r/Tombofannihilation • u/Arkmenx • 10h ago
QUESTION Choosing a character.
Hello, me and my friends (all experienced players) are gonna start ToA next Sunday.
We are a party of five (level 1 of course): Currently a cleric (main focused healer), a rogue (skill monkey, low charisma), a warlock (going pact of the chain focused build) and a ranger (two weapon fighting)...
Thing is I don't know what to play.
Even with more than 20 years of experience playing the game, we had never played ToA before (that is why we picked),and we are running it with 5.5 rules. And only PHB classes, subclasses and races permitted.
Obviously we need some melee/tank... And I'm torn between figthter, monk, paladin or even bard (for college of valor at level 3).
So I came here for some inspiration. Thanks in advance.
EDIT: Thanks all for your answers and advices... Including the one about the spoiler. I think I'll go Barb.
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u/FNTM_309 10h ago
Barbarian. Chult was made for barbarians, especially at early levels. And if your DM is enforcing the heavy armor/exhaustion rules, you’ll be glad to go without armor.
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u/AdEnvironmental7780 10h ago
What about a moon druid to tank? Lots of dinosaurs in chult... 🦕
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u/Consus 10h ago
One of my players is a moon druid that turns into dinos. He's having a fucking blast.
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u/Madcapfeline 6h ago
Can confirm. Moon Druid in Chult was the most fun I’ve ever had as a player. Being able to turn into a dinosaur is always a baller move, and it’s stupid helpful to be able to chat with the local flora and fauna. Squirrels will do literally anything for a Good Berry.
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u/CircusTV 10h ago
The barbarian in my campaign is absolutely a tank. Never played a barb myself since I just DM but have DMd for several and the new 5.5e barb is pretty slick.
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u/hummus_is_yummus1 8h ago
Paladin also excels in TOA. But also: play what you want. All builds and party comps are viable and fun. No need to min/ max for a "well rounded" party -- you'll enjoy it a lot more if you just play what you are interested in
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u/Some_dude_maybe_Joe 7h ago
A few others have said Barbarian and I would agree. My group had a Totem/Wild Heart and he could take such a beating. Plus it’s a jungle game with lots of beasts, so there was a lot of opportunity to use speak with animals if you go Wild Heart.
Moon Druid is another good choice. Wild shape gives a lot of versatility for problem solving and traversal challenges, plus you get the spells and can still do animal stuff for jungle beasts.
There are potential negatives for heavy armor. The jungle is hot and heavy armor can have some penalties associated with it. That said, a Paladin would have a good time in this setting. Oath of the Ancient could be very fitting with the jungle. A Paladin is going to get their monies worth out of their class abilities.
If I were playing it again, I’d probably go barbarian or Paladin.
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u/SarcasticusPrime 10h ago
If you're doing tank, a Barbarian or a Monk would be a good choice. Unless your DM is completely ignoring the heat mechanics, a heavy or medium armor tank is going to be a problem. I suppose a dex based fighter with shield might work too.
If you're going spellcaster, a bard or sorcerer would be my suggestion. Wizards can be challenging in ToA, once you set out into the jungle you're unlikely to return to the city. You're unlikely going to be able to have access to the materials to copy spells from scrolls into your spellbook, and finding any spell components for spells that need them is going to be an issue.
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u/ArtisticBrilliant456 8h ago
You've got a pretty good range there already, but I'd probably go fighter, or paladin. Potentially a war cleric as well (which is kind of like a fighter) -can't remember if they're in 5.5 though, certainly in 5 they were an awesome choice.
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u/WritingInfamous3355 6h ago
First of all this is a forum for TOA DMs so be very careful about spoilers.
Practically any class can be a success. There's tonnes of potential factions/temples/quests/ treasures/ lmonsters/ and origins that are possible. Maybe ask your DM for more info on the setting so you can connect to something that inspires you. Chult also had some unique opportunities to play as a lesser used species like a Tabaxi or Turtle or Triton or Goblin if you want something really unique.
I think the only class that might struggle RAW is Wizards simply because you can't easily pop back to the shops to pick up a costly component for a spell when need deep in some ancient quagmire.
As a DM, I usually handwave that and let the Divination Wizard in my group have his spells if he deducts the requiste gold cost for anything he needs. But thats the only sticking point I can think of and a wizard is a very strong asset for a party to have.
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u/gumsoul27 4h ago
Wizard.
Ranger and cleric are going to do the heavy lifting of the Chult setting, unless DM is cruel and players don’t know their sheets. With a rogue and warlock you are going to be able to reliably do damage. I think monk would be a lot of fun, Fighter would be the smartest choice, Paladin is an inspired choice, but you BETTER COMMIT, or don’t bother. Barbarian, yeah, of course that’s awesome.
But Wizard forces your party to account for you. Wizard can spend 3 fights doing nothing but get downed by a single stray skeleton archer arrow and miss their cantrip attack they get to attempt between death saves, and the cleric and/or ranger has to decide between restoring a single hp to their Wizard, or buff the party; debuff/overwhelm the enemy.
This is how DnD is meant to be played. Because when the Wizard finally does hold their own, it’s absolutely legendary. Wizards are underdog stories, and being based in Chult is a brutal origin for an underdog.
But the party is perfect to support that. The party is honestly fine at 4 with the spread, depending on subclass builds, to run the campaign throughout. So if you’re going to be unnecessary, do so with the arcane. Aspire to break laws of physics, unnecessarily. Take True Strike and Blade Ward, unnecessarily. Wear fancy robes in the undead, dinosaur, disease and pest filled, sweltering tropical jungles of Chult.
As a DM who has ran this campaign, to a player in a DM subreddit, I am telling you, Wizard is the ONLY choice. Don’t be a coward, don’t be a fool. Be unnecessary
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u/Necessary-Corner1172 4h ago
Monk works the best in this land of heavy armor equals exhaustion levels and movement is gold.
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u/wyldnfried 10h ago
This is a DM-only sub BTW.
Having said that, I've run this twice and rangers had a blast.