Hey /tg/ I need some help
my cousin has invited me to play dnd 5e but I'm more of a 2e kinda guy so I need some help building a character. Party so far is a paladin, a sorcerer and a rogue so I was thinking of making a cleric since i figure they could use some heals. Any idea how I can make a character that isn't woefully useless or otherwise a better class to fit in?
>>43099073
two words: dragonborn bard
>>43099121
can that be done with just core books and do I need any sort of special build?
>>43099151
All you need do is name him 'Scales'
>>43099151
its in the book and totally dooable.
>>43099510
I'm sure that Scales the Spoony Bard shall forever live on in infamy among my group.
>>43099073
You should find it a good fit for you after you get used to a few mechanic changes.
Most things should work. If you wanted, you could play a Paladin and be Paladin-bros with the other Paladin. The two of you should be able to handle healing.
One of the nice things about 5e is that even the 'bad' characters are still useful. So don't worry about it. Play what you want and what will fit the best.
>>43099073
Go valor bard or lore bard and pick up healing word.
Then decide which other combat and out of combat roles you want.
You can give him a physician/herbalist/alchemist background to give him extra utility and out of combat heals that don't burn spell slots.
>>43099073
Hey curious do you play black-print AD&D? I do and it's great.
There's not a myriad of options yet in 5e, nor is there a big range in the power of different builds.
Paladins hit big with their smites, as do rogues with sneak attack, and sorcs are all about burst damage too. So a cleric (or druid) is probably a pretty good fit. Alternatively, a barbarian for tanking and sustained damage.
The crunch of character creation shouldn't be to hard for you. Pick race, class, subclass e.g. cleric's domain, calculate HP and AC, pick background. Skills come from race + class + background, and there's no separate levels of skill, you're just proficient or not.
>>43099073
>How to make a character not woefully useless
Step 1: Avoid Beastmaster Ranger and Way of the Elements Monk. These are the only notably suboptimal options.
Step 2: Put your highest stats where the class needs them. If you're a caster, you'll want primarily your casting stat, followed by Dex for AC (or Str maybe if you're going heavy armor cleric) and Con for concentration saves. If you're a martial, focus on either Str or Dex based on your preference/class synergy for melee or range. If you're a half-caster martial, put your casting stat next. Then Con.
If your race is optimal, you can get 16/16/13 or 16/14/14 in your top 3 stats with the standard array (Chapter 1 PHB, Building a Character). Even if you choose a suboptimal race, like tiefling rogue as an example, you won't be too far behind if you put your numbers in the prioritized order, and will have more fun if you really enjoy the character/thematics.
Step 0: Read the book first. The PHB pdf is over in the /5eg/ thread. Chapter 1 is character building, skim 2 and 3 for your preferred race/class, 4 is about Background (Don't skip this, it isn't all fluff, they give mechanics), 5 is where you get equipment info and tables, 7 is about using scores in 5e, 8 is adventuring/travel rules, 9 is combat, 10 is spellcasting rules, 11 is spell lists.
Don't be the guy who confuses old mechanics or needs to totally rely on someone else for rules.
