I'm getting together with my (extremely casual) group of players to DM a game this weekend. It's the first time we're playing since PHB2 came out, so I wanted to give them the option of making a shiny new character with the new class and race options. Since I'm the only person in the group who owns PHB2 (or even PHB for that matter), I had to explain them quickly to the rest of the group so they'd be ready for gameday. So I wrote up this quick list over an e-mail. Let me know what you think, or if I missed any major points.
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CLASSES:
Avenger- Divine Striker. A cross between the paladin and a rogue, or kind of like that secret society of assassins from that crappy 'Wanted' movie we all saw. All about stealth, accuracy, and hunting down a single foe ruthlessly.
Barbarian- Primal Striker. Warriors that wield big-ass weapons and charge around in a blind rage. Melee fighters that do crazy high damage.
Bard- Arcane Leader. A D&D classic... guys that go into a dungeon and sing at ogres. Sing at them until they're dead. Can fight in melee or at range, and are good at healing and re-positioning allies on the battlefield.
Cleric- Divine Leader. These guys are the best healers in the game, and blast undead like nobody's business.
Druid- Primal Controller. They cast spells like a wizard, but have the ability to turn into an animal and fight at close-range if they so choose.
Fighter- Martial Defender. The classic warrior, with heavy armor and big scary weapons. Are very good at 'locking down' enemies, preventing them from attacking allies.
Invoker- Divine Controller. Almost exactly like a Wizard, except their spells have a distinctly 'holy' flavor.
Paladin- Divine Defender. Like a mix between a Fighter and a Cleric. Heavy armor, holy spells, healing.
Ranger- Martial Striker. Comes in two flavors; bow ranger and two-blade ranger. Both kick butt, and both do very good damage.
Rogue- Martial Striker. Sneaky buggers that do insanely high damage while flanking.
Shaman- Primal Leader. Probably the most complicated of the new classes, the Shaman has a 'spirit animal' that follows him around, and all his powers flow through that spirit animal. It's kind of like controlling two different characters at once. Fun, but really complex.
Sorcerer- Arcane Striker. Comes in two flavors; the wild sorcerer who attacks with raw chaos, and the dragon sorcerer, who is descended from dragons. I highly recommend the dragon sorcerer for Joe... it's a lot like the dragonborn warlock he's been playing, but even more awesome.
Warden- Primal Defender. Sort of like a mix between the Fighter and Druid. Good at defending allies, and for their Dailies, they can assume the form of certain animals or nature spirits.
Warlock- Arcane Striker. Creepy magickers that make Faustian deals with evil entities, and float around cursing people and blasting stuff.
Warlord- Martial Leader. Sort of like a Fighter, but specializes in healing, buffing, and assisting allies. Best known for giving up their own attacks to let allies make extra attacks.
Wizard- Arcane Controller. Gandalf. 'Nuff said.
RACES:
Deva- Half-angels with blue skin. Look kind of like Dr. Manhattan. Make good avengers, clerics, invokers, and wizards.
Dragonborn- Dragonmen. Make good paladins, barbarians, dragon sorcerers, and warlords.
Dwarf- Pretty much exactly as they are from LotR. Make good clerics, shaman, druids, wardens, and invokers.
Eladrin- Half-faerie, or you could think of them as 'high elves'. Make good wizards, rogues, and warlocks.
Elf- More outdoorsy than standard Tolkien elves. Make good rangers, avengers, shaman and druids.
Gnome- Like halflings, but more magic-oriented. Make good bards, warlocks, sorcerers and wizards.
Goliath- Like the Thing from the fantastic four (but not orange... unless you want him to be), but with a tribalistic culture. Make good barbarians, fighters, and warden.
Half-Elf- A human and an elf got jiggy with it, and crapped this out. Make good bards, warlocks, sorcerers, and paladins.
Halfling- Not quite as wussy as they were in LotR. Make good rogues, rangers, wild sorcerers and warlocks.
Half-Orc- Part human, part orc. Make good barbarians, fighters, rangers and rogues.
Human- Regular dudes. Make adequate everythings.
Shifter- The closest thing you get to a werewolf. Make good druids, fighters, rangers, wardens, paladins, shaman and clerics.
Tiefling- Half-demon. Make good bards, warlocks, warlords and sorcerers.
-----------------------------------------
CLASSES:
Avenger- Divine Striker. A cross between the paladin and a rogue, or kind of like that secret society of assassins from that crappy 'Wanted' movie we all saw. All about stealth, accuracy, and hunting down a single foe ruthlessly.
Barbarian- Primal Striker. Warriors that wield big-ass weapons and charge around in a blind rage. Melee fighters that do crazy high damage.
Bard- Arcane Leader. A D&D classic... guys that go into a dungeon and sing at ogres. Sing at them until they're dead. Can fight in melee or at range, and are good at healing and re-positioning allies on the battlefield.
Cleric- Divine Leader. These guys are the best healers in the game, and blast undead like nobody's business.
Druid- Primal Controller. They cast spells like a wizard, but have the ability to turn into an animal and fight at close-range if they so choose.
Fighter- Martial Defender. The classic warrior, with heavy armor and big scary weapons. Are very good at 'locking down' enemies, preventing them from attacking allies.
Invoker- Divine Controller. Almost exactly like a Wizard, except their spells have a distinctly 'holy' flavor.
Paladin- Divine Defender. Like a mix between a Fighter and a Cleric. Heavy armor, holy spells, healing.
Ranger- Martial Striker. Comes in two flavors; bow ranger and two-blade ranger. Both kick butt, and both do very good damage.
Rogue- Martial Striker. Sneaky buggers that do insanely high damage while flanking.
Shaman- Primal Leader. Probably the most complicated of the new classes, the Shaman has a 'spirit animal' that follows him around, and all his powers flow through that spirit animal. It's kind of like controlling two different characters at once. Fun, but really complex.
Sorcerer- Arcane Striker. Comes in two flavors; the wild sorcerer who attacks with raw chaos, and the dragon sorcerer, who is descended from dragons. I highly recommend the dragon sorcerer for Joe... it's a lot like the dragonborn warlock he's been playing, but even more awesome.
Warden- Primal Defender. Sort of like a mix between the Fighter and Druid. Good at defending allies, and for their Dailies, they can assume the form of certain animals or nature spirits.
Warlock- Arcane Striker. Creepy magickers that make Faustian deals with evil entities, and float around cursing people and blasting stuff.
Warlord- Martial Leader. Sort of like a Fighter, but specializes in healing, buffing, and assisting allies. Best known for giving up their own attacks to let allies make extra attacks.
Wizard- Arcane Controller. Gandalf. 'Nuff said.
RACES:
Deva- Half-angels with blue skin. Look kind of like Dr. Manhattan. Make good avengers, clerics, invokers, and wizards.
Dragonborn- Dragonmen. Make good paladins, barbarians, dragon sorcerers, and warlords.
Dwarf- Pretty much exactly as they are from LotR. Make good clerics, shaman, druids, wardens, and invokers.
Eladrin- Half-faerie, or you could think of them as 'high elves'. Make good wizards, rogues, and warlocks.
Elf- More outdoorsy than standard Tolkien elves. Make good rangers, avengers, shaman and druids.
Gnome- Like halflings, but more magic-oriented. Make good bards, warlocks, sorcerers and wizards.
Goliath- Like the Thing from the fantastic four (but not orange... unless you want him to be), but with a tribalistic culture. Make good barbarians, fighters, and warden.
Half-Elf- A human and an elf got jiggy with it, and crapped this out. Make good bards, warlocks, sorcerers, and paladins.
Halfling- Not quite as wussy as they were in LotR. Make good rogues, rangers, wild sorcerers and warlocks.
Half-Orc- Part human, part orc. Make good barbarians, fighters, rangers and rogues.
Human- Regular dudes. Make adequate everythings.
Shifter- The closest thing you get to a werewolf. Make good druids, fighters, rangers, wardens, paladins, shaman and clerics.
Tiefling- Half-demon. Make good bards, warlocks, warlords and sorcerers.
