D&D Players, What’s your favourite “wrong way” to play a class?

[@justinn8541akaDrPokemon]

Druid Barbarian. First he uses his superior strength to take the weapons from the enemies. Then he polymorphs so they can't take away the weapons from him.

[@godofzombi]

Nice idea. Battlemaster's disarming strike would really help here.

[@nathanielhughes8071]

​@@godofzombitaking the feat for the manuver would save a third class dip so pribably the best option

[@mkklassicmk3895]

My players did this with the item the big bad was after.

[@TheForeverGM]

That’s why I fucken came here broooo

[@funnyblog100]

Wouldn’t just make more sense to play a path of the beast barbarian?

[@Daniel_Coffman]

Bard player in the same party as the dancing Barbarian: "Why do I suddenly hear boss music?"

[@Crocogator]

Just hear a subtle beat, passive perception hits the check, and realization sets in. "She's been bobbing to this the ENTIRE TIME?"

[@matttillman7430]

00:55 I love that "NPC" was transcribed in the subtitles as "employees."

[@Flipercat]

It feels like a lot of people conflate not playing a class stereotype with playing a class "wrong" and frankly that kinda concerns me

[@mkklassicmk3895]

Video games made it like this. They don't understand that this game is not like a video game.

[@Skeleton_Archer]

The word wrong is click bait he immediately invalidates it at the beginning haha

[@mikewaterfield3599]

You do understand why “class stereotypes” exist right? Rashemi are literally the archetypal barbarians with actual berserker lodges. Wizards literally have to perpetually study and practice. Rogues have to be dexterous and fleet of foot because if they are not they get hanged publicly or removed of their hands. “Fighters” are generally always trained by militaries of one kind or another. Stereotypes exist for a reason.

[@dragonriderabens9761]

@@mkklassicmk3895 that's...not even remotely true -_- and even less relevant

[@mkklassicmk3895]

@@dragonriderabens9761 It is both true and relevant. TTRPG's are not like video games and the perception that they are causes people to think of characters in much narrower terms. Not that some people wouldn't be doing it anyway, it just makes it happen more often.

[@brokeninkwell3818]

I personally love the idea of a dashing rouge instead of a sneaky rouge. The kind of person who is the center of attention. The one who jumps into battle swinging from a chandelier. The one who's smooth talking antics and dumb luck will get them into as much trouble as it gets them out of. All while still being good enough with a sword to out duel anyone they meet. That is why swashbuckler rouge is my favorite subclass in 5e. It does all that and more.

[@matttillman7430]

I knew a guy who kept misspelling "rogue" as "rouge."

[@lokithetrickstergod2100]

If you want to take this to a whole other level I recommend looking at PF2E’s Swashbuckler Class as one of its main features is Bravado; which allows you to deal a small amount of extra damage on attacks but you have to get it by pulling off various wild tasks which in addition to certain pre-determined ways to get it can also be gotten by any feat the GM rules significantly risky with one example given being swinging from a chandalier

[@DavidAndrews-eb7gm]

@mattillman For some reason this particular grammatical error always makes me see red.

[@funnyblog100]

I did something similar with a college of whispers bard. I made him very flamboyant and the dm and the party really underestimated him at first. They thought he was gonna be the comic relief until he dropped the theatrics. He had the sharpshooter feat and was really deadly with a crossbow. He had a ton of additional damage stacks from his subclass and level dips into rogue. Later took crossbow expert and he could multi attack. I made him a gunslinger essentially who would use crossbows as his primary weapon of choice. He had spells like faerie fire to give himself and the party advantage. He could deal additional psychic damage by using his bardic inspiration that scaled with level due to his bard subclass as well as sneak attack from levels in rogue. I also had a habit of buying stuff to coat my ammo in like poisons and other things for even more damage. So he could quickly deal a ton of burst damage and often made use of cunning action. This combined with his control spells made him very annoying to fight. Because he could just hide all over the map and take chunks out of an enemies health from a safe distance.

[@dragonriderabens9761]

So you want to play Captain Jack Sparrow

[@brushdogart]

One of my favorites was a Lawful Neutral rogue who made a lawful living as a locksmith.

[@Fayanora]

A bard who is a warrior princess playing into every Disney Princess stereotype of causing everyone around her to break out into song and dance would be fun to play.

[@williamstokes4282]

The idiot Wizard is one concept that is a favorite of mine, has high STR, CON and DEX but has a 10 in INT so he isn't strictly an idiot, not smart but not an idiot, but by Wizard standards he sure is. I just love the idea of this guy who somehow ends up becoming an Arch Mage and still isn't quite sure how basic magical theory works even though he's a god damn Wizard. Also you can build a Wizard that doesn't rely on make spell attacks or forcing saving throws and still be surprisingly effective so all your low INT does to you in 5E is reduce the number of spells you can prepare.

[@ericb3157]

this reminds me of a comic book i have, "Rick and Morty vs D&D, chapter 2 painscape". some old D&D characters Rick created and discarded when he was a kid, have come to life seeking revenge. one is "Sorcerick", a wizard with only 8 INT! the leader of the group is "Barderick", who was supposed to be a Bard, but had only 7 CHR.

[@Qaianna]

'How'd you make it into the Magaambya?' 'I had a football scholarship.'

[@Dojibu]

A non-edgy warlock? I'm still wanting to homebrew a warlock who's patron is their party. There powers come from the "Power of Friendship!"

[@gregnog8119]

Hexblade warlock, have the party purchase you a sword and pact of the blade it, mission accomplished

[@shealupkes]

fathomless patron is a lobster you found on the brink of death before tossing them into the ocean, they revealed their name is Tyler and keeps in touch with you

[@tehrulefoo]

I played a Celestial Warlock as a healer/support caster type once.

[@MercuryA2000]

I have a warlock who's just... Some dude. He made a pact with the raven Queen and she mostly just tells him to ensure people don't die early. She only recently made him start making she they aren't late either. He's dressed like a moderately affluent civilian and doesn't refer to himself as a warlock unprompted. He's also the one in charge of the party's brain cell, so at least two members haven't realized it and think he just has a cool bird.

[@ajh22895]

Most of my warlocks get their powers from bored eldritch beings that want another person to experience life through.

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

Sneak Barbarian. Whispering "Glarg Kill..." In the ear of some mook and proceeding to slice their torso in half with a battleaxe will never NOT be funny.

[@sparkselm173]

A bard who is a stage magician. I think it's ridiculous that bards are generally restricted to music, and I think a character that uses real magic to fake fake magic has gotta be a lot of fun.

[@_qwerty_3545]

I have a bard who, instead of playing music, writes and reads stories to cast his spells. I like the idea of Bard's being any type of performer or entertainer, it keeps the flavor of the class diverse but still unique

[@mediatorraptor3349]

I actually had a similar concept of a Spellcaster being a magician. He was a elf warlock that become a magician to make money to sustain himself after he runaway from a cult. Only used him for a campaign that faded away and one shot but he was still fun to play.

[@FizzieWebb]

I'm getting vibes of The grrrreat and powerful, Trrrrrixie! from this.

[@PhoenyxRysing]

The campaign I'm in has one of these! Combined with the fact my Bladesinger also has the Entertainer background, it's going to be fun when we get pulled to actually perform (my character spent a decade traveling with a famous troupe of entertainers, and he's been invited back, so it's going to be happening at some point) What's really ironic is that not only was the Bard the one to deliver the letter, she's actually seen him perform--but she hasn't yet connected his stage and real identities.)

[@Forgotten_Archivist]

I'm actually just about to have a character like that lol, a mannequin/puppet Warforged bard(def not an automaton stage magician who got possessed XD) who's planned to have a single healing spell, the rest will be to buff themselves and shred enemies lol Also, did a pre-game lv. 20 test too, and it gonna have a minimum 27 AC, and that's without future equipment :D

[@chasejones6164]

I haven't done it yet but im hoping to play a fiend warlock tiefling who's patron is his mother and his idea of being rebellious is being cheerful and benevolent while she encourages him to be dark and edgy.

[@starhalv2427]

Playing as a defensive monk Move forward to draw attacks away from your party, attack twice to annoy an enemy, then dodge as a bonus action

[@ERBanmech]

Everyone remembers Krod the angry carpenter rogue. “YOU NO SEE KROD!” Personally my wrong class combo is a bladesinger wizard and barbarian multiclass, you may be out of spells but not out of options and you may still use bladesong while raging so that’s cool. Getting extra AC and damage equal to your intelligence modifier is a little MAD but ultimately fun.

[@Crocogator]

Mid strength high con high int wizard. When you do manage to get past mirror image, grats. You effectively scratched the tank. And got a grapple for your troubles. Shocking grasp is a fun time when they can't get away.

[@michaelmiller2418]

JoCat has spoken of a character of his that is an Orc/Half-Orc Bard who is timid and innocent, actually worked as a farmhand much of his life, and has a girl back on the farm he worked on who he plans to return to one day when his adventure is over. That character is SO incredible!

[@graves8389]

My sniper barbarian is a nice example. I'm using a Greatbow (from the dnd weapons expanded), which has 2d6 damage, with a range of 150/600 ft. Greatbows use strength instead of dexterity to make attacks, but need one action to reload. I pair this with the piercer feat for extra damage, and a quarterstaff/halberd along with the polearm master feat to defend on close range. This results in 60+ damage a pop if set up correctly. Extremely ineficcient. Astoundingly cool when I pop a troll's head on the first turn of combat and then proceed to do guerilla warfare, hiding and reloading my bow as I reposition around the map, and then becoming a blender once anything gets close to me. Life is good.

[@jauneasharithespecialist7885]

May i ask what dnd weapons expanded you are referring to? Sounds like a cool build for a barbarian. Am curious if you're willing to point me in the right direction to find dnd weapons expanded.

[@wildcard5616]

I hads a cool idea for a rogue/warlock. Teifling Born into nobility, keana learned many useful skills, fencing, negotiating, and other such courtly things, but she preferred fencing, she was a teiflibg born into a human moble house, and was seen as odd, but nobody questioned it much. she didnt want to be a noble. She liked to spend time with the servants, and shirking her duties, in favor of pulling pranks. but wanted to see the world, so before her 21st birthday, she ran away. unbeknownst to her, her parents sold part of her soul long ago, as a thing to keep thier noble house alive. It was also how she became half feind. When her 21st birthday hit, so did her magic

[@camwyn256]

Ranged barbarian. Whose ranged weapon is a batista bolt thrown by hand with immense strength

[@WarDragonOfTheLight]

I saw that in a ProJared video once. That is a definitely epic idea.

[@PoipoleADMyt]

My current character, Theodore Stormstrike, is a Cleric. Twist is… he’s a fully offensive build. It’s because of this that we have to end fights quickly, as we do not have a single healing spell.

[@varelsemind5741]

Same with my War domain Cleric of Loviatar. She gave up on using armor (dex focus) and doesn't heal because her religion teaches her to learn from pain instead of avoiding it.

[@HuslWusl]

Well, that's one more damage dealer so ending fights earlier should be doable

[@jaymac2515]

In a 3.5 campaign I played a transmuter wiz as a melee tank. It was my favorite character ever.

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

Always wanted to try one of those, but I never had the guts. Good on ya.

[@jaymac2515]

@nicholasfarrell5981 thanks, buddy. I'd highly recommend it. The looks of surprise when I stepped to the front when our paladin went down was hilarious. I miss those players and that campaign.

[@jackmack4181]

I play a barbarian who thinks himself to be a paladin, his rages are in his mind channeling the rage of his god

[@SarujinieUras]

Exalted Hero of Khorne

[@matth2283]

Zealot barbarian exists my guy

[@ericb3157]

somehow this reminded me of a gag in the webcomic "order of the stick", where the party's Bard learned the "dashing swordsman prestige class". among other things, it let him use his Charisma bonus instead of Strength when rolling attack or damage rolls! the catch was that he had to make some sort of quip or pun every round, which got him into trouble during a LONG battle.

[@SpellProgrammer]

Someone else who reads Order of The Stick!

[@MagicalMaster]

Cold Barbarian. It's pure roleplay, but you're character is really, really stoic and just suddenly gets into the flow of things. Basically they're trying to be a good knight. They're basically like a German Mercenary with the zweihander fancy beard, stache and breastplate armour. Really fancy looking. But he just gets into the groove in the fight out of nowhere and is suddenly a massive threat.

[@rgdgfd2281]

Gunk being suboptimal is some kind of joke, because really shadowgunk is the most optimal way to play monk.

[@draconicprince]

Yeah like, unironically Ranged Monk is actually the more optimal build since Most Monks are Dex builds anyways and flurry of blows by RAW atleast still works since kensai literally allows you to flurry of blows with weapons, and like you mentioned Shadow Monk literally thrives on pot shots, not to mention Monks come with a built in Anti range ability so even if you get into a literal shoot off you already have the advantage of a fucking 1d10 damage reduction by level 3, Hell I wish they'd bring back the Zen Archer class in the newest edition from 3.5e

[@uncreativeusername-sl9qf]

I’ll be sure to remember this if we do a campaign with firearms allowed.

[@Limnomys]

One of my favorite characters was a celibate bard whose focus was in learn and share knowledge. His bardic inspiration was focused in combat tactics he learned on his travels (irl it sounded like "if you kill it, it will die")

[@HouseLyrander]

My favorite "weird" way of playing a class is the "Big Stick Energy" Druid who completely neglects Wild Shape in favor of wading in to melee with a big stick. Pick up Shillelagh from Druid, then get either Green Flame Blade from a dip in Arcana Cleric (pre 2024), or True Strike from either high elf or your Background and a single level of Fighter or Ranger for Medium Armor and Weapon Mastery (post 2024). If your DM still allows Green Flame Blade post 2024, grab that instead of True Strike. The goal here is to turn a humble stick into the deadliest weapon possible by stacking Shillelagh with a melee attack Cantrip in order to double dip on damage boosts. I did this with a Wildfire Druid once and the crazy mobility from that subclass as well as the ability to boost Fire damage made me an incredibly hard hitting skirmisher AND a top notch healer.

[@Dragongamz1]

I had a Kobold Ranger who like the spellcasting Ranger in the video, did a lot more spellcasting than your average Ranger. With the Tasha optional features and Druidic Warrior Fighting Style, he was fighting enemies using a Shillelagh enhanced Quarterstaff, a bow for the various Ranger arrow Spells, and Horizon Walker abilities. He was a fun little guy to play

[@captainrail88]

Nuclear operation bard....I take one healing spell and then the rest are mischievous or AOE attacks like thunder wave, thunder clap, shatter, and fire ball. Most people believe the stereotype of the bard being horny and just buffing the party or healing them. They don't expect a Leroy Jenkins, Loki type.

[@Forgotten_Archivist]

I'm actually just about to have a character like that lol, a mannequin/puppet Warforged bard, who's planned to have a single healing spell, the rest will be to buff themselves and shred enemies lol Also, did a pre-game lv. 20 test too, and it gonna have a minimum 27 AC, and that's without future equipment :D

[@MySerpentine]

You could always reskin a sorcerer as a bard . . .

[@Triggernyar]

The closest I have is a PF2e Barbarian that dual-wields daggers. He's a kobold lawful evil* ambitious to the point of tossing self-preservation to the wind guy who wants to become a leader of like-strong-willed individuals. Barbarian in PF2e is designed mostly around using two-handers, as light weapons get less damage from rage bonuses, but light weapons have less multi-attack penalties, so he just becomes a flurry of angy. Also returning on the daggers so he can throw them as well with rage bonus applying to thrown, and dual-weapon fighter archetype giving throwing bonuses as well. He also had martial archetype so he could open a fight with a radial buff to allies. Y'know, to be a leader-type. His name was Needles, and his daggers were named Fang and Claw. *Alignement isn't really a thing in PF2e, but just added to give a vibe. He was serious and selfish, but knew enough that you can't lead without people skills. Also he had legal knowledge to rival a lawyer.

[@troperhghar9898]

0:03 "Barb 3/ Rogue any" I've played this before, this is a slasher movie villain, this is your Jason Vorhees your Michel Mayers your Leatherface and its FUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[@CrowCandorra]

I mean... If you play the Gun-Monk, you can pick up Kensei as a subclass and thus make the Gun a Monk-Weapon...

[@AndrewBrownK]

And get bonus damage too

[@TheSqoad]

Two of them: 1) Shepherd Druid vigilante, who does not know that he's a Druid and doesn't have a particular affinity for nature other than being able to talk to animals - he just thinks he's good with animals and knows some magic. He cannot Wild Shape or do anything very Druidic. He mainly fights with his slingshot and magic stones. 2) Draconic Sorcerer pugilist, who's basically Louis Armstrong from FMA. Big, loud, proud, and his favourite spell is to punch people in the face. And I decided he can only use Lightning/Thunder/Force-type damage spells. The rest of his spells are aimed toward bolstering his melee performance. He was first used with PHB'14, but I look forward to trying him with the new PHB'24.

[@alecksoul]

Rouge but ranged weaponry. Sneak attack applies to ranged weapons, no need to get into melee danger, become a back line menace. I like compounding it with inquisitive subclass and 3 levels of fighter(battle master) to get some great supportive options. Race and starting things up to you.

[@RayPoreon]

That's just normal rogue.

[@DavidAndrews-eb7gm]

Perhaps. Unique build for a rouge though.

[@sushimartyr6311]

Nerdy Bards unite! Mine used to be a history / literature teacher whose interest in music and instruments only stemmed from their connection to storytelling. He basically wrote fanfic (well, a one-man fan performance- note that he is not proficient in Performance) after we saw an opera.

[@TwoEcksKay]

Guaranteed sneak attacks while on a horse made me laugh out loud and I had to explain it to my wife who doesnt play dnd. Thanks for that haha

[@saparapatepete]

For a more portable example of this, you could be a gnome, halfling or other small race riding a mid sized animal, like a big dog :D

[@Daniel-ws8ug]

War medic bard. Playing regular with support and control spells and bardic inspiration until allies start to go down, then you use a combination of teleportation from misty step and being a shadar kai to get to them and the healer feat, cure wounds or healing word to get them back up. Bonus for being a creation bard and animating a healers kit to go on its own and heal people (probably something to ask your dm if he allows)

[@w1ndgeneral226]

I'm in a campaign now where I'm playing a rouge with high strength, and charisma, but low wisdom due to selling my wisdom to cure an infection I got, and my character is part Warlock as well.

[@DavidAndrews-eb7gm]

So, a cheeky rouge who shares a compact with the devil then.

[@chefgodzilla1344]

Roll a half orc, 20 str 16 con/dex, 12 cha, then proceeded to inflict "Beefcake, the World's Strongest Bard" on my friends. Probably the most fun character I've ever played. Dumb as a box of rocks, couldn't sing or dance, but he sure could fight.

[@SSDexter99]

Bardic inspiration from flexing?

[@SomeRandomKydd]

Bard that throws a Lyre like a discus. He has some levels in Rogue to get sneak attack with it since it’s a ranged weapon. To cast spells, he primarily beatboxes.

[@DavidAndrews-eb7gm]

All my spellcasters prioritise Dex (16) and Con (16) over spellcasting ability score (14) using point buy. Usually with a starting 1 level dip into Draconic Sorcerer if I can make the ability score class minimums work. 14 Con if need be. Unarmoured AC 16 (21 with Shield), +3 HP per level (+4 per sorcerer level). Massively increases my chances of surviving to get an ASI, usually +2 points to spellcasting ability.

[@GrimSawyer52]

One idea I have for a character of mine(he's the protagonist for a book I want to write), is that if he was in DND, he would be a tiefling Hexblade Warlock who really should be a bard due to his love of music. Also, instead of seducing people, people are endeared by his earnest and innocent charm(which he is oblivious to). His instrument is an eight-stringed guitar that is homemade. Also, his sword is possessed by his twin sister(she was cursed/transformed into the sword and his main goal is to free his sister from the curse). His name is Damian and he is a cinnamon roll.

[@DrPluton]

I like the cleric of a god of magic character. Arcane Cleric in 2014 5th edition was pretty much what I was looking for. Some wizard spells along with the strong cleric utility and healing spells. You also get medium armor proficiency to survive combat better.

[@johnowen9349]

My favorite Dread Necromancer usually becomes the face of the group. It's a Cha casting class, you're usually not truly undead until 20th level, even if the DM wants to force you to look like a corpse in-spite of there being nothing that says you have to a ring of Chameleon Power isn't expensive really and the DC for making a human undead look not undead is pretty low with a disguise check. And the lich motif is just that, a motif. You don't have to look like a necromancer while being a Dread Necromancer. My favorite thing to do dip the first level of War Mage, put points in Profession: Lay Priest, and be very vague about his training until people aren't sure if he's a Favored Soul or a Sorcerer.

[@TheTolnoc]

Melee Fire Sorcerer/Rogue An Eladrin pyromancer with an unlosable dex save, taking a quarter damage from their own fireballs, and dealing Sneak Attacks with their summoned fire blade.

[@loganreads90]

Divination Wizard without many Damage spells. Just this dude who can see _the future._ Potentially, he’s seen too much. Also great to pair with the Stout Halfling as Zee Bashew said and just play this half-insane hobbit who has seen portents of ungodly evils and is doing everything in their power to stop them.

[@Starfloofle]

Not a halfling but this is actually one of my game's BBEGs. The "He's seen too much." bit. The Headmaster of the Divination school himself. He's a deeply flawed man who's seen a future of the world's end that appears to be impossible to change, hence he's thrown his lot in with the big bad, who seems to be the only person who knows what to do to save people's lives through the world ending. He has some strong damage spells mostly given to him from getting the Lorehold spells (we used the strixhaven schools as a reference for this world's 'Arcanaeums') and some boss mechanic stuff lets him use them, but by and large he's a support to the big bad whose consequences for existing are disastrous for the players. He can scry on people with proper Scrying or Clairvoyance, he can get insight into the events they're trying to avert, has tracking spells like Locate Object and the like, and even has Legend Lore which he uses to keep the BBEG a step ahead of the players he's aware of. He's the one with Astral Assembly that lets the villains do their Evil Villain meet-up talks. He is genuinely the crux of the enemy's entire information network. Taking him out would be a *devastating* blow to the enemy faction. But in combat he's actually pretty weak, and he mostly focuses on fucking with initiative, using buffs, and using Portents and other reaction-divination to absolutely screw with people. He uses Misty Step and/or Thunder Step and his Familiar's "switch places with me" ability constantly to get himself and/or someone else out of reach. And, y'know. He's a wizard. He's squishy. A divination wizard makes a crazy scary antagonist when you really consider what their spell list gives them. So much of it is, well, information gathering, and villains who're constantly a step ahead of you for *justifiable, understandable mechanical reasons* is a MENACE.

[@georgeclinton4524]

One I had fun with I called the 'True Four Elements' Monk. Monk x/Arcana Cleric 1. I start as a CL Monk with Magic Initiate (Druid) and take Primal Savagery, Thorn Whip, and Absorb Elements. At lvl 2 I take a level of Arcana Cleric and pick up 2 Wizard attack cantrips, and 3 Cleric cantrips, so I now have 7 cantrips all based off Wisdom. It's suboptimal, but it's fun. You can just push Wis and it gets you AC, Spell Attack bonus, and Spell/Monk ability Save DC. I like to take Gift of the Gem Dragon at lvl 5 for Telecinetic Reprisal to mitigate multi-attack melee enemies.

[@MrRob-wg8uf]

Didn't get to play her long but, Monk/Fae heritage Sorcerer who (thanks to the DM) sacrificed her damaging spells to not have wild magic surges.

[@davewilson5846]

You must have at least one funny story with this character, please share.

[@MrRob-wg8uf]

@davewilson5846 the time I made a difficult fight easy using the spells Dancing Lights and Minor Illusion springs to mind. The party had split up expecting a "peaceful negotiation" with some bandits, (we were basically outlaws at the time) the bandits brought more guys than expected (not to mention a large "beast") and ambushed us. Dancing Lights kept the "beast" (we never did find out what it was) out of the fight by "orbiting" the thing, which confused it. While a Minor Illusion of a headless ghost (that I convinced my DM was more convincing than usual because you expect stuff to go through a ghost) to disrupt the enemy team work (and scare off a few) that was a lot more fun than expected.

[@finalfantasy50]

wild magic sorc that doesnt want wild magic surge? wtf you are supposed to use tides of chaos for advantage and then wild magic surge to regain advantage

[@MrRob-wg8uf]

@@finalfantasy50 I made the build with "Illusionist" in mind but Fae heritage Sorcerer was the best I could get. The whole point was to mess with the enemy and THEN bonk them.

[@davewilson5846]

@MrRob-wg8uf that had to have been fun

[@jediping]

I did a dwarf melee ranger with two hammers, but I think it was in 4E and wasn’t as strong in 5E

[@Her_Imperious_Condescension]

My first ever character was a really strong warlock. He was a dragonborn, so very big, tall, and intimidating. I latched onto that part heavily. He had magic, but when it came time for talking and threatening and intimidation, my guy was at the forefront, a hulking 3 meters tall and punching cracks into stone walls. If that campaign had actually gone on for longer than five sessions, he might have ended up multiclassing into fighter to improve that fighting spirit even more. And now I love brawny spellcasters as opposed to lanky nerdy high INT/WIS spellcasters, (or even worse, the 'frail old man' spellcaster a la Gandalf or Dumbledore).

[@steventyler3582]

Psi warrior with a hint of paladin is just plain fun. TONS of buffs and super hard to kill.

[@ajh22895]

Oath of the Crown Paladin who serves whoever is wearing the nearest crown.

[@aerikhelms]

Twilight Cleric Play them as a Martial Class that gives everyone temporary HP. They get proficiency for every armor and weapon, except guns. Then, use spiritual weapons or spirit guardians and shield when attacked. Have full plate with a greatsword or a rapier and a shield.

[@m3371]

this just sounds like regular twilight cleric

[@aerikhelms]

@m3371 Most people play Twilight Cleric as a spellcaster since they are a full caster. They usually stay in the back and cast spells to buff and heal the party.

[@lexsamreeth8724]

My bud made a warlock that hated using his spells. Instead, a combination of lucky creation rolls and choosing a race with purely physical benefits left him a hulking brute, mostly using his spellslots to dish out hellish rebukes while he focused on beating his enemies into a pulp with his fists. It even made sense in the roleplay, as he was not a warlock willingly - the pact was forced on him by a fae queen for cutting down her favorite tree.

[@TheNoobRapter]

My recent character is a lawful good rouge and that pissed off only of the other players because rouges apparently can only be evil, neutral or chaotic. Hearing that other players understand a lawful good rouge just makes me happy.

[@DavidAndrews-eb7gm]

So would it be fair to say that the make-up of your character annoys the other players?

[@TheNoobRapter]

@@DavidAndrews-eb7gm The group I'm in tend to get angry if you play a class, race, or play style not to the most stereotypical form (All dwarfs hate elves and are alcoholics, all paladins can only be lawful good, If you even go 5ft away from the party you are as good as dead). I like to make high concept characters, I blame liking games like Call of Cthulhu and Cyberpunk where just saying "I'm a human fighter" as your entire character does not cut it. But yah I would say it annoys the other players.

[@DavidAndrews-eb7gm]

In cricket we call that ‘playing a straight bat”. Well done, sir.

[@RayPoreon]

If you pick up druidic fighter and then you'll be able to fight with a staff and/or sling with as much effectiveness as a sword-and-board ranger while focusing on wisdom. Only get as much dexterity as you need for good ac(14 max). So while your damage is okay but middling, your spells are just as likely to hit as a full druid, which is important if you're playing something like swarmkeeper that really wants a good spell dc for their 'gay baby jail' combo where they repeatedly throw every enemy into a web. If you're playing with the new weapon-mastery rules then using a staff is even better for this combo since you can knock people prone. You normally want to multiclass into a cleric or actual druid at some point mind you since your ranger levels don't get you much beyond fifth level.

[@Badartist888]

Playing a Bard as a castrati.

[@luciferandassociates9255]

Warlock healer. I have two spell slots and a pool of healing. My only attack is E- Blast because sometimes the best way to save a life, is to take one. In the morning everyone gets free temp hp, i get the most because im special. And after a enough levels you get a free self revive each day, giving you back half your hp. And with the pact of the chain, with my baby dragon within 100ft, i can self heal for max amount everytime i heal. I say all of this, to remind everyone of the fact that this is like the 3rd weakest way to heal the team. Next to healer monk, and classes that dont have healing spells but the player really wants to be a non magical medic. I love it.

[@flameofmage1099]

Dedicated support Paladin. Just dump your points into CHA and CON and become a walking aura of buffs in healing. Subclasses like Redemption, Crown, Ancients, and Glory are good for it but they can all work. The builds are pretty good but for some reason a lot of D&D players are allergic to Paladin that don't just wanna nuke shit lol. Another build I'm playing right now takes a little bit of homebrewing but is fun. It's not RAW but my DM let my trigger sneak attack on my unarmed strikes in exchange for not being proficient in Martial Weapons. Variant Human with Tavern Brawler and Grappler. At level 5 multiclass into Fighter for Unarmed Fighting Style. Take Expertise in Athletics for better grapple checks. Now you just grapple them and beat the shit out of them since you get advantage you get to trigger your sneak attack without allies. Very fun.

[@predatitor4183]

...The rogue sounds only like a friendly rogue.

[@mirrortherorrim]

> warlock that didn't make pact with dark edgy forces, but with his adopted father Well, my warlock made a pact with his own real mother who happens to be the Red Knight, goddess of strategy. She taught him the art of long distance contactless fighting, and he can basically cut an enemy's throat from 300 feet away (actually it's his Eldritch Blast).

[@kitkatkk2]

One of my friend's current characters is a Warlock... whose patron is her wife.

[@cosmicfails2053]

Not exactly playing a class wrong but, So whips Theyre a finesse weapon Meant to give dex classes a melee weapon with some reach However... What people often forget is, You dont NEED to use dexterity for these weapons So I have a paladin bugbear, who uses a whip to smite people from afar Just Thunderous crack of the whip to unleash the clap of gods I may have made this build out of spite because my GM wouldnt let me smite with thrown javelins...

[@LocalMaple]

Melee Sorcerer. Quicken Spell a big spell, then use Mobile with Booming Blade. Or Dragon’s Breath a Familiar and an ally, and Mobile Booming Blade.

[@finalfantasy50]

im playing an order cleric 1/clockwork sorc 7, my gameplan is to get into melee and twin spell greenflame blade (dm let me use the scag version and let me get a magical maul as part of my backstory), one of my favorite moments were stepping up to 4 enemies, critting with one of them and using the fire bounce to finish off the last two enemies I also use armor of agathys with stone's endurance and bastion of law to take no damage whilst enemies take 100 cold damage in return

[@tfs_nugget1843]

This video screams 'task failed successfully'

[@Reubenaut]

My favorite is super rest utility warlock. Choosing many useful utility or roleplay spells. Depending on how you travel and how you use a general days time. You can cram as many short rests you want. With this you basically have your utility spells always available for check buffs, lookout, etc I actively played this character as a little lazy and made sure to have the party get a cart big enough to rest on so that I could be topped up for any encounter.

[@dcbandit]

I made a Dwarven Oath of Devotion Paladin, but is actually a cook wearing a emblazened apron(emblem on studded leather armor) and weilds a frying pan(club) and cooking knives(daggers) as weapons! Uses uses searing smite with the frying pan and is devoted to her patron hearth gods rules of cooking. She also was raised by Halflings in a tavern, so doesn't have an inkling of her dwarven heritage. Many woukd probably bot think she is a paladin when they meet her, and she'd introduce herself as the party cook. Rides an enchanted boar that revives every morning and is cooked at dinnertime.

[@josephschubert6561]

3:26 That dancing barbarian sounds like a really fun time and something I would do

[@vertonimal]

I once played a chaotic good necrobard. Death domain cleric and college of spirits. They wander the land in tribute to their dead wife. He was the conducter, and she one of the players. Now he goes out raising the dead for a nights of festivities wherever he goes. Combining a number of necromancy and illusion spells the dead rise with the appearance they had in life. Letting the living say goodbyes to those they couldn't, letting the dead tell their tales and sing their songs to those who'll listen. all combined with a subtle touch of madness brings the build full circle.

[@yoshikoizumi7851]

not DnD, but in 13th Age you have quite a few classes with built in ways to rework your class: Chaos Mage can choose a Talent to cast spells with their Constitution, Monks can have attacks and damage rolls be done with Wisdom or (using an additional Talent) with Charisma! Demonologists that choose the Path of Slaughter can fight with their Charisma as well (as long as they have at least half HP) and specifically if you are playing a Tiefling you can switch that to using your Intelligence!!! the amount of freedom in that system is crazy and I love it

[@SilvanianPirateKing]

My first 5e character was a beetle fairy paladin. His strongest stat was constitution. He had disadvantage on strength checks, but would routinely muscle his way out of bad situations. His only equals were the other paladin or our barbarian.

[@juleksz.5785]

I love how half of these is "not-absolutely cliche character" and is perfectly viable in most scenarios.

[@edwardheppenstall8690]

My barbarian is the peacekeeper of the party. He speaks 4 languages and uses his linguistic skill to defuse situations. But when it comes to battle, he can rage like no other, he just prefers to avoid unnecessary conflict so he can save his effort for the real fight

[@khw1425]

Investigation/Interrogator paladin. Used it for a murder mystery one shot. High Charisma, Oath of the Crown, takes spells like zone of truth, detect poison/disease, command, ect... use all your smite slots for spells.

[@mpetrov2402]

Featured (somewhat) in the video - tank swords bard+ draconic sorcerer3 + fighter1 - utility spells and tanking. BA quicken spell for BB

[@JohanFaerie]

I once out bard-ed the 2 bards in our party as an Artificer. One was an Eloquence Bard playing a Private Eye type character. The other was a Bard, Wizard multiclass. Meanwhile I was playing an Artillerist Artificer. I took the entertainer background, but he didn't play a regular instrument(although he could and did on occasion), he played the GUN. I roleplayed him like a wannabe rockstar, hitting on everyone who'd give him the time of day and constantly talking about the band he was in like they should already know about them(and no, not the party). While I wasn't the face of the party, it certainly felt like it at times. At one point even the DM forgot I wasn't a Bard. I consider that my peak RP performance. Side note, the Warforged Barbarian in our party and I developed a Buddy-cop relationship over the game unintentionally. There were some shenanigan there too.

[@nekiguess8304]

Battle master fighter bear totem barbarian plasmoid. The character was literally made to be a weapon, but they rejected it as they despised being forced to bring harm to what they saw as innocent people. Generally pacifistic, tries to avoid causing fights and wants to stop them as soon as possible, but they never throw a single attack. They don’t want to deal damage, and so their main strategy is going all in on shoves and grapples, along with a bunch of supportive maneuvers like bait and switch, maneuvering attack (always dealing 1 damage), grappling strike, and commanding presence. Their best trick is that as a plasmoid, they’re able to pull someone fully inside their body, giving them full cover as they can take damage in their place.

[@AncientCelestialBird]

sort of related story: I played a blind divination wizard. Yes, I permanently had the blinded condition. I took very few spells that had "that you can see" in their description, and the ones i did take would take two turns to cast because i would use an action to share my familar's sight and then cast the next turn. I took 2 levels of fighter, both to pull this off in one turn via action surge, and to pick up the Blind Fighting style for 10 ft of blindsight. I took the lucky feat to supplement my portents as another way to force things to happen against all odds. not once, but twice did I pick up a fallen enemy's bow and fire randomly in the general direction of danger and successfully hit something through disadvantage without spending any resources. I wore chainmail and carried around a spear, and i'd spend all downtime fishing. did i mention i took the fisherman background, and that i had been banned from my hometown's fishing competition because i used my prophetical power to win every time and nobody could figure out how i was cheating?

[@soulkeeper7691]

i haven't gotten to try it, but i want to make a bard completely based on physical stats and not mental. they would play some sort of marching drum (dex+con build)

[@basementbricks6843]

Dwarf Bard-barian Magus Windrose (yes named because of the band) despite proficiency and performance, he always failed his performance checks so he could not play his bagpipes, which made him very angry, which is the reason he would go into a rage. He also fought with a shovel.

[@beardofknowledge3792]

I've played the 'baseball Fighter' but as a Warlock instead, using Genie Dao to get bonus damage on my throws. Was pretty funny to knock people around with basically pebbles.

[@tonilafountain636]

I once played a mad bard, NPCs would cross the street to avoid! XD Dressed in white, stained in all sorts of wtfit!?

[@achimsinn6189]

roleplay wise: A cleric to a messed up chaos god. You can do whatever and explain it as "that's the will of my god and I have to follow that will as his high priest (or whatever you wanna call yourself) Even better if another player plays a paladin to the same god. His dedication to said god could totally have him add to your chaotic behaviour and vice versa.

[@madcinder257]

Lawful Good Oathbreaker Paladin. Was in servitude to a demonic overlord, broke away and became an Oathbreaker.

[@occultnightingale1106]

My favorite way to play a class wrong is to die in a fashion as gruesome as it is hilarious

[@blakeetter280]

I once played an intelligent barbarian. We rolled stats and he got like a 17 after necessary stats so I dumped it in int cuz I thought it would be fun. He would lay out a plan of attack, usually some form of distraction + flanking maneuver, and then charge in with a giant axe. I didn’t think rage would fit the character so his was a silent fury, a deadly calm sort of. At one point we were fighting a giant robot spider and he not only jumped it, but pinned it down after an ally tossed a grenade under it. Then used its corpse as a giant shield to bash the rest of the grunts. I think that fight also started by him dropping out of the air vents that led over the enemies. Generally I just liked that guy lol

[@somniferousSirenSocial]

Bruiser like thief Rogue, using a non-sneak attack weapon until they're actually being sneaky.

[@DSpiritwolf]

Really glad someone brought up the range paladin and brought up all the pros I would of stated myself. The only thing I would of mentioned is if your DM is nice enough to give you the prayer beads at some point you can be even extra accurate with your bonus action casting bless. I swear every time I bring up a range paladin build I get hit with the "BUT YOU CAN'T DIVINE SMITE OR USED IMPROVED DIVINE SMITE" Yeah and? Now I can use those spell slots for other cool utility spells and most sessions dont get past level 10 anyways. Even if it did its not like you can't use a melee dex weapon with it like a rapier.

[@SuperTux20]

In an RPG a friend of mine made, I wasn't quite aware of the effect his game would have on my preexisting story yet, so I picked Mage for my class. However, my preexisting character that got pulled from my main story to play as was a sword-wielder. But the thing is, it was a magic sword! So it all worked out in the end, I played a Mage more like a Knight, his sword capable of wielding vast elemental power by the endgame.

[@Starfloofle]

I've got a terrifying tempest cleric in one of my games who is not scary because of the subclass' broken Channel Divinity for guaranteed max damage. (but he CAN do that to add onto this if he feels like it) NO. He's scary because he's MAXIMALLY BUILT TO PUNT YOUR SORRY ASS STRAIGHT INTO THE NEAREST WALL AND BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR PATHETIC BODY WITH COLLISION DAMAGE. With a combination of a Battering Shield, Pushing Attack, Thunderbolt Strike, Shield Master and Charger, and Gust of Wind (which if you haven't looked at it lately, is a Line *CENTERED ON YOURSELF* that lasts for a DURATION, meaning you can MOVE WITH IT) to shove you somewhere around *60+ feet away AS A BONUS ACTION.* If that doesn't yeet you off a ledge, crash you into a wall or some other poor sod (dealing up to *6d6* bludgeoning damage at maximum if we use the same rules as falling) it functionally takes any melee combatant completely out of the fight. Oh, and running against the gale costs you double movement. So just trying to run back towards him is a futile attempt as well. Oh and he can kick you any other idiots a good portion of that distance *just for daring to try opportunity attacking him during the rush* by using Wrath of the Storm. It's not exactly RAW, and it technically has multiple failure points (but a shocking amount of guaranteed knockback) but I AWAIT the day that this lunatic gets to jump off a goddamn building or teleported into the air to shield-shoulder piledrive some poor idiot below him with enough forced knockback to leave them in a goddamn crater. If you've ever played a Titan in the Destiny franchise, I think you might understand the fantasy here LOL

[@Typhoonator]

I have a few, but my absolute favorite, so far, is the polite and gentle barbarian. I'm currently playing in a CoC game with 5e mechanics, and I convinced my DM to let me play as a big daddy from bioshock. Experiment Gamma was programmed by his masters to be the perfect gentleman, using his barbarian rage only to protect others or carry out tasks given to him

[@lucasstrong9208]

My favorite warlock was my happy-go-lucky aasimar Gil who was hilariously an infernal pact but he was just a theatre kid

[@13lackout360]

Cleric of Olidamarra that constantly lies and changes what class he claims to be every time someone asks.

[@joshuaspector8182]

Barbarian who is the voice of reason, and no anger issues. Is one of my favorites. Also played a samurai with a gun (cuz samurai *SHOULD* have guns dammit).

[@christophersummerville9748]

1:39 Yes!!! Until my… your dm exclusively sends you to places “your steed simply cannot go.”

[@yoshikoizumi7851]

one concept I always had in mind for if I were to ever play DnD: a Dragonborn Warlock, who thinks he is a descendant of Bahamut, because he is an Albino and therefor as brightly scaled as Bahamut is. Additionally, their demonic benefactor is a tricky one, appearing in visions disguised as Bahamut and encouraging/guiding the "Paladin" and his "holy" powers to destroy evil. In reality the demon wants specifically his competitors gone so he can rise up higher in demon hierarchy I guess this whole plot would probably work better in a written story, or possibly as a secret plot the DM doesn't reveal to the player it revolves around until later in the campaign, but I still really like it as a concept

[@gameraven13]

The rangers in my past two campaigns have been hilarious. First one was a Drakewarden STRanger and the player never really planned on doing multiclassing so they said screw it, greatsword it is. Was super fun using the "skill check to flank" homebrew of flanking rules from XP to Level 3 and seeing his drake and him constantly use Athletics to shove enemies between them for that advantage. Second one is doing a typical build mechanically, but the funny part is that in our current campaign we HAVE a bard and a paladin... but due to their levels of chaos and the ranger's link to some of the more prominent factions in the setting, our 6 Charisma ranger happens to be the one doing most of the talking lmfao.

[@DavidJones-he7iv]

Still love the cleric of pain, that has to hit you to help you. 1d4 blunt damage to heal you with a low spell. Higher spells require more blunt force drama to appease the spell cost.😅

[@99sonder]

Archer Ancestral Guardian Barbarian is up there for me, using the already strong aggro mechanic to give enemies disadvantage and half damage against allies other than you, to effectively force enemies to deal with that punishment or go out of their way to get you. Just makes you a pretty great debuffer with a lot of health in case enemies do try to take you down.

[@ChuckUFarley90]

Mine is a Polearm Ranger build. Be a V. Human to grab Polearm Master at level 1 (2014 rules). Use standard array to get a 16 Wis and 14 Dex and Con. Dump strength. Use a bow until Level 2, grab druid cantrips, use [Shillelagh] on a quarterstaff to get Polearm Master benefits. Level 3, take Horizon Walker subclass. This becomes important later. Also, get Guantlets of Ogre Power to negate bad Str stat, but keep on the lookout for any Belts of Giant Strength. Also, get a proper Polearm with Reach. Level 4, take Sentinel feat. You can see where this is going. Level 5, gain extra attack. Can reliably make 3 attacks per round now ( yay P.A.M.). Build is now online. Level 8, boost Wis to raise spell DC's and Wis Skills (Ye gods does this help out of combat) Level 9, get [Haste] spell from Horizon Walker subclass. Also, Boots of Speed greatly help here, but are not strictly necessary. You now have 4 attacks per round, extra AC, advantage on Dex saves, and massive amounts of movement speed. Proceed to literally run circles around your enemies, hitting them a great many times per turn, while also staying out of immediate melee with reach weapons. Then run away behind cover when you're done attacking, so they can't hit you back. If they try, P.A.M. and Sentinel stop their movement out of immediate melee range. If Boots of Speed are in the picture, you can play the distance game better than most archers, as you can simply stroll up and hit them. Horizon Walker subclass helps here as well, as they get extra ways to cheese more attacks and movement. Most ranged DPS builds suck at melee, so getting into their faces from the get-go is actually a good idea this time. Played this all the way to Level 20. My DPS was actually higher than our Flame-Tongue-Greatsword wielding Battle Master Fighter (he needed Action Surge to surpass me). Character was impossible to hide from (because Ranger) or run away from (because movement speed). TL:DR, made Ranger with big Polearm and high movement instead of Bow or dual-swords. Surprisingly effective.

[@Lowehart]

I play a Beastmaster Ranger Halfling, who acts more like a paladin - took mounted combatant so I can ride my beast, two weapon fighting, with a feat to let me take defensive duelist for higher AC. She is a highly mobile Frontline character, able to dish out damage from on high, and is played as a noble with a strict code of ethics to her House. The result is a character that people initially wondered why my paladin doesn't smite.