by Matt Bird

Created on: January 27, 2010

Trying to choose a race and a class for Dungeons and Dragons, especially if you're a newcomer, is daunting. Extremely daunting. Especially if your new group possesses just about every book published by Wizards of the Coast. There are tons of races to slog through, each with their pros and cons, and though the classes aren't quite as numerous you're still left with quite a choice. The Player's Handbook alone can prove mystifyingly large.

Your first task when choosing a race and a class, then, is to narrow down what you like to play. Would you prefer to be a front line battler who's fairly straightforward? You've just eliminated several classes, in that case, and a few races as well. A Barbarian is about as simple as they get: incredible power, not too much by way of brains and sturdy as they come. You'll get a lot of mileage out of a Barbarian, especially if you pair it with a doughty race like the Half-Orcs.

Maybe you prefer skill more, however. Rogues are probably a better choice, in which case you'll want a race that plays to the Rogue's strengths. Look at the skills granted and determine what's of most use to you attribute-wise, then choose a corresponding race that'll give you the bonuses you need for a powerful character. Intelligence is great for Rogues as it boosts the amount of skill points they receive.

And magic? Again, intelligence wins the day. Or wisdom. Or sometimes even charisma. Again, look for races that match up with the class profile of choice. Each class looks to different attributes for success, and you need to read them over thoroughly before committing to anything. There's not much point, for example, in making a Half-Orc Wizard since the big louts lose out in mental categories.

You also need to take feats into account. Feats are tremendously important, as they determine much of your character's combat capabilities. If you're looking to mass feats a human may do particularly well as they get a bonus feat upon creation, and that bonus helps a lot. Fighters are the class of choice for a feat-monger.

Beyond the introductory character creation you also need to look ahead to the future. There are tons of cool prestige classes, each with unique class requirements. Will your current class get you where you want to go? Or should you choose a different, less topsy-turvy road to your goal? Be sure to plan several levels ahead with each character before setting out or you may wind up with a mess a few levels down the line, and with no way back to the starting point to boot.

In the end you'll want to choose something that's fun for you. A class that looks and sounds powerful won't be that great if they're not fun to play. Choose a combination that will pique your role playing curiosity and set it loose on the world, and even if your creation crumples a few times along the way you're still more likely to have fun than if you chose something that's all-powerful and all-dull.

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