I'm starting a new group (D&D 5e) and am thinking of initially banning Cleric, Paladin and Druid class...

I'm starting a new group (D&D 5e) and am thinking of initially banning Cleric, Paladin and Druid class, but all classes having an option to switch into them during the play via roleplay. My problem is, people roleplay these classes like every other without mirroring their religious/natural backgrounds. Druids roam the cities without any gripe, skinning of animals and deforestation does not upset them. Paladins of Tempus avoid battle, clerics of good alignment are not upset over injustice and oppression. Basically I'd like for people to pray in character, reflect characteristics of their classes not play them like any other (fighter/rogue/ranger ...) class.

Is that too harsh? Thoughts?

I have a suggestion for you that wold help out taking the game in the direction you seem to be going for.
DON'T PLAY DND

XD

If you're having problems with players staying in-character, banning classes won't change that.

Smash dat like button flam.

You can instead enforce some homerules about power leaving characters slowly if they don't follow their class fantasy's identity / core concept.

Alternatively, just discuss these things with them before the game.

Maybe you should get some players who are actually any good. This is not the classes' fault, it's your shitty players'.

Or you could just let them play their classes however they want. Or you could talk to them like adults and state what are your expectations for the game intead of imposing limitations

Uh, why don't you just bring up stuff that is tied to their class and remind them that if they were their class they would care about this stuff?

Or have a note that says "Hey, I'm cool w/ you being this class but be sure to roleplay it."

Paladins don't need to follow gods in 5e though

What you can do is reward EXP per roleplay.

Why would banning those classes make people play more in character?

5e already has inspiration for this.

I think you're treating the symptom instead of the cause. Your argument appears to be "In my experience, players do not role-play Clerics, Druids, and Paladins in a way I feel is appropriate, therefore I will prohibit them at character creation and only allow them to players who role-play in an appropriate manner."

I present an alternative: "In my experience, players do not role-play Clerics, Druids, and Paladins in a way I feel is appropriate, therefore I will tell this to my players during our Session Zero and state the roleplaying requirements they must adhere to if they choose to play those classes."

Your objective is to have your players properly role-play certain classes. Talking to your players about your concerns in advance is almost always the best approach in these kinds of situations. Let them know what role-play you expect from certain races, classes, or cultures.

In addition, remember that your players are important participants in the storytelling process. If one of them wants to play a race or class in a way you don't expect, consider how you could make it interesting for the game. How would people react to that character? How would it make certain challenges easier for them, or more difficult? In short, while it's perfectly fine to say "No" or "Don't do that" to a player, it's always good to take a moment and think "If I say yes to this, what would happen?" You never know, that city loving sarcastic Elf Ranger might end up being a fun part of the story.

1. Stop being gay, it gives you ass cancer.
2. In 5e, Paladins get their power from their Oath, not any gods. They can worship, but it's not related to their power.
3. Druids are not hippies, nor have they ever had to be. The Enclave, the major druid faction, is about people not fucking with the natural order and the Fey not bursting in and wrecking everyone's shit. They don't give a shit about hunting and chopping down trees unless you're driving a species to extinction or endangering a whole habitat.
4. The Gods are not autistic in most settings. Most will understand you can't always be perfect, on account of how nobody is. They're probably willing to let some shit slide, especially if you had a good reason.
5. The class is usually not the profession. You can be a Guild Master who is a Cleric of Ilmaeter, if you want and can make it work. You can be a Paladin Clerk or a Druid Small Loans Officer. Nothing in the rules or even the fluff forbid it.

You mean communicating with people solves issues?

Pretty sure most OPs here lie when they click the "I'm not a robot" box.

>This

Honestly some of these Dm's are just 'that guy'. One of my player's made a Firbolg Lawyer (Bard) because he loved how they are uncomfortable lying. He took zone of truth to establish a courtroom on the go and inspires people with legal loopholes. His cutting words is to tell enemies of various laws they are breaking. It's a great character that surprises me all the time.

Why would you think so, Ýô‡ fellow human?-,¶ô ‚>no robots for sure could post on Veeky Forums!

I wouldn't use the word harsh, but it's a bad thing to do as a DM. It's about the same as saying to your players "You can't play the class you want until you prove to me that you're a good enough roleplayer." Instead you should put in the effort to make your players feel invested in the world and their characters. Work with them on backstory, help tease out what it was that made their character decide to be a druid, or a cleric in the first place. If they're not living up to the role, then the world should hold them accountable, not you as a dungeon master. A cleric or paladin who's shirking his responsibilities might be confronted by another member of their church, or order. They may even receive a sign from their god that they're on the wrong path.

these tee bee aich

Maybe you could ask your players to roleplay more and put your players in interesting situations where they have opportunities to roleplay those characteristics more and have a session zero where you discuss the theme and tone of the campaign and suggest that a druid in a city based game or a Paladin in an evil campaign might not be the best idea and while you're at it maybe you can provide interesting in game consequences for out of alignment behaviour that goes beyond you fall lol as well as encouraging players to have individual and group goals and arcs they can resolve while also creating triangles between the players themselves so they all have a past history and relationships before the game even starts and maybe make a sandbox world where they can make their own choices and carve their own path based on that set up.

Or you.know you can arbitrarily and passive aggressively mess with class balance and deny players options because you want to force an outcome you could just ask for.

well memed /b/rethren, epic for t3h winz0r

5E does not have much in the way of healing or removing curses, you would have to take this into consideration by making these available as services, as items, etc.