Level Up (A5E) Best Beginner Build

[W'rkncacnter]

So I'm going to throw out a controversial opinion: I think the ideal starter class is rogue, not fighter. Everybody knows about ninjas, and the single die of sneak attack, no maneuvers, and a single skill trick is a very simple build. It'll still be lots of fun to play, though, with extra damage a lot of the time, and the power fantasy of being the sneaky person.

you're not wrong. Berserker could also be argued as a nice starter class. Large HD makes them tough, no maneuvers out of the box, rage is fairly simple to manage, and there's a lot of well known inspiration for the class as well.

i mean, remember that OP is asking for 3rd level characters, not 1st level (whatever you might think of that). both of these classes have maneuvers by level 3.

so, if we're going rogue, i'd probably suggest the burglar, because the only thing you really get from that at 3rd level is some better expertise and either the ability to reroll 2s on attacks and ability checks or better sneak attack dice. if we're going berserker (i would absolutely not give a new player a berserker if we were starting at level 3 solely because of furious critical), i'd probably suggest the rager, since it's essentially just being harder to kill and being more accurate on the first attack each turn.

 

[WarDriveWorley]

i mean, remember that OP is asking for 3rd level characters, not 1st level (whatever you might think of that). both of these classes have maneuvers by level 3.

OOPs, my bad. thanks for pointing that out.

 

[arms]

Those are the features every class would have at level 3 not including archetype features, from those I'd still say that a rogue burglar or fighter brute or sharpshooter could be somewhat beginner friendly

 

[Timespike]

If the player has ever played a vancian spellcaster in anything ever (including video games!) cleric, sorcerer, and wizard are all fine choices, too.

A ranger would also be a perfectly valid choice; particularly something like the Warden subclass.

 

[thuter]

I think the full spellcasters (maybe except Bard) are almost the same level of complexity as they are in O5E, and I found O5E spellcasters perfectly suitable even for newer players. While not exactly as simple as rolling a d20 and add +5 to hit every turn, playing a spellcaster is really not that complex either. The spell list may be a bit daunting, but you can very easily guide a new player through it a bit, just as you probably would have to with tradition and maneuver selection. Other than that: Resource management for casters is not complex at all, tactical play is relatively forgiving (stay behind your allies), while you do get all the fun magical powers most fantasy fans seem to gravitate towards for first characters (that and archers, damn you Legolas).

 

[Jimmy Cunningham]

I'm playing a Marshal 2/Fighter 1 (Gambler/Sharpshooter). Our gm has told us that we'll hit lvl 13, so I'm thinking Marshal 6/ Fighter 7

 

[FletcherHubbard]

As someone who really loves A5e, one point that can be tricky is getting a new player to play an “advanced” version of an already intimidating game. In O5e, you could hand someone something like a champion fighter just to get the feel of things, but the fighter in A5e is a lot more complex. Of course, you can let someone play an O5e character in A5e, but that’s bot quite as fun and doesn’t sell why A5e is better.
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With that in mind, what are the best level 3 A5e builds to offer to beginners?

Is a 1st-level A5E fighter really more complex than an O5E fighter?

 

[Morrus]

Is a 1st-level A5E fighter really more complex than an O5E fighter?

It’ll have access to combat maneuvers, but otherwise similar.

 

[TheRoguesCollection]

Bit of a hot take, but I'd say a Cleric could secretly be better for a new player than a fighter. Not only are they fairly tanky, they are also generally encouraged to do both spell and martial combat. Most importantly they provide a direct, strong connection to the world through their deity. Plus Principles of Devotion creates a direct and clear incentive for roleplay, which is core for any DND game. The themes for each archetype are clear and understandable, and in general they don't get a ton of features they have to worry about even at higher levels.

This means the player gets invested in the world, has an easy to digest class that dabbles in both martial and spell combat, and is fairly forgiving. It allows the player to experience a lot of what the system has to offer aside from combat maneuvers, which would be fairly easy to understand after learning about spells and using basic maneuvers.

While a fighter might have less under the hood at level 3, I'd argue that starting out with a fighter leaves too much of the system unexplored and unlearned.