So we rolled for stats yesterday for Curse of Strahd that starts around New Years. I rolled average-ish except for one...
11/11/12/12/16/4
The party is a Barb that's going to multiclass druid, a paladin, a bladesinger wizard, and a crossbow artificer.
Right now, I'm debating between an Archfey Tomelock or maybe a Twilight cleric. I know whatever class I choose needs to be somewhat SAD. Open to any suggestions though!
For race, the warlock would be Half-Elf and probably dwarf if I went Cleric. We are allowed to do the custom origin from Tasha's.
Just want some opinions or ideas, so throw em out!
Warlock is definitely what I had planned, but I am a little worried these rolls make me too squishy. I'm getting around my 4 STR by flavoring it as my Archfey pact required me essentially taking the STR of a Sprite. But yeah, with the warlock I essentially plan on just blasting EB and trying to be smart about how I'm positioning myself in combat. What are your thoughts on Evocation Wizard vs Warlock? I know they're obviously massively different classes.
Because of sculpt spells vs. Invocations, the evocation wizard is going to be good to use a lot of AoE with, while the warlock is mainly using eldritch blast
Yeah, the other benefit of warlock is I'd be the face of our party. I'm really the only one in the party who could face, which I assume is beneficial in an RP heavy module like Strahd.
It's hard not to recommend Cleric. Twilight gives you a abilities that are really keyed in to be useful in a setting like Strahd, and having a reliable means of regularly dealing Radiant damage and Turn Undead will come up a lot. But that's my metagame-y recommendation... Cleric will make a lot of combat encounters easier, but if you just feel more drawn to Warlock there's still plenty to gain from that class, especially with the customizability of choosing Tomelock.
My concern with playing the warlock is that with my AC/HP so low, I'd be really squishy and I have no idea how useful a face is when everyone in Barovia is suspicious and depressed. A Cleric or Rogue would obviously help the AC issue. An issue with Cleric however, is that we already have 3 front line characters in combat and I'm not sure I want to add a 4th.
With only one stat higher than 12 you are going to be squishy whatever class you are though you could lessen it by taking your +2 in either Dec for AC or con for HP.
This demonstrates the problem with rolling for stats, many dm allow a 're roll for stats like that, especially if others in the party have rolled well it is worth asking.
Assuming that is not in the table, rogues can be played very SAD, you will have decent attacks and A.C. your hit points will be low so just use distance and cover to your advantage. Another option is moon druid so most of the time you are using your animal stats rather than what you rolled.
My concern with playing the warlock is that with my AC/HP so low, I'd be really squishy and I have no idea how useful a face is when everyone in Barovia is suspicious and depressed. A Cleric or Rogue would obviously help the AC issue. An issue with Cleric however, is that we already have 3 front line characters in combat and I'm not sure I want to add a 4th.
You don't have to be ranged with a cleric, even if the Blessed Strikes option from Tasha's to replace the 8th level damage ability isn't on the table. Getting medium armor will mean that you can put a 12 in dex and con and the 16 in wis. If you get a +2 dex and a +1 in your preference of wis or con, then your AC maxes out at 16/18 with a 14 dex and Scale Mail and probably a Shield. You'll have 9 HP at level 1 and a +3 to Wisdom. You can use Toll the Dead or perhaps Sacred Flame might be better due to resistances. You could go with Forge Cleric to get better AC or a magic weapon for someone from level 1, Grave Cleric for a heavy support build with interesting ties thematically, or twilight Cleric for a similar build with a different emphasis. Something like the new Devotee's Censer could be an interesting inclusion as a target weapon for you and be heavily on flavor.
Swapping the dex to a con would increase your HP to 10 while dropping your AC by 1. If you went with a Hill Dwarf, you could even go with Heavy Armor with no speed penalty for not having the right strength (and no other repercussions if your domain has heavy armor proficiency), have a +2 con +1 wisdom, and get extra HP every level on top of your con modifier bonus. With a 14 in con from racial bonus and a 12, your HP at first level would be 11 HP.
If you are thinking Warlock, consider hexblade. It also gets medium armor proficiency and would be able to use your Charisma Modifier for your melee attack modifier if you need to make an attack, and you can wield a shield for more AC. You'll have access to Eldritch Blast for most of your attack needs and to keep you ranged along with hex and Hexblade's Curse for some additional damage needs, plus all of the customizability of the Warlock Base Class. Getting a half elf would give you an 18 in charisma, the 12s could become 13s with the +1s (likely in dex and con) and a split ASI would get those to 14s. Something like Elven Accuracy would then be on the table or could replace the split ASI if you wanted another half feat to bump con. Inspiring Leader would also be a great feat for a Charisma based character, as it would give your entire party temp HP of your character level+your charisma modifier every rest, allowing many characters to start with an extra hit die of Temp HP every rest.
Based on your stats, I would avoid something that relies on multiple high ability scores. So things like Paladin or a heavy armor Cleric would be out, for me. You can't even wear medium armor and get the +2 Dex bonus. A couple of ideas -
Something like a Wizard. Your low Dex will hurt your AC pretty bad, but you can be one of those stay in the back and misty step out of danger types.
Another idea is a STR based fighter. Your dex won't matter for AC, and you get lots of extra ASI improvements.
I think most optimal would be Rogue. They use Dex for everything - attacks & damage, AC, and Rogue abilities. Plus they get a bunch of ASI just like the Fighter. Most mechanically optimal will be Rogue. The question is will you have fun playing one. I personally love them, but that's a personal choice.
Edit: Or a Dex-based fighter. Your Con will be meh, but you can be ranged. An archer Battle Master is cool AF in my opinion. You can shoot someone in the knee and make them fall, or shoot that Staff of Power out of a mage's hand, etc. Also, the Sharpshooter feat + Precision Attack is a BRUTAL combination.
Edit 2: I just realized I did not account for racial bumps. I think Rogue and put the +2 in Dex, start with an 18 Dex and a high AC. First ASI take the SS feat, 2nd ASI take the Tough feat. Now you're straight gold.
Rogue and Druid were two classes that I looked at heavily. I currently have a rogue PC in a different campaign already so I'm leaning Druid right now. The party doesn't really have a healer, and we already have three front line PCs. So I could be a back-line caster that heals and does battlefield control. I'm able to start with 18 WIS too which is nice. DM allowed me to buy Spiked Armor from SCAG, so I'm at 17 AC with my shield. Circle of Stars is a super cool subclass too, IMO so I'll probably play that.
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So we rolled for stats yesterday for Curse of Strahd that starts around New Years. I rolled average-ish except for one...
11/11/12/12/16/4
The party is a Barb that's going to multiclass druid, a paladin, a bladesinger wizard, and a crossbow artificer.
Right now, I'm debating between an Archfey Tomelock or maybe a Twilight cleric. I know whatever class I choose needs to be somewhat SAD. Open to any suggestions though!
For race, the warlock would be Half-Elf and probably dwarf if I went Cleric. We are allowed to do the custom origin from Tasha's.
Just want some opinions or ideas, so throw em out!
The obvious answer is to play what inspires you.
For party balance and with those rolls, I’d be tempted to go blasty. Sorc or evocation wizard, perhaps. The warlock is a good choice too.
Warlock is definitely what I had planned, but I am a little worried these rolls make me too squishy. I'm getting around my 4 STR by flavoring it as my Archfey pact required me essentially taking the STR of a Sprite. But yeah, with the warlock I essentially plan on just blasting EB and trying to be smart about how I'm positioning myself in combat. What are your thoughts on Evocation Wizard vs Warlock? I know they're obviously massively different classes.
Because of sculpt spells vs. Invocations, the evocation wizard is going to be good to use a lot of AoE with, while the warlock is mainly using eldritch blast
Yeah, the other benefit of warlock is I'd be the face of our party. I'm really the only one in the party who could face, which I assume is beneficial in an RP heavy module like Strahd.
It's hard not to recommend Cleric. Twilight gives you a abilities that are really keyed in to be useful in a setting like Strahd, and having a reliable means of regularly dealing Radiant damage and Turn Undead will come up a lot. But that's my metagame-y recommendation... Cleric will make a lot of combat encounters easier, but if you just feel more drawn to Warlock there's still plenty to gain from that class, especially with the customizability of choosing Tomelock.
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My concern with playing the warlock is that with my AC/HP so low, I'd be really squishy and I have no idea how useful a face is when everyone in Barovia is suspicious and depressed. A Cleric or Rogue would obviously help the AC issue. An issue with Cleric however, is that we already have 3 front line characters in combat and I'm not sure I want to add a 4th.
With only one stat higher than 12 you are going to be squishy whatever class you are though you could lessen it by taking your +2 in either Dec for AC or con for HP.
This demonstrates the problem with rolling for stats, many dm allow a 're roll for stats like that, especially if others in the party have rolled well it is worth asking.
Assuming that is not in the table, rogues can be played very SAD, you will have decent attacks and A.C. your hit points will be low so just use distance and cover to your advantage. Another option is moon druid so most of the time you are using your animal stats rather than what you rolled.
You don't have to be ranged with a cleric, even if the Blessed Strikes option from Tasha's to replace the 8th level damage ability isn't on the table. Getting medium armor will mean that you can put a 12 in dex and con and the 16 in wis. If you get a +2 dex and a +1 in your preference of wis or con, then your AC maxes out at 16/18 with a 14 dex and Scale Mail and probably a Shield. You'll have 9 HP at level 1 and a +3 to Wisdom. You can use Toll the Dead or perhaps Sacred Flame might be better due to resistances. You could go with Forge Cleric to get better AC or a magic weapon for someone from level 1, Grave Cleric for a heavy support build with interesting ties thematically, or twilight Cleric for a similar build with a different emphasis. Something like the new Devotee's Censer could be an interesting inclusion as a target weapon for you and be heavily on flavor.
Swapping the dex to a con would increase your HP to 10 while dropping your AC by 1. If you went with a Hill Dwarf, you could even go with Heavy Armor with no speed penalty for not having the right strength (and no other repercussions if your domain has heavy armor proficiency), have a +2 con +1 wisdom, and get extra HP every level on top of your con modifier bonus. With a 14 in con from racial bonus and a 12, your HP at first level would be 11 HP.
If you are thinking Warlock, consider hexblade. It also gets medium armor proficiency and would be able to use your Charisma Modifier for your melee attack modifier if you need to make an attack, and you can wield a shield for more AC. You'll have access to Eldritch Blast for most of your attack needs and to keep you ranged along with hex and Hexblade's Curse for some additional damage needs, plus all of the customizability of the Warlock Base Class. Getting a half elf would give you an 18 in charisma, the 12s could become 13s with the +1s (likely in dex and con) and a split ASI would get those to 14s. Something like Elven Accuracy would then be on the table or could replace the split ASI if you wanted another half feat to bump con. Inspiring Leader would also be a great feat for a Charisma based character, as it would give your entire party temp HP of your character level+your charisma modifier every rest, allowing many characters to start with an extra hit die of Temp HP every rest.
Based on your stats, I would avoid something that relies on multiple high ability scores. So things like Paladin or a heavy armor Cleric would be out, for me. You can't even wear medium armor and get the +2 Dex bonus. A couple of ideas -
Something like a Wizard. Your low Dex will hurt your AC pretty bad, but you can be one of those stay in the back and misty step out of danger types.
Another idea is a STR based fighter. Your dex won't matter for AC, and you get lots of extra ASI improvements.
I think most optimal would be Rogue. They use Dex for everything - attacks & damage, AC, and Rogue abilities. Plus they get a bunch of ASI just like the Fighter. Most mechanically optimal will be Rogue. The question is will you have fun playing one. I personally love them, but that's a personal choice.
Edit: Or a Dex-based fighter. Your Con will be meh, but you can be ranged. An archer Battle Master is cool AF in my opinion. You can shoot someone in the knee and make them fall, or shoot that Staff of Power out of a mage's hand, etc. Also, the Sharpshooter feat + Precision Attack is a BRUTAL combination.
Edit 2: I just realized I did not account for racial bumps. I think Rogue and put the +2 in Dex, start with an 18 Dex and a high AC. First ASI take the SS feat, 2nd ASI take the Tough feat. Now you're straight gold.
Rogue and Druid were two classes that I looked at heavily. I currently have a rogue PC in a different campaign already so I'm leaning Druid right now. The party doesn't really have a healer, and we already have three front line PCs. So I could be a back-line caster that heals and does battlefield control. I'm able to start with 18 WIS too which is nice. DM allowed me to buy Spiked Armor from SCAG, so I'm at 17 AC with my shield. Circle of Stars is a super cool subclass too, IMO so I'll probably play that.