D&D 5E Making a trickster

So our current campaign is drawing to a close and in the next game im looking at playing a trickster type character who relying on deception and trickery to get the job done obvious choice is arcane trickster but what about sorcerer or wizard heck even bard go do the job.Also any advice for making pulling this together aside the obvious illusion spells.

I have spoken with the DM and hes said if its plausible the illusion will stand the example he gave was if a dragon shows up out of no where they are going to be saving against that real quick but something like a spider in a house or a tree in a forest even something like a crate by a side ally would stand.

Arcane Trickster is the obvious choice, as you say. Wizard (Illusionist) is the next possibility as you mention, and a Bard certainly could fit the bill. The Sorcerer though doesn't really strike me as necessarily tricksterish, not with the two origins as presented (Wild Mage and Draconic). Rather than Sorcerer, I'd say your best fourth possibility would be Cleric with the Trickster domain. You couple that with the Charlatan background and you have yourself a nice different style of trickster character.

DEFCON 1 said:

Arcane Trickster is the obvious choice, as you say. Wizard (Illusionist) is the next possibility as you mention, and a Bard certainly could fit the bill. The Sorcerer though doesn't really strike me as necessarily tricksterish, not with the two origins as presented (Wild Mage and Draconic). Rather than Sorcerer, I'd say your best fourth possibility would be Cleric with the Trickster domain. You couple that with the Charlatan background and you have yourself a nice different style of trickster character.

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Trickster cleric its in the name never even thought of it dear god its going to be a long day XD also your right about the sorc i just like spontaneous casting and loath vancian

Azurewraith said:

... i just like spontaneous casting and loath vancian

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You know, Clerics (and Wizards) in 5e don't use a strictly Vancian model for spellcasting. In terms of spontaneous casting ability, they are basically Sorcerers with an option to switch their spells known every day (subject to limits of their respective spell lists and spell book.)

Valus said:

You know, Clerics (and Wizards) in 5e don't use a strictly Vancian model for spell casting. In terms of spontaneous casting ability, they are basically Sorcerers with an option to switch their spells known every day (subject to limits of their respective spell lists and spell book.)

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There picking X spells from the list until the rest right? Thats the part that bugs me i don't want to be at the point where im kicking my self going darn wish i could cast X now

If you prefer spontaneous spellcasting then I'd recommend the bard over the sorcerer for a trickster type character. It's a bit more on theme: with college of lore you can use inspiration to mess with enemies' rolls and with Jack of All Trades you'll get a bonus to all skills, including social ones like bluff and persuade. The bard's spell list also has plentiful of mischievous options.

Azurewraith said:

There picking X spells from the list until the rest right? Thats the part that bugs me i don't want to be at the point where im kicking my self going darn wish i could cast X now

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I get that feeling playing sorcerer, too. The difference is that the wizard has more spells prepared at any given level (25 for wiz vs. 15 for sorc at level 20,) so he's actually more likely to have spell X when the need arises. Plus, if a wizard ends up in a situation where he didn't prepare the spell he needs for a given challenge, he may be able to stall until after his next rest to switch out spells; the sorcerer would basically be screwed, since he can't change prepared spells at all (except maybe with a retrain when leveling.)

That being said, if running into this situation is especially frustrating for you, I understand why you would want to avoid the stress of having to decide which spells to prepare each day as opposed to once per level. You and I just have different perspectives on the issue, which is totally fair.

All of that aside, I'd suggest taking a look at warlock for your trickster, as well. They have fewer spell slots, but with invocations like Beguiling Influence, Mask of Many Faces, Misty Visions, One With Shadows, etc., they can be quite tricksy.

The advantages of the Arcane Trickster Rogue and Lore Bard for a "trickster" character are their Expertise ability, thereby assuring you the chance for the highest possible Deception and Sleight of Hand skill in the game (2x proficiency modifier). You also will get a good suite of spells from both (more from the Bard.) But at the same time, Trickster Cleric, Illusionist Wizard, and Archfey Warlock also have very strong spell-use, plus all the other acoutrement that come along with being a cleric, wizard, or warlock. And in each of those cases, the Charlatan background will give you the skills you need to be very good at a tricksy character.

At the end of the day... the biggest issue I suspect you might find yourself having is based entirely on the party you end up being in and what is missing from them ability pool class-wise that your selection ends up filling. You might want to just be a "trickster" character, but you might find yourself put under a little pressure from the group to also play to your class's strengths. If you are a Trickster domain Cleric... you might still be asked to fulfill a healing role (especially if you are the only one who can do it.) If you are an AT Rogue... you might still end up being focused on being the "locks and traps" dude because that's what the rogue traditionally does. As a Illusionist Wizard, you might still be "gently requested" to have a Fireball or Magic Missile spell prepared.

Playing against a class's traditional "type" is great fun when you can do it... but it oftentimes is hard to be allowed to without there being a big fuss. Just ask anyone who has ever tried to play a non-healing cleric just how many times they are "requested" to bring the healing even when they state outright "My character doesn't heal." Because in everyone else's mind... you're the cleric, you're healing. Regardless of a player's particular desire or their character type.

Best of luck with your game!

So where throwing locks into the mix now they never crossed my mind where did i put my PHB.

Thanks for the reply's i fully expect to still have to preform the traditional role but even the the most comical clown has a serious side i guess.

EDIT: My mind is more mired than ever lol i guess ill pick what we are lacking and do it in a tricky fashion