by Matt Bird

Created on: February 10, 2010

One of the first things you'll ever do in Dungeons and Dragons, whether you're a veteran or a complete newcomer, is choose a character class. It's an essential step to take: you can't have an undefined character with no physical or magic powers at his command, after all, as you'll be utterly useless to your party.

And while experienced players usually know what they want to play (or play next, as the case may be) new players may have trouble choosing a starting class. There's a ton of variety in the Player's Handbook by itself, let alone in the various expansion books that have been released since. What's to be done?

The first step is to narrow down what kind of character you want to play. Would you prefer a straight up combatant? For first time players this is a good idea since they're easier to manage in a game, not to mention easier to make. If such is the case a Fighter, a Paladin, a Barbarian or something similar might be a good idea. From there you need to narrow down what you prefer among them: a full on combatant like a Barbarian, a smarter Fighter, a holy Paladin and so forth.

Or, if you want more of a challenge, you might consider a magic character. These guys and gals aren't so good at physical feats but can sling spells with the best of them. They're frail and will fall quickly under fire but can demolish the strongest of opponents with a few good spells. Ultimately a spellcaster is extremely rewarding as you'll be forced to plan ahead, a good trait for any DnD game. Sorcerers are good starting magic users, though Wizards can be rewarding as well since they're not stuck with set spells.

Or you may want a character that can do a bit of each. These guys are more advanced since they've got more to think about, but they do quite nicely in any campaign. Rangers are good close combat or ranged fighters with spellcasting capacities down the line; Paladins with sufficient wisdom can become healers; Clerics can be either spell-oriented or combat, depending on your attributes. These guys may not be good first choices, but a second or third, more advanced character would do well as a combo.

Or, again for more advanced characters, you may want to choose based on skills. These characters aren't as good at combat but they have a flurry of useful skills they can apply to any number of situations inside and outside dungeons. A Rogue (and to a lesser extent a Bard) does well in these roles. Beware, these guys can't take much punishment and will require some smart

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