First time playing 5e with friends

First time playing 5e with friends.

Lore Bard Dwarf or Gnome?
Thief Rogue Dwarf or Gnome?
Wizard Dwarf or Gnome?
Dwarf Baker?

How do I do these and how should I build them/what should I go for to be helpful?

>inb4 D&D
>inb4 Ever playing D&D
I'd much rather play CoC 7th, but I was outvoted. It's cool though, I'm sure we'll have fun.

5e is hard to build wrong. Just make sure you put your highest stat on whatever your class needs. All of the things you listed can work. Some racial bonuses might give a slight edge at the start to one stat but since everyone caps at the same,max it doesn't really matter in the long run.

Play what's fun. Build a character concept first and for mechanics to it after.

Good point, mate! Last edition of D&D I played was 3.5e a long time ago, and I'm surprised at seeing the Fighter and Monk not being utter garbage, which is really nice. One thing I do miss is being able to do ridiculous things with high stats/skill checks.

But now I'm wondering if centering yourself around being a Dwarf Baker is fully possible.

>'Tis a fine lastry indeed, my Dwarven friend.
>Aye, I could recognize the taste and exquisite texture coming together in this sweet confection as Dwarven work.

Maybe a Wizard or Rogue. Bard maybe?
Live long enough to become the world's greatest baker by travelling the world and seeing the finest pastries there are to offer!

Gnomes would have a statistical advantage in all of the classes you posted, due to racial bonuses and the way character generation is handled in 5e. Basically, character stats are capped at 20, and 18 is the highest you can point-buy or roll. Therefore, a gnome's +2 Int gives you a higher stat ceiling for a wizard, and a forest gnome's +1 Dex means you can save the points on an 18 (as opposed to 17) stat or get to an ability modifier with a one-off roll.

Still, as pointed out, you can basically build whatever you want in 5e. Only listen to me if you feel the call of the munchkin.

That's also true!

I could fluff the Rock Gnome's tinker ability as trying to invent a pastry delivering invention, funnily enough! The Fire Starter has an obvious use, and the music box would be great for Bards.

Dwarves seem like they could be great at the classes as well, mostly for the added survivability of the armor and weapons available, plus the stat boosts.

Tough choices indeed!

Mountain Dwarf Wizard.
Pick up a battle axe with your starting money, if you can.

Hmmm...

Do Wizards have penalties for wearing armor in 5e or no? Hill Dwarf Wizard with medium armor and a Battleaxe/Warhammer sounds pretty awesome, actually.

Er, Mountain Dwarf, but the Hill Dwarf's extra HP seems cool too.

Get new friends that play an edition that's actually good.

Dang, I forgot to
>inb4 edition wars

Play a gnome. I don't care what you play it as, just please play a gnome. I'm so sick of dwarves.

The only penalty for wearing armour you aren't proficient in is disadvantage to STR and DEX rolls.

I once played the Hide and Seek champion in 3.5e, a Forest Gnome who always put points in Hide and Move Silently with 18 dex. At level 1, he had like a +23, iirc. Might be off, can't remember how it went.

I'm sorry that you're sick of Dwarves, user.

Holy crap, really?

Time fer an armored, axe-swinging, spell-slinging, pastry cooking, Dwarf!

Pick either of the Folk Hero or Guild Artisan backgrounds for the free tool prof for chef's utensils.

And I'm sorry for bringing it up. I know I honestly should not have trotted out my grievances, that I'm not playing with you so it won't effect me anyway and I shouldn't try to prevent you from doing what's fun for you, but im just so very sick of dwarves. I'm now firmly of the opinion dwarves are cancer, and anything is better for a group than dwarves. But that's just me, and I shouldn't rain on your parade because my players are terrible.

Thanks for the tips, mate!

Tell me of your players, and your hatred of Dwarves. Why, I am but a humble Dwarven Wizard, only seeking fine pastries, and declaring the finest Dwarven Work! I'm bound to get it right sometime!

you can. but the food critics are killer.

Honestly? I don't know what it is, but even guys who are normally pretty decent players turn into retards as soon as they mark down dwarf on their character sheet. Its not even the bad Scottish accents and the incessant drinking and wenching, I can handle that, it's just they turn into murder hobos. No more planning or intelligent play, they just run at it screaming with an axe. Their solution to everything is to fight. They become abrasive. I said I could deal with the drinking but honestly it does kill roleplay. If they aren't fighting something all they wanna do is describe their drunken exploits (namely barfighting). I don't know how it happened, but that's just the culture for players in my area. If you play a dwarf, he's a drunk violent asshole. Period. It really cramps my style as a dm, and when I finally get a chance to step out from behind the screen and play, it cockblocks any attempt to take the campaign to greater hights than

>kill shit
> get money
>kill shit

So yeah. I don't like dwarves. Sorry for the rant. EVEN just seeing the thread I'm fairly certain you won't be one of those cardboard cut out roleplayers, and I shouldn't have popped in just to be negative. It's just nice to find an outlet every now and again.

I remember that thread. Good times.

Nah mate, it's healthy to let it out. If you ever feel like crying or anything like that, do it. It helps release pent-up emotion and that's healthy. Speak about your problems, even if it's out loud to yourself! It'll be the first steps to helping yourself feel better.

While I do love the good old stereotypical Scottish Drunken Dwarf, this definitely isn't what I have in mind. I'm thinking along the lines of a somewhat refined gentledwarf, who has an eye for Dwarven Work. Namely Pastries, but fine drink shan't be turned down either. 'Twould be rude! Of course, a good weapon and good armor are always helpful, especially on long journies.

then that's a shit dwarf player who only glanced at the pictures. Sounds more dudebro that dwarven.

I'm also just starting a game, had a character in mind but my DM is a moralfag who's asshole puckers at the slightest hint of anything "bad" in his game (don't even CALL a rouge a thief, "Thieves are bad people we don't play thieves", and that's a direct quote) and i foolishly thought a drow paladin eager to both show his good intentions to others to prove honor and good are ones actions and evil is not one's blood, and bring the smite on anything even vaugely spidery so hard it rockets into loth's realm like an eight legged line drive.
"Eh... no i'm not sure, well you can play it but you don't know anything about drow culture or anything"
Well then i'm not playing a fucking drow am i? I'm just a elf with a hell of a tan who ate all his carrots growing up

I always imagined the adventuring, drinking, brawling, get-fuckloads-of-treasure dwarfs are the young men and women, just past their 200th year or so, just graduated from High (Low?) School and on a sort of spring break for a decade or so before going to collage or settling into the family business. Woooo drink beer, fight orcs, watch a wet chainmail contest, before heading home ready to be a good responsible dwarf and if you're lucky with a nice pile of gold for that down payment on the new workshop.

You also get disadvantage on spells if you're wearing armor you're not proficient in.

I'm sorry your dm is shit. Stage an intervention or findividual a new dm. Personally while I am a moral person irl, as a dm I accept that I am running a world, and there are bad people in the world, and that bad things happen. There fore for the sake of th game I do some things I find distasteful, and I allow my players to do as they wish with the understanding that all actions have consequences. I don't undestand how you can possibly dm if there is nothing bad at all. And it sounds like shit if you restrict your players like that. I mean even though I dislike dwarves I don't stop them, I just kinda grit my teeth and bear it, until they manage to get thselves killed doing sething stupid, and them i hope they roll a new better character.

I'm looking at the Artisan background and I like it quite a bit. I think my character will look quite like the average warrior decked out in Medium armor and a Battleaxe over his shoulder, when all of a sudden he's talking about the intricacies of the kitchen, and saying how he'll be the best baker in the world, even if he has to resort to magic to do so!

I need to look at the spell lists later, see which ones I like most, maybe work as a buffer for the party.

Good thing Mountain Dwarves get Light and Medium armor proficiency!

Thanks man, I've been blowing off steam for a bit about this because it really bothers me since even before i decided to make him drow this idea was bouncing around in my head for quite a while so i sort of really like how this character shaped up and don't want to "waste" him on a game where i know he's just going to be... there.

as for me and the DM... he seems to have the idea that the characters shouldn't matter. It's the story that's important so you should make what fits into his planned story easiest ie: pastless nobodys who all have the alighnlent Brainless Good so you can be most easily moved around the board like tokens.
I'm this close to just rolling up a generic druid and run that. we need a religion guy because he's super christian and i was told by another guy all his games become grand holy crusades to serve whoever he feels is most like the christian god (we're doing forgotten realms so it seems to be Tyr, which sorta scares me) and fight evil but not demons or devils because they're "too real" and "shouldn't be played with"

ah see i'd want to really sell it myself, have his dagger be a bread knife, a mace/rolling pin on his belt, throw flour in a goblins face.
Oh at the least name his axe "Cookie Cutter"

I feel your pain. I've played with many Dwarves, and apart from a rather cool Grey Dwarf Monk who practiced abstinence, they all seem to be like that. One guy in my group only ever plays Dorfs and all of his roleplaying and social time can be summarised 'he goes to the bar and strikes up a conversation with the barkeep'

15 is the highest you can point buy, this can be boosted to 17 via racial bonuses

>point buy
We're going to be rolling 4d6 drop lowest reroll 1.