I've been tossing around some ideas for creating a character for a while now, and while I do think I have some ideas on what I want to make, I'd like to get some things sorted first.
For context, my DM is running an upcoming 5E campaign in late November; the rest of my group already has their characters designed, but I'm having some issues. Our DM has stated that we can run just about whatever we want, literally anything aside from homebrewed races/classes, and while I do have an idea for the race (I'm making a Kenku), the class is eluding me.
I thought about taking some ideas from some old settings that I love; my first thought was trying to adapt some ideas from 3E's Dark Sun, since that setting basically has just about everything I want, and it's REALLY COOL regardless. Was wanting to try and make a magic character; always enjoyed how the Arthas setting handled magic overall in terms of lore, and I had a TON of ideas on running a magic-user, so that part is locked-in. However, I've also been getting a few too many ideas for some martial equipment (a sword of any type, a bow of any type, various guns, maybe a shield?) that I wanted to add to the caster, and... well, now I'm at a loss.
Basically, I was wanting/considering running a Dark Sun-themed caster that had some possible martial weapon capacity. Magic is locked in, since it has just too many ideas that I want to run to ignore, but is running a mage with the other weapon types even possible? To be honest, shields and bows I was mostly only really considering as nods to some other post-apocalypse characters that I like, and I am considering cutting them both; would like them as options, but they aren't a strict requirement. I do really like using swords and guns, though; the former because it's my favorite weapon classification, the latter because the campaign we're running has a LOT of firearm usage (and because guns also fit with the general post-apocalypse theme, even if they weren't a thing in Dark Sun).
I've tried talking some stuff out with my DM, but he's still unavailable due to IRL issues (conflicting schedules, basically), so I came here. Anyone got any ideas? The magic focus was my priority, but any suggestions that allowed for weapons (like feats, I guess?) are also welcome.
Everyone exists within an environment, and that environment helps shape who they become. So before we decide on a class, let's take a look at the game environment and see what classes we would be likely to encounter there. In a post-apocalyptic setting, everyone's main concern is just basic survival. of course, classes like barbarian and ranger spring to mind for that, but magic allows just about anyone to be able to survive many situations. In such a setting, institutions and organizations and such will have been mostly destroyed. This means you probably won't have a venerated school of wizardry. So wizard is probably out. There is also unfortunately a severe lack of art and music and joy in an apocalypse, so there probably won't be many bards around, so bard is probably out, too. This also means that any Temple that survives will be one that espouses an extreme form of faith. No one half-asses their way through an apocalypse! The temples that survive will be those that embrace the hardship and the change, preaching "might makes right" and calling themselves the chosen ones because they had the strength to endure the end of the world. So you could play a cleric, but it would probably be a fire & brimstone warrior cleric rather than some goody two shoes. Druid is a great possibility, because whenever the sentient races wipe themselves out it gives Nature a chance to grow back. Also, the survival instincts of nature won't be filling those gaps with puppies and butterflies. We would instead see a resurgence of the most brutal and vicious side of Nature, red in tooth and claw. So a moon druid would be a great option. Maybe even take the magic initiate feat to mix in a few extra necromancy spells. Rogues and sorcerers exist and thrive in every setting. They both use guile, deceit, and sudden unexpected attacks to win. The only difference is that one does it behind your back while the other does it to your face. Assassin is always a popular choice for rogues, but the underrated thief subclass would be great at getting in and out of all the various remnants of a destroyed landscape. And again, depending on the nature of the apocalypse, the chaotic forces it unleashed may cause a rise in aberrant sorcery and wild magic sorcery. Also keep in mind that apocalypses don't just happen. Something has to cause them. Talk to your DM about the cause of the apocalypse. Maybe it was a conflict between two gods or other powerful extra-planar beings. So maybe those powerful beings still have some agents working in the world to fulfill their objectives - warlocks! So that's about it. Talk to your DM about the specific themes and boundaries of your options, and then just go with what sounds like fun. Moon druid, war cleric, thief rogue, aberrant sorcerer, gloomstalker ranger, they're all great choices.
As far as backgrounds, I think the ones most likely to be seen during and right after an apocalypse are Criminal, Guard, Sailor, Soldier, and Wayfarer. The least likely are Artisan, Entertainer, Guide, Noble, and Sage.
If you want a caster who can fight, there's a lot of options.
First off, you're probably not going to get all that close to dark sun in flavor. As I understand it, that setting had a very idiosyncratic approach to magic that doesn't mesh well with the baseline assumptions of 5e, or even 2e, without a bunch of specialized rules.
Given the guns, you should definitely take a look at artificer. (It's in Tasha's, and there's an updated version coming in the new eberron books later this year.)
But if that's not your thing, there are three basic categories that your other options fall into:
Fighters who can cast
Fighter: Eldritch Knight, maybe Psi warrior
Rogue: Arcane trickster, maybe Soulknife
Casters who can fight
Wizard: Bladesinger
Warlock: Pact of the blade (and a well-fitting patron choice. There's likely going to be a revised hexblade coming)
Bard: College of Valor
Cleric and Druid have level-1 options that make them fightier, but not at the subclass level
Half-casters
Rangers
Paladins
(Artificers are generally put here, though they're more casty than the others)
Not a bad idea for classes, and I will consider it. Funny thing is; in Dark Sun, Clerics don't really tend to exist as a result of there being... well, no gods to worship, and while they can kinda get around this via worshiping elemental spirits to help restore nature, this can often have severe drawbacks. Meanwhile, Druids tend to be tied to a specific piece of land to protect in Dark Sun; while not impossible to run, it can create conflicts with campaign progress as Druids tend to be stuck in a single area. Meanwhile, Wizards and Bards are actually a thing; Wizards tend to learn magic independently and become terrors of the wastes, whereas Bards tend to become assassins (like the College of Whispers in 5E, which was taken from/inspired by Dark Sun, actually). Lastly, the archetypical Paladin... doesn't really exist in Dark Sun, given just how brutal the world is; there are the Templars, which are conceptually similar as oath-bound knights, but the tend to be (evil) servants of the Sorcerer-Kings that rule the world.
Have you looked at the Dark Sun UA? If your DM is good with homebrew, you could use one of the UA subclasses. Consider it an extended playtest, and you can always update the character when the actual classes come out (assuming that they do...). The warlock and sorcerer subclasses are pretty cool, and could be a great fit esthetically with a kenku.
If you want a caster who can fight, there's a lot of options.
First off, you're probably not going to get all that close to dark sun in flavor. As I understand it, that setting had a very idiosyncratic approach to magic that doesn't mesh well with the baseline assumptions of 5e, or even 2e, without a bunch of specialized rules.
Given the guns, you should definitely take a look at artificer. (It's in Tasha's, and there's an updated version coming in the new eberron books later this year.)
Casters who can fight
Wizard: Bladesinger
Warlock: Pact of the blade (and a well-fitting patron choice. There's likely going to be a revised hexblade coming)
Bard: College of Valor
Cleric and Druid have level-1 options that make them fightier, but not at the subclass level
Half-casters
Rangers
(Artificers are generally put here, though they're more casty than the others)
Yeah, I figured I probably wouldn't be able to get all that close to DS; just thought it would be a fun idea regardless, and I appreciate the advice.
I am going to take a look at these seven in particular; I already knew about Valor Bard and Artificer previously, but I was curious on my options. I'll try and figure out my options on feats, class options, etc., see what I can come up with. Thanks!
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I've been tossing around some ideas for creating a character for a while now, and while I do think I have some ideas on what I want to make, I'd like to get some things sorted first.
For context, my DM is running an upcoming 5E campaign in late November; the rest of my group already has their characters designed, but I'm having some issues. Our DM has stated that we can run just about whatever we want, literally anything aside from homebrewed races/classes, and while I do have an idea for the race (I'm making a Kenku), the class is eluding me.
I thought about taking some ideas from some old settings that I love; my first thought was trying to adapt some ideas from 3E's Dark Sun, since that setting basically has just about everything I want, and it's REALLY COOL regardless. Was wanting to try and make a magic character; always enjoyed how the Arthas setting handled magic overall in terms of lore, and I had a TON of ideas on running a magic-user, so that part is locked-in. However, I've also been getting a few too many ideas for some martial equipment (a sword of any type, a bow of any type, various guns, maybe a shield?) that I wanted to add to the caster, and... well, now I'm at a loss.
Basically, I was wanting/considering running a Dark Sun-themed caster that had some possible martial weapon capacity. Magic is locked in, since it has just too many ideas that I want to run to ignore, but is running a mage with the other weapon types even possible? To be honest, shields and bows I was mostly only really considering as nods to some other post-apocalypse characters that I like, and I am considering cutting them both; would like them as options, but they aren't a strict requirement. I do really like using swords and guns, though; the former because it's my favorite weapon classification, the latter because the campaign we're running has a LOT of firearm usage (and because guns also fit with the general post-apocalypse theme, even if they weren't a thing in Dark Sun).
I've tried talking some stuff out with my DM, but he's still unavailable due to IRL issues (conflicting schedules, basically), so I came here. Anyone got any ideas? The magic focus was my priority, but any suggestions that allowed for weapons (like feats, I guess?) are also welcome.
Everyone exists within an environment, and that environment helps shape who they become. So before we decide on a class, let's take a look at the game environment and see what classes we would be likely to encounter there. In a post-apocalyptic setting, everyone's main concern is just basic survival. of course, classes like barbarian and ranger spring to mind for that, but magic allows just about anyone to be able to survive many situations. In such a setting, institutions and organizations and such will have been mostly destroyed. This means you probably won't have a venerated school of wizardry. So wizard is probably out. There is also unfortunately a severe lack of art and music and joy in an apocalypse, so there probably won't be many bards around, so bard is probably out, too. This also means that any Temple that survives will be one that espouses an extreme form of faith. No one half-asses their way through an apocalypse! The temples that survive will be those that embrace the hardship and the change, preaching "might makes right" and calling themselves the chosen ones because they had the strength to endure the end of the world. So you could play a cleric, but it would probably be a fire & brimstone warrior cleric rather than some goody two shoes. Druid is a great possibility, because whenever the sentient races wipe themselves out it gives Nature a chance to grow back. Also, the survival instincts of nature won't be filling those gaps with puppies and butterflies. We would instead see a resurgence of the most brutal and vicious side of Nature, red in tooth and claw. So a moon druid would be a great option. Maybe even take the magic initiate feat to mix in a few extra necromancy spells. Rogues and sorcerers exist and thrive in every setting. They both use guile, deceit, and sudden unexpected attacks to win. The only difference is that one does it behind your back while the other does it to your face. Assassin is always a popular choice for rogues, but the underrated thief subclass would be great at getting in and out of all the various remnants of a destroyed landscape. And again, depending on the nature of the apocalypse, the chaotic forces it unleashed may cause a rise in aberrant sorcery and wild magic sorcery. Also keep in mind that apocalypses don't just happen. Something has to cause them. Talk to your DM about the cause of the apocalypse. Maybe it was a conflict between two gods or other powerful extra-planar beings. So maybe those powerful beings still have some agents working in the world to fulfill their objectives - warlocks! So that's about it. Talk to your DM about the specific themes and boundaries of your options, and then just go with what sounds like fun. Moon druid, war cleric, thief rogue, aberrant sorcerer, gloomstalker ranger, they're all great choices.
As far as backgrounds, I think the ones most likely to be seen during and right after an apocalypse are Criminal, Guard, Sailor, Soldier, and Wayfarer. The least likely are Artisan, Entertainer, Guide, Noble, and Sage.
Anyway, I hope this helps. Have fun!
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
If you want a caster who can fight, there's a lot of options.
First off, you're probably not going to get all that close to dark sun in flavor. As I understand it, that setting had a very idiosyncratic approach to magic that doesn't mesh well with the baseline assumptions of 5e, or even 2e, without a bunch of specialized rules.
Given the guns, you should definitely take a look at artificer. (It's in Tasha's, and there's an updated version coming in the new eberron books later this year.)
But if that's not your thing, there are three basic categories that your other options fall into:
Fighters who can cast
Casters who can fight
Half-casters
Not a bad idea for classes, and I will consider it. Funny thing is; in Dark Sun, Clerics don't really tend to exist as a result of there being... well, no gods to worship, and while they can kinda get around this via worshiping elemental spirits to help restore nature, this can often have severe drawbacks. Meanwhile, Druids tend to be tied to a specific piece of land to protect in Dark Sun; while not impossible to run, it can create conflicts with campaign progress as Druids tend to be stuck in a single area. Meanwhile, Wizards and Bards are actually a thing; Wizards tend to learn magic independently and become terrors of the wastes, whereas Bards tend to become assassins (like the College of Whispers in 5E, which was taken from/inspired by Dark Sun, actually). Lastly, the archetypical Paladin... doesn't really exist in Dark Sun, given just how brutal the world is; there are the Templars, which are conceptually similar as oath-bound knights, but the tend to be (evil) servants of the Sorcerer-Kings that rule the world.
Have you looked at the Dark Sun UA? If your DM is good with homebrew, you could use one of the UA subclasses. Consider it an extended playtest, and you can always update the character when the actual classes come out (assuming that they do...). The warlock and sorcerer subclasses are pretty cool, and could be a great fit esthetically with a kenku.
Yeah, I figured I probably wouldn't be able to get all that close to DS; just thought it would be a fun idea regardless, and I appreciate the advice.
I am going to take a look at these seven in particular; I already knew about Valor Bard and Artificer previously, but I was curious on my options. I'll try and figure out my options on feats, class options, etc., see what I can come up with. Thanks!