Cleric and Druid are the easiest to experiment with, since you can refresh all your choices after a long rest. Plus they're a bit narrower in scope than the arcane casters.
I think warlocks are pretty good entry level casters. You’re mostly going to eldritch blast stuff and you only have 2 spells to cast otherwise (for most of your career) from a pretty small list.
It ends up playing a lot like an archer, with a couple big tricks you can pull out sometimes.
That depends if you want the spellcaster experience or not. Speaking as someone who's been running a Warlock from level 3 to 11 and counting, I'm enjoying myself but I do wish I could pull out a wider variety of spells between rests.
I'd go with a sorcerer. Nice, clean family entertainment you can trust - pick some damage spells, pick some metamagic, make sure you have a little bit of everything. Learn that position is crucial or you will die. All you need to know to effectively sorce.
Edit: Later on maybe you can Shield of Misty Step, but really, positioning is still how you don't die.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
My suggestion would be to try out a Cleric as your first full caster character. Like Druids, they get to pick all of their spells each day, so you are only locked in to your spell choices until your next long rest. Their spell list also has a wide variety of spell types, which is nice for a first-time caster because you may find that you prefer playing one style over another (blaster, supporter, healer, or a hybrid) later in the campaign, and you can kind of tailor your character to your own style. As for subclass, I recommend Light Domain. This subclass offers a diverse array of features for both damage and support, so you are not as driven to stick to a single playstyle the way Life Domain pushes you to be a healer or War Domain a damager. Trickery Domain is, well...a little tricky. It has some nice options, but I think it takes a little more experienced player to get the full use out of them.
As far as the other casters go, Druid is pretty flexible and a fairly safe choice. They also have a wide variety of spells, and their ability to shape shift can be fun. They would be my second choice for players new to spellcasting.
Wizards have a little more flexibility since they can learn spells while adventuring from other spellbooks or scrolls, but I find that Wizards don't really come into their own until higher levels of play when they start getting some really insane spells. Spells like Simulacrum, Wish, and Meteor Swarm will make you feel like a god, but really Wizards are only decent at first until you get to about 9th level or so when their power starts to really come into it's own.
Bards and Sorcerers are pretty locked in to their spell choices because they only learn new spells when the level and can't swap them out as easily. Bards eventually get access to the Wizard, Cleric, and Druid spell lists as well, which can be pretty intimidating for a first-timer, while Sorcerers need a little more experience to be able to make all of their subclass features, spells, and metamagic options really sing.
Warlocks have the same issue as Sorcerers - they need a lot of spells, feats, and invocations to come together to really make them feel like a powerhouse. If you are not sure how to put a full build together, it is possible to have a wide variety of features that just don't synergize well. Their Pact Magic is also unique in that instead of getting a ton of spell slots to cast with as you level, they get much fewer pact magic slots (1 at level 1, 2 at level 2, 3 at level 11, and 4 at level 17) that come back after short or long rests. In practice, this usually means that you will be casting a single spell that requires concentration like Hunger of Hadar, then fall back to using Eldritch Blast for the rest of the fight. This feels kind of the opposite of what I want to give a first-time caster, as I would want them to be casting spells left and right instead of spamming cantrips through most fights.
Sorcerer's would be my suggestion for someone playing a spellcaster for the first time, and I recommend playing a character from 1st level up, instead of diving right in and trying to play a spellcaster at higher levels first.
Sorcerer's don't change spells from day to day, which makes one less thing the new player needs to worry about. Work with the DM to get a good spell mix (I recommend 1 primary attack spell, 1 defensive spell, and utility spells for the remainder - as for cantrips, I recommend no more than 2 attack cantrips (one melee, one ranged)).
At each level you can swap out one levelled spell that isn't doing it for you. Too many players have a hard time deciding on spell selections each day, and even when playing classes that are meant for it, they tend to just use the same ones day after day anyway. Many also don't like the consequences of 'guessing wrong' when they find out the spells they chose thinking they knew what threats they were going to face, end up being useless because the threat ended up being something else entirely.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
It's funny that there is almost every caster suggested here - I'll go ahead and add my two cents and say that Sorcerers are easy because all their abilities are just related to their spellcasting, and metamagic is an easy thing to wrap your head around. You are locked into the spells you pick, but I think that might actually make it easier for a new person instead of the overwhelming thought that you'd have to know which spells to choose every morning.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
It definitely does seem like a choice between a class where you have all your spells and choose by rest or choosing spells when you level and committing to those. Sure I could learn both. I am currently doing the former with my Paladin, but much lower stakes. Basically Bless and the rest Smites usually. Some other mild experimentation, but that feels good.
Maybe Cleric or Druid would be an easy step in same direction. I do enjoy simplicity of support spells: buff allies and help them do what they like doing. I don’t feel the need to find the most exploitative spell combos and such. I do enjoy watching others do that though.
So yeah I had my eye on Light Cleric because it seemed fairly well-designed. Can buff, heal, and damage of course. I also like the WIS-based class for helping with skills, etc. Druids similar attraction: good combo of each things.
Sorcerer's would be my suggestion for someone playing a spellcaster for the first time, and I recommend playing a character from 1st level up, instead of diving right in and trying to play a spellcaster at higher levels first.
Sorcerer's don't change spells from day to day, which makes one less thing the new player needs to worry about. Work with the DM to get a good spell mix (I recommend 1 primary attack spell, 1 defensive spell, and utility spells for the remainder - as for cantrips, I recommend no more than 2 attack cantrips (one melee, one ranged)).
At each level you can swap out one levelled spell that isn't doing it for you. Too many players have a hard time deciding on spell selections each day, and even when playing classes that are meant for it, they tend to just use the same ones day after day anyway. Many also don't like the consequences of 'guessing wrong' when they find out the spells they chose thinking they knew what threats they were going to face, end up being useless because the threat ended up being something else entirely.
I would say it is a much worse feeling to 'guess wrong' on a sorcerer where you just have one less spell that you use until you level up, compared to a druid or cleric where it's just mildly annoying.
That was my instinct as well. Having all my spells prepared dies sound nice, but having choices limited overall feels like more pressure to pick the right ones at each level. Whereas having my full menu of spells and choosing per rest seems doable enough. Can try out different spells as I like, etc.
That said, the Sorcerer in my group does do some pretty awesome stuff.
Sorcerers are good if you know the ins and outs of the various spells and how they operate.
If you're a beginner, the wizard is an easier and more forgiving class simply because of the sheer number of spells you learn, which means you're freer to experiment with spells you're not familiar with as you have more options to prepare, so even if you learn a spell and find out that it's terrible or at least highly situational you're not stuck with it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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.
Cleric is a good option, but ai am not sure about druid.
A druid needs to select wild shape options as well as spells so you need to know the skills of all the beasts and how they compare.
I would actually put forward wizard as an option. While the size of the spell list can be overwhelming you do not have to have the very best spells in your book. You just need to know enough decent spells which do a mix of things. Evokes are probably the simplest option as you are focused on damage and from your martial characters you know about that.
I would say it is a much worse feeling to 'guess wrong' on a sorcerer where you just have one less spell that you use until you level up, compared to a druid or cleric where it's just mildly annoying.
Just pick something that can't go wrong. Firebolt, burning hands, pick one of the Tiefling variants, get Eldritch Origin or whatever it's called for Misty Step, pick Transmuted Spell, and you are ready to rock.
Is it the best build ever? Naw. Is it good enough? Hell yea. Is it fun to play? Yes - so much fun. Half the time you save your party by dishing out wonderful levels of AOE damage. Half the time you're rolling death saves. It doesn't get much better than that.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I would say it is a much worse feeling to 'guess wrong' on a sorcerer where you just have one less spell that you use until you level up, compared to a druid or cleric where it's just mildly annoying.
Just pick something that can't go wrong. Firebolt, burning hands, pick one of the Tiefling variants, get Eldritch Origin or whatever it's called for Misty Step, pick Transmuted Spell, and you are ready to rock.
Is it the best build ever? Naw. Is it good enough? Hell yea. Is it fun to play? Yes - so much fun. Half the time you save your party by dishing out wonderful levels of AOE damage. Half the time you're rolling death saves. It doesn't get much better than that.
The person I responded to was talking about prepared spells. So say a person has an ill advised idea that they will be playing in melee, and so they take mage armor and shield, and then false life and jump. They then realize that being melee as a sorcerer is stupid, but they have to wait until they level up to change spells. At level 3, they get level 2 spells and no more prepared spells, so it's practically required their actually useful spell be level 2. So really they won't have any decent level 1 spells until level 4.
Cleric and Druid are the easiest to experiment with, since you can refresh all your choices after a long rest. Plus they're a bit narrower in scope than the arcane casters.
I find druids to be very non-beginner-friendly because of wild shape. Suddenly you have bunch of different stats to keep track of, and I have seen so many new players not understand any of the limits of wild shape.
Player: I turn into an eagle!
DM: You can't do that until level 8.
Player: I turn into an owl then.
DM: Sorry, I should have been specific, you can't turn into animals that can fly until level 8.
Player: Ok, I turn into a beetle and crawl into the dragons ear and eat its brain.
Cleric and Druid are the easiest to experiment with, since you can refresh all your choices after a long rest. Plus they're a bit narrower in scope than the arcane casters.
I find druids to be very non-beginner-friendly because of wild shape. Suddenly you have bunch of different stats to keep track of, and I have seen so many new players not understand any of the limits of wild shape.
Player: I turn into an eagle!
DM: You can't do that until level 8.
Player: I turn into an owl then.
DM: Sorry, I should have been specific, you can't turn into animals that can fly until level 8.
Player: Ok, I turn into a beetle and crawl into the dragons ear and eat its brain.
DM: ...
That's just because they didn't read the rules themselves, and the creator of this thread clearly has.
The person I responded to was talking about prepared spells. So say a person has an ill advised idea that they will be playing in melee, and so they take mage armor and shield, and then false life and jump. They then realize that being melee as a sorcerer is stupid, but they have to wait until they level up to change spells. At level 3, they get level 2 spells and no more prepared spells, so it's practically required their actually useful spell be level 2. So really they won't have any decent level 1 spells until level 4.
Oh, well, sure - I'll grant you that. I fell in love with the shadow blade (is that even the name?!) spell and tried very hard to make a melee sorcerer viable, but it's just ... not worth it at all.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I really like the casters that allow you to swap spells after a long rest, because this lets me experiment with them and learn them one at a time. I also like having a lot of spells prepared, for the same reason. It's okay if I don't use them.
But a lot of this is about... what is it that intimidates you about a caster? Thinking about that will help, as does playing one from first level so that your choices expand with experience.
There are so many internet threads out there about making a base build in whichever appeals to you so you can get something that's functional, and then go research your spells and you'll make decent choices.
I personally love having tactical flexibility and having a lot of choices on a turn. Not everyone does.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hi! Newish to D&D. Curious what a fun/easy spellcasting class/subclass might be to try? I've only used martials to this point.
A bit intimidated by feeling like a level of meta-knowledge is needed to play some of them effectively? (Knowing exactly which spells to select, etc.)
Open to anything. Thanks!
Cleric and Druid are the easiest to experiment with, since you can refresh all your choices after a long rest. Plus they're a bit narrower in scope than the arcane casters.
I think warlocks are pretty good entry level casters. You’re mostly going to eldritch blast stuff and you only have 2 spells to cast otherwise (for most of your career) from a pretty small list.
It ends up playing a lot like an archer, with a couple big tricks you can pull out sometimes.
That depends if you want the spellcaster experience or not. Speaking as someone who's been running a Warlock from level 3 to 11 and counting, I'm enjoying myself but I do wish I could pull out a wider variety of spells between rests.
I'd go with a sorcerer. Nice, clean family entertainment you can trust - pick some damage spells, pick some metamagic, make sure you have a little bit of everything. Learn that position is crucial or you will die. All you need to know to effectively sorce.
Edit: Later on maybe you can Shield of Misty Step, but really, positioning is still how you don't die.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Warlock for a beginning caster is probably the worst thing you can do.
Until you figure out the nuances of playing it you're going to feel stifled compared to any other caster in the party.
Agree than Cleric and Druid are the easiest with their open spell choices. They are quite capable in any role as well.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
My suggestion would be to try out a Cleric as your first full caster character. Like Druids, they get to pick all of their spells each day, so you are only locked in to your spell choices until your next long rest. Their spell list also has a wide variety of spell types, which is nice for a first-time caster because you may find that you prefer playing one style over another (blaster, supporter, healer, or a hybrid) later in the campaign, and you can kind of tailor your character to your own style. As for subclass, I recommend Light Domain. This subclass offers a diverse array of features for both damage and support, so you are not as driven to stick to a single playstyle the way Life Domain pushes you to be a healer or War Domain a damager. Trickery Domain is, well...a little tricky. It has some nice options, but I think it takes a little more experienced player to get the full use out of them.
As far as the other casters go, Druid is pretty flexible and a fairly safe choice. They also have a wide variety of spells, and their ability to shape shift can be fun. They would be my second choice for players new to spellcasting.
Wizards have a little more flexibility since they can learn spells while adventuring from other spellbooks or scrolls, but I find that Wizards don't really come into their own until higher levels of play when they start getting some really insane spells. Spells like Simulacrum, Wish, and Meteor Swarm will make you feel like a god, but really Wizards are only decent at first until you get to about 9th level or so when their power starts to really come into it's own.
Bards and Sorcerers are pretty locked in to their spell choices because they only learn new spells when the level and can't swap them out as easily. Bards eventually get access to the Wizard, Cleric, and Druid spell lists as well, which can be pretty intimidating for a first-timer, while Sorcerers need a little more experience to be able to make all of their subclass features, spells, and metamagic options really sing.
Warlocks have the same issue as Sorcerers - they need a lot of spells, feats, and invocations to come together to really make them feel like a powerhouse. If you are not sure how to put a full build together, it is possible to have a wide variety of features that just don't synergize well. Their Pact Magic is also unique in that instead of getting a ton of spell slots to cast with as you level, they get much fewer pact magic slots (1 at level 1, 2 at level 2, 3 at level 11, and 4 at level 17) that come back after short or long rests. In practice, this usually means that you will be casting a single spell that requires concentration like Hunger of Hadar, then fall back to using Eldritch Blast for the rest of the fight. This feels kind of the opposite of what I want to give a first-time caster, as I would want them to be casting spells left and right instead of spamming cantrips through most fights.
I hope this wall of information helps.
Sorcerer's would be my suggestion for someone playing a spellcaster for the first time, and I recommend playing a character from 1st level up, instead of diving right in and trying to play a spellcaster at higher levels first.
Sorcerer's don't change spells from day to day, which makes one less thing the new player needs to worry about. Work with the DM to get a good spell mix (I recommend 1 primary attack spell, 1 defensive spell, and utility spells for the remainder - as for cantrips, I recommend no more than 2 attack cantrips (one melee, one ranged)).
At each level you can swap out one levelled spell that isn't doing it for you. Too many players have a hard time deciding on spell selections each day, and even when playing classes that are meant for it, they tend to just use the same ones day after day anyway. Many also don't like the consequences of 'guessing wrong' when they find out the spells they chose thinking they knew what threats they were going to face, end up being useless because the threat ended up being something else entirely.
Playing D&D since 1982
Have played every version of the game since Basic (Red Box Set), except that abomination sometimes called 4e.
It's funny that there is almost every caster suggested here - I'll go ahead and add my two cents and say that Sorcerers are easy because all their abilities are just related to their spellcasting, and metamagic is an easy thing to wrap your head around. You are locked into the spells you pick, but I think that might actually make it easier for a new person instead of the overwhelming thought that you'd have to know which spells to choose every morning.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
This is all super helpful, thanks all.
It definitely does seem like a choice between a class where you have all your spells and choose by rest or choosing spells when you level and committing to those. Sure I could learn both. I am currently doing the former with my Paladin, but much lower stakes. Basically Bless and the rest Smites usually. Some other mild experimentation, but that feels good.
Maybe Cleric or Druid would be an easy step in same direction. I do enjoy simplicity of support spells: buff allies and help them do what they like doing. I don’t feel the need to find the most exploitative spell combos and such. I do enjoy watching others do that though.
So yeah I had my eye on Light Cleric because it seemed fairly well-designed. Can buff, heal, and damage of course. I also like the WIS-based class for helping with skills, etc. Druids similar attraction: good combo of each things.
Also considering Bards for support maybe?
I would say it is a much worse feeling to 'guess wrong' on a sorcerer where you just have one less spell that you use until you level up, compared to a druid or cleric where it's just mildly annoying.
That was my instinct as well. Having all my spells prepared dies sound nice, but having choices limited overall feels like more pressure to pick the right ones at each level. Whereas having my full menu of spells and choosing per rest seems doable enough. Can try out different spells as I like, etc.
That said, the Sorcerer in my group does do some pretty awesome stuff.
Sorcerers are good if you know the ins and outs of the various spells and how they operate.
If you're a beginner, the wizard is an easier and more forgiving class simply because of the sheer number of spells you learn, which means you're freer to experiment with spells you're not familiar with as you have more options to prepare, so even if you learn a spell and find out that it's terrible or at least highly situational you're not stuck with it.
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.
Cleric is a good option, but ai am not sure about druid.
A druid needs to select wild shape options as well as spells so you need to know the skills of all the beasts and how they compare.
I would actually put forward wizard as an option. While the size of the spell list can be overwhelming you do not have to have the very best spells in your book. You just need to know enough decent spells which do a mix of things. Evokes are probably the simplest option as you are focused on damage and from your martial characters you know about that.
Just pick something that can't go wrong. Firebolt, burning hands, pick one of the Tiefling variants, get Eldritch Origin or whatever it's called for Misty Step, pick Transmuted Spell, and you are ready to rock.
Is it the best build ever? Naw. Is it good enough? Hell yea. Is it fun to play? Yes - so much fun. Half the time you save your party by dishing out wonderful levels of AOE damage. Half the time you're rolling death saves. It doesn't get much better than that.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
The person I responded to was talking about prepared spells. So say a person has an ill advised idea that they will be playing in melee, and so they take mage armor and shield, and then false life and jump. They then realize that being melee as a sorcerer is stupid, but they have to wait until they level up to change spells. At level 3, they get level 2 spells and no more prepared spells, so it's practically required their actually useful spell be level 2. So really they won't have any decent level 1 spells until level 4.
I find druids to be very non-beginner-friendly because of wild shape. Suddenly you have bunch of different stats to keep track of, and I have seen so many new players not understand any of the limits of wild shape.
Player: I turn into an eagle!
DM: You can't do that until level 8.
Player: I turn into an owl then.
DM: Sorry, I should have been specific, you can't turn into animals that can fly until level 8.
Player: Ok, I turn into a beetle and crawl into the dragons ear and eat its brain.
DM: ...
That's just because they didn't read the rules themselves, and the creator of this thread clearly has.
Oh, well, sure - I'll grant you that. I fell in love with the shadow blade (is that even the name?!) spell and tried very hard to make a melee sorcerer viable, but it's just ... not worth it at all.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I really like the casters that allow you to swap spells after a long rest, because this lets me experiment with them and learn them one at a time. I also like having a lot of spells prepared, for the same reason. It's okay if I don't use them.
But a lot of this is about... what is it that intimidates you about a caster? Thinking about that will help, as does playing one from first level so that your choices expand with experience.
There are so many internet threads out there about making a base build in whichever appeals to you so you can get something that's functional, and then go research your spells and you'll make decent choices.
I personally love having tactical flexibility and having a lot of choices on a turn. Not everyone does.