Dungeons and Dragons dilemma, help!

[LamentingQuill]

So here is the thing, I am writing up a moon elf princess for a friend's D&D campaign, but I am unsure what class to make her.

She supposed to have been very sheltered and is desperate to prove herself just as capable within the world as her brothers are and thus takes off, where she will meet up by chance with the other players.  I was thinking perhaps wizard or maybe ranger... but I am highly uncertain, any advice?

[Oniya]

Ranger is unlikely to be 'sheltered'.  For that kind of background, I'd go with one of the more 'scholarly' classes - either a cleric (possibly druid, if you want that 'nature-vibe' going) or a wizard.  Lots of book-learning, but little opportunity to put it into practice (still with the potential for it to actually be useful book-learning.)

[wander]

Have you rolled up her six main attributes yet? Those can really help when figuring out what class to go for.

If she's been sheltered, she may be book-smart, so I'd lean if her Intelligence is high towards a wizard class for her.

A Ranger is a more martial class owing to archery and animal friendship. If your moon elf was raised in a more urban location or she doesn't have that good a Dexterity, it may not be for her. If this isn't the case and she did have a relationship with the animals near her, had archery as a hobby to wile her away her time and has good Dexterity, the Ranger class may suit her well.

If she does have good Dexterity and is out to prove her worth though you don't see her as much of a frontliner, the Thief class may be good for you for a more tricksy lithe fingered character, if your Dexterity is higher than your Intelligence, say.

[Sain]

Depending on how open your friend is for re-fluffing classes you could really take any!

Warlock for example could be drawing powers from a link forged through their own inward turned delusions or fantasized friend or creature that has kept them company in their sheltered isolation.

Druid could very well be someone who has not gotten to touch nature but is just loved by it, or perhaps had some ancient creature of the nature in her garden that granted her an innate understanding of nature.

Fighter is always easy sheltered option. Just have had some old war hero or veteran train your character. GMs love it when they get to create aged veteran hero NPCes for their players to be friends with.

Sorcerer is easy enough too. You can say that the powers are only now manifesting, or something that she has tried to keep under control for all her sheltered life Frozen style.

Barbarian could be quite hilarious option for a sheltered background ;D Perhaps she is just naturally physically strong and there is something in her blood or an ancestral spirit that sometimes makes her lose control. The image of a sheltered lady trying her best to be proper only to be internally dancing near the snapping point is quite glorious.

Ranger works too. The favored terrain could be the terrain around your characters villa/castle/home. Perhaps she has just stared out through the window long enough to have familiarized herself with every single nuance of the nature beyond the window. That makes the part where she gets to go out quite the joyous event!

Cleric should work the same as wizard really, except with added aspect of drawing some solace and guidance from a god.

Paladin would be kind of same as cleric, but with a more fightery aspect. Perhaps she knows that she is chosen warrior and is really confident in her connection with the deity, but sort of has kept it suppressed because a good lawful paladin would not defy the wishes of her parents/protectors.

I think you could really spin anything around a sheltered background ;D Let us know what you end up picking.

[HairyHeretic]

A monk could also fit a sheltered upbringing quite well.

[LamentingQuill]

Hmmm... I'll be discussing a lot this with my husband tonight when he gets home from work :)

Perhaps we'll do dice rolls and then talk about where we should go from there.

[wander]

For sure I recommend getting their attributes sorted first. From there choosing the class will be much simpler when you consider the options shown here already.

[greenknight]

I suppose the question should be asked. What version of D&D are you playing? 5e generally handles this more through backgrounds than classes. There's little reason you're elf couldn't have a reasonable mechanical approximation of "sheltered" (as in, not really in tune with the reality of the world of people?) using the Acolyte, Hermit, or Sage backgrounds with any class.

[LamentingQuill]

I suppose the question should be asked. What version of D&D are you playing? 5e generally handles this more through backgrounds than classes. There's little reason you're elf couldn't have a reasonable mechanical approximation of "sheltered" (as in, not really in tune with the reality of the world of people?) using the Acolyte, Hermit, or Sage backgrounds with any class.

She's a princess, hermit is definitely out, hehe. Too young for a sage. Not sure about Acolyte.

[Skynet]

So here is the thing, I am writing up a moon elf princess for a friend's D&D campaign, but I am unsure what class to make her.

She supposed to have been very sheltered and is desperate to prove herself just as capable within the world as her brothers are and thus takes off, where she will meet up by chance with the other players.  I was thinking perhaps wizard or maybe ranger... but I am highly uncertain, any advice?

Going on what Sain said.

Barring some thematic exceptions (BARBARIAN) most classes are broad enough to reflect a variety of archetypes. She could have an artistic flair and got tutored as a Bard. A Rogue could work very well as a courtier (Expertise in Insight and Persuasion). A royal family could have many arcane tomes which lend themselves to the art of Wizardry.

Do you know what kinds of characters the rest of the group is playing? It may be good to see what roles people are planning, to make sure nobody ends up stepping on your toes ("i can check for traps...or she can, again").

[wander]

Seconded to go for a class noone else has, not only does it cover more bases for the party though as mentioned (all parties should have one each of types like fighter, wizard and thief, though YMMV on that of course), you avoid stepping on toes. It may be good to do as much character creation as you possibly can with the rest of your player's circle.

Not only for the above reasons, though I find that as you banter about what your characters can and can't do compared to others, lil interesting stories of why that is tend to come out which adds some richness and dimension to your character if you take those on board or beg to differ with others.

Heck, it can add to the roleplaying if one character sees your character as something and your princess takes it as offensive and/or gets defensive about it!  :-)

[RubySlippers]

Depending on how open your friend is for re-fluffing classes you could really take any!

Warlock for example could be drawing powers from a link forged through their own inward turned delusions or fantasized friend or creature that has kept them company in their sheltered isolation.

Druid could very well be someone who has not gotten to touch nature but is just loved by it, or perhaps had some ancient creature of the nature in her garden that granted her an innate understanding of nature.

Fighter is always easy sheltered option. Just have had some old war hero or veteran train your character. GMs love it when they get to create aged veteran hero NPCes for their players to be friends with.

Sorcerer is easy enough too. You can say that the powers are only now manifesting, or something that she has tried to keep under control for all her sheltered life Frozen style.

Barbarian could be quite hilarious option for a sheltered background ;D Perhaps she is just naturally physically strong and there is something in her blood or an ancestral spirit that sometimes makes her lose control. The image of a sheltered lady trying her best to be proper only to be internally dancing near the snapping point is quite glorious.

Ranger works too. The favored terrain could be the terrain around your characters villa/castle/home. Perhaps she has just stared out through the window long enough to have familiarized herself with every single nuance of the nature beyond the window. That makes the part where she gets to go out quite the joyous event!

Cleric should work the same as wizard really, except with added aspect of drawing some solace and guidance from a god.

Paladin would be kind of same as cleric, but with a more fightery aspect. Perhaps she knows that she is chosen warrior and is really confident in her connection with the deity, but sort of has kept it suppressed because a good lawful paladin would not defy the wishes of her parents/protectors.

I think you could really spin anything around a sheltered background ;D Let us know what you end up picking.

Well Sorcerers wouldn't hide their talents elves would consider the innate power of raw magic a great gift and talent to be nurtured and are hardly unworldly unless she was unusual.

Cleric and Wizard are the most likely choices.

Did you consider a Monk they tend to be cloistered in training facilities?

[eBadger]

I think more description of her personality would actually help more than attributes. 

Personally, I would suggest cleric or a buffing wizard.  Those play a bit less direct smashing to face, so you can roleplay a bit more shy or timid without hobbling your utility to the group. 

But as mentioned, a sheltered/needing to prove oneself coming of age arc is a staple of fantasy literature from Harry Potter to Erebus to the Hobbit to Paksennarion, those spanning four very distinct classes. 

[Revelation]

Well Sorcerers wouldn't hide their talents elves would consider the innate power of raw magic a great gift and talent to be nurtured and are hardly unworldly unless she was unusual.

Cleric and Wizard are the most likely choices.

Did you consider a Monk they tend to be cloistered in training facilities?

That bit about elves would greatly depend on the setting, really.

I'd second Ebadgers suggestions. A wizard or cleric is always a strong pick and both go well with 'sheltered' characters.

[HannibalBarca]

I created a very similar character for one of my older D&D campaigns.  I based her somewhat on Tenar, the high priestess in Ursula K. LeGuin's Tombs of Atuan.  She was a dual-class mage/cleric, one of the twelve Glade-Dancers of the Forest Goddess Ehlonna.  Her studies in both the arcane and divine kept her very sheltered, until an attack on her homeland forced her to flee to survive, and meet the other characters in the campaign.

[Mr L]

I agree with the notions of trying to build around the roles of the rest of the party. Have a tank, melee striker, healer, and a mage? Archery might be good. No one has proficiency in Thieves' Tools? Rogue, perhaps, always sneaking out past curfew to explore the surrounding area, but never going too far. Another thing to consider is party size. If you have a smaller party [4-5] having a lot of abilities covered is a good idea, hands down. If it's a larger party, I think the idea of stepping on toes is a little easier to work with, and maybe be beneficial [in the event of the other person in that role having to be away or their character is incapacitated].

As a few people have said, backgrounds in 5E make customization very easy. Want an elite class barbarian? Noble works amazingly. A wizard who knows how to pick locks? Criminal it is! A cleric bounty hunter? It's possible. I don't see the backgrounds as too difficult to refluff if it's close but not quite there, as a lot of the things provided aren't incredibly useful, save for the proficiencies. Just ask the GM if that's something you can work with them on, if need be.

Do you know what roles the rest of the party is covering? Melee tank/striker, buffing mage, healer, etc. Those kinds of things.

[LamentingQuill]

This dilemma was actually solved a long time ago, I just forgot to say anything. Thank you everyone for the advice.