The classes of Dungeons & Dragons.
Class is the first choice that really matters when you create a Dungeons & Dragons character. It settles what your hero can do once things go wrong: hit, take a beating, pick a lock, heal an ally, or turn a battle around with a single spell.
Here are the twelve classes of the game, gathered in one place and described for what they actually bring to the table. What a class decides, the six martial classes, the six spellcasting classes, subclasses, levelling up, and how to pick yours.
What a class actually decides.
A class fixes four things: the hit die that sets how much punishment the character takes, the weapons and armour they handle, the saving throws and skills they are trained in, and the list of features they gain as they level up. Name, background, species and looks are decided elsewhere and never limit the class you picked.
In practice a class answers one question: what does your character do when the game master asks what you do? The fighter closes in, the rogue goes around, the cleric keeps the party standing, the wizard rewrites the scene. Two characters of the same class still play very differently, because the subclass, the spells they keep and the player's temperament do the rest.
The six martial classes.
Rage halves physical damage and adds a bonus to every hit. Almost no complicated decisions, which makes it an excellent beginner class.
Two attacks from level 5, plus Second Wind and Action Surge to reset a turn. The simplest class to play and the most solid in a fight.
Several unarmed strikes a turn and far more movement than anyone else. Fragile in defence, dangerous in motion.
Sneak attack adds damage dice as soon as an ally is engaging the target. Out of combat, this is the character who opens doors and finds traps.
Between fighter and druid: bow, survival and a few utility spells. It shines outdoors and during exploration.
It heals, protects allies and turns spell slots into massive damage. The oath you pick shapes the character as much as the features.
The six spellcasting classes.
It helps others with inspiration, dabbles in everything and talks better than anyone. Its spell list borrows from all the others.
The only class that really heals, and one that can wear heavy armour depending on the domain. Its prepared spells change every morning, which takes a little organising.
Wild shape lets you become a bear to soak hits or a rat to scout. Its spells control the battlefield more than they deal damage.
Few spells known, but metamagic lets you twin them, quicken them or cast without gestures. Magic by instinct rather than study.
It copies every scroll it finds and ends up with the widest spell list in the game. Fragile, but able to end a whole scene with a single spell.
Only two slots, but they refresh on every short rest, plus a reliable magical attack at will. The pact hands you the character's story.
Subclasses, where characters diverge.
Every class branches into subclasses, chosen at first, second or third level depending on the class. A fighter becomes a champion, a battle master or an eldritch knight, a cleric picks a domain, a wizard a school of magic, a barbarian a primal path. That second layer is what separates two characters of the same class at the same table.
The free basic rules offer one subclass per class, which is plenty for a first campaign. The Player's Handbook adds three or four more each, and supplements keep publishing new ones. None of it is compulsory: a group can play for years on the starting selection without ever feeling short.
Levelling up, class by class.
Characters start at level one and climb to twentieth. Every level brings hit points, often a class feature, and every four levels an ability score improvement that many players trade for a feat. The pace is shared by the whole party: nobody levels faster than anyone else.
Classes do not take off at the same moment, though. The wizard stays fragile for two levels then weighs heavily once third-level spells arrive, the fighter is solid straight away, the paladin becomes frightening at fifth level. Plenty of groups start at level three for that reason, to skip the sessions where a single hit kills a character.
Picking your class without regrets.
A clear image, a disgraced knight or a street thief, guides you better than a comparison table. The numbers follow the character, not the other way round.
Fighter, barbarian or rogue play without checking a spell list every turn. Save magic for your second character.
A level 3 wizard already juggles fifteen options a turn. If you hate deciding quickly, take a class that hits things.
A party with no healer and nobody able to pick a lock gets stuck fast. Look at what is missing before locking in your choice.
Level 15 features may never arrive: most campaigns stop before level 10. Judge a class on its first three levels.
A game master will nearly always allow a swap after two sessions. Nobody wants to drag a character they dislike around for a year.
Playing your class online.
A class is played through a sheet: spell slots that empty, rage uses to count, bardic inspiration to spend. On paper those counters end up as scribbles, and players forget half of what their character can do.
Tomeus gathers the sheets, the dice roller, the backdrop and the music in a single window. Every player keeps their features in sight, the game master sees the whole table, and nobody installs anything.
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Frequently asked questions.
How many classes are there in D&D?
Twelve in the Player's Handbook: barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, warlock and wizard. The free basic rules cover four of them, cleric, fighter, rogue and wizard, with one subclass each. That is enough for a full party and several months of play.
Which class should a beginner pick?
The fighter or the rogue, because neither needs a spell list: one or two features to remember, and all your attention free for the scene. The cleric suits a player who wants to support the group, the wizard one who accepts reading a dozen spell descriptions before the first session.
Can you change class mid-campaign?
The rules cover multiclassing, which adds levels in a second class rather than replacing the first. Swapping outright is not written in the book, but nearly every table allows it in the early sessions, when a player realises the class is not for them. Ask the game master, the answer is almost always yes.