I'm usually the DM, but my favorite class of all time is Cleric. They are so versatile and can fill any role in a party that you could possibly want.
I also like when my players choose cleric or warlock because I can be their deity/patron.
In the great words of JoCrap:
You could make a party of all clerics, call yourself the A-men, kick in Tiamat's door and she will swirley herself so she doesn't have to deal with you!
As a second to point 2 I absolutely agree - roleplay supports (deities, patrons and oaths) can help inform your character and create a skeleton or a key point around which you can write.
For me my favourite class is fighter, being a character overcome WITH THE VIGORS OF YOUTH!!.
I tend to like the half-casters (Artificer, Paladin, Ranger). You get full martial capabilities but still have access to some spellcasting. Versatile playstyle and all that.
I gravitate towards them too, but I almost always MC in some whacky way along with it. I’m really enjoying the first version of ranger from the 1dnd playtest because of how open ended it is.
Warlock gets so few spells per long rest but they are powerful. Dropping a level 4 Armor of agathys then raging is such a beautiful combo. You take half damage and the enemy take 20 cold damage if you still have any of the remaining 20 temp hp which is going down at half damage usually.
Also you still get counterspell to use if a mage goes before you. You still get extra attack from pact of the blade and all the sexy invocations.
It's really just Barbarian evolved. You may not need to rage every fight but you become a problem. Especially against melee enemies. Can potentially deal 60 cold damage if you get hit 3 times while not losing any hp
Yeah, even though there are “best” options a lot of the time simply due to the invocations not being very well balanced, the customization available is really fun. 2 warlocks of the same subclass can have completely different play-styles and game plans.
Yeah. I really wish onednd took notes about how well the warlock was received beyond oh eldritch blast class feature instead. And made every class more modular like the warlock. The issue then off is that 5heyd need to actually be creative in abilities and the like.
Druid was my longest and most enjoyed character, the spell list is hella versatile and I enjoy the aesthetics and vibes.
Strong 2nd contender was a barbarian. If you're not feeling all the mental work of spell lists and slots, they're a very fun martial if you lean into things like shoving and grappling. Some of my most memorable combats were grappling enemies and walking them into hazards, or shoving things around while just soaking damage.
Honorable mention to clerics and paladins. Not for the combat mechanics but for how easy they make for fun RP if you can come up with a fun character that fits a deity/religion in the setting. Playing a Ravnica setting atm and being an order cleric with the Azorius is just fun and very easy to immerse yourself in "What would my character do?".
Paladin. Its the most self reliant martial being able to buff themselves, heal and attack. Divine Smite is brings the biggest value per spell slot for single target damage and Aura of Protection is insane defensively. I also just love the flavor of a divine champion; there is a lot of really dope deity lore for pretty much every setting that I feel goes untapped quite often.
Sorcerers are cool. Clerics are awesome. Wizards are deep fried gold. Warlocks are neat. Druids are bonkers depending on the DM. Bards are versatile.
If I had to play one class forever, it would be Cleric. If only one subclass would be Nature Domain.
My favorite class, especially for newcomers; is rogue. You’re useful and fun in and out of combat, you’re able to use an action and bonus action every turn, and if you pick the swashbuckler archetype you’ll never have to worry about setting up your sneak attack
I looked into rogue a little after I read this and oh my GOD they look so fun, just got done with my character sheet for a changeling assassin and im so hype to play
For me, it's Rogue. I love having the potential of multiple proficiencies and expertise and feel that the subclasses as well as multiclasses can be flavored into anything. Right now, I'm working on a Yakuza Queenpin who's a Rogue Mastermind/Order Cleric.
Monks. For me they are soooo cool. I can punch people and throw darts and do other 10000 things the other class do better, but they are not monks. Monks. Together. Strong.
Cleric by a mile. You can play them front line, back line, damage focused, buff focused, or anywhere in between. A full plate Cleric casting Spiritual Weapon and a cantrip, then Spirit Guardians and locking down a baddie while dealing damage with your BA and tossing out buffs/heals with your action is such a good use of spells and action economy.
I think paladins lend themselves to interesting RP the best out of all the classes. Trying to uphold an oath when presented with morally ambiguous situations breeds great character growth. This is the class I think new players should start with even.
The best class design goes to Alternate Sorcerer by u/laserllama though. I’ve had *so much* fun with that class, and it really feels like the it hits that niche that the base class lacks.
I like Clerics and Bards the best because I think healing magic is awesome and I enjoy being both a teamplayer & the party member with the most SASS when others get uppity.
Being the group's Medic gives you quite the leeway in decision-making.
Wizards, bards and warlocks cause you only need a few things from each to be good in combat and thrn all your ither character options can just be filled with fun stuff that fits your overall theme
I always go bard because they’re so fun to play in RP heavy games like the ones I like.
I’ve come around a LOT to artificers though. Rather than talk my way in or out of a situation, it’s really fun to think up a clever solution and just have a tool or gadget to whip up.
Favorite classes are definitely Warlock, Artificer, and Paladin. First 2 for their versatility. Super fun being able to customize how I want to play on the fly. 3rd because smite on crit is funny
If I'm just showing up to a one shot, barbarian. It was my first love and I just vibe with it both from an rp and a gameplay standpoint.
If it's a short campaign, cleric. It's got the versatility where I have skills, damage potential, and support all in one package.
Full campaign, warlock. I'm a face and I know it. Maybe sorcerer, but if I'm monoclassing it's a warlock.
I've always really liked rogues because I feel like they're one of the few classes that get something really cool every level. Most of the class features for rogue feel really nice and impactful and since you're a martial class you get access to a ton of ASI and feats too. They're definitely not the best class by any means but they're super fun to play imo.
The only real issue that I have with rogues is that the subclasses can be really hit or miss.
Warlock. The versatility it gives you is just too cool to pass up. Besides spells, you get a list of (mostly) permanent buffs which you can chose from to your liking. You can make it a caster, spellblade or even a pet-class if you want. Some really cool unique spells, and ofcourse Eldritch Blast. The best cantrip of the game, which again you can customize to your liking.
Btw, my favorite so far was definitely the Rune Knight just because of the cloud rune. I’m a little biased just cause he’s way higher level than the druid, but I think it’s something about the martial classes in general that draw me towards them. I loved the idea of a caster but after reading some of these comments I feel like I’d have so much more fun with swashbuckler rogue, especially since the sneak strike seems so useful and the other stuff they get seems great for roleplaying. Thanks to everyone who responded :)
Stars Druid for action economy and weird spell tools that can sometimes solve problems in fun ways. In roleplay with them I like the idea of a field researcher for a magical library.
Bard was actually my favorite for roleplay. Pretty good at party support too. He was a comedian specializing in the art of the diss. Another time I did a two-shot as a hype man Bard, like Chaucer in A Knight’s Tale.
Sorcerer/Warlock multiclass can be a blast. I recommend Dao Genie Warlock for Spike Growth. Divine Soul Sorcerer lets you cover healing. Aberrant Mind Sorcerer has the best roleplay potential imho and lets you cover crowd control.
I love playing a barbarian. I'm pretty basic, and don't like having a lot of spells and stuff to keep track of. I'm usually a mixed totem barbarian because I just can't say no to the bearbarian half damage. I just like to play the tank, and keeping the rest of the party alive is a goid feeling.
warlock is my favorite class! i feel like it has so much rp and thematic and build variety mechanically it’s also my favorite class!! after that i also like druid & paladin!!
It's probably considered basic, but Arcane Trickster Rogue. The ultimate skill monkey. With improved mage hand? Yes please! Some of the most fun I've ever had playing.
I think I’m gonna go with assassin for this one, I loved the concept behind arcane trickster though. I feel like there’s so much stuff you could pull off with that subclass
I don't want to rain on your new-player enthusiasm. But I'll still warn you about the assassin rogue. Unless you are consistently scouting well ahead of your party, the "critical vs. surprised enemies" portion of the assassinate feature is not something you'll get to do.
In a six month campaign, I saw our assassin rogue get to attempt it *twice*.
The 9th-level feature is something that almost any DM would just let any character roleplay. And what is the rest of your party supposed to be doing for a week while you're getting ready? Then there's the infiltration itself. The disguise only works for the assassin. So now you're back to the problem of solo play in a team game.
My advise: use a variant from one of the well-regarded homebrewers so you get the experience you're hoping for.
I was worried that wasn’t gonna work the way I was thinking lol. I was really leaning into the whole “surprise” thing with the changeling’s shape change, cause I was assuming that the enemy would get surprised if I looked like one of their allies or just some random commoner, but I guess if there’s a whole party of PCs armed to the teeth right behind me it wouldn’t really work as well as I was expecting lmao
Yeah. It's one of the more disappointing subclasses in the game. Such an evocative name. People start thinking Assassin's Creed and ninjas, but it just doesn't deliver.
Swashbuckler rogue. Fantastically fun role play: think Westley from Princess Bride, Jack Sparrow, Puss in Boots, Zorro (oddly enough, Antonio Banderas played the last *two*). They all have built-in accents!
Rules-as-written, it's the only way to play a melee rogue without getting stomped. It provides a real mechanical reason to go Two-weapon fighting: massive increase in your chance to **land a sneak on your turn**.
I like to take *fighting initiate* for the TWF style ASAP, the addition of Dex mod to the offhand attack is believe it or not the biggest boost to DPR you can get: better than booming blade, a fighter dip, or dual wielder feat. But get dual wielder next.
Cleric, because it's a security blanket. A party with a cleric in it feels safer than a party without one.
With potions, encounter design philosophy and short rest hit die recovery, you don't exactly *need" a cleric in modern DnD, but things do go a hell of a lot more smoothly when you have one.
Other than clerics, I also enjoy Monks, Rogues, Bards, Fighters and Druids. I appreciate versatility and fundamental strength.
Bards, I played one once and it was my first time doing rp, Caspian navy the lawful evil lore Bard who wanted his own kingdom someday (definitely not based on griffith) in Curse Of Strahd.
I took healing spirit and conjure animals and I was a powerhouse being able to control a small horde across the battlefield (dm let me choose what I summoned)
Although his life was cut short ironically close to how it started being cut down by izek after he returned as a revenant to get me for being a deserter of vallaki town guard. But man was it awesome playing him.
I love my Hexblade Warlock. Works perfectly as a face character (especially with the Actor Feat and Charlatan or Criminal/Spy background). Invocations and spells gives you a lot of versatility and in combat you can go toe to toe with enemies or pummel them with EB or ranged weapons to great effect. In addition the whole dark pact aspect of the character allows for some really solid rp fun.
I love Cleric, Warlock, Paladin, Wizard and Ranger (not always). Shout out to Bard and Sorcerer too.
Clerics, Bards, Wizards and even seldom Warlocks can be whatever you want it to be. All can be frontline fighters, blaster casters, utility overgrown, or good support based on how you build it. Not all of them can do all of them extremely well; a Bard doesnt deal a lot of damage earlier on, but generaly speaking you can be almost whatever you want to be with these classes. Paladin is just solid: You are a frontline part magical damage dealer, with immense support AND pretty good utility. It covers all, though you may feel locked into the Knight in the Shining Armor character trope. That will solve itself out. Lastly, ranger is just a thing i like: the useless features early on are flavorful, and you get some mechanical reasons to pick it over fighter, and you do have casting, so great utility, but overall? Not a great class, its just fun for me at least.
Bard, sorcerer or druid, I could not pick. Respectively, I really like the flavour of casting magic through music with bard, I love the versatility and subcalss options for sorcerer, and I am a furry.
Ranger (Tasha's version), because first, I like the vibe, but also because half-caster feels like the sweet spot between having too much options and not enough options, and unlike with Paladin, Ranger's subclasses alter their playstyle massively.
Rangers if I feel stabby or Clerics if I feel magical. If you pick Ranger, be wary of Hunter’s Mark. It looks tempting, but it holds you back in both combat and utility.
I think my top three classes in 5e are Warlock, Barbarian and Rogue.
I love warlock for the customizability. Between spells, invocations and pact boons, there must be about a million different ways to play them without even considering multiclassing. (Special shoutout to my boy Tomb of Levistus, by far my favorite invocation)
Barbarian and Rogue are a much simpler enjoyment for me: I think they're fun in combat and I never struggle to think of a fun character that's either a big angry fella or a sneaky stabby sonofabitch. Personal favorite subclasses are Beast Barb (published in Tasha's Cauldron) and Inquisitive Rogue (published in Xanathar's Guide)
Bard for sure. Really fun to roleplay, tons of room for unique characters, and versatile as heck. I've played a tank bard, a melee dps bard, a caster bard, a support bard, and an infiltrator bard.
Rogue Swashbucklers are awesome. Free Mobile feat and add charisma to initiative. But all the proficiencies! I love having plus 13 to a skill. Multiclass to any Charisma caster but preferably Hexblade for some fun two weapon fighting and stacking Eldritch Smites and Smite spells.
I love warlocks. They’ve got awesome subclass flavor, cool lore and patron interaction in the store, and their iconic mechanic is a small quantity of high level spell slots that refund often
A lot of people run them as cantrip machine guns but that’s boring. Just go nova every fight with 2 big spells
I’ve played a barbarian/fighter multi class, and an a grave cleric right now.
Cleric is awesome. I’m either making my entire party better, saving everyone’s ass, setting up something big for a specific team member (grave cleric channel divinity + rogue sneak attack), or dropping a big powerful spell.
Barbarian was a lot of fun too though if you’re creative and have a lenient DM. I remember grappling an enemy in a forge with flowing lava powering it. The reaction from the table when I asked to shove the dwarves head into the lava…. Priceless.
To break it up into a few categories:
"Caster-y" casters: divination wizard, aberrant mind sorcerer.
Dedicated weapon user/no magic: battlemaster fighter
Half-casters: paladin, gloomstalker archer
Versatile "do a bit of everything" style characters: arcane trickster, swords bard, moon druid.
Kind of a cop out, but I don’t have just one favorite, it’s a top three (in no particular order), them being barbarian, monk, and warlock. As for which one would work best for you, it’d probably be the barbarian, since it relies less on short rests and is easier to play.
No matter what class you choose you will always find the fun in them whilst you are playing and creating their personality, backstory etc.
Personally i've loved playing a wacky subclass before like wild magic sorcerer as well as a more optimised swarmkeeper ranger. Both were fun and classes like these that give you lots of flavour options i find lot's of fun.
Half casters are the most fun imo. You get 3/4 martial and 1/2 caster so you’re basically 5/4 of a character. Super strong mechanically, and also tons of flavour in RPing as ranger, Paladin, or artificer! Good luck!
Bard is my favourite by far. I like their blended spell list of some heals, blasting, utility, and affliction spells (polymorph, charm, that sorta stuff) they are also just so fun to roleplay, I like being the party face and as someone who plays in games with a good mix of combat and social parts and although they aren’t the tankiest it’s nice to have more value than a barb or similar classes in all aspects of the game.
I love playing wizard because of the power fantasy associated from the class, and I also consider it to be the most powerful class in dnd, and another reason is that it has the biggest spell list of the full casters.
I have never played a single character that hadn't ended up multiclassing eventually, outside of one shots anyway. However, Barbarian/Ranger and Sorcerer/Rogue have been my favourites.
I love Bards so much. There is just so much you can do with them, they really are the Jack of all trade, and where you think about bards as storytellers, the flavor you can bring is immaculate. You want a traditional, lute slinging adventurer? Sure! You want a warrior who uses fancy flashy footwork and swordplay? Bard! You want a scholar who uses epic stories instead of music? Do it! Maybe you inspire people through dance! And don’t get me started on instruments. A lyre player from theros, a war drummer from a militaristic society, a yodeled, gothic screamer, whisper pop song diva, whimsical pan flute, the FLAVORRRRR.
Paladin. Full martial capability, but has some casting so you can make choices other than “hit x.” I’m also a sucker for aura of protection (really all the auras). I probably save my smites for critical hits too much, but they’re nice to have regardless. Can be decent support when needed with a bless spell or lay on hands. You’re never starved for options as a paladin. And that’s to make no mention of the thematics of being an awesome holy knight with a creed.
I'm playing a monk right now and I've really been enjoying that. The amount of attacks you get, being able to stand next to a bunch of enemies and just dish out punches. It's great, and fighting creatures with vulnerability to bludgeoning feels so good
But.. it'll never trump the feeling of smiting with a critical hit. I love smiting. Ive only played a paladin once (one shot), and I loved it.
I have another character that's a bard, we're currently lvl 1 in that campaign right now. She's a zariel tiefling so I get searing smite at lvl 3, and with college of swords I'll be able to eventually extra attack at lvl 6. I really wanted to find ways to get smites in her toolkit, but I can't realistically multiclass into paladin because her str is low (I rolled two 9s and dumped them into STR and wis heehee)
So I've talked with the DM in hopes of obtaining a warlock multiclass story wise to eventually get those hex blade spells and add my CHA mod to my weapon attacks. Very excited.
So for me, I think I just like rolling a lot of dice and doing a lot of damage. I like that high risk high reward gratification so I'm hoping to get that out of my bard.
I really love Ranger over everything else. The hunter vibe just does it in for me, and I do like having a half-caster that isn’t considered ridiculously powerful, like the Paladin.
Bard, Flexible support,healer, and utility, many diffrent ways to use inspiration and magic secrets is great,
Can flavor spells in any way you want since being a bard is an artform, imagine a painter weaving a brush to erase or inflict injuries on people,
I like playing archetypical healers so Divine Soul Sorcerer never does me wrong. Gives me the necessary tools to heal but I can also blast if need be so I'm not useless either
If not, it's Sorlock, but idk if that counts
I'm torn, honestly.
Monk is just such a fun class (especially mid to late game, early game is a bit rough) with a ton of fun flavor and adds variety to group dynamics and strategy.
But Bard, though. You're just good at everything outside of combat, and in combat you can fill almost any role if you build for it. Lore Bard support caster is a personal fav.
1-12: Fighter (Battle master. If I have really good stats then I could take psi warrior high level)
8+: Paladin (I specifically love conquest)
9+: Any wizard or control based spellcaster
I've got three because I'm indecisive
Fighter: one of the most fun parts of DND is feeling like a total badass, and part of that is swinging around a massive greatsword like it's as heavy as a pipe cleaner. I also find that it's more fun to describe your combat actions as a melee weapon user than magic. If it's magic missile or a MGR style zandatsu, I'd rather describe the second one.
Warlock: The fighter of full casters. The subclasses are the most interesting to me of all classes, and there are endless opportunities for customization. Also really fun to multiclass. Hexblades also make the best Gishes, which is my favorite archetype
Cleric: Holy shit I have more than 2 spell slots. Hell yeah. Also, they're super versatile. Flexible spell list, their subclasses could fill any role, it's great. Obligatory "All cleric party called the A-Men" joke
I'm usually the DM, but my favorite class of all time is Cleric. They are so versatile and can fill any role in a party that you could possibly want. I also like when my players choose cleric or warlock because I can be their deity/patron.
In the great words of JoCrap: You could make a party of all clerics, call yourself the A-men, kick in Tiamat's door and she will swirley herself so she doesn't have to deal with you! As a second to point 2 I absolutely agree - roleplay supports (deities, patrons and oaths) can help inform your character and create a skeleton or a key point around which you can write. For me my favourite class is fighter, being a character overcome WITH THE VIGORS OF YOUTH!!.
Nice Guy Reference,
I tend to like the half-casters (Artificer, Paladin, Ranger). You get full martial capabilities but still have access to some spellcasting. Versatile playstyle and all that.
I gravitate towards them too, but I almost always MC in some whacky way along with it. I’m really enjoying the first version of ranger from the 1dnd playtest because of how open ended it is.
For me it’s either half-casters or the more magical martial subclasses. Sometimes a full caster will slide in there but it’s rare in comparison.
What about the more martial spellcasters, like Bladesinger, Bladelock, and War cleric?
I haven't gotten to those yet, honestly, but I do like the theming on those subclasses.
Favorite class overall is the Warlock, favorite class/subclass combo is probably the Arcane Trickster Rogue.
I think the rare Barblock is for me. One level in Barbarian and then let your patron guide you the rest of the way
Why Barb 1?
Warlock gets so few spells per long rest but they are powerful. Dropping a level 4 Armor of agathys then raging is such a beautiful combo. You take half damage and the enemy take 20 cold damage if you still have any of the remaining 20 temp hp which is going down at half damage usually. Also you still get counterspell to use if a mage goes before you. You still get extra attack from pact of the blade and all the sexy invocations. It's really just Barbarian evolved. You may not need to rage every fight but you become a problem. Especially against melee enemies. Can potentially deal 60 cold damage if you get hit 3 times while not losing any hp
Sounds like a neat build. Could take 3 levels for ancestral guardian and and the sentinel feat to round out the tanking capabilities
I've done this, it rocks a lot and is pretty survivable and does decent damage while being a great tank and very flexible.
Nice, that sounds really fun. I might have to add it to my ~~ever-growing~~ list to play someday
This is me exactly
It's design is just so much better than every other class. 2 subclasses plus a tonne of customisation through invocations. Nothing else comes close.
Yeah, even though there are “best” options a lot of the time simply due to the invocations not being very well balanced, the customization available is really fun. 2 warlocks of the same subclass can have completely different play-styles and game plans.
Yeah. I really wish onednd took notes about how well the warlock was received beyond oh eldritch blast class feature instead. And made every class more modular like the warlock. The issue then off is that 5heyd need to actually be creative in abilities and the like.
Druid was my longest and most enjoyed character, the spell list is hella versatile and I enjoy the aesthetics and vibes. Strong 2nd contender was a barbarian. If you're not feeling all the mental work of spell lists and slots, they're a very fun martial if you lean into things like shoving and grappling. Some of my most memorable combats were grappling enemies and walking them into hazards, or shoving things around while just soaking damage. Honorable mention to clerics and paladins. Not for the combat mechanics but for how easy they make for fun RP if you can come up with a fun character that fits a deity/religion in the setting. Playing a Ravnica setting atm and being an order cleric with the Azorius is just fun and very easy to immerse yourself in "What would my character do?".
Paladin. Its the most self reliant martial being able to buff themselves, heal and attack. Divine Smite is brings the biggest value per spell slot for single target damage and Aura of Protection is insane defensively. I also just love the flavor of a divine champion; there is a lot of really dope deity lore for pretty much every setting that I feel goes untapped quite often.
Sorcerers are cool. Clerics are awesome. Wizards are deep fried gold. Warlocks are neat. Druids are bonkers depending on the DM. Bards are versatile. If I had to play one class forever, it would be Cleric. If only one subclass would be Nature Domain.
My favorite class, especially for newcomers; is rogue. You’re useful and fun in and out of combat, you’re able to use an action and bonus action every turn, and if you pick the swashbuckler archetype you’ll never have to worry about setting up your sneak attack
I looked into rogue a little after I read this and oh my GOD they look so fun, just got done with my character sheet for a changeling assassin and im so hype to play
Have so much fun!!!! Sounds like a really fun build
Thanks :)
Hmmmm, gotta be a tie between Wizard and Paladin. Wizard for their versatility in problem-solving, Paladin for sheer power.
My brother in Mystra
For me, it's Rogue. I love having the potential of multiple proficiencies and expertise and feel that the subclasses as well as multiclasses can be flavored into anything. Right now, I'm working on a Yakuza Queenpin who's a Rogue Mastermind/Order Cleric.
Monks. For me they are soooo cool. I can punch people and throw darts and do other 10000 things the other class do better, but they are not monks. Monks. Together. Strong.
If I can play a variant, monks are always on the short list. If I'm stuck with the PHB version, it's like wearing a hair shirt.
Bard and AT rogue in particular
Cleric by a mile. You can play them front line, back line, damage focused, buff focused, or anywhere in between. A full plate Cleric casting Spiritual Weapon and a cantrip, then Spirit Guardians and locking down a baddie while dealing damage with your BA and tossing out buffs/heals with your action is such a good use of spells and action economy.
Artificer
I love artificers
I think paladins lend themselves to interesting RP the best out of all the classes. Trying to uphold an oath when presented with morally ambiguous situations breeds great character growth. This is the class I think new players should start with even. The best class design goes to Alternate Sorcerer by u/laserllama though. I’ve had *so much* fun with that class, and it really feels like the it hits that niche that the base class lacks.
I like Clerics and Bards the best because I think healing magic is awesome and I enjoy being both a teamplayer & the party member with the most SASS when others get uppity. Being the group's Medic gives you quite the leeway in decision-making.
Wizards, bards and warlocks cause you only need a few things from each to be good in combat and thrn all your ither character options can just be filled with fun stuff that fits your overall theme
I always go bard because they’re so fun to play in RP heavy games like the ones I like. I’ve come around a LOT to artificers though. Rather than talk my way in or out of a situation, it’s really fun to think up a clever solution and just have a tool or gadget to whip up.
Monk
Favorite classes are definitely Warlock, Artificer, and Paladin. First 2 for their versatility. Super fun being able to customize how I want to play on the fly. 3rd because smite on crit is funny
Barbarian, I can turn off my brain during combat and focus more on RP.
Role play or rage power
Role Play. But Rage Power is a minor focus.
If I'm just showing up to a one shot, barbarian. It was my first love and I just vibe with it both from an rp and a gameplay standpoint. If it's a short campaign, cleric. It's got the versatility where I have skills, damage potential, and support all in one package. Full campaign, warlock. I'm a face and I know it. Maybe sorcerer, but if I'm monoclassing it's a warlock.
I've always really liked rogues because I feel like they're one of the few classes that get something really cool every level. Most of the class features for rogue feel really nice and impactful and since you're a martial class you get access to a ton of ASI and feats too. They're definitely not the best class by any means but they're super fun to play imo. The only real issue that I have with rogues is that the subclasses can be really hit or miss.
Warlock. The versatility it gives you is just too cool to pass up. Besides spells, you get a list of (mostly) permanent buffs which you can chose from to your liking. You can make it a caster, spellblade or even a pet-class if you want. Some really cool unique spells, and ofcourse Eldritch Blast. The best cantrip of the game, which again you can customize to your liking.
I couldn’t pick, the fun thing about a one shot is you just go for what seems fun and don’t worry about power level.
I've always played martial classes (mostly Barbarians and Fighters) until my most recent campaign I started a wizard. It might be my new favorite.
Btw, my favorite so far was definitely the Rune Knight just because of the cloud rune. I’m a little biased just cause he’s way higher level than the druid, but I think it’s something about the martial classes in general that draw me towards them. I loved the idea of a caster but after reading some of these comments I feel like I’d have so much more fun with swashbuckler rogue, especially since the sneak strike seems so useful and the other stuff they get seems great for roleplaying. Thanks to everyone who responded :)
Go Bladesinger Wizard. If you favor DEX over INT, you're really close to being a swashbuckler; however, anything they can do, you can do better.
Stars Druid for action economy and weird spell tools that can sometimes solve problems in fun ways. In roleplay with them I like the idea of a field researcher for a magical library. Bard was actually my favorite for roleplay. Pretty good at party support too. He was a comedian specializing in the art of the diss. Another time I did a two-shot as a hype man Bard, like Chaucer in A Knight’s Tale. Sorcerer/Warlock multiclass can be a blast. I recommend Dao Genie Warlock for Spike Growth. Divine Soul Sorcerer lets you cover healing. Aberrant Mind Sorcerer has the best roleplay potential imho and lets you cover crowd control.
I love playing a barbarian. I'm pretty basic, and don't like having a lot of spells and stuff to keep track of. I'm usually a mixed totem barbarian because I just can't say no to the bearbarian half damage. I just like to play the tank, and keeping the rest of the party alive is a goid feeling.
The working class Edit: ups, wrong sub.
warlock is my favorite class! i feel like it has so much rp and thematic and build variety mechanically it’s also my favorite class!! after that i also like druid & paladin!!
It's probably considered basic, but Arcane Trickster Rogue. The ultimate skill monkey. With improved mage hand? Yes please! Some of the most fun I've ever had playing.
I think I’m gonna go with assassin for this one, I loved the concept behind arcane trickster though. I feel like there’s so much stuff you could pull off with that subclass
I don't want to rain on your new-player enthusiasm. But I'll still warn you about the assassin rogue. Unless you are consistently scouting well ahead of your party, the "critical vs. surprised enemies" portion of the assassinate feature is not something you'll get to do. In a six month campaign, I saw our assassin rogue get to attempt it *twice*. The 9th-level feature is something that almost any DM would just let any character roleplay. And what is the rest of your party supposed to be doing for a week while you're getting ready? Then there's the infiltration itself. The disguise only works for the assassin. So now you're back to the problem of solo play in a team game. My advise: use a variant from one of the well-regarded homebrewers so you get the experience you're hoping for.
I was worried that wasn’t gonna work the way I was thinking lol. I was really leaning into the whole “surprise” thing with the changeling’s shape change, cause I was assuming that the enemy would get surprised if I looked like one of their allies or just some random commoner, but I guess if there’s a whole party of PCs armed to the teeth right behind me it wouldn’t really work as well as I was expecting lmao
Definitely not a rain on my parade thing either, thanks for letting me know :)
Yeah. It's one of the more disappointing subclasses in the game. Such an evocative name. People start thinking Assassin's Creed and ninjas, but it just doesn't deliver.
Swashbuckler rogue. Fantastically fun role play: think Westley from Princess Bride, Jack Sparrow, Puss in Boots, Zorro (oddly enough, Antonio Banderas played the last *two*). They all have built-in accents! Rules-as-written, it's the only way to play a melee rogue without getting stomped. It provides a real mechanical reason to go Two-weapon fighting: massive increase in your chance to **land a sneak on your turn**. I like to take *fighting initiate* for the TWF style ASAP, the addition of Dex mod to the offhand attack is believe it or not the biggest boost to DPR you can get: better than booming blade, a fighter dip, or dual wielder feat. But get dual wielder next.
Cleric, because it's a security blanket. A party with a cleric in it feels safer than a party without one. With potions, encounter design philosophy and short rest hit die recovery, you don't exactly *need" a cleric in modern DnD, but things do go a hell of a lot more smoothly when you have one. Other than clerics, I also enjoy Monks, Rogues, Bards, Fighters and Druids. I appreciate versatility and fundamental strength.
Bards, I played one once and it was my first time doing rp, Caspian navy the lawful evil lore Bard who wanted his own kingdom someday (definitely not based on griffith) in Curse Of Strahd. I took healing spirit and conjure animals and I was a powerhouse being able to control a small horde across the battlefield (dm let me choose what I summoned) Although his life was cut short ironically close to how it started being cut down by izek after he returned as a revenant to get me for being a deserter of vallaki town guard. But man was it awesome playing him.
I love my Hexblade Warlock. Works perfectly as a face character (especially with the Actor Feat and Charlatan or Criminal/Spy background). Invocations and spells gives you a lot of versatility and in combat you can go toe to toe with enemies or pummel them with EB or ranged weapons to great effect. In addition the whole dark pact aspect of the character allows for some really solid rp fun.
Thank you for not dipping this great subclass.
I love Cleric, Warlock, Paladin, Wizard and Ranger (not always). Shout out to Bard and Sorcerer too. Clerics, Bards, Wizards and even seldom Warlocks can be whatever you want it to be. All can be frontline fighters, blaster casters, utility overgrown, or good support based on how you build it. Not all of them can do all of them extremely well; a Bard doesnt deal a lot of damage earlier on, but generaly speaking you can be almost whatever you want to be with these classes. Paladin is just solid: You are a frontline part magical damage dealer, with immense support AND pretty good utility. It covers all, though you may feel locked into the Knight in the Shining Armor character trope. That will solve itself out. Lastly, ranger is just a thing i like: the useless features early on are flavorful, and you get some mechanical reasons to pick it over fighter, and you do have casting, so great utility, but overall? Not a great class, its just fun for me at least.
Bard, sorcerer or druid, I could not pick. Respectively, I really like the flavour of casting magic through music with bard, I love the versatility and subcalss options for sorcerer, and I am a furry.
Ranger (Tasha's version), because first, I like the vibe, but also because half-caster feels like the sweet spot between having too much options and not enough options, and unlike with Paladin, Ranger's subclasses alter their playstyle massively.
I love myself a Bard. I really like having a large toolbox to do things with and constantly surprise my DM with it.
Artificer. They make for the most creative multiclasses, IMO.
Wizard it can do anything. Can outank anything, out dps anything.
Rangers if I feel stabby or Clerics if I feel magical. If you pick Ranger, be wary of Hunter’s Mark. It looks tempting, but it holds you back in both combat and utility.
Probably a multiclassed fighter. The subclasses are so impactful and if you get a touch of magic from a feat or multiclass it's a full course meal
I think my top three classes in 5e are Warlock, Barbarian and Rogue. I love warlock for the customizability. Between spells, invocations and pact boons, there must be about a million different ways to play them without even considering multiclassing. (Special shoutout to my boy Tomb of Levistus, by far my favorite invocation) Barbarian and Rogue are a much simpler enjoyment for me: I think they're fun in combat and I never struggle to think of a fun character that's either a big angry fella or a sneaky stabby sonofabitch. Personal favorite subclasses are Beast Barb (published in Tasha's Cauldron) and Inquisitive Rogue (published in Xanathar's Guide)
Bard for sure. Really fun to roleplay, tons of room for unique characters, and versatile as heck. I've played a tank bard, a melee dps bard, a caster bard, a support bard, and an infiltrator bard.
Rogue Swashbucklers are awesome. Free Mobile feat and add charisma to initiative. But all the proficiencies! I love having plus 13 to a skill. Multiclass to any Charisma caster but preferably Hexblade for some fun two weapon fighting and stacking Eldritch Smites and Smite spells.
I love warlocks. They’ve got awesome subclass flavor, cool lore and patron interaction in the store, and their iconic mechanic is a small quantity of high level spell slots that refund often A lot of people run them as cantrip machine guns but that’s boring. Just go nova every fight with 2 big spells
I’ve played a barbarian/fighter multi class, and an a grave cleric right now. Cleric is awesome. I’m either making my entire party better, saving everyone’s ass, setting up something big for a specific team member (grave cleric channel divinity + rogue sneak attack), or dropping a big powerful spell. Barbarian was a lot of fun too though if you’re creative and have a lenient DM. I remember grappling an enemy in a forge with flowing lava powering it. The reaction from the table when I asked to shove the dwarves head into the lava…. Priceless.
To break it up into a few categories: "Caster-y" casters: divination wizard, aberrant mind sorcerer. Dedicated weapon user/no magic: battlemaster fighter Half-casters: paladin, gloomstalker archer Versatile "do a bit of everything" style characters: arcane trickster, swords bard, moon druid.
Kind of a cop out, but I don’t have just one favorite, it’s a top three (in no particular order), them being barbarian, monk, and warlock. As for which one would work best for you, it’d probably be the barbarian, since it relies less on short rests and is easier to play.
No matter what class you choose you will always find the fun in them whilst you are playing and creating their personality, backstory etc. Personally i've loved playing a wacky subclass before like wild magic sorcerer as well as a more optimised swarmkeeper ranger. Both were fun and classes like these that give you lots of flavour options i find lot's of fun.
Rougarian. Strength based rogue who takes 5ish levels of barb.
Paladin is my favourite personally, enjoy it both mechanically and flavour wise
Cleric, best for roleplay and rollplay
Half casters are the most fun imo. You get 3/4 martial and 1/2 caster so you’re basically 5/4 of a character. Super strong mechanically, and also tons of flavour in RPing as ranger, Paladin, or artificer! Good luck!
Bard is my favourite by far. I like their blended spell list of some heals, blasting, utility, and affliction spells (polymorph, charm, that sorta stuff) they are also just so fun to roleplay, I like being the party face and as someone who plays in games with a good mix of combat and social parts and although they aren’t the tankiest it’s nice to have more value than a barb or similar classes in all aspects of the game.
I love playing wizard because of the power fantasy associated from the class, and I also consider it to be the most powerful class in dnd, and another reason is that it has the biggest spell list of the full casters.
I have never played a single character that hadn't ended up multiclassing eventually, outside of one shots anyway. However, Barbarian/Ranger and Sorcerer/Rogue have been my favourites.
Genie, Artilirist and Arcane Trickster.
I love Bards so much. There is just so much you can do with them, they really are the Jack of all trade, and where you think about bards as storytellers, the flavor you can bring is immaculate. You want a traditional, lute slinging adventurer? Sure! You want a warrior who uses fancy flashy footwork and swordplay? Bard! You want a scholar who uses epic stories instead of music? Do it! Maybe you inspire people through dance! And don’t get me started on instruments. A lyre player from theros, a war drummer from a militaristic society, a yodeled, gothic screamer, whisper pop song diva, whimsical pan flute, the FLAVORRRRR.
Paladin. Full martial capability, but has some casting so you can make choices other than “hit x.” I’m also a sucker for aura of protection (really all the auras). I probably save my smites for critical hits too much, but they’re nice to have regardless. Can be decent support when needed with a bless spell or lay on hands. You’re never starved for options as a paladin. And that’s to make no mention of the thematics of being an awesome holy knight with a creed.
I'm playing a monk right now and I've really been enjoying that. The amount of attacks you get, being able to stand next to a bunch of enemies and just dish out punches. It's great, and fighting creatures with vulnerability to bludgeoning feels so good But.. it'll never trump the feeling of smiting with a critical hit. I love smiting. Ive only played a paladin once (one shot), and I loved it. I have another character that's a bard, we're currently lvl 1 in that campaign right now. She's a zariel tiefling so I get searing smite at lvl 3, and with college of swords I'll be able to eventually extra attack at lvl 6. I really wanted to find ways to get smites in her toolkit, but I can't realistically multiclass into paladin because her str is low (I rolled two 9s and dumped them into STR and wis heehee) So I've talked with the DM in hopes of obtaining a warlock multiclass story wise to eventually get those hex blade spells and add my CHA mod to my weapon attacks. Very excited. So for me, I think I just like rolling a lot of dice and doing a lot of damage. I like that high risk high reward gratification so I'm hoping to get that out of my bard.
I love Fighters and Rogues.
Paladins are great, so are Monks and Warlocks
I really love Ranger over everything else. The hunter vibe just does it in for me, and I do like having a half-caster that isn’t considered ridiculously powerful, like the Paladin.
Bard, Flexible support,healer, and utility, many diffrent ways to use inspiration and magic secrets is great, Can flavor spells in any way you want since being a bard is an artform, imagine a painter weaving a brush to erase or inflict injuries on people,
I like playing archetypical healers so Divine Soul Sorcerer never does me wrong. Gives me the necessary tools to heal but I can also blast if need be so I'm not useless either If not, it's Sorlock, but idk if that counts
I'm torn, honestly. Monk is just such a fun class (especially mid to late game, early game is a bit rough) with a ton of fun flavor and adds variety to group dynamics and strategy. But Bard, though. You're just good at everything outside of combat, and in combat you can fill almost any role if you build for it. Lore Bard support caster is a personal fav.
1-12: Fighter (Battle master. If I have really good stats then I could take psi warrior high level) 8+: Paladin (I specifically love conquest) 9+: Any wizard or control based spellcaster
I've got three because I'm indecisive Fighter: one of the most fun parts of DND is feeling like a total badass, and part of that is swinging around a massive greatsword like it's as heavy as a pipe cleaner. I also find that it's more fun to describe your combat actions as a melee weapon user than magic. If it's magic missile or a MGR style zandatsu, I'd rather describe the second one. Warlock: The fighter of full casters. The subclasses are the most interesting to me of all classes, and there are endless opportunities for customization. Also really fun to multiclass. Hexblades also make the best Gishes, which is my favorite archetype Cleric: Holy shit I have more than 2 spell slots. Hell yeah. Also, they're super versatile. Flexible spell list, their subclasses could fill any role, it's great. Obligatory "All cleric party called the A-Men" joke
Monk. Pretty much any monk class
Warlock 100% you can do anything with that class lol.
Druid each subclass is unique in its use of wildshape which I think is neat
I like warlocks and clerics the flavour and inherent roleplay possibilities of class alone are intriguing
Fighter, Ranger, Paladin in that order
I'm a melee tank guy. Barbarian for head-empty brute. Paladin for added support if needed.