Barbarians
Barbarians are brave, even reckless, and their warrior skills make them well suited to adventure. Instead of training and discipline, barbarians have a powerful rage that makes them stronger, tougher, and better able to withstand attacks. They only have the energy for a few such displays per day, but it is usually sufficient. Constant exposure to danger has also given barbarians a sort of "sixth sense", the preternatural ability to sense danger and dodge attacks, and their running stamina is legendary.

With their toughness and fighting ability they are the shock troops of the D&D world. People picture the typical barbarian as the huge Viking type from somewhere to the 'North'. Keep in mind that this does not have to be the only example of a barbarian. They have this stunning ability to rage in combat which makes them stronger and tougher, becoming a tornado of destruction- what other examples of characters would have this frightening ability? A barroom brawler? A crazy street lunatic? A daring rich duelist bent on revenge? Consider different possibilities for the barbarian. While they are detailed in the Players Handbook as the typical example of wandering Norsemen-type, you do not have to be that when creating your character.

Bards
Bards often serve as negotiators, messengers, scouts, and spies. They love to accompany heroes (and villains) to witness heroic (or villainous) deeds firsthand, since a bard who can tell a story from personal experience earns renown among his fellows. A bard casts arcane spells without any advance preparation, much like a sorcerer. Bards also share some specialized skills with rogues, and their knowledge of item lore is nearly unmatched. A high Charisma score allows a bard to cast high-level spells.

Bards are very difficult to classify as they are part scholar, part thief, part spy, part spell caster and part warrior. With so many routes to focus on a common error is to try and be good at everything and that leads to being mediocre at all. To play a successful bard a player must think about what sort of character they would want to play and select certain parts to emphasize. For example, a combat based bard would focus on his physical attributes over Charisma (which determines spell ability) and take a few spells that aid directly to fighting. On the other hand, a player who wishes to be a spy or entertainer would focuses on persuasion and more Charisma-based skills.

Clerics
Clerics act as intermediaries between the earthly and the divine (or infernal) worlds. A good cleric helps those in need, while an evil cleric seeks to spread his patron's vision of evil across the world. All clerics can heal wounds and bring people back from the brink of death, and powerful clerics can even raise the dead. Likewise, all clerics have authority over undead creatures, and they can turn away or even destroy these creatures. Clerics are trained in the use of simple weapons, and can use all forms of armor and shields without penalty, since armor does not interfere with the casting of divine spells. In addition to his normal complement of spells, every cleric chooses to focus on two of his deity's domains. These domains grants the cleric special powers, and give him access to spells that he might otherwise never learn. A cleric's Wisdom score should be high, since this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.

What is not emphasized in the above description is that fact that a Cleric is the only class that is the closest to being a Fighter/Magic-User without multiclassing. They have a huge range of spells, all of which are not effected by armor and so they can protect them selves in battle far better than other magic users. In addition they have very good hit points (1d8 for the Cleric compared to the Sorcerer or Wizard's 1d4 per level), the use of shields and some weapons. These special considerations shatter the stereotype of a Cleric as a priestly type in a long robe handing out alms for the poor. Players must also include the crusader in full plate as an archetype of a Cleric.

Druids
Druids gain power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. They hate the unnatural, including aberrations or undead, and destroy them where possible. Druids receive divine spells from nature, not the gods, and can gain an array of powers as they gain experience, including the ability to take the shapes of animals. The weapons and armor of a druid are restricted by their traditional oaths, not simply training. A druid's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast.

Druids and Rangers are two sides of one coin. Druids can be seen as the embodiment of the power of nature while Rangers can be viewed as the highly skilled experts and warriors of the wild.

Druids, while able warriors themselves, focus on the use of magic and magical abilities to battle their enemies. They have a dizzying array of abilities that they are granted as they progress to higher levels but, unlike the Bard, apart from Wisdom there are few other things that need to be considered in the creation of a druid as his or her special abilities are not based on anything but druid level. That means that having a high Cha, for example, does not make your Wildshape ability at 5th level better (as turning undead becomes better with higher Cha for Clerics). This frees the players to pick and choose what sort of druid they want to make and not be concerned about innate abilities as they will be granted through experience.

Something to keep in mind while you are thinking about your character is that Druids are a reflection of nature- both beautiful and dangerous and thus, they must keep a balance within themselves about their world- that is, all Druids must remain very close to Neutral in alignment as nature is a giver and taker of life in equal measure. A careful reading of alignment is important to understand the frame of mind of a player wishing to play a Druid character. If a Druid moves away form Neutral they lose a great deal of their Druidic abilities.

Fighters
Fighters can be many things, from soldiers to criminal enforcers. Some see adventure as a way to get rich, while others use their skills to protect the innocent. Fighters have the best all-around fighting capabilities of the PC classes, and they are trained to use all standard weapons and armor. A fighter's rigorous martial training grants him many bonus feats as he progresses, and high-level fighters have access to special melee maneuvers and exotic weapons not available to any other character.

Fighters fight. They are the regular army grunt, the ones that go in first and come out last on the battlefield. In most other things; magic use, skills, additional abilities they are very limited but they cannot be equaled in straight fighting. They have access to any weapon or any armor in the game and can use each of them all equally well. The puzzle the player must solve is what type of fighter they want to be. They are granted the most (fighting) feats in the game and thus, can tailor what sort of fighting they wish to master.

Monks
Monks are versatile warriors skilled at fighting without weapons or armor. Good-aligned monks serve as protectors of the people, while evil monks make ideal spies and assassins. Though they don't cast spells, monks channel a subtle energy, called ki. This energy allows them to perform amazing feats, such as healing themselves, catching arrows in flight, and dodging blows with lightning speed. Their mundane and ki-based abilities grow with experience, granting them more power over themselves and their environment. Monks suffer unique penalties to their abilities if they wear armor, as doing so violates their rigid oath. A monk wearing armor loses their Wisdom and level based armor class bonuses, their movement speed, and their additional unarmed attacks per round.

There is no other class that is given quite as many strange and unique abilities as the Monk. To be able to use unarmed attacks that cause as much damage in combat as a trained fighter with a magic weapon is an astonishing feat and thus, the Monk is rare and special individual. The Monk's special abilities are mostly based on the prevention of damage; the best saving throws in the game, additional natural armor class through keen awareness of surroundings (Wis) and ever increasing layers of resistances to poisons, aging, mental attacks and so on. The Monk training is so particular and rigorous that, once you leave the class and multiclass to another class, you cannot ever take up the Monk's path again.

Paladins
Paladins take their adventures seriously, and even a mundane mission is, in the heart of the paladin, a personal test—an opportunity to demonstrate bravery, to learn tactics, and to find ways to do good. Divine power protects these warriors of virtue, warding off harm, protecting from disease, healing, and guarding against fear. The paladin can also direct this power to help others, healing wounds or curing diseases, and also use it to destroy evil. Experienced paladins can smite evil foes and turn away undead. A paladin's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast. Many of the paladin's special abilities also benefit from a high Charisma score.

Very few players can play a good Paladin as they are written. It is very difficult to play a character that is Good with a capital 'G'. This makes playing a Paladin one the toughest to do- but not impossible. You will find that sticking to Lawful Good in a world where it is easier to hit first and loot the body is demanding. For those who can play a Paladin well, they are a formidable class with many, many benefits. This does not mean that players must play all Paladins according to the stereotype- ultra-conservative, inflexible, close-minded, do-gooder. There is nothing in the rules about what sort of personality (you don't have be nice to do the right thing), what sort of clothing (ever heard of a Paladin in multi-colored armor?), what sort of habits are even state of mind you have to have. Make the character your own.

A Paladin is not just a fighter with 'lots of stuff'. A better way to see the Paladin is as a war-like Cleric. They are designed to be warriors with the added bonus of some magic that is focused on battling evil. As a result, when you are crafting your Paladin you must take to consideration a great number of things.

Rangers
Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter's dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy—a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.

As Clerics have the Paladin as their warrior incarnations so do Druids have the Ranger as thier fighting embodiment. The Ranger is given far more combat related powers and far less magic with which to battle their enemies. Rangers can also be viewed as the scouts, detectives, and trackers of the D&D world. While it is true that in the wilderness the Ranger cannot be matched, his or her skills are no less useful in the city or deep in the heart of a stony dungeon.

A Ranger can be of any alignment and thus, it is up to the player to develop a personality that can be as varied as the wilderness itself.

The Ranger has the unique ability to study a group of creatures so extensively that he gains many bonuses when confronted with them. As a Ranger gains experience he can not only include more groups but increase his bonuses against his existing favored enemies.

Rogues
Rogues have little in common with each other. While some - maybe even the majority - are stealthy thieves, many serve as scouts, spies, investigators, diplomats, and simple thugs. Rogues are versatile, adaptable, and skilled at getting what others don't want them to get. While not equal to a fighter in combat, a rogue knows how to hit where it hurts, and a sneak attack can dish out a lot of damage. Rogues also seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to avoiding danger. Experienced rogues develop nearly magical powers and skills as they master the arts of stealth, evasion, and sneak attacks. In addition, while not capable of casting spells on their own, a rogue can sometimes "fake it" well enough to cast spells from scrolls, activate wands, and use just about any other magic item.

The Rogue is only character where skills are of paramount importance. Rogues have the highest skill points per level and access to the most skills of any character class. For this reason Rogues become the Jack-of-All Trades as they seem to have a bit of knowledge about a wide variety of topics. Whereas a fighters get few skill points and even fewer in-class areas to spend them the Rogue can throw a few points into a great deal of skills 'just in case'. Rogues are not solely limited to learned skills, however, as they are given one of the most devastating combat abilities in the game: the Sneak Attack. At higher levels this is the most damaging combat attack in the D&D world. A Rogue can quickly end a deadly struggle with one quick strike from the shadows. As mentioned above, the rest of the Rogue's combat abilities are for avoiding damage altogether- armor class bonuses even if surprised and an almost magical avoidance of certain attacks makes the Rogue a viable combatant.

Sorcerers
Sorcerers are arcane spellcasters who manipulate magic energy with imagination and talent rather than studious discipline. They have no books, no mentors, no theories—just raw power that they direct at will. Sorcerers know fewer spells than wizards do and acquire them more slowly, but they can cast individual spells more often and have no need to prepare their incantations ahead of time. Also unlike wizards, sorcerers cannot specialize in a school of magic. Since sorcerers gain their powers without undergoing the years of rigorous study that wizards go through, they have more time to learn fighting skills and are proficient with simple weapons. Charisma is very important for sorcerers; the higher their value in this ability, the higher the spell level they can cast.

Sorcerers seem to show up regularly as the central hero in fantasy novels; a young inexperienced servant/ stable hand/ sheepherder is really the last in a long line of magic users and has yet to tap their awesome magic potential. It is this innate potential that separates the Sorcerer from any other magic using class. All their ability comes from within and requires no study, no prayer and without long hours of practice. Since their brainpower is not used in the acquiring of their magic ability they use their own awareness of self and their own confidence in their abilities to decide what their potential is. This is demonstrated in game terms through their Cha.

Wizards
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells; everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar: a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.

Epic fantasy stories are never complete without the elderly spell caster who delves deep into forgotten tombs and welds spells of awesome power and might. These are the wizards within the D&D world, subject to long hours of study but reaping untold benefits of power and knowledge through hard work. It requires patience and diligence to be a successful wizard and it is not an easy road.

Since this form of magic use is based on careful study, that factor must be considered when creating a personality for your wizard. Is he or she diligent, blasé or frustrated by the constant study and memorization? Why would someone put themselves through all the long hours of study?

Alignment is not a consideration so a character can range from a pathological self-absorption to a Paladin-like commitment to all things good. All the player needs to consider is how the wizard's power will be used.