In my usual Sunday game, our DM had us travel through a portal to the Nine Hells in a post-Descent into Avernus Elturel (I think the AL-league game I played with the same DM is canon in her version of the Forgotten Realms, so it's the good ending). But we got dumped out into Avernus (I assume we're on that layer) with literally all our stuff, including clothes, left behind in some kind of magical net rigth above the portal.
We then got attacked by six Merrengons, a type of devil with a creepy child mask for a head and heavy armor with halberds and heavy crossbows.
The party consists of:
Myself, an Eldritch Knight Fighter
A Devotion Paladin
An Open-Hand Monk
A Forge Cleric
A Gunslinger Fighter/Horizon Walker Ranger
and an Undying Warlock/Wizard (I think she only has one level, so has not chosen a subclass yet.)
The combat is still actually going (though we've got 4/6 of them down.) So far, the paladin was able to find a shard of bone to use as an improvised weapon while I took a halberd off of one of the fallen devils - which is sadly non-magical, but at least gives me the material component for Booming Blade, so I can start putting some magical hurt on the monsters. Our gunslinger got a crossbow, and eventually some bolts, so we're getting back up to speed.
Anyway, being completely bereft of all gear, it really started to hammer home that some classes do a lot better in that situation than others. Let's go down the list!
Artificer:
The Artificer is probably the most screwed in this situation. While I don't know that all DMs would enforce this, technically an Artificer needs a spell focus (their tools, or other subclass-based foci) to cast any spell - not just those that have material components. A Battle-Smith at least, if they could find a weapon, could still use their extra attack, as could an Armorer, but in both cases, they likely won't be able to use their Intelligence to attack as normal.
Barbarian:
The Barbarian is fairly well-suited to a situation like this, given that they have unarmored defense to get a decent AC (my poor Fighter went from 22 to 10). The Barbarian will need to find a weapon, but is otherwise at full capacity.
Cleric:
Like most casters, your spell choice will be limited based on what has a material component, but there are plenty of options that only have verbal and somatic components. Clerics are one of the better-armored casters, so this will be a bit of a downside.
Druid:
Like the Cleric, you'll need to choose spells wisely. That being said, a shape-shifting-focused Druid will do just fine.
Fighter:
Fighters, I can say from personal experience, are going to be in for a hard time. Losing your weapons and your armor is pretty nasty. I'd say a Dex-based fighter will at least be in slightly better shape thanks to their higher inherent AC, though they'll also be in worse shape if they have to rely on unarmed strikes. As an EK, I pre-cast Mirror Image before we rolled initiative, and it saved me from three crossbow bolts in a row.
Monk:
Monks are basically the opposite of Artificers here. While a Monk can still benefit from equipment like a +1 Quarterstaff or Bracers of Defense (or a Cloak of Displacement, in our monk's case) a Monk really, truly doesn't need any equipment to be fully effective. Indeed, at level 12, his unarmed strikes do as much as a quarterstaff wielded with both hands anyway, and unarmored defense provides the bulk of any Monk's AC, so they're kind of just good to go.
Paladin:
Paladins, like Strength-based fighters, are going to run into the issue of low AC, and they need a weapon. However, any weapon will do for Divine Smites, so they can actually put out some respectable damage (especially given that, at level 11 and higher, every attack does an extra 1d8 radiant damage, even if the improvised weapon was doing a mere 1d4.)
Ranger:
Another martial class, Rangers are going to really miss their weapons, though different subclasses might fare better.
Sorcerer:
Sorcerers are probably one of the best-off classes. While some spells will still require components, a Sorcerer likely has access to many spells that don't, and they're used to being unarmored.
Warlock:
Warlocks already rely significantly on Eldritch Blast, which has no material cost, and a Bladelock will be able to summon their weapon to them across planar boundaries (unlike my Fighter's weapon bond, which requires the weapon be on the same plane of existence). Warlocks do like to wear armor, though most will only have light armor, which wasn't adding much.
Wizard:
Wizards on one hand have a lot of the benefits of a Sorcerer, but without their spellbook, they can't actually swap out any of the spells they have prepared. If an Order of Scribes Wizard finds a blank book, they can transfer their book's contents to the new one, though.
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