Damon_Tor]

Artificer always has something going on, getting even harder to kill at higher levels. For fun factor, I think Iron Man Armorer is the way to go. It doesn't have the most damage, but doing a Tony Stark Briefcase when you're attacked at night is pretty sweet.

I'll second an artificer, though I prefer the battlesmith. I love a small artificer that can ride the defender: one of my favorite characters of all time had a bipedal defender he was mounted on nigh-exclusively, treating it like a mech. The Spell Storing Item with Warding Bond (the defender cast it on the artificer) made him a brutal tank, he could deal great damage with a lance and shield, was super-mobile, and came equipped with the whole artificer support/skillmonkey toolbox.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Stars Druid. It's a solid B+ subclass in my view, so can play with high or medium powered/ optimized characters. It's designed to use the 3 forms, so you can vary your playstyle. The features keep coming as you level and build on each other. (I know this is a matter of personal opinion, but) I really like the flavor; it makes me want to play a class that I normally don't love.

[Skrum]

Im a diehard multiclasser, but I've always got thoughts on builds.

I'll second armorer artificer. Artificers get so many abilities, so you'll get stuff constantly, and at level 10 their options just go crazy. I literally never play single class, but armorer almost convinces me :)

If I was confident in going up to high level, I would strongly consider Drakewarden. Another player is playing a drakewarden at the table I play at, and it seems pretty solid. He's only level 4 atm so he's pretty no-frills ranged character, but the pet is cool and at high level they become really cool.

I've always loved the flavor of the shadow sorcerer, and obviously it's a full caster, so smooth power progression throughout.

This is a specific build that takes some setting-specific stuff that not every table would allow, but this build looks quite fun. It's a paladin, so yeah, good stuff throughout, but a new twist.
https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24941211&postcount=938

[Mastikator]

I'll 3rd... 4th artificer. Though I prefer battlesmith and artillerist.

[Waazraath]

Having just wrapped up a year and a half long campaign, our DM is starting things fresh, with all of us making new Level 1's with the hope of going all the way to 20. We've got a pretty dedicated group so there's a very good chance the campaign lasts all the way to 20.

I'm trying to decide which subclass to play this time around. I'm not really opposed to any ideas. I've played my share of tanks, DPS, healers, buffers, controllers, skill monkeys etc, but I do want to set the following two criteria:

1: Single class all the way. I know there's a nearly endless variety of multi-class shenanigans to be had, but I want to build their story and background around a core subclass.

2: Fun at every stage of growth. OK, they don't have to be amazing at Level 1, but they should be fun at every tier of play, with new features, spells or abilities coming on line at a regular basis. You should be having fun with what you currently are, but be eagerly anticipating what's coming just a level or two away.

Given those two criteria, what would be your choice to play? I should note that this is homebrew, not AL, so UA is allowed, as long as it's not some broken UA that was axed with good reason.

Tempest Cleric, though really any Cleric subclass will do. Very nice well rounded class that starts good and has a smooth increase in power. Good alternatives are imo Ancients Paladin (or any other subclass), Battle Smith Artificer and Fighter Rune Knight (or Battle Master, Eldritch Knight or Psi Warrior)

[animorte]

Definitely have to go with Artillerist Artificer on this one. You have several different ways you can use the Eldritch Cannon, and eventually you can have two of any combination out at one time (level 15). Magical Tinkering is always fun, Ritual Casting, reliable versatility in spells, Right Tool for the Job, and of course infusions to choose and apply as you like.

And something I've always loved, after you've used your primary subclass feature, you can continue to create it at the cost of a spell slot. Not many features allow a similar use of spell slots.

Otherwise, I would toss a vote in for Warlock any day. The ability to customize an entirely new concept with so many invocation choices is always exciting.

[diplomancer]

If I had to choose just one, I'd say Conquest Paladin. Go PAM (staff/spear+shield -V. Human or Custom Lineage; Custom Lineage gives you darkvision, and allows you to be small, which gives you more options on your choice of steed , but it does mean starting with Str 15, Cha 17-raising both at level 4, instead of the superior 16,16), raise your Cha first. You will have good offense when needed, excellent defense, very good (though not against all enemies) control. You can also go Shield Master, which is also a quite decent choice if your DM allows using the Shove first. People frightened of you wiil have disadvantage on their opposed checks.

If you haven't got a Str-raising item yet by level 12, start raising Str. If you do have one, many good feat options get open to you. Mounted Combatant will keep your Greater Steed alive, for instance, as well as giving you free Advantage against many enemies; Alert will let you apply your control options more effectively; Resilience (Con) almost guarantees your concentration; Inspiring Leader will make your party love you when you insult and threaten them (you're a conquest Paladin, after all, that's how you Inspire people :p).

If your adventuring days tend to be short, you could possibly forego PAM, since you have access to Spiritual Weapon from level 5, but you'd have to get a good use for your reaction some other way, like getting Shield from a background, if allowed. If you go this route, your race option gets thrown wide open, as you can perhaps start with Str 16, Cha 17, and get a nice Cha half-feat at level 4, or stick with V. Human or Custom lineage and get early access to the feats I've mentioned before. One other advantage of going this route is you can use a Lance when mounted and a d8 one-handed weapon when dismounted. Going Lance is specially nice if they are frozen in place, terrified of you, and have only a 5' reach. Mwahahahaha.

Levels 1 and 2 for a Paladin are not so great (level 1 specially), but I'd say that starting from level 3 you'll be looking forward to the next level for every single level in the progression, "weakest" level would be 14, but still with a solid feature.

Now, a Hexblade dip is considered specially good for this subclass, and that is undoubtedly true. But it does delay your getting your Fear spell by one level if you're taking it before 9, and, as good as it is, I believe the chances of getting a Str. raising item should not be dismissed (becoming SAD is the primary benefit of the dip, and, though there are other very nice advantages, I'd say it's THE benefit that makes it particularly worth it), unless you're playing a particularly magic-items poor campaign (or, conversely, a particularly magic-items rich campaign, and the attunement slot is a significant cost; though these types of campaign you can usually get the better belts of giant strength which are totally worth the attunement cost.) So it's a very nice dip, but not one that is required, and you will enjoy your full progression single-classed.

[arnin77]

Speaking from experience with high level single classes: Conquest Paladin was my favorite to play, and Arcane Trickster was really fun too… currently Chronurgist has been quite interesting

[Snails]

Tempest Cleric, though really any Cleric subclass will do. Very nice well rounded class that starts good and has a smooth increase in power. Good alternatives are imo Ancients Paladin (or any other subclass), Battle Smith Artificer and Fighter Rune Knight (or Battle Master, Eldritch Knight or Psi Warrior)

A shout out for Tempest, if you have not played the cleric class before. It is easy to play well, a decent frontline fighter (leaning on a few well chosen spells to compensate for lack of multiple attacks) and it is borderline OP in T1. Maximizing thunder/lightning damage with your channels scales up very very well.

[Oramac]

Stars Druid. It's a solid B+ subclass in my view, so can play with high or medium powered/ optimized characters. It's designed to use the 3 forms, so you can vary your playstyle. The features keep coming as you level and build on each other. (I know this is a matter of personal opinion, but) I really like the flavor; it makes me want to play a class that I normally don't love.

Fully agree with this. Stars Druid is solid across the board. It may not be the most powerful at any given level, but it's fun and engaging at all levels. (And still pretty powerful)

[Yakmala]

Lots of love for the Artificer on this thread and I must admit, it's one of the choices I've been strongly considering. I've only played one Artificer before and they met an early and untimely death due to a series of back to back monster crits, so I haven't had the chance to play one at anything approaching their full potential.

I'm kind of torn on which one to try though. Guardian Armorer appeals to me, as it has the ability to impose disadvantage in a way similar to Ancestral Guardian and Cavalier. On the other hand, an Artillerist focusing on the protector cannon has the ability to pump out temp HP almost as well as a Twilight Cleric. Both seem like they would be good in a defender/support role while still being able to contribute to damage when needed.

Thoughts?

[KorvinStarmast]

1: Single class all the way. [/B] I know there's a nearly endless variety of multi-class shenanigans to be had, but I want to build their story and background around a core subclass. Lore Bard was fun all the way through. My only difficulty was in picking spells to let go of as I picked up new, shiny ones.

Any Paladin, single class; I enjoyed Watchers and I have also enjoyed Ancients.

Fully agree with this. Stars Druid is solid across the board. It may not be the most powerful at any given level, but it's fun and engaging at all levels. (And still pretty powerful) Yes.

[Mastikator]

Lots of love for the Artificer on this thread and I must admit, it's one of the choices I've been strongly considering. I've only played one Artificer before and they met an early and untimely death due to a series of back to back monster crits, so I haven't had the chance to play one at anything approaching their full potential.

I'm kind of torn on which one to try though. Guardian Armorer appeals to me, as it has the ability to impose disadvantage in a way similar to Ancestral Guardian and Cavalier. On the other hand, an Artillerist focusing on the protector cannon has the ability to pump out temp HP almost as well as a Twilight Cleric. Both seem like they would be good in a defender/support role while still being able to contribute to damage when needed.

Thoughts?

I can attest that the protector cannon is insanely good, especially at lower levels. However 1d8+INT temp hp to everyone within 10 feet is good at any level. However at 9th level I'd be tempted to use the force ballista as the primary option due to the extra d8 damage. For example using Ray of Frost with the arcane arcane firearm as your focus, and the ballista, you'd be looking at 6d8 cold and force damage at range without expending resources, which is not too shabby on a character that also has expertise on thief's tools AND can give themselves a thief's gloves for an added +5 to thief's tools. With a bare dex of 14 that's a 2+8+5=15 base on all lockpicking for that juicy looting locked treasure chests.

[animorte]

Thoughts?
Absolutely. It's one of my favorite subclasses in the entire game for a well-rounded character. You can provide support/control/damage/utility all without really expending a great deal of resources.