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When you're sitting down to make up a D&D character, the first decision you're probably going to make is what class you want him or her to be. It's not always an easy decision, but there are some guidelines you can use to help make your choice work for you. All of this advice is based on version 3.5 of the game, but its broad outlines translate to 4th Edition pretty well.

Firstly, do you see your character as primarily a spellcaster? If so, you're going to want to look at the wizard, cleric, bard, druid or sorcerer. Non-spellcasting choices are the fighter, rogue, monk, paladin, ranger and barbarian. (Some of the "non-spellcasting" classes do have access to a limited number of spells, but that's not their primary function in the party.)

So, a spellcaster. Would you rather have your character's power come from magic itself, or from the intercession of an outside entity? Arcane spellcasters, the wizard, sorcerer and bard, draw their power from ambient magic or their own internal power; divine casters like the cleric and druid use the intercession of a deity (or the natural world) as their source of energy.

The arcane caster wizard is the classic magic user. He gets his power from study and research, and carries props like a staff. He's good at having a wide variety of spells, because he can always write a new spell into his book. The sorcerer, on the other hand, was born with the ability to use magic, and only develops the internal power as she goes up in level; she has a limited number of spells she knows, though she can cast them without the preparation a wizard must take. And a bard is like a sorcerer in that he gets his magic mostly from within, but in his case it's all based on the power of words-in addition to being a spellcaster, he's also an entertainer and collector of lore.

The two major divine casters are the cleric and the druid. Clerics are devoted to deities or to some principle that they hold as important; they can wear armor without fear of spell failure, but their magic is rather focused on healing and improving people rather than the destructive power of the wizard or sorcerer. Druids, meanwhile, are very connected to the natural world; their spells tend to focus on interacting with and controlling plants, animals and the weather, and they can change shape into creatures such as wolves.

The non-spellcasting classes, meanwhile, are just as flavorful. The two basics are the fighter and the rogue. Fighters focus on, well, fighting: they have a large

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