Assuming you're not planning to buy an entire book, what would be the best things to selectively and individually buy for building a character and playing in someone else's game?
You've got feats, subclasses, backgrounds, races and I'm sure a bunch of other things to consider.
It would be nice to have the roles of tank, range dps, melee dps, range aoe, healing and control covered.
Personalization is secondary. I've had a lot of experience writing and pretty much anything can make sense with the right angle of perspective.
I'm looking them up outside of the DnD Beyond database since only here is where I'm blocked from reading about them... Which on a side note seems silly. People will find the information, so why not just let them read it here? I want to know what I'm buying, so I think its fair to assume that I'll research it where I can find the information. Why send all that traffic somewhere else and promote websites that are not your own.
I'm looking them up outside of the DnD Beyond database since only here is where I'm blocked from reading about them... Which on a side note seems silly. People will find the information, so why not just let them read it here? I want to know what I'm buying, so I think its fair to assume that I'll research it where I can find the information. Why send all that traffic somewhere else and promote websites that are not your own.
Well, because copyright and intellectual property licensing exists. It's fairly well-known that publishers and content owners would like to be paid for their works.
Yes, but there is a difference between giving samples and giving everything. Even chapters and amazon do this by sample pages to give buyers a few more ideas regarding what the customer is buying.
I see 'Individual Purchase Options: Abjurer' and am like... What's that? The description is literally one word. So if I want to make an informed purchase, I'm forced to look it up somewhere else. That extra step of looking for information about it on another site is what I find silly. One word is not enough to make an informed decision.
Anyways, this was an aside comment. I'm trying to narrow it down to what I need to ask people about or put research into.
Yes, but there is a difference between giving samples and giving everything. Even chapters and amazon do this by sample pages to give buyers a few more ideas regarding what the customer is buying.
Were I a betting man, I would guess this has more to do with the license agreement with WoTC than with keeping things behind a paywall. Even if they had an Amazon-style "Look Inside" feature, that wouldn't cover enough to know what all the feats or all the backgrounds, etc. anyway.
I don't think I really need the PHB atm. It might be a great buy, but its too big a price tag to start with and I'd probably want to buy other things with it if I ever did get it. Moreover, my DMs so far are really experienced and already have one.
I'm just looking for things that people really enjoy playing or that get a lot of use.
Like the heavy armor mastery feat looks pretty useful. I'm not to interested in taking grapple, it feels like a skill that would just make tactics in combat more complicated.
Tempest cleric is a fan favourite it seems... But it seems to take away from its role of healing.
I think the biggest thing I've found in DnD so far is that people like to fight. Most of the game consists of bashing people on the head so I'm trying to adapt. My innate instincts are to just write beautifully and make a good story, but there's a lot more combat then I was prepared for here.
Just trying to figure out what couple of items at the start of my career would be good that I could enjoy and also get a lot of use out of.
If you were to buy 1 feat 1 class 1 background and 1 race, what would it be? And why?
Is it really so different from me as a broke jr. high kid in the 80s hanging out at Waldenbooks in the role playing games section spending hours thumbing through the D&D books to make absolutely sure where I would ultimately spend my hard-earned $20? To answer your question directly, for me, the biggest motivation would be to purchase the various races one at a time from the various sources. I cannot give specifics because it's been so long that I don't remember what all needed to be purchased after the fact.
Assuming you're not planning to buy an entire book, what would be the best things to selectively and individually buy for building a character and playing in someone else's game?
You've got feats, subclasses, backgrounds, races and I'm sure a bunch of other things to consider.
It would be nice to have the roles of tank, range dps, melee dps, range aoe, healing and control covered.
Personalization is secondary. I've had a lot of experience writing and pretty much anything can make sense with the right angle of perspective.
It's difficult giving you very useful advice without writing for pages since you seem to be interested in quite a variety of roles. You probably need to do some research of your own, taking notes of what sounds good. This website is not part of Wizards of the Coast. Nevertheless, it provides you some very detailed breakdowns of the different classes, both thematically and mechanically. Some of the descriptions also talk about different races and how well they work with those classes. Other than that, do as others have suggested: Youtube search "classes" and "D&D 5th edition" or make friends with folks at a local gaming store and spend a few evenings thumbing through their copy of Xanathar's Guide to Everything and Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.
The one other thing to keep in mind is that you might not have found the right gaming group for you yet. Some people like tactical games focused on building characters just to do damage or just to heal the maximum amount. This makes sense since D&D originally came from wargames. That in no way should how you should play if that is not what you enjoy. It might take a while, but search around online or through asking friends/store staff for DMs who prefer narrative-centric stories and who take the time to integrate characters into the story in meaningful ways.
1 feat - unless you are planning on playing a variant human, I wouldn't bother. You don't get an option for a feat until 4th level (unless you are a variant human that is) and even then you might go for a stat increase instead. If you are a variant human, it would depend on class I think. So, based on my suggestions below... Ranger - Sharpshooter. Bard - Healer, Mobile, Resilient (CON) or War Caster (it really depends on what concept of bard - there are other options as well). Cleric - War Caster, Resilient (CON), maybe Tough.
1 class - If I were just starting out, I would probably choose Ranger. That's where I naturally gravitate to. Having been playing for years, and understanding that you love the creative, role-play aspects of the game, I would instead go for Bard. This seems to be right up your alley. I've also read posts where you were hoping for a storm/thunder/lightning based character. I'd have to go with Storm cleric for that one. I think you would still enjoy bard though - they get Shatter, which is a ranged thunder spell. Why wouldn't I go with Ranger? I find the class underwhelming.
1 background - Ranger - Outlander. Bard - difficult to narrow that down, since bards can be focused on all sorts of things. There is an Entertainer background. But a bard could easily be a former soldier, of a failed acolyte or a Noble. The backgrounds mostly indicate what they are by name though, so that should be simple. Cleric - Acolyte seems popular, but again, they could really be anything.
1 race. Hmmm. if you want to base the race to support your class (which many people do - race choice will affect starting stats and many people like getting high numbers in their primary stat) then Ranger would look for something bumping Dex and Wis. Wood Elf is a good choice. Bard would want Dex and Chr. Half-elf is the way to go. Aasimar, Tiefling, Yuan-ti are other options. Cleric needs Wis. I think Firbolg is the only one with +2 Wis. Hill Dwarf is a good choice with +2 CON and +1 Wis.
That said - while many people do build their characters this way, I try to avoid this. My concept for the next campaign I play in is going to be an Aasimar (protector) Rogue (thief). He will have the Soldier background. There will be ongoing conflict with his angelic guardian (guardian isn't exactly accurate, but all Aasimar have an angelic personage that takes interest in what they are doing and may communicate via dreams and such - based on what is worked out with the DM) because of the path he has chosen after his military career ended in betrayal. He will eventually take levels in Cleric (trickery), which will really aggravate his angelic patron.
The point is - that combination of race, class and background is less than ideal. Doesn't really matter. I play the characters I want to play, regardless of what is "best".
this is coming from someone that HAS invested in all the character creation books though, so I have the material at hand. I used DnDBeyond to create the characters, and only buy what I need for each character. I actually own 2 full books here now, but the PHB is not one of them. Not yet anyway.
As you buy items, it lowers the overall cost of the section you bought it from, and from the cost of the book as a whole. you could eventually buy a whole book with the 'death by a thousand cuts' tactic. 1.99 here, 3.98 a couple weeks later... Just know that what you spend lowers the remaining cost.
I don't think I really need the PHB atm. It might be a great buy, but its too big a price tag to start with and I'd probably want to buy other things with it if I ever did get it. Moreover, my DMs so far are really experienced and already have one.
I'm just looking for things that people really enjoy playing or that get a lot of use.
Like the heavy armor mastery feat looks pretty useful. I'm not to interested in taking grapple, it feels like a skill that would just make tactics in combat more complicated.
Tempest cleric is a fan favourite it seems... But it seems to take away from its role of healing.
I think the biggest thing I've found in DnD so far is that people like to fight. Most of the game consists of bashing people on the head so I'm trying to adapt. My innate instincts are to just write beautifully and make a good story, but there's a lot more combat then I was prepared for here.
Just trying to figure out what couple of items at the start of my career would be good that I could enjoy and also get a lot of use out of.
If you were to buy 1 feat 1 class 1 background and 1 race, what would it be? And why?
This is essentially an impossible question to answer as it varies so wildly from person to person. It really sounds like you do not have a good overarching sense of what the options are in 5E from a player's perspective. Personally, I'd recommend that you DO spend the little bit of extra money and just buy the full PHB and spend dome time digesting the options. What is "good" or "worth paying for" totally depends on your preferences and level of experience with the system.
I recommend buying the things that are hard to homebrew. Homebrewing things takes a little more time, but you can create almost any of the things that aren't free content that way. But some take more puzzling out than others, and some have slightly more complicated mechanics that are harder to figure out if you can't copy from a similar race/item/etc, or are actually made from options not open to non-staff. I've homebrewed most races, subclasses, and items that I wanted but didn't want to pay for (especially if I wasn't sure I'd actually get to use the character - I'll homebrew it to create the character to apply to a PBP, for example, then if I get in and know the game's going to last for more than a month, I'll pay the $1.99 to ensure that my subclass features work right, or that I can see the booming blade damage in the right spots).
Also, don't worry about what's popular among other people, focus on what feat/race/etc will help create the character you want to play, or help that character reach their goals/makes sense for their story. If you end up in a group that keeps going combat-heavy when you don't want to, you don't have to stay, and there are plenty of groups that put more emphasis on other areas, so don't give up on that front either, it just sometimes takes a while and a lot of looking!
Assuming you're not planning to buy an entire book, what would be the best things to selectively and individually buy for building a character and playing in someone else's game?
You've got feats, subclasses, backgrounds, races and I'm sure a bunch of other things to consider.
It would be nice to have the roles of tank, range dps, melee dps, range aoe, healing and control covered.
Personalization is secondary. I've had a lot of experience writing and pretty much anything can make sense with the right angle of perspective.
I'm looking them up outside of the DnD Beyond database since only here is where I'm blocked from reading about them... Which on a side note seems silly. People will find the information, so why not just let them read it here? I want to know what I'm buying, so I think its fair to assume that I'll research it where I can find the information. Why send all that traffic somewhere else and promote websites that are not your own.
Well, because copyright and intellectual property licensing exists. It's fairly well-known that publishers and content owners would like to be paid for their works.
What it sounds like you are implying is piracy usage, which is prohibited here on D&D Beyond. That would not by any means be 'fair' for anyone.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/news-announcements/2-site-rules-guidelines
Yes, but there is a difference between giving samples and giving everything. Even chapters and amazon do this by sample pages to give buyers a few more ideas regarding what the customer is buying.
I see 'Individual Purchase Options: Abjurer' and am like... What's that? The description is literally one word. So if I want to make an informed purchase, I'm forced to look it up somewhere else. That extra step of looking for information about it on another site is what I find silly. One word is not enough to make an informed decision.
Anyways, this was an aside comment. I'm trying to narrow it down to what I need to ask people about or put research into.
Look up guides to the classes on youtube, or reviews of the books.
Failing that, go to your local gaming store and ask if they have a store copy of the rules for you to thumb through.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
This I can agree with and would be a worthwhile feature - you should detail the idea and post it for review by the development team: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/d-d-beyond-feedback
I would recommend picking up the Player's Handbook. There is a ton of information in it and you don't NEED anything else to be successful.
No other book has material in it on building a character, the others just have options.
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"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Were I a betting man, I would guess this has more to do with the license agreement with WoTC than with keeping things behind a paywall. Even if they had an Amazon-style "Look Inside" feature, that wouldn't cover enough to know what all the feats or all the backgrounds, etc. anyway.
I don't think I really need the PHB atm. It might be a great buy, but its too big a price tag to start with and I'd probably want to buy other things with it if I ever did get it. Moreover, my DMs so far are really experienced and already have one.
I'm just looking for things that people really enjoy playing or that get a lot of use.
Like the heavy armor mastery feat looks pretty useful. I'm not to interested in taking grapple, it feels like a skill that would just make tactics in combat more complicated.
Tempest cleric is a fan favourite it seems... But it seems to take away from its role of healing.
I think the biggest thing I've found in DnD so far is that people like to fight. Most of the game consists of bashing people on the head so I'm trying to adapt. My innate instincts are to just write beautifully and make a good story, but there's a lot more combat then I was prepared for here.
Just trying to figure out what couple of items at the start of my career would be good that I could enjoy and also get a lot of use out of.
If you were to buy 1 feat 1 class 1 background and 1 race, what would it be? And why?
Is it really so different from me as a broke jr. high kid in the 80s hanging out at Waldenbooks in the role playing games section spending hours thumbing through the D&D books to make absolutely sure where I would ultimately spend my hard-earned $20? To answer your question directly, for me, the biggest motivation would be to purchase the various races one at a time from the various sources. I cannot give specifics because it's been so long that I don't remember what all needed to be purchased after the fact.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
It's difficult giving you very useful advice without writing for pages since you seem to be interested in quite a variety of roles. You probably need to do some research of your own, taking notes of what sounds good. This website is not part of Wizards of the Coast. Nevertheless, it provides you some very detailed breakdowns of the different classes, both thematically and mechanically. Some of the descriptions also talk about different races and how well they work with those classes. Other than that, do as others have suggested: Youtube search "classes" and "D&D 5th edition" or make friends with folks at a local gaming store and spend a few evenings thumbing through their copy of Xanathar's Guide to Everything and Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.
The one other thing to keep in mind is that you might not have found the right gaming group for you yet. Some people like tactical games focused on building characters just to do damage or just to heal the maximum amount. This makes sense since D&D originally came from wargames. That in no way should how you should play if that is not what you enjoy. It might take a while, but search around online or through asking friends/store staff for DMs who prefer narrative-centric stories and who take the time to integrate characters into the story in meaningful ways.
1 feat - unless you are planning on playing a variant human, I wouldn't bother. You don't get an option for a feat until 4th level (unless you are a variant human that is) and even then you might go for a stat increase instead. If you are a variant human, it would depend on class I think. So, based on my suggestions below... Ranger - Sharpshooter. Bard - Healer, Mobile, Resilient (CON) or War Caster (it really depends on what concept of bard - there are other options as well). Cleric - War Caster, Resilient (CON), maybe Tough.
1 class - If I were just starting out, I would probably choose Ranger. That's where I naturally gravitate to. Having been playing for years, and understanding that you love the creative, role-play aspects of the game, I would instead go for Bard. This seems to be right up your alley. I've also read posts where you were hoping for a storm/thunder/lightning based character. I'd have to go with Storm cleric for that one. I think you would still enjoy bard though - they get Shatter, which is a ranged thunder spell. Why wouldn't I go with Ranger? I find the class underwhelming.
1 background - Ranger - Outlander. Bard - difficult to narrow that down, since bards can be focused on all sorts of things. There is an Entertainer background. But a bard could easily be a former soldier, of a failed acolyte or a Noble. The backgrounds mostly indicate what they are by name though, so that should be simple. Cleric - Acolyte seems popular, but again, they could really be anything.
1 race. Hmmm. if you want to base the race to support your class (which many people do - race choice will affect starting stats and many people like getting high numbers in their primary stat) then Ranger would look for something bumping Dex and Wis. Wood Elf is a good choice. Bard would want Dex and Chr. Half-elf is the way to go. Aasimar, Tiefling, Yuan-ti are other options. Cleric needs Wis. I think Firbolg is the only one with +2 Wis. Hill Dwarf is a good choice with +2 CON and +1 Wis.
That said - while many people do build their characters this way, I try to avoid this. My concept for the next campaign I play in is going to be an Aasimar (protector) Rogue (thief). He will have the Soldier background. There will be ongoing conflict with his angelic guardian (guardian isn't exactly accurate, but all Aasimar have an angelic personage that takes interest in what they are doing and may communicate via dreams and such - based on what is worked out with the DM) because of the path he has chosen after his military career ended in betrayal. He will eventually take levels in Cleric (trickery), which will really aggravate his angelic patron.
The point is - that combination of race, class and background is less than ideal. Doesn't really matter. I play the characters I want to play, regardless of what is "best".
this is coming from someone that HAS invested in all the character creation books though, so I have the material at hand. I used DnDBeyond to create the characters, and only buy what I need for each character. I actually own 2 full books here now, but the PHB is not one of them. Not yet anyway.
As you buy items, it lowers the overall cost of the section you bought it from, and from the cost of the book as a whole. you could eventually buy a whole book with the 'death by a thousand cuts' tactic. 1.99 here, 3.98 a couple weeks later... Just know that what you spend lowers the remaining cost.
This is essentially an impossible question to answer as it varies so wildly from person to person. It really sounds like you do not have a good overarching sense of what the options are in 5E from a player's perspective. Personally, I'd recommend that you DO spend the little bit of extra money and just buy the full PHB and spend dome time digesting the options. What is "good" or "worth paying for" totally depends on your preferences and level of experience with the system.
I recommend buying the things that are hard to homebrew. Homebrewing things takes a little more time, but you can create almost any of the things that aren't free content that way. But some take more puzzling out than others, and some have slightly more complicated mechanics that are harder to figure out if you can't copy from a similar race/item/etc, or are actually made from options not open to non-staff. I've homebrewed most races, subclasses, and items that I wanted but didn't want to pay for (especially if I wasn't sure I'd actually get to use the character - I'll homebrew it to create the character to apply to a PBP, for example, then if I get in and know the game's going to last for more than a month, I'll pay the $1.99 to ensure that my subclass features work right, or that I can see the booming blade damage in the right spots).
Also, don't worry about what's popular among other people, focus on what feat/race/etc will help create the character you want to play, or help that character reach their goals/makes sense for their story. If you end up in a group that keeps going combat-heavy when you don't want to, you don't have to stay, and there are plenty of groups that put more emphasis on other areas, so don't give up on that front either, it just sometimes takes a while and a lot of looking!
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep