Hello everyone,

We are nearing the end of my first TTRPG campaign and in a few weeks, the DM is starting a homebrew. I joined this one half way through and a friend slapped together most of my level 7 character for me, a basic fighter. For this new campaign I’m hoping to have “more to do” in and out of battle so I’m looking for class advice.

I want to play a support class but I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by the class options. All I know is that I want it to be beginner-friendly support that can heal but also do more - like damage, buffs, or debuffs. Doesn’t have to be all 3!

The group gave me a few suggestions but there was so much back and forth about how complicated they are, I thought I’d pose the question here.

Can someone help point me in the right direction on a simple support? Any help would be appreciated!

  • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
    0·
    6 months ago

    4 Questions:

    • What level are you starting at?
    • Will you be playing with Free Archetype?
    • What kind of fantasy characters do you find compelling and interesting (in TV, movies, and games)?
    • What kind of setting are you playing in?
    • glimse@lemmy.worldOP
      0·
      6 months ago

      • Starting at level 1 this time, thankfully!

      • I had to look that up and I have no idea so I’ll have to ask lol it is not free archetype

      • I am both a newbie to TTRPGs and fantasy. The only thing that comes to mind is my Pandaren Brewmaster in WoW…but I do not want to tank. If you’re familiar with WoW classes/specs, my other favorite characters were prot paladin, survival hunter, and holy priest

      • I don’t know the details yet but it seems like a typical fantasy setting

      • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
        0·
        6 months ago

        Follow-up on question 3: I wasn’t asking about video game mechanics. I’m asking what kind of characters you like. As in what kind of personality, what kind of choices they make, what a scene with that character feels like, etc. It doesn’t need to be traditional Western medieval fantasy if that’s not something you’ve experienced a lot of.

        A good TTRPG character starts not with mechanics but with a strong inspiration. Creating an RPG character is a creative act. Filling out the character sheet shouldn’t feel like paperwork, it should feel like exploring a real person. Pathfinder is a game about a team of heroes. What “team of heroes” media do you like and why do you like it? Who are your favourite heroes?

        Which character in Avatar the Last Airbender is your favourite? Which MCU superhero is your favourite? Which of the Teen Titans is the hottest and why is it Starfire? Which Star Trek character is your spirit animal?

        Moreover, and I alluded to this in the other post, but there isn’t really a “wrong” way to build a character in Pathfinder (as long as you take some basic steps like maxing out the primary stat). It’s only wrong if you don’t like playing them. So we should start with what kind of character you want to play.

        • glimse@lemmy.worldOP
          0·
          6 months ago

          I prefer quiet characters over braggadocios ones. Ironically, Gambit is my favorite X-Man followed by the much more appropriate Professor X. I like when characters avoid the spotlight and take care of stuff “from the sidelines.” Some other characters that fit the description (I think, not too into these franchises): Samwise Gamger, Ron Weasley, Podrick

          [Whoops, hit send before finishing. Give me a minute to write the rest…]

          The race I am leaning is Ysoki, specifically the tiny subrace unique to this campaign. I don’t want to be a hero, I want to support the heroes as they do their hero things. I don’t care if others see how I’m helping as long as my party knows it - I’m not big on getting recognition.

          The DM wants to work out our back stories together so he can weave it into the campaign so I haven’t given a ton of thought to it just yet

          • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
            0·
            6 months ago

            Interesting. When you say “support”, can you unpack that a bit? There are a lot of different ways of being a support in PF2e. You can be a healer obviously or someone who has an aura that buffs stats. But support can also mean someone who nails the Recall Knowledge check and finds out the enemy’s secret weakness. Or supporting can be someone who intimidates the enemy or taunts them or even someone who attacks them (since tripping, grappling, shoving, and disarming all are considered attacks)

            • glimse@lemmy.worldOP
              0·
              6 months ago

              First and foremost I want to be able to heal in and out of combat. But I’m saying Support and not Healer because I want to have other spells/actions to take - like making my party do more (or take less) damage or blind/confuse enemies.

              If I’m sounding weird about describing it, it’s because I find my current character pretty boring in combat. I basically just shoot my bow, miss with Electric Arc, or cast Haste. The monk in our party (veteran player) does so many different things and the druid (another veteran) seems to bust out situationally-useful spells every session.

              I want more options in a fight so it feels like my choices matter. The problem is…I have no idea what the options are except what I’ve seen in this campaign.

              • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
                0·
                6 months ago

                It sounds to me like something with the occult spell list is ideal. A Bard is definitely a top pick since they are all around excellent supports. But they can also be a bit plain since every combat you just play a lingering composition and then avoid getting hit. That being said, I think you could definitely have a good time playing a Bard.

                I’ll offer a slightly different suggestion though which I think you might like: the Psychic. They use the occult spell list, so you will have access to Soothe for healing and plenty of solid utility, buff, and debuff spells. And they are a spontaneous caster which is a lot less bookkeeping. But they also are solid damage dealers with stronger cantrips and more varied focus spell options. You will usually have an interesting blaster option on your turn as well as a support option. There are even some subclasses which are wholly focused on being a support (The Infinite Eye being the most support focused subclass). You can pick either Intelligence or Charisma as your main stat, which means you can further support either by using recall knowledge if you go the path of INT, or demoralize, deception, and Bon Mot if you choose CHA.

                • glimse@lemmy.worldOP
                  0·
                  6 months ago

                  Sorry for the delay, I started looking into this last night and fell into the rabbit hole…but I’m sold. I put together a rough character on one of the builder sites and started working out the backstory with the GM.

                  I will be playing a Skitterpaw (unique to this campaign) Ysoki Psychic

                  Background: Scholar (Occultism)

                  Conscious Mind: The Infinite Eye

                  Subconscious Mind: Gathered Lore

                  Cantrips: Telekinesis Projectile, Void Warp, and Void Step

                  Spells: Soothe and…undecided because the builder only gives me True Strike as an option…? I think I should have other choices but I don’t know

                  Soothe seems good enough for what I want but out of curiosity, are there other healing spells to pick up later?

                  And do deities even matter outside of RP for non-Clerics? I couldn’t quite figure that out…