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View Full Version : Need suggestions for what to play (3.5)



Xephalo
2010-08-07, 03:35 PM
In my upcoming D&D campaign, I've ran into a slight problem. I cant decide upon a character that is both A) Fun to play and B) Meshes with the rest of my party well. The other three players are new to the game and are playing:

A blasting Sorcerer
A charging Fighter beat-stick
And a skillmonkey-ish Rogue

All are level 4, and were built primarily by me (new players) with a modicum of optimization. So i need recommendations for a class that wont make the other players feel overshadowed while still contributing. I have access to all of the Completes, the SRD, the Races books, and Ebberon. Thanks a bunch.

Kylarra
2010-08-07, 03:43 PM
DFA with entangling exhalation looks like it'd work. Moderate damage output, locks down targets for your DPS guys.

Yorrin
2010-08-07, 03:47 PM
I'd say party buffs are always welcome when you're an experienced player mothering a bunch of noobs. Grab your divine caster class of choice and buff the nine hells out of your teammates. Grab a reserve feat or something for offense.

iDM
2010-08-07, 04:56 PM
http://d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#clericVariantCloistere dCleric (http://d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm)

The cloistered cleric would be good, I think. Extra spells for more knowledge.

Bladesinger
2010-08-07, 05:05 PM
Yeah, cleric seems to be the way to go on this one. Depending on what god you decide to worship, you can come up with some great (and fun) gaming options. For instance, if you decide to go with Hextor, you could eventually go Ordained Champion, and spontaneously cast from the War Domain, or you could go with Pelor, and become the ultimate healing machine and undead-buster that is the Radiant Servant of Pelor. With a decent choice of weapons, full armor, and 3.5e divine spells on your side, cleric should fit your needs quite nicely.

Devils_Advocate
2010-08-07, 07:04 PM
I third or fourth the use of Cleric! to complete the traditional quartet of party roles. Buff and heal the party and provide them with utility magic.

Cleric!, for all your support character needs.

Thurbane
2010-08-07, 08:06 PM
If you don't want to overshadow the other characters, how about Favored Soul instead of Cleric?

Devils_Advocate
2010-08-09, 06:10 PM
Thurbane, you seem to be looking at this situation as a sort of zero sum game, such that making Xephalo's character more powerful necessarily makes the other characters relatively less powerful and vice versa. That simply isn't the case. The Cleric class is being recommended for its efficacy at empowering other characters, which is accomplished by selecting the appropriate spells for the task, not by restricting spells known. A Favored Soul would sort of impinge on the Sorcerer's role of spontaneous, Charisma-based caster and on the Fighter's role of weapon-using combatant.

And there are plenty of spells for a support Cleric to choose from. Pretty much every Cleric spell that isn't a self-only buff, an attack spell, a summon, nor a debuff. Which is a lot, before even considering domains. (And debuffs and summons that let the Rogue Sneak Attack count as support.)

Tip!: In a party with a Cleric and a Sorcerer, it's generally best for the Sorcerer to know spells not on the Cleric list or even in the Cleric's domains, so as to avoid redundancy. Exceptions may be made for especially useful spells (e.g. dispel magic), although wands might be best for those.

A Cloistered Cleric (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#clericVariantCloistere dCleric) would be a good choice, since the party has a Fighter but no Wizard or Bard. I'd suggest Healing and Luck in addition to Knowledge as domains for a Cloistered Cleric of the Sovereign Host.

Thurbane
2010-08-09, 06:53 PM
Perhaps I misread his post - I thought he was concerned that whatever character he took might overshadow the other players', as he is a better optimizer. My suggestion was merely that perhaps a lower tier class might make this less likely to happen.

I certainly agree that a Cleric can be an excellent support class, and does not have to be played as Codzilla. Plus, I also personally like the Favored Soul as a class, which also played a part in me recommending it. Basically, I was just suggesting another alternative. :smallwink:

Eldariel
2010-08-09, 07:26 PM
Bard! Seems fine in that party, and you can fill whatever niché you want with it.

herrhauptmann
2010-08-09, 10:42 PM
Bard! Seems fine in that party, and you can fill whatever niché you want with it.

Would a marshall's aura's do the job at buffing the party?
(I'd swear I've seen them listed as being great buffs, but don't know the class well enough to say for certain)

Devils_Advocate
2010-08-10, 12:32 AM
I think that someone mentioned in a recent thread that Marshal only really works well as a dip class, and most of its levels aren't really worth it.


Perhaps I misread his post - I thought he was concerned that whatever character he took might overshadow the other players', as he is a better optimizer.
But the point is that support characters don't overshadow. Rather, they illuminate the other members of their party with the shiny light of boosted stats.


Bard! Seems fine in that party, and you can fill whatever niché you want with it.
But the main niches are already covered. Bard would overlap with Sorcerer and Rouge, and lacks the awesome of Cleric! Cloistered Cleric, on the other hand, doesn't really overlap with anyone.

Each character having a distinct niche helps the players to feel that they are all making important contributions to the party's success. The game is sorta set up to work this way. Hence the traditional archetypes of Meatshield, Glass Cannon, Heal Bitch, and Sneaky Bastard (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasyCharacterClasses).

An Adventurer is You! (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnAdventurerIsYou)

the humanity
2010-08-10, 12:36 AM
Dragonfire bard.

Cespenar
2010-08-10, 02:59 AM
Plain. Cleric.

Gavinfoxx
2010-08-10, 04:09 AM
I would say, if you can stay true to "not playing the class to its fullest potential" you can maybe play a cleric. Its a class without lots of limitations, but if you dont want to overshadow folk, you should maybe go a weaker class...

Divine Bard maybe?

Eldariel
2010-08-10, 09:09 AM
But the main niches are already covered. Bard would overlap with Sorcerer and Rouge, and lacks the awesome of Cleric! Cloistered Cleric, on the other hand, doesn't really overlap with anyone.

Bard doesn't have to overlap with Rogue and Sorc; there's enough skills for Rogue and Bard to be separate and Bard's spell selection can be completely different than the Sorc's. Bard, when so built, can be the ultimate party booster. You can also UMD and cast the low-level Cures (and learn Heal through Wyrm Wizard, Battlefield Medic, Arcane Disciple or some such later on) and overall, be a nice Tier 3 party booster.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2010-08-10, 09:43 AM
I'll agree that Bard is the way to go, though Savage Bard is a stronger choice. Divine Bard would gain some necessary party-fixing spells, and luckily there's no reason why you couldn't combine both variants on the same character. You can find them right here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bardVariantDivineBard) , and remember that you can use spell completion and spell trigger items of any spells on your class list, including wands, scrolls, and a strand of prayer beads. Definitely go with a dragonblooded race, such as Silverbrow Human, to get Dragonfire Inspiration along with Melodic Casting. If you can use flaws take Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a), and get Song of the Heart at 3rd. Include Inspirational Boost among your spells known, and get a Badge of Valor. See if you can get Bone Talisman (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20040721a) added to your spell list, you can put Unguent of Timelessness on the spell foci so it will last about 60 hours per caster level, and they can be reused indefinitely. That should be enough for you to get divine feats, such as Divine Might or maybe DMM: Quicken.

Telonius
2010-08-10, 09:50 AM
Sacred Fist. It has the healing, but lower spellcasting means you won't be quite as awesome as a full Cleric. As a Monk-like character with Tumble as a class skill, you'll have the extra movement to help the Rogue get flanking.