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Krotchrot
2011-01-25, 11:06 AM
I've been invited by friends to play in their 4E game. They are level 13, the party comp from what I understand is: 2 Tanks, a Control Blaster, a Striker Blaster, and a Bard. They have most of the books released thus far as well.

I wanted to know what would be a good class/race combo to play. I've played 4E when it was released and was always partial to the Elf Ranger, but I'm wanting to spice things up a bit.

Any advice?

Sipex
2011-01-25, 11:12 AM
Well, the good news is it looks like you can be anything you want, they seem to have everything covered. I will recommend avoiding being a Defender though since they already have two. You can be one if you really want but you'll be overshadowed quite a bit.

Any ideas on what you want to be? Mechanics wise/flavour wise/any idea at all will help.

Krotchrot
2011-01-25, 11:20 AM
Flavour wise, I am going to be playing an creepy talking individual. I can imagine him with slightly elongated fingers that entertwine as he talks and perhaps a slight hunch as he walks.

I'd like to play something that would be great in combat, in most games I do play in I take a Tank type roll. As of late I've gotten tired of just being a Tank, and I want to start jumping into Damage or Control.

Kurald Galain
2011-01-25, 11:22 AM
I'd like to play something that would be great in combat, in most games I do play in I take a Tank type roll. As of late I've gotten tired of just being a Tank, and I want to start jumping into Damage or Control.

Melee striker, then. The party doesn't seem to have one of those.

Rogues make excellent melee strikers and can easily be creepy.

Grogmir
2011-01-25, 11:24 AM
If you want to play and Elf Ranger - play and elf Ranger.

Can be both Melee and Ranger strikers. Not a lot of Control - just pure damage.

Sipex
2011-01-25, 11:25 AM
I'll second Kurald's Rogue suggestion, Rogue's are a nice classic build which can easily be creepy.

If you can, I'd also recommend looking at the Assassin. It's weaker than other strikers but it fits your flavour really well.

A warlock is a blaster striker but would also fit the flavour you want very easily.

Finally, maybe check out an Invoker devoted to the Raven Queen. Thats a controller.

Eorran
2011-01-25, 11:59 AM
If you have the latest builder, I think you can make a melee Warlock. No idea how well it works, though.

Monk's another melee striker with less damage than the Rogue but more control. He's not usually a good talker, though - you'll want high Wis rather than Cha.

Creepy seems more like a race choice and/or RP. You could ask your DM about being a shadar-kai, or perhaps a changeling.

Sipex
2011-01-25, 12:00 PM
Oh yeah, to be fair, any class can be creepy as classes are just a baseline to your abilities and not your personality.

ShaggyMarco
2011-01-25, 12:02 PM
A melee striker or leader might be fun to do, because it looks like their only melee are their 2 tanks and maybe the bard (depending on build). I find that tilting things too far towards ranged can make it hard for the melee players to keep the foes on them.

I say striker because more damage gets the fights over faster, and they DEFINITELY don't need another defender. Melee controllers are hard to come by. I say leader because, in my experience, 2 Defenders can mean LOTS of HP to keep stocked up.

Melee strikers: I would go with Barbarian. They are tough, and they can do really impressive amounts of damage. Their rages can utterly change your tactics for 1 fight per day, keeping the fights interesting. At level 13 you'd have 3 fights with awesome "different" abilities because you'd have 3 rages each day. Between your class and skill powers, you have access to a nice mix of cool mobility and toughness-related utility powers that are worth embracing. A fun build might be a Rageblood Barbarian with a Greatspear who focuses on powers that push people around/knock them prone. You then multi-class as a fighter and take the Iron Vanguard PP. Once you hit level 16 you will be doing significant bonus damage to people you push and/or prone. Once you go fighter, remember to pick up the Polearm Momentum feat. If you can stack push add-ons to get pretty high push rates, then knock the enemies prone, you can do a decent job keeping enemies out of the fight (especially in tandem with a good controller who can pass out difficult terrain, daze, and slow).

Melee leaders: Sure, Cleric, Runepriest, Bard, and even Artificer can make for fun melee leaders, but I am most fond of the Warlord. My 4ed party currently has a bravura battle-front warlord who heals like a machine, and passes out great buffs. Our level 13 Warlord/Battlelord of Kord grabs us a +2 attack/+4 damage every time he Inspiring Word's us, and he can do that 3-4 times per fight!

EDIT: I started this before there were any replies and finished after a bunch! Neither Barbarian or Warlord really come off as creepy.

Go with an Essentials Tiefling Hexblade (Infernal Pact.) I am actually looking at remaking my level 13 Tiefling Hybrid Paladin/Barbarian into a Hexblade right now.

tcrudisi
2011-01-25, 12:08 PM
Melee striker would be the best option, but everything is still available. I wouldn't do another defender... but you could do a defender class and make it more strikery. For example, a 2-h weapon Fighter would work fine.

As others have said, the creepy thing is just fluff/RP, so that doesn't really matter.

Rogue was my gut reaction when reading what you said. To flesh it out a bit more, go with the Daggermaster paragon path (it's awesome).

Also, an Avenger could be done kinda cool. It's another striker and you could play yourself as a creepy religious fanatic.

TheEmerged
2011-01-25, 01:44 PM
Yeah, melee striker sounds good.

a> Monk -- competitive damage and can (depending on build) engage in a lot of forced movement. A bit more complicated than most classes, but for some people that's a feature not a bug. For creepy, roleplay a sense of otherworldliness, as if he feels the real world is an illusion or a game.

b> Brutal Rogue + Daggermaster. Downright frightening damage at times, and with a group as large as yours he's going to have nigh-constant flanking. In the "plus" column, Half Orc is a good race for this. That might be a good direction to go "creepy" from.

Jaidu
2011-01-25, 01:47 PM
Another idea, if you are open to Essentials classes, is the Hexblade. Since it's a Charisma based class, you will be able to be quite creepy indeed, and the ties to a nefarious planar power can be used as a roleplaying point. It's still primarily a melee striker with a smattering of ranged powers.

Also, as many have stated, rogue seems like a great option.

Krotchrot
2011-01-25, 02:49 PM
They are all great ideas, thank you all. I'm thinking on either the Rogue or Hexblade. Spoke with the DM and he can confirm that I'm pretty much free to play anything, they have pretty much a good set of roles in the party.

kyoryu
2011-01-25, 04:23 PM
Believe it or not, even Fighters can pump out impressive damage. They're definitely a strong Stiker secondary, and if you go two-handed weapon or dual-wield, you minimize the Defender flavor.

As it is, Fighters are, (without taking feats/etc) some of the least durable Defender types, and probably the most damaging. In terms of durability and damage, they're not too dissimilar from a Barbarian, depending on build.

true_shinken
2011-01-25, 05:52 PM
Try the new Assassin if you can, it looks awesome.