Threads old, but fuck it, I think about this too much.

Liam-Totally has to be Bard. I love the College of Tragedy idea. He gets those nice skill check rolls he misses from Vax, and can play maybe a Debuffer type role, rather than a Blaster/Buffer like Caleb. This seems like a total slam dunk.

Laura-I really love Inquisitive Rogue here. She's been doing all the detective stuff with Jester, why not go all the way. And with her playstyle, she really wants to be involved out of combat and do a lot of damage in combat. I think this gives her a lot to do.

Sam-Paladin. As you've mentioned, he's down for playing a more spiritual type character. Initially, I thought a Paladin would be very constraining, but I think he would come up with something off the wall and his commitment to his oath would lead him in to shenanigans. Also, he should always play a CHA class.

Ashley-I gotta admit you sold me on Monk. I thought Ranger would give her a defined role, but exploration isn't an every session type thing. She seems to like to be in the background somewhat. Half-casting also lets her get her feet wet again with spells without it being totally necessary all the time. But yeah, I like your idea better.

Marisha-Warlock. Keyleth was good and Beau was more neutral. I'd like to see her go a little darker and Warlock is perfect for that. Even as Keyleth she didn't cast as much as Wild Shape, so it would be nice to see her as a primary caster.

Taliesin-Sorcerer. He is one in life, and I feel like it's high time we see that reflected in game. Shadow, Wild Magic, Divine Soul are all fine options. Honestly, it's a little hard to choose for him. I think the main thing I take away from his playstyle of Percy and Cad is that they're very well fleshed out characters and a Sorcerer really provides a lot of meat for that. As Cad has come along in recent episodes, it has become clear that he is the most suited to being the official or unofficial leader of the party, so I wanted him to have a CHA class. However, Wizard is also mostly as good. I do kind of get the vibe he misses martials but a Sorcerer is a lot more streamlined compared to a Cleric, so it would be less overwhelming and he could tailor his metamagic to make a more fully realized character that he enjoyed.

Travis-Fighter. Honestly, I feel like he doesn't know what to do with Fjord sometimes, and he really thrives in combat. Cleric is a good idea, too, but I feel like a nicely optimized Battlemaster or Samurai would give him what he needs.