Wizard. Not enough class features. Too many costs. Too many spells.
Then Druid, Barbarian, Bard, and Monk. Like, I don't dislike Druid, I just forget it exists. Monks and Barbarians are the contrast to my favourite classes (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger), so there isn't ill will... they just aren't for me. And monks have too many class abilities and too few subclass abilities. Like, just shut up monk rules!
And I just don't like Bards.
Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Artificers are all really neat.
I'm also happy to play a cleric or a rogue, but they just don't speak to me like the others do.
Wizard. Not enough class features. Too many costs. Too many spells.
Then Druid, Barbarian, Bard, and Monk. Like, I don't dislike Druid, I just forget it exists. Monks and Barbarians are the contrast to my favourite classes (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger), so there isn't ill will... they just aren't for me. And monks have too many class abilities and too few subclass abilities. Like, just shut up monk rules!
And I just don't like Bards.
Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Artificers are all really neat.
I'm also happy to play a cleric or a rogue, but they just don't speak to me like the others do.
I agree with part of that. Sorcerers, warlocks, artificers, all really good. But I'd like to note that: a) Every level wizards do not get a class feature, they get a new spell level, and b) Wizards get six free spells in their spellbook at 1st level, and get two more every time you level up. You don't actually have to spend money every time you add spells to your spellbook.
I personally are not a big fan of barbarians. They seem to simple for me.
I'm not a big fan of druids. I think I just don't particularly like Wild Shape... on top of keeping track of Prepared Spells, you also need to keep a list of Beasts that you've encountered, their CR, etc. The only Druid Subclasses I've ever been interested in are the ones that let you use your Wildshape feature to just get a power boost or something. I don't think it's a bad class or anything, it just doesn't appeal to me like other classes do.
Wizard. Not enough class features. Too many costs. Too many spells.
The spells are the main feature of the class. They have access to more than anybody else, including some that are simply more powerful than ones others get. That's what the costs are paying for. Whether that's a worthwhile tradeoff is up to individual opinion, of course.
I dislike artificer pretty much for all the reasons it's called "artificer." Mechanically it's fine, a half caster that gets extra magical abilities that balance out the fewer spells than a full caster. But it's themed around the concept of being a mad scientist that uses "technology" that isn't magic for flavor purposes. So instead of just saying "I cast firebolt," it's a mechanically regular crossbow being used as an arcane focus for a cantrip that doesn't shoot actual arrows and it's called a "pyrobolt apparatus" or something. And you have grenades instead of casting fireball or potions that are mechanically different from what everybody else (including the people that write the rules for the rest of the game) calls potions instead of casting cure wounds and these same things things are used without being changed when you upcast the "not-spells" for greater effect. And you don't spend money on additional crafting materials to "make" new ones whenever you prepare spells and you can't stockpile them if you don't use them. Because actually making the rules fit the flavor would completely trash game balance. The class exists for the sole purpose of shoehorning Victor Frankenstein and Agatha Heterodyne into a game where supernatural things are explicitly magic without acknowledging that it's magic. Just remove any pretense of "it's technology because science" and say you're enchanting things with magic and use a freaking wand, staff, orb, or other arcane focus like other casters and be done with it instead of insisting you are absolutely not just a different variety of spellcaster.
Wizard. Not enough class features. Too many costs. Too many spells.
The spells are the main feature of the class. They have access to more than anybody else, including some that are simply more powerful than ones others get. That's what the costs are paying for. Whether that's a worthwhile tradeoff is up to individual opinion, of course.
I dislike artificer pretty much for all the reasons it's called "artificer." Mechanically it's fine, a half caster that gets extra magical abilities that balance out the fewer spells than a full caster. But it's themed around the concept of being a mad scientist that uses "technology" that isn't magic for flavor purposes. So instead of just saying "I cast firebolt," it's a mechanically regular crossbow being used as an arcane focus for a cantrip that doesn't shoot actual arrows and it's called a "pyrobolt apparatus" or something. And you have grenades instead of casting fireball or potions that are mechanically different from what everybody else (including the people that write the rules for the rest of the game) calls potions instead of casting cure wounds and these same things things are used without being changed when you upcast the "not-spells" for greater effect. And you don't spend money on additional crafting materials to "make" new ones whenever you prepare spells and you can't stockpile them if you don't use them. Because actually making the rules fit the flavor would completely trash game balance. The class exists for the sole purpose of shoehorning Victor Frankenstein and Agatha Heterodyne into a game where supernatural things are explicitly magic without acknowledging that it's magic. Just remove any pretense of "it's technology because science" and say you're enchanting things with magic and use a freaking wand, staff, orb, or other arcane focus like other casters and be done with it instead of insisting you are absolutely not just a different variety of spellcaster.
I personally love the artificer. My first character is an artificer, and i really like him. He's a Battle Smith, and the character build is this: He snipes from he distance using his crossbow w/ Repeating Shot, and his Steel Defender goes around wreaking havoc on the battlefield. The best/worst thing about the artificer is the fact that they are so complicated, and so customizable. I get that this would be hard with a physical character sheet, but with a digital one it's just fine.
Artificer - too much technology for a "magical" world. Go play a sci-fi RPG if you want to play with tech.
😝
Artificer is a work of ART. the fact that they are using technology in the DnD setting makes you feel like the best inventor in the world.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
I can understand disliking Artificer, even though I personally really like it. The theming is very aggressive with the class, moreso than any other. Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself. Artificers, meanwhile, have language in their class description that make it clear that there's meant to be some kind of technology as a justification for their magic, even though mechanically nothing is required. An Artificer with all their equipment might be able to flavor their spellcasting as being pulling magic knick-knacks out of their pockets and tossing them at enemies, but also a nake artificer who gets their hands on a lockpick set can conjure magical webbing that appears from nowhere... and also somehow they have to concentrate on it? What is concentration if your Web is flavored as a grenade you lob at enemies? You either need to meticulously plan all of your individual spells to explain why they work under the rules of spellcasting in 5e, or just kind of handwave the whole thing to the point that you're just a regular spellcaster. I think it also shifts the tone of the game itself... if you're playing in a high-fantasy, low-tech game, it can mess with your sense of disbelief to have someone there carrying a gun and fighting side-by-side with an autonomous robot.
I can understand disliking Artificer, even though I personally really like it. The theming is very aggressive with the class, moreso than any other. Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself. Artificers, meanwhile, have language in their class description that make it clear that there's meant to be some kind of technology as a justification for their magic, even though mechanically nothing is required. An Artificer with all their equipment might be able to flavor their spellcasting as being pulling magic knick-knacks out of their pockets and tossing them at enemies, but also a nake artificer who gets their hands on a lockpick set can conjure magical webbing that appears from nowhere... and also somehow they have to concentrate on it? What is concentration if your Web is flavored as a grenade you lob at enemies? You either need to meticulously plan all of your individual spells to explain why they work under the rules of spellcasting in 5e, or just kind of handwave the whole thing to the point that you're just a regular spellcaster. I think it also shifts the tone of the game itself... if you're playing in a high-fantasy, low-tech game, it can mess with your sense of disbelief to have someone there carrying a gun and fighting side-by-side with an autonomous robot.
Personally I like flavoring artificer spellcasting as a bit of both. My character is specifically trying to make magic and technology work together in order to make a better mix of both.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself
It kind of is though. It's not like you have the option of swapping out any of those THREE musical instrument proficiencies for tools or languages
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself
It kind of is though. It's not like you have the option of swapping out any of those THREE musical instrument proficiencies for tools or languages
My DM let me swap them for languages and I just left them blank (unselected) in the character builder and then added the three language proficiencies directly to the character sheet. 🤷♂️
I'm not a big fan of druids. I think I just don't particularly like Wild Shape... on top of keeping track of Prepared Spells, you also need to keep a list of Beasts that you've encountered, their CR, etc. The only Druid Subclasses I've ever been interested in are the ones that let you use your Wildshape feature to just get a power boost or something. I don't think it's a bad class or anything, it just doesn't appeal to me like other classes do.
Ditto. The only Druid subclass I was really interested in was the Circle of Stars.
Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself
It kind of is though. It's not like you have the option of swapping out any of those THREE musical instrument proficiencies for tools or languages
I think the important thing is that a Bard can still just use a component pouch... and even if they use an instrument as their spellcasting focus, there's nothing that says they have to actually play it. they could just be waving a harmonica through the air to cast spells. Artificers, meanwhile, must use their tools for all spellcasting... even spells that don't have a material component gain the material component when cast by an artificer.
Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself
It kind of is though. It's not like you have the option of swapping out any of those THREE musical instrument proficiencies for tools or languages
My DM let me swap them for languages and I just left them blank (unselected) in the character builder and then added the three language proficiencies directly to the character sheet. 🤷♂️
You can house rule/homebrew around it, sure, but by the book they're musicians, regardless of your actual concept
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself
It kind of is though. It's not like you have the option of swapping out any of those THREE musical instrument proficiencies for tools or languages
My DM let me swap them for languages and I just left them blank (unselected) in the character builder and then added the three language proficiencies directly to the character sheet. 🤷♂️
You can house rule/homebrew around it, sure, but by the book they're musicians, regardless of your actual concept
Vote on the poll for your least favorite class
(I did not include the blood hunter because it is an unofficial class)
Haven't played enough to have a least favorite class yet. But if I had to pick one, it would be English or maybe maths.
Wizard. Not enough class features. Too many costs. Too many spells.
Then Druid, Barbarian, Bard, and Monk. Like, I don't dislike Druid, I just forget it exists. Monks and Barbarians are the contrast to my favourite classes (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger), so there isn't ill will... they just aren't for me. And monks have too many class abilities and too few subclass abilities. Like, just shut up monk rules!
And I just don't like Bards.
Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Artificers are all really neat.
I'm also happy to play a cleric or a rogue, but they just don't speak to me like the others do.
I agree with part of that. Sorcerers, warlocks, artificers, all really good. But I'd like to note that: a) Every level wizards do not get a class feature, they get a new spell level, and b) Wizards get six free spells in their spellbook at 1st level, and get two more every time you level up. You don't actually have to spend money every time you add spells to your spellbook.
I personally are not a big fan of barbarians. They seem to simple for me.
i am a human being.
I'm not a big fan of druids. I think I just don't particularly like Wild Shape... on top of keeping track of Prepared Spells, you also need to keep a list of Beasts that you've encountered, their CR, etc. The only Druid Subclasses I've ever been interested in are the ones that let you use your Wildshape feature to just get a power boost or something. I don't think it's a bad class or anything, it just doesn't appeal to me like other classes do.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
The spells are the main feature of the class. They have access to more than anybody else, including some that are simply more powerful than ones others get. That's what the costs are paying for. Whether that's a worthwhile tradeoff is up to individual opinion, of course.
I dislike artificer pretty much for all the reasons it's called "artificer." Mechanically it's fine, a half caster that gets extra magical abilities that balance out the fewer spells than a full caster. But it's themed around the concept of being a mad scientist that uses "technology" that isn't magic for flavor purposes. So instead of just saying "I cast firebolt," it's a mechanically regular crossbow being used as an arcane focus for a cantrip that doesn't shoot actual arrows and it's called a "pyrobolt apparatus" or something. And you have grenades instead of casting fireball or potions that are mechanically different from what everybody else (including the people that write the rules for the rest of the game) calls potions instead of casting cure wounds and these same things things are used without being changed when you upcast the "not-spells" for greater effect. And you don't spend money on additional crafting materials to "make" new ones whenever you prepare spells and you can't stockpile them if you don't use them. Because actually making the rules fit the flavor would completely trash game balance. The class exists for the sole purpose of shoehorning Victor Frankenstein and Agatha Heterodyne into a game where supernatural things are explicitly magic without acknowledging that it's magic. Just remove any pretense of "it's technology because science" and say you're enchanting things with magic and use a freaking wand, staff, orb, or other arcane focus like other casters and be done with it instead of insisting you are absolutely not just a different variety of spellcaster.
I personally love the artificer. My first character is an artificer, and i really like him. He's a Battle Smith, and the character build is this: He snipes from he distance using his crossbow w/ Repeating Shot, and his Steel Defender goes around wreaking havoc on the battlefield. The best/worst thing about the artificer is the fact that they are so complicated, and so customizable. I get that this would be hard with a physical character sheet, but with a digital one it's just fine.
i am a human being.
Artificer - too much technology for a "magical" world. Go play a sci-fi RPG if you want to play with tech.
Least favourite thematically is bard.
Least favourite mechanically is sorcerer.
Nothing forcing you to make a sci fi artificer.
Pick a hexblood alchemist and you've got a classic 'witch' type character. And I certainly wouldn't call Macbeth 'sci fi'.
😝
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Artificer is a work of ART. the fact that they are using technology in the DnD setting makes you feel like the best inventor in the world.
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
I can understand disliking Artificer, even though I personally really like it. The theming is very aggressive with the class, moreso than any other. Bards aren't designed under the assumption that all of their magic is accomplished by playing an instrument, even though that's how many people play the class... it's an option, but it's not hard-baked into the class itself. Artificers, meanwhile, have language in their class description that make it clear that there's meant to be some kind of technology as a justification for their magic, even though mechanically nothing is required. An Artificer with all their equipment might be able to flavor their spellcasting as being pulling magic knick-knacks out of their pockets and tossing them at enemies, but also a nake artificer who gets their hands on a lockpick set can conjure magical webbing that appears from nowhere... and also somehow they have to concentrate on it? What is concentration if your Web is flavored as a grenade you lob at enemies? You either need to meticulously plan all of your individual spells to explain why they work under the rules of spellcasting in 5e, or just kind of handwave the whole thing to the point that you're just a regular spellcaster. I think it also shifts the tone of the game itself... if you're playing in a high-fantasy, low-tech game, it can mess with your sense of disbelief to have someone there carrying a gun and fighting side-by-side with an autonomous robot.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Personally I like flavoring artificer spellcasting as a bit of both. My character is specifically trying to make magic and technology work together in order to make a better mix of both.
Hollow unbreakable arrows are the most OP common magic item, and my current method of coming up with insane combat shenanigans.
if you make a steel pipe with one end closed and a nozzle on the other, you can enlarge it, fill with any liquid, and then drop concentration, creating a high pressure squirt gun. (or a pipe bomb, depending if it holds)
It kind of is though. It's not like you have the option of swapping out any of those THREE musical instrument proficiencies for tools or languages
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
My DM let me swap them for languages and I just left them blank (unselected) in the character builder and then added the three language proficiencies directly to the character sheet. 🤷♂️
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Ditto. The only Druid subclass I was really interested in was the Circle of Stars.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I think the important thing is that a Bard can still just use a component pouch... and even if they use an instrument as their spellcasting focus, there's nothing that says they have to actually play it. they could just be waving a harmonica through the air to cast spells. Artificers, meanwhile, must use their tools for all spellcasting... even spells that don't have a material component gain the material component when cast by an artificer.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
You can house rule/homebrew around it, sure, but by the book they're musicians, regardless of your actual concept
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I won’t tell the D&D police if you don’t. 😜
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting