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subject42
2010-04-26, 03:14 PM
One of my players enjoys gaming but has an extremely hard time with the mechanics. As a result, I generally tend to ask her what she wants to play, then build a character that meets that theme and print out a "cheat sheet" that explains the math and mechanics for her abilities as simply as possible.

At the moment she's playing a paladin in the traditional SMITE THE EVILDOER fashion. As most of you probably know, paladins that have that kind of mindset tend to come with a built-in expiration date.

In preparation for the day when she inevitably doesn't successfully charge her mount ahead of the ash cloud of a collapsing volcano after smiting the vile necromancer, I'd like to put together some extremely simple builds that can adequately represent various archetypes.

An ideal build will have at least moderate versatility while minimizing bookkeeping. Standard actions and at-will abilities are good.

For example, for the traditional blasty wizard type I would probably use a warlock, rather than something brimming with class features and spell selection like a Warmage / Rainbow Servant / Incantatrix, or something crazy.

If any of you could offer suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

AtwasAwamps
2010-04-26, 03:34 PM
You're average charger build is good: Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Leap Attack, Shock Trooper. You've only really got one trick, but it's an easy one and a fun one and if she likes to SMITE EVIL it's just as awesome to do it with PURE FURY as with holy power. Fighter/Paladin/Barbarians do it well.

Person_Man
2010-04-26, 03:36 PM
Although it sounds counter intuitive, I'm a big fan of the Warblade for beginners:

Pick maneuvers that are Standard Action Strikes. No Counters or Boosts until she learns the rules better.
Give her a couple of good stances, and let her know that she can switch stances for "free" (there's no need to explain Swift/Immediate if she's not using them for anything else) during her turn.
Pick out a magic non-reach weapon, magic armor, and some magic potions.
Print out the cards from the WotC website and descriptions of the potions (Cure Wounds, Invisibility, other "easy" stuff) from the SRD.
Each round she can move and pick out her choice of what to do from the cards in her deck.


And done. As long as you do a good job of picking out cool but simple stuff, she's set.

subject42
2010-04-26, 03:40 PM
Warblade isn't a bad idea at all, actually. It gets rid of the standard attack/full attack confusion without sacrificing power. Thanks for that.

Eldariel
2010-04-26, 03:43 PM
Actually, I like Counters + Strikes. It's really clear "you may use one counter per turn and one strike per turn", and gives you some more interaction.

Il_Vec
2010-04-26, 03:45 PM
Druid for newbs: Tell Animal Companion what to do, Buff Animal Companion, Cure Animal Companion.

Rogue is a straightfoward choice as well, if the understands the concept of flanking.

Divide by Zero
2010-04-26, 03:45 PM
Druid 20. Simple, versatile (it's two fighters in one, among other things), and one of the most powerful builds out there.

subject42
2010-04-26, 04:06 PM
Druid 20. Simple, versatile (it's two fighters in one, among other things), and one of the most powerful builds out there.

Druid is overly complicated for this player. The mechanics of spellcasting, melee, ability score buffs, keeping track of mulitple wildshapes, and a second set of stats for an animal companion would make her head explode.

Il_Vec
2010-04-26, 04:11 PM
Druid is overly complicated for this player. The mechanics of spellcasting, melee, ability score buffs, keeping track of mulitple wildshapes, and a second set of stats for an animal companion would make her head explode.

The Druid is such a strong class that the player can forget about her own sheet, only needs to command the animal companion and know her buffs/heal spells. She can completely ignore wild shape, or use it only for out-of-combat utility.

Amphetryon
2010-04-26, 04:36 PM
Elf Warblade 10/Eternal Blade 10 is very straightforward.

lsfreak
2010-04-26, 04:36 PM
If she'd be interested in more of a caster-type, warlocks are easy. A very small list of available abilities, usable at-will with no keeping track. Small enough that she should be able to pick out what she wants to use without too much problem, though might need help picking out the best stuff mechanics-wise. DFA's as well, though they suit a different playstyle.

Beguiler, possibly. The limited spell list will, again, help, but the spells have the potential for many interesting uses if she's creative.

Swift Hunter is another one - less complex than ToB or the the casters, about on par with the paladin she's playing now. Also involves rolling a fair amount of dice, which is fun, though it could get repetitive.

Pluto
2010-04-26, 04:47 PM
Druid 20. Simple, versatile (it's two fighters in one, among other things), and one of the most powerful builds out there.
Druid paperwork gives me a headache.

It's hard to go too wrong with Warmages, Rogues, Beguilers, Warlocks, Dragonfire Adepts, Knights, Warblades, Scouts, Ninjas, Shadowcasters or premade Duskblades, Sorcerers, Favored Souls or Shugenja.

Flickerdart
2010-04-26, 04:51 PM
Barbarian is a fairly effective class that's also simple to play. Rage and start knocking heads together!