Backup character that would fit this party?

[Rfkannen]

My dm just said that she plans on really ramping up the deadlyness of our campaign, she is expecting at least one pc to die by the end, so I have been thinking of rolling up a backup, but I am not sure what would fit.

Other pcs in the party:

• Gnome dex based sword and board battlemaster.
• Dragonborn whisper bard with a hexblade dip
• kenku moon druid.

My current pc that would be getting replaced is a kobold gloomstalker ranger.

Campaign is highly political, setting is a desert themed around the American south west (still medieval tech, but you aren't likely to find like.... snow. More cowboys than knights but there are some knights as well.) Currently level 11, getting to level 20 for sure.

I know I DON"T want to play another archer, and I don't want to step on any of the other pcs toes. I want to be good at something they don't do, any idea what that might be?

Any tips for what would work with this group?

[Emongnome777]

What level are you now and what are you going to?
Are guns allowed in your campaign?

Damage seems to have been taken care of, and the druid / bard can cover healing well enough (if you need it depending on how you play). You also have "social" covered by the bard I assume, though a highly "political" campaign may need more charisma.

A wizard for some combat control and out-of-combat utility would be a good fit. Maybe an enchanter to lean into the occasional social encounter "charms".

A cleric with spirit guardians can lock down an small area nicely. They have nice utility spells as well.

If there are guns, maybe the gunslinger fighter archetype would be fun, though may take work to have out-of-combat things to do.

I guess a rogue or monk would work as well. The monk is good to reach the back line, mess of the enemy plans sometimes. The rogue brings more skills overall, but the monk is nice in that it's ready to fight when the rest of the party has been disarmed to go into the council hall or big social event at the castle or whatever.

If you were looking for a "sniper" style response, I apologize as I provided a more "grenade" type.

[Rfkannen]

What level are you now and what are you going to?
Are guns allowed in your campaign?

Damage seems to have been taken care of, and the druid / bard can cover healing well enough (if you need it depending on how you play). You also have "social" covered by the bard I assume, though a highly "political" campaign may need more charisma.

A wizard for some combat control and out-of-combat utility would be a good fit. Maybe an enchanter to lean into the occasional social encounter "charms".

A cleric with spirit guardians can lock down an small area nicely. They have nice utility spells as well.

If there are guns, maybe the gunslinger fighter archetype would be fun, though may take work to have out-of-combat things to do.

I guess a rogue or monk would work as well. The monk is good to reach the back line, mess of the enemy plans sometimes. The rogue brings more skills overall, but the monk is nice in that it's ready to fight when the rest of the party has been disarmed to go into the council hall or big social event at the castle or whatever.

If you were looking for a "sniper" style response, I apologize as I provided a more "grenade" type.

Level 11, and we are deffinitly getting to level 20. Adding that to the original post! No guns yet (dm has implied that in a sequal campaign they will be, but not yet)

I really like all those ideas! I do want to play something pretty diffrent from my gloomstalker, so rogue might not be the best, but the others all sound fantastic! Any ideas for what monk or cleric subclasses might be best?

[Lokishade]

I was about to suggest Swashbuckler. It works really well with a Battlemaster in combat. It also provides useful tools and skills for exploration.

Plus, it is fuelled by Charisma. Since you're playing a heavily political campaign, you need more than one face, I presume. Also, since you'll be playing above level 9, that means you will have Panache. Abuse it like they're gonna nerf it tomorrow. It just sreams "dashing rogue with devastating charm" and is perfect for campaigns that are RP heavy.

But if you really want to avoid stepping on anyone's toes, Wizard is nice too. Especially at level 10, your choice of spells can get really powerful both as a support and a nuker.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

For some reason I'm coming back to monk. Just seems like a character that would stand out in the old west.

[meandean]

For some reason I'm coming back to monk. Just seems like a character that would stand out in the old west.

Especially Drunken Master!

[Rfkannen]

For some reason I'm coming back to monk. Just seems like a character that would stand out in the old west.

Monk sounds like fun! are there any archetypes that do particularly poorly or well at tiers 3 and 4?

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

The party doesn't seem to have a 2h Str character, maybe a PAM/GWM Vengeance Paladin?

[Emongnome777]

Level 11, and we are deffinitly getting to level 20. Adding that to the original post! No guns yet (dm has implied that in a sequal campaign they will be, but not yet)

I really like all those ideas! I do want to play something pretty diffrent from my gloomstalker, so rogue might not be the best, but the others all sound fantastic! Any ideas for what monk or cleric subclasses might be best?

Since you're already in tier 3 and going to 20, the high level stuff is in play. Personally, way of mercy and way of the open hand both have awesome subclass "capstones", and both just seem like more fun to play where you get things to do that doesn't eat up ki, at least as fast. Mercy monks get extra proficiencies as well. Shadow looks like fun, but you do need dim light to do some things, so your description of a desert theme could limit full use of their abilities if you're out in the open a lot. Your party has lots of abilities that are regained on a short rest, so a monk would play well with an abundance of short rests.

As for cleric, people seem to like the new ones from Tasha's, but I've never seen them in play. A tempest cleric could be fun, leaning into the wind and storm type spells would be thematic. Arcana is pretty weak IMO until the 17th level capstone, which is amazing. After that, I'm not sure which one plays best with the group. The base cleric is pretty great, so there's no wrong answer per se. Forge gets fire immunity eventually, but it also leans into fire damage, which may be frequently resisted. Light is in the same boat.

If the deadliness is being cranked up to 11, a way of mercy monk or peace cleric could both go a long way. The cleric could handle the non-combat encounters a little better, but I'm a fan of the monk's kit overall with so many unique tricks and such.

Artillerist or battle smith artificer could be another option for a support character.

[nickl_2000]

I'm not sure if you have decided yet, but I would throw in the ring a Wizard. It gets new skills, a lot of new rituals, and the ability to lob Fireballs for crowd control.

Bladesinger, War, and Abjuration have the best AC or abilities to reduce damage. Their rituals can help you survive in the wild in cool way and they have the charm and divination spells needed to cheat a lot in political campaigns.




Also, if you really want survival the Twilight Cleric channel divinity is pretty broken in it's power. 1d6 + Cleric level in temp HP every single round is absolutely nuts.

[x3n0n]

Monk sounds like fun! are there any archetypes that do particularly poorly or well at tiers 3 and 4?

First, once you get to 14, any Monk becomes the most likely to succeed at saving throws, which can totally change your role. At 18, any Monk becomes a wrecking ball, especially against monsters without blindsight.

Tasha's or no? If Dedicated Weapon, Ki-Fueled Attack, and Focused Aim are all available, then Four Elements, Shadow, and Kensei all benefit significantly.

Long Death 11 amps up the survivability even higher, and has another nova/"smite" option at 17.
Open Hand 11 is a dud, but 17 is one of the strongest single-target attacks in the game.
Lots of magic weapons or no? If no, Kensei's 6 and 11 are really good, and 17 doesn't look exciting, but really amps up damage. (Bonus points if you can get a magic weapon like Flame Tongue or Frost Brand: still eligible for Sharpen the Blade with significant benefit from improvements to accuracy.)
Four Elements finally comes online at 11 with multiple Fireballs per short rest.
Drunken Master's 11 is underwhelming, but 17 is incredibly fun.

[Rfkannen]

First, once you get to 14, any Monk becomes the most likely to succeed at saving throws, which can totally change your role. At 18, any Monk becomes a wrecking ball, especially against monsters without blindsight.

Tasha's or no? If Dedicated Weapon, Ki-Fueled Attack, and Focused Aim are all available, then Four Elements, Shadow, and Kensei all benefit significantly.

Long Death 11 amps up the survivability even higher, and has another nova/"smite" option at 17.
Open Hand 11 is a dud, but 17 is one of the strongest single-target attacks in the game.
Lots of magic weapons or no? If no, Kensei's 6 and 11 are really good, and 17 doesn't look exciting, but really amps up damage. (Bonus points if you can get a magic weapon like Flame Tongue or Frost Brand: still eligible for Sharpen the Blade with significant benefit from improvements to accuracy.)
Four Elements finally comes online at 11 with multiple Fireballs per short rest.
Drunken Master's 11 is underwhelming, but 17 is incredibly fun.

Tasha's yes!

I had literally never heard ANYONE say that the four elements monk came online at ANY point! It would PERFECTLY fit our campaign thematically, but I kind of assumed that it would feel horrible and not be much fun.

How well does it do? How do you build one that works?

[x3n0n]

Tasha's yes!

I had literally never heard ANYONE say that the four elements monk came online at ANY point! It would PERFECTLY fit our campaign thematically, but I kind of assumed that it would feel horrible and not be much fun.

How well does it do? How do you build one that works?

There aren't a lot of decisions to make.

Build a Monk (Dex, Wis, Con all need to be good).

Since you're at level 11 already, take Flames of the Phoenix (i.e. Fireball) and 3 other disciplines, at least one of which should be less expensive. Carry a shortbow as Dedicated Weapon, plan to make Ki-Fueled Attack after using a discipline.

I'm not going to say it's the strongest, but MaxWilson speaks highly of it filling a big gap for many martial classes: area of effect damage. Maybe he will have more comments.

Edit: Either Mobile or Defensive Duelist will serve you well when you're not throwing fireballs.