D&D 5E What class really is the "jack of all trades"?
- Thread starter painted_klown
- Start date
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
I picked bard, though I have seen a circle of land druid in play--and it is extremely versatile.
For a drop in, I agree that I might not go bard. As a naturally talky/face character, the DM may spend a lot of time just talking to himself, and from my own experience that is just sort of weird.
For a drop in, I agree that I might not go bard. As a naturally talky/face character, the DM may spend a lot of time just talking to himself, and from my own experience that is just sort of weird.
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
Bard wins, as usual, though I was originally skeptical (it's easy to get carried by the conceptual inertia of the previous editions). A Lore Bard can ape the best parts of being any other casting class (with the exception of certain subclass features, e.g. the Diviner Wizard's stuff). A Valor Bard gets enough to be decent at most anything (an extra attack, but no further riders; healing, control, damage, and utility spells; some degree of spell "borrowing"). And then all Bards get beaucoup skill stuff: "Jack of All Trades" is literally Remarkable Athlete but for all ability checks, and they double their proficiency on two (and later another two) skills. They've also got Bardic Inspiration, one of the most powerful buffs in the game since it applies to basically everything, and Song of Rest, which is the equivalent of handing out an extra Hit Die (or two!) with a short rest.
Runners-up, as others have mentioned, would be Druid, Wizard, and Cleric, none of which should be a surprise to anyone ever.* Honorable mention goes to the Favored Soul, for creating a (sub)class that can apply Sorcerer metamagic to Cleric buffs and heals--it's not quite a Jack of All Trades, but it's definitely a HUGE flexibility boost to a class that is, very nearly, one-trick-pony (Blowing Stuff Up, that is).
*Well, unless you expected that WotC subsuming the Warlord into the Fighter would mean that a Fighter could actually heal, remove conditions, etc. if built for it. Had the Battlemaster actually been a Warlord, the Fighter might actually have gotten on the "runner-up" list as well. Unfortunately, it isn't, so it's not. (And no, I don't consider "take the Healer feat!" *building* for healing. Because anyone can do that. By that standard, a Chaos Sorcerer is a better support character than a Battlemaster-built-for-supporting!)
Runners-up, as others have mentioned, would be Druid, Wizard, and Cleric, none of which should be a surprise to anyone ever.* Honorable mention goes to the Favored Soul, for creating a (sub)class that can apply Sorcerer metamagic to Cleric buffs and heals--it's not quite a Jack of All Trades, but it's definitely a HUGE flexibility boost to a class that is, very nearly, one-trick-pony (Blowing Stuff Up, that is).
*Well, unless you expected that WotC subsuming the Warlord into the Fighter would mean that a Fighter could actually heal, remove conditions, etc. if built for it. Had the Battlemaster actually been a Warlord, the Fighter might actually have gotten on the "runner-up" list as well. Unfortunately, it isn't, so it's not. (And no, I don't consider "take the Healer feat!" *building* for healing. Because anyone can do that. By that standard, a Chaos Sorcerer is a better support character than a Battlemaster-built-for-supporting!)
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Sword of Spirit
Legend
Bard, no question. But it really depends on how much the "all" matters to you. Cleric is fine for fightin' and healin', and any character can be a face and/or pick locks if they invest in skills and tools. But if you really want to cover all your bases, I think you're best off with bard.
Bard gets you healing, the best overall skills in the game (rogue has more focus, but bard isn't bad at anything), a diverse spell list with civilized and wilderness spells together, as well as options to cherry pick from other spell lists for whatever it's missing (like blasting and utility), party buffs, and Charisma as a primary attribute for excellent social contribution.
One thing you'll have to decide though is whether you care more about the magic being flexible or filling a melee role, unless you are at high level. If you are at high level, you can go Valor bard and then take a nice spell like hex or hunter's mark to buff your attacks for decent melee backup. If you want to diversify your spells earlier, you'll want to go Lore so you can do it at 6th level.
You can't effectively go melee weapon-user with a Lore bard, unless you are very low level (1-4). It just isn't designed to allow it (which I think is a real shame--I personally let players trade cutting words for extra attack if they like to enable 3e style bards). So if you take Lore bard for the spells, and want to contribute in combat, try picking up something like eldritch blast and stay ranged.
Bard gets you healing, the best overall skills in the game (rogue has more focus, but bard isn't bad at anything), a diverse spell list with civilized and wilderness spells together, as well as options to cherry pick from other spell lists for whatever it's missing (like blasting and utility), party buffs, and Charisma as a primary attribute for excellent social contribution.
One thing you'll have to decide though is whether you care more about the magic being flexible or filling a melee role, unless you are at high level. If you are at high level, you can go Valor bard and then take a nice spell like hex or hunter's mark to buff your attacks for decent melee backup. If you want to diversify your spells earlier, you'll want to go Lore so you can do it at 6th level.
You can't effectively go melee weapon-user with a Lore bard, unless you are very low level (1-4). It just isn't designed to allow it (which I think is a real shame--I personally let players trade cutting words for extra attack if they like to enable 3e style bards). So if you take Lore bard for the spells, and want to contribute in combat, try picking up something like eldritch blast and stay ranged.
painted_klown
First Post
Thank you all for the thoughts, opinions, and votes.
Being that the Bard has clearly won, I decided to roll up a Bard, that will go into Lore Bard college at level 3. I have rolled up many characters for 5E, but I have all of them digitally (aside from ones I helped players roll), so I took my time and really thought about the character as I rolled him up.
By the time I was finished with him, I felt like I had an emotional investment in the character. The group I have been running are using pre-cons from the starter box, and I'm not so sure they feel any real connection to their characters. For my next group, i am going to insist they all roll their own characters before we begin.
I decided to make him a half-Elf Bard with a rapier as a weapon, and studded leather + shield. Picking cantrips & spells took me a while, and I'm still not 100% sure I made the "best" decisions. For cantrips, I picked Mage Hand and True Strike. For 1st level spells, I picked Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Identify, and Thunderwave.
I then took some index cards and copied these spells word for word from the PHB, so I (if I ever get to play, instead of DM) or another player would have a ready-to-go player.
I had a lot of fun rolling him up, but it was EXTREMELY time consuming to actually have to copy a LOT of text from the PHB vs. just doing a copy/paste from the PDF. Oh well, it was worth it, and I look forward to seeing him in action!
Being that the Bard has clearly won, I decided to roll up a Bard, that will go into Lore Bard college at level 3. I have rolled up many characters for 5E, but I have all of them digitally (aside from ones I helped players roll), so I took my time and really thought about the character as I rolled him up.
By the time I was finished with him, I felt like I had an emotional investment in the character. The group I have been running are using pre-cons from the starter box, and I'm not so sure they feel any real connection to their characters. For my next group, i am going to insist they all roll their own characters before we begin.
I decided to make him a half-Elf Bard with a rapier as a weapon, and studded leather + shield. Picking cantrips & spells took me a while, and I'm still not 100% sure I made the "best" decisions. For cantrips, I picked Mage Hand and True Strike. For 1st level spells, I picked Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Identify, and Thunderwave.
I then took some index cards and copied these spells word for word from the PHB, so I (if I ever get to play, instead of DM) or another player would have a ready-to-go player.
I had a lot of fun rolling him up, but it was EXTREMELY time consuming to actually have to copy a LOT of text from the PHB vs. just doing a copy/paste from the PDF. Oh well, it was worth it, and I look forward to seeing him in action!
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trentonjoe
Explorer
If you use feats, a 4th level fighter with Healer and Magic Initiate (or whatever it's called), and one of the "thiefy" backgrounds can do an awful lot.
Sword of Spirit
Legend
Be aware that you aren't proficient in shields (you'd have to go college of Valor at 3rd level to get shield proficiency).
Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad
Another option is to spend a feat on moderately armored. My current bard has it and found a cloak of protection so he has 20 AC. It's a really good investment one lore bard to add moderately armored. It only takes 13 DEX plus the feat to enable 17 or 19 AC, although going with high DEX isn't bad.
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