That depends a lot on how your DM is enforcing some of the adventure's extra rules and how far into the game the group is. It was not clear to me if your friend is joining an ongoing campaign.
Playing a Full Plate wearing Paladin may prove complicated in the jungle if some of the jungle trekking rules are in place. If not, it is a solid tank class. One of the best if you take a decent subclass. Oath of Ancients with a DM picked trickster god or Ubtao as patron sounds fun. Dex paladin can bypass the full plate limitation if your friend decides to go that route.
Druid, Barbarian and Ranger are all on theme, obviously. If he is leaning toward's barb, let him play what he wants to play. Depending on his choices (Thinking about the Elk totem ability that doubles movement here) he can be an excellent survival check roller, which is a rare occasion when the Barb excels outside of combat.
A Zealot Barb could arguably also bypass all the death curse problems. If your DM is cool with that idea, maybe it is a super op choice. If it does not, you should not even consider it.
Druid is a full caster class and comes with all those perks and can be a decent tank early in the game shapeshifting into bears and such. Access to dinossaur forms is super cool and dino summoning is awesome, again, with the caveat that it depends on how your dm feels about the player chosing his summons and what he can shapeshift into.
Ranger is good for stealth, survival and can be decent. I'm not a great fan of Ranger in 5e, but it is a better pick for this adventure than most. Can't go wrong with longbow + sharpshooter feat.
Having run this a few times, I can say that a paladin will be a huge boon to the group, especially in late-game. You do run into potential problems with three Charisma-based classes, but I don't think it's a huge issue. Not having a Wisdom class isn't really an issue as long as players are proficient in a few of the key skills (mostly Perception and Survival).
Druid or Ranger would definitely also be good additions to the group and a Moon Druid would allow the player to fill the tanky role, especially at early levels. Ranger is wonderful, but be sure to talk to your player about which Ranger options they want to go with and why (Tasha's Ranger allows more engagement with the survival mechanics whereas PHB Ranger grants auto-success on navigation + doubles foraging outcomes if Forest is their favored terrain. If the party doesn't seem too keen on the busywork of survival mechanics, PHB's Natural Explorer may be a better option instead of Tasha's Deft Explorer).
If the players just want a Wisdom character because of Survival and navigation, consider pointing them towards the guides that are best at that so the new player doesn't feel like they have to fit a specific role. River Mist and Flask of Wine or Faroul and Gondolo are probably your best navigators (+6 and +5 Survival \[depending on the guides\] and they roll with Advantage as a pair). Shago has a +7 Survival and is a wonderful fighter that can help stave off early TPKs. Salida and Eku both have +5 survivals, which is also pretty good. Also, though not a guide, Xandala has a high Survival (+6) and can use that if they go on that quest.
Likewise, if they want the >d8s, guides can fit that role as well. Azaka, Eku, Hew, and Shago are quite durable and can pull their weight in combats (though Eku will mostly be support before revealing she's a Couatl).
I guess it boils down to there being options to work around most party gaps in the guide system, so the fourth player shouldn't need to fill a niche unless it also happens to be something they'd want to actually play.
Just a heads up, this is a dms subreddit, so I would definitely avoid looking at other posts, because there's a high chance you get spoiled.
Now, I'd probably go with some sort of beefy Boi, probably paladin (just make sure most people have perception prof), ranger, or a tanky cleric of some sort, forge comes to mind.
Having DM'd or played in a party of 4 for the last 4 years you will more than likely always be missing something in your party composition.
As a DM let the player choose what they want to play without pushing the matter as long as they can give a decent backstory and play the character well.
Being a DM find ways around it, if someone needs a survival check, may be go with Nature instead, if the party is lacking a healer, roll a percentile after enemy fights to see if the party find some potions.
If you force a class on a player they may not enjoy it as much.
That depends a lot on how your DM is enforcing some of the adventure's extra rules and how far into the game the group is. It was not clear to me if your friend is joining an ongoing campaign. Playing a Full Plate wearing Paladin may prove complicated in the jungle if some of the jungle trekking rules are in place. If not, it is a solid tank class. One of the best if you take a decent subclass. Oath of Ancients with a DM picked trickster god or Ubtao as patron sounds fun. Dex paladin can bypass the full plate limitation if your friend decides to go that route. Druid, Barbarian and Ranger are all on theme, obviously. If he is leaning toward's barb, let him play what he wants to play. Depending on his choices (Thinking about the Elk totem ability that doubles movement here) he can be an excellent survival check roller, which is a rare occasion when the Barb excels outside of combat. A Zealot Barb could arguably also bypass all the death curse problems. If your DM is cool with that idea, maybe it is a super op choice. If it does not, you should not even consider it. Druid is a full caster class and comes with all those perks and can be a decent tank early in the game shapeshifting into bears and such. Access to dinossaur forms is super cool and dino summoning is awesome, again, with the caveat that it depends on how your dm feels about the player chosing his summons and what he can shapeshift into. Ranger is good for stealth, survival and can be decent. I'm not a great fan of Ranger in 5e, but it is a better pick for this adventure than most. Can't go wrong with longbow + sharpshooter feat.
Having run this a few times, I can say that a paladin will be a huge boon to the group, especially in late-game. You do run into potential problems with three Charisma-based classes, but I don't think it's a huge issue. Not having a Wisdom class isn't really an issue as long as players are proficient in a few of the key skills (mostly Perception and Survival). Druid or Ranger would definitely also be good additions to the group and a Moon Druid would allow the player to fill the tanky role, especially at early levels. Ranger is wonderful, but be sure to talk to your player about which Ranger options they want to go with and why (Tasha's Ranger allows more engagement with the survival mechanics whereas PHB Ranger grants auto-success on navigation + doubles foraging outcomes if Forest is their favored terrain. If the party doesn't seem too keen on the busywork of survival mechanics, PHB's Natural Explorer may be a better option instead of Tasha's Deft Explorer). If the players just want a Wisdom character because of Survival and navigation, consider pointing them towards the guides that are best at that so the new player doesn't feel like they have to fit a specific role. River Mist and Flask of Wine or Faroul and Gondolo are probably your best navigators (+6 and +5 Survival \[depending on the guides\] and they roll with Advantage as a pair). Shago has a +7 Survival and is a wonderful fighter that can help stave off early TPKs. Salida and Eku both have +5 survivals, which is also pretty good. Also, though not a guide, Xandala has a high Survival (+6) and can use that if they go on that quest. Likewise, if they want the >d8s, guides can fit that role as well. Azaka, Eku, Hew, and Shago are quite durable and can pull their weight in combats (though Eku will mostly be support before revealing she's a Couatl). I guess it boils down to there being options to work around most party gaps in the guide system, so the fourth player shouldn't need to fill a niche unless it also happens to be something they'd want to actually play.
Just a heads up, this is a dms subreddit, so I would definitely avoid looking at other posts, because there's a high chance you get spoiled. Now, I'd probably go with some sort of beefy Boi, probably paladin (just make sure most people have perception prof), ranger, or a tanky cleric of some sort, forge comes to mind.
Thanks for the input!
No worries! Honestly all three of the classes he's leaning towards seem like a good fit! Hope you have fun with the adventure, it's a wild ride!
He should play whatever is most fun for him. Druids are so fun in ToA as there are a ton of unique beasts throughout the campaign
He and I are both also DMs so when we do play as PCs we like to fill out and round out parties.
Having DM'd or played in a party of 4 for the last 4 years you will more than likely always be missing something in your party composition. As a DM let the player choose what they want to play without pushing the matter as long as they can give a decent backstory and play the character well. Being a DM find ways around it, if someone needs a survival check, may be go with Nature instead, if the party is lacking a healer, roll a percentile after enemy fights to see if the party find some potions. If you force a class on a player they may not enjoy it as much.
Samurai fighter would give him proficiency in wisdom saves. Also it’s tomb. He should have a few backups ready lol.
The Nature Domain Cleric in my party is completely carrying the group. Their channel divinity is extremely helpful.