Classes are the mechanical heart of characters in Tales of the Valiant. While your Lineage, Heritage, and Background are also impactful, your class defines the majoroty of what your character can do. Understanding how to build and play a class effectively is the most important part of building an effective character.
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Choosing a Class
Choosing your character’s class is arguably the most important decision when building a new character, as it determines their biggest capabilities and their role within the party.
DnD 5e is resilient enough as a system that a party doesn’t need to adhere to the classic cleric/fighter/rogue/wizard party makeup, though covering all of those core capabilities can make your party more successful. For a quick, capable party, ensure that someone in the party is filling each of those four roles.
| Cleric Equivalent | Fighter Equivalent | Rogue Equivalent | Wizard Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleric | Mechanist | Monk | Bard |
| Druid | Barbarian | Ranger | Sorcerer |
| Fighter | Rogue | Warlock | |
| Paladin | Wizard |
If your character’s build won’t neatly fit into those boxes, it may be helpful to consider party roles in more depth. Specific roles can be split between the party, and so long as every role is represented, your party has everything that it needs to succeed regardless of specific classes.
Tales of the Valiant Classes
Barbarian
Martial warriors fueled by their ability to fly into a rage, empowering them in combat. Barbarians are durable, aggressive, and lethal.
Bard
Storytellers, musicians, and collectors of lore, bards combine magical abilities and exception skills to overcome any challenge.
Cleric
Divine warriors imbued with the strength of their faith, clerics support their allies and overcome challenges using powerful divine spellcasting.
Druid
Weilding the primordial power of nature, druids use primordial spellcasting and have the ability to transform into animals.
Fighter
Skilled martial warriors with unequalled capabilities with weapons and armor. Deeply customizable thanks to more Talents than any other class, the Fighter is very versatile and can be built to support many playstyles.
Mechanist
Introduced for the first time in the Tales of the Valiant Core Rulebook, the Mechanist is a martial class built around augmenting equipment, both their own and their allies. With good martial capabilities and powerful buffs and utility options from their Augments, the Mechanist is an asset in any party.
Monk
Martial artists who train their minds and bodies to perfection, monks face the world unarmored and often umarmed, but are no less well-equipped.
Paladin
Warriors empowered by a powerful oath, paladins are incredibly durable and can strike down foes with powerful smites.
Ranger
Capable explorers, rangers are at home in the wilderness, facing down challenges with skills, martial capabilities, and a splash of magic.
Rogue
Iconic scondrels, misfits, adventurers, and rogues, Rogue have exceptionally good skills and rely on delivering single, powerful attacks in combat via Sneak Attack.
Sorcerer
Powerful spellcasters with an innate connection to the source of their magic, sorcerers can modify their spells with powerful Metamagic effects, allowing them to modify a small number of spells known to suit nearly any situation.
Warlock
Drawing power from a magical patrons, warlocks are highly-customizable spellcasters with powerful abilities like Pact Magic which allows them to recharge some of their spell slots on a Shot Rest. They also weild Eldritch Blast, a powerful magical attack which they can further enhance with Eldritch Infusions.
Wizard
The iconic master of magic, wizards cast arcane spells and have nearly uncontested mastery of ritual spellcasting, making them a utility powerhouse.
