Bard maybe druid, but is it for high school or middle school where the teachers are specialized in subjects? Wouldn't it be more fun, if each teacher took a character based on their specialization?
Since you want to be AL compliant, you should think through how this will work logistically. To the best of my knowledge, unless the adventure specifically allows it and provides the NPC, in AL DMs cannot add an NPC to the party to even things out. So if that’s what you were thinking of doing, that runs into AL compliance issues.
What you could do is have each faculty member who is involved create an AL compliant character, to have on hand when the need arises for there to be another player; then a faculty member who is not DMing that day could join the table to play. At least during previous AL seasons, DMs could add one level to one of their characters after each session they DM’d, so even if a given faculty member hadn’t played their character until the party was tier 2, they could level up their character if they had DM’d enough. (And DM’s can “save” their “level up” points until they are needed, as far as I know). If you go that route, I would suggest giving the faculty involved a list of good “general” classes (e.g. cleric, lore bard, artificer) to choose from, and maybe even have them coordinate so that each one builds a different class.
Also, in terms of Ranger as a “general” class, there are both pluses and minuses—and I say that as someone whose favorite class is Ranger. A ranger can do both ranged and melee pretty well, if DEX is set up as their main stat and they choose finesse weapons for melee. Depending on the spells chosen, they have some healing capability. However, they are a “known” spellcasting class as opposed to a “prepared” spellcasting class. So by AL rules, they cannot swap out their spells to adapt to the needs of the party. In that respect, a Paladin is a better option, although Paladin’s don’t generally do ranged well. (The known/prepared spellcasting difference is also why clerics and druids are excellent options for what you are looking for. It is a disadvantage of bards in this case, although the bard’s broad skill set probably makes up for that)
But seriously, bards round out parties well, and are good fighters, however, if an experienced player plays one while a newer player plays one as well, it will take a lot of attention away from the new player. That said, I think you should use a bard for this.
I'm surprised warlock didn't get votes. A mark of healing warlock can be well rounded.
Probably because that's a specific race-subclass combination. No matter what druid or bard you are, you're good in most circumstances.
Fair point, but aa of this post it's the only class with no votes.
And I was explaining why I probably got no votes. It's just not good at general use as Bards, Clerics, or Druids.
So now explain why other classes got votes when warlocks didn't. No one questioned votes for bards, clerics, or druids. Why a sorc, for example, would get a vote but not a warlock is why it caught my attention.
I'm surprised warlock didn't get votes. A mark of healing warlock can be well rounded.
Probably because that's a specific race-subclass combination. No matter what druid or bard you are, you're good in most circumstances.
Fair point, but aa of this post it's the only class with no votes.
And I was explaining why I probably got no votes. It's just not good at general use as Bards, Clerics, or Druids.
So now explain why other classes got votes when warlocks didn't. No one questioned votes for bards, clerics, or druids. Why a sorc, for example, would get a vote but not a warlock is why it caught my attention.
I can't explain why anyone specifically voted for each invididual class, but here's the least voted ones, and how they are valid getting some credits for their "general usage:"
Barbarians: I have no explanation for this. They mostly suck at anything besides combat. Certain Totem Barbarians can do a bit of utility and general use, and they do get some bonuses against saving throws and surprising, but they are really not good at general usage at all.
Monk: There is still not much for a monk in the way of general usage, but certain features can help them with things difficult/impossible for other classes, like astral projection, poison immunity, ignoring effects of aging. None of them are good at utility, but with them not needing armor or weapons, I could see someone defining that as "general use."
Paladin: With their healing, divine sense, auras, support spells, combat, and other "utility" features, I can see why someone would vote for the Paladin.
Ranger: They're one of the only classes/subclasses that has exploration, languages, and other utility features built into the class, so it's not surprising to see that they got some votes.
Rogues: With their expertise, combat prowess, stealth abilities, thieves' tools, thieves' cant, and subclasses with more utility features, I could see why some would vote for this.
Sorcerer: Barely any utility spells and capabilities, this should honestly not have gotten any votes.
Wizard: They should've gotten more votes, but I'm assuming they didn't due to their inability to heal, which druids, clerics, and bards can do.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Sorcerer do get plenty of utility spells for various situations, with Divine Sorcerers getting to pick from the entire Cleric spell list. Plus being able to twin different utility spells can come in quite handy. The issue is that they get so few known spells and switching them out is practically non-existent, making them a harder class to use effectively if you aren't invested in truly playing this class. Wizards get the benefit of switching out spells at a long rest, making them more versatile. However, they have no real way of getting healing spells and for some people having to pay to increase your spell list beyond those gotten at level up may be a turn off, making this another class that I think needs a bit more investment to play well. *Note that this is just my own opinions on the two classes and why they may not make the best choice for a general use class.
This I feel is why people in general think the Cleric, Druid, and Bard are better for general use as far as full casters go. Bards are great faces and have a plethora of healing and utility spells, and are one of the two skill monkey classes. Clerics and Druids get a wide range of spells for all manner of situations and can change them out every long rest to up their flexibility. Plus, some Clerics and Druids can also play more melee oriented if needed.
I'm surprised warlock didn't get votes. A mark of healing warlock can be well rounded.
Probably because that's a specific race-subclass combination. No matter what druid or bard you are, you're good in most circumstances.
Fair point, but aa of this post it's the only class with no votes.
And I was explaining why I probably got no votes. It's just not good at general use as Bards, Clerics, or Druids.
So now explain why other classes got votes when warlocks didn't. No one questioned votes for bards, clerics, or druids. Why a sorc, for example, would get a vote but not a warlock is why it caught my attention.
I can't explain why anyone specifically voted for each invididual class, but here's the least voted ones, and how they are valid getting some credits for their "general usage:"
Barbarians: I have no explanation for this. They mostly suck at anything besides combat. Certain Totem Barbarians can do a bit of utility and general use, and they do get some bonuses against saving throws and surprising, but they are really not good at general usage at all.
Monk: There is still not much for a monk in the way of general usage, but certain features can help them with things difficult/impossible for other classes, like astral projection, poison immunity, ignoring effects of aging. None of them are good at utility, but with them not needing armor or weapons, I could see someone defining that as "general use."
Paladin: With their healing, divine sense, auras, support spells, combat, and other "utility" features, I can see why someone would vote for the Paladin.
Ranger: They're one of the only classes/subclasses that has exploration, languages, and other utility features built into the class, so it's not surprising to see that they got some votes.
Rogues: With their expertise, combat prowess, stealth abilities, thieves' tools, thieves' cant, and subclasses with more utility features, I could see why some would vote for this.
Sorcerer: Barely any utility spells and capabilities, this should honestly not have gotten any votes.
Wizard: They should've gotten more votes, but I'm assuming they didn't due to their inability to heal, which druids, clerics, and bards can do.
That's the thing; warlocks are broader as a class than other options that got votes. That's why it's odd.
I can easily see an agreement for rangers. I can even argue the out of combat options available with bonus feats for a fighter.
Sorcs know less spells than a warlock because of arcanum, and have plenty to work with in subclasses and invocations. Barbarians aren't better.
I would have expected a few votes for warlocks if we're seeing votes for every other class. That struck me as odd.
Sorcerer do get plenty of utility spells for various situations, with Divine Sorcerers getting to pick from the entire Cleric spell list. Plus being able to twin different utility spells can come in quite handy. The issue is that they get so few known spells and switching them out is practically non-existent, making them a harder class to use effectively if you aren't invested in truly playing this class. Wizards get the benefit of switching out spells at a long rest, making them more versatile. However, they have no real way of getting healing spells and for some people having to pay to increase your spell list beyond those gotten at level up may be a turn off, making this another class that I think needs a bit more investment to play well. *Note that this is just my own opinions on the two classes and why they may not make the best choice for a general use class.
This I feel is why people in general think the Cleric, Druid, and Bard are better for general use as far as full casters go. Bards are great faces and have a plethora of healing and utility spells, and are one of the two skill monkey classes. Clerics and Druids get a wide range of spells for all manner of situations and can change them out every long rest to up their flexibility. Plus, some Clerics and Druids can also play more melee oriented if needed.
If individual subclasses don't count for warlocks they don't count for sorcerers. The bottom line is a warlock has more versatility as a class from the variety of resources. More resources than sorcs.
I can easily make a healing wizard too, btw. They don't take damage as well. ;-)
Rangers have skill benefits too, and so do artificers. Artificers got my vote.
Bards are like duct tape. They're not a perfect solution for much of anything (aside from being the party's face), but they're an adequate solution for just about everything.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Bards are like duct tape. They're not a perfect solution for much of anything (aside from being the party's face), but they're an adequate solution for just about everything.
And duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together. I meant party. It holds the party together.
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Bard maybe druid, but is it for high school or middle school where the teachers are specialized in subjects? Wouldn't it be more fun, if each teacher took a character based on their specialization?
I'm surprised warlock didn't get votes. A mark of healing warlock can be well rounded.
Probably because that's a specific race-subclass combination. No matter what druid or bard you are, you're good in most circumstances.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Since you want to be AL compliant, you should think through how this will work logistically. To the best of my knowledge, unless the adventure specifically allows it and provides the NPC, in AL DMs cannot add an NPC to the party to even things out. So if that’s what you were thinking of doing, that runs into AL compliance issues.
What you could do is have each faculty member who is involved create an AL compliant character, to have on hand when the need arises for there to be another player; then a faculty member who is not DMing that day could join the table to play. At least during previous AL seasons, DMs could add one level to one of their characters after each session they DM’d, so even if a given faculty member hadn’t played their character until the party was tier 2, they could level up their character if they had DM’d enough. (And DM’s can “save” their “level up” points until they are needed, as far as I know). If you go that route, I would suggest giving the faculty involved a list of good “general” classes (e.g. cleric, lore bard, artificer) to choose from, and maybe even have them coordinate so that each one builds a different class.
Also, in terms of Ranger as a “general” class, there are both pluses and minuses—and I say that as someone whose favorite class is Ranger. A ranger can do both ranged and melee pretty well, if DEX is set up as their main stat and they choose finesse weapons for melee. Depending on the spells chosen, they have some healing capability. However, they are a “known” spellcasting class as opposed to a “prepared” spellcasting class. So by AL rules, they cannot swap out their spells to adapt to the needs of the party. In that respect, a Paladin is a better option, although Paladin’s don’t generally do ranged well. (The known/prepared spellcasting difference is also why clerics and druids are excellent options for what you are looking for. It is a disadvantage of bards in this case, although the bard’s broad skill set probably makes up for that)
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Fair point, but aa of this post it's the only class with no votes.
And I was explaining why I probably got no votes. It's just not good at general use as Bards, Clerics, or Druids.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
HAHA! BARD IS IN THE LEAD!
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Semicolons are the most addictive punctuation mark there is; and also one of the most helpful.
If you like grammar, go to the Cult of Grammar, for grammatical sticklers. And my grammar may not be perfect, okay, but SHHHHHHH!!!
The HLE; my homebrew monster/character.
But seriously, bards round out parties well, and are good fighters, however, if an experienced player plays one while a newer player plays one as well, it will take a lot of attention away from the new player. That said, I think you should use a bard for this.
Join the Oboe Orchestra!
Semicolons are the most addictive punctuation mark there is; and also one of the most helpful.
If you like grammar, go to the Cult of Grammar, for grammatical sticklers. And my grammar may not be perfect, okay, but SHHHHHHH!!!
The HLE; my homebrew monster/character.
So now explain why other classes got votes when warlocks didn't. No one questioned votes for bards, clerics, or druids. Why a sorc, for example, would get a vote but not a warlock is why it caught my attention.
I can't explain why anyone specifically voted for each invididual class, but here's the least voted ones, and how they are valid getting some credits for their "general usage:"
Barbarians: I have no explanation for this. They mostly suck at anything besides combat. Certain Totem Barbarians can do a bit of utility and general use, and they do get some bonuses against saving throws and surprising, but they are really not good at general usage at all.
Monk: There is still not much for a monk in the way of general usage, but certain features can help them with things difficult/impossible for other classes, like astral projection, poison immunity, ignoring effects of aging. None of them are good at utility, but with them not needing armor or weapons, I could see someone defining that as "general use."
Paladin: With their healing, divine sense, auras, support spells, combat, and other "utility" features, I can see why someone would vote for the Paladin.
Ranger: They're one of the only classes/subclasses that has exploration, languages, and other utility features built into the class, so it's not surprising to see that they got some votes.
Rogues: With their expertise, combat prowess, stealth abilities, thieves' tools, thieves' cant, and subclasses with more utility features, I could see why some would vote for this.
Sorcerer: Barely any utility spells and capabilities, this should honestly not have gotten any votes.
Wizard: They should've gotten more votes, but I'm assuming they didn't due to their inability to heal, which druids, clerics, and bards can do.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Sorcerer do get plenty of utility spells for various situations, with Divine Sorcerers getting to pick from the entire Cleric spell list. Plus being able to twin different utility spells can come in quite handy. The issue is that they get so few known spells and switching them out is practically non-existent, making them a harder class to use effectively if you aren't invested in truly playing this class. Wizards get the benefit of switching out spells at a long rest, making them more versatile. However, they have no real way of getting healing spells and for some people having to pay to increase your spell list beyond those gotten at level up may be a turn off, making this another class that I think needs a bit more investment to play well. *Note that this is just my own opinions on the two classes and why they may not make the best choice for a general use class.
This I feel is why people in general think the Cleric, Druid, and Bard are better for general use as far as full casters go. Bards are great faces and have a plethora of healing and utility spells, and are one of the two skill monkey classes. Clerics and Druids get a wide range of spells for all manner of situations and can change them out every long rest to up their flexibility. Plus, some Clerics and Druids can also play more melee oriented if needed.
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Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
That's the thing; warlocks are broader as a class than other options that got votes. That's why it's odd.
I can easily see an agreement for rangers. I can even argue the out of combat options available with bonus feats for a fighter.
Sorcs know less spells than a warlock because of arcanum, and have plenty to work with in subclasses and invocations. Barbarians aren't better.
I would have expected a few votes for warlocks if we're seeing votes for every other class. That struck me as odd.
If individual subclasses don't count for warlocks they don't count for sorcerers. The bottom line is a warlock has more versatility as a class from the variety of resources. More resources than sorcs.
I can easily make a healing wizard too, btw. They don't take damage as well. ;-)
Rangers have skill benefits too, and so do artificers. Artificers got my vote.
Bards are like duct tape. They're not a perfect solution for much of anything (aside from being the party's face), but they're an adequate solution for just about everything.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
And duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together. I meant party. It holds the party together.