Most enjoyable caster to play? (3.5)

[Warsmurf]

Hi all, I am going to be playing in a 3.5 game coming up in a month or so and the party is lacking a major caster right now.
I was just wondering what everyone felt was the most Enjoyable class to play as. I'm not a huge fan of multiclassing but PrCs are good in my book.
The only caveat is that I have tried out playing clerics a few times and just was not a fan.
P.S. I have access to pretty much any wizards splat book, but not pathfinder or other 3rd party materials.

Thanks in advance for all of your responses!

[Hyfigh]

That's too subjective. In my opinion call casters are fun to play. I really enjoy Psionics, too...

[aquaticrna]

well what kind of things do you find fun? blasting? battlefield control? manipulating people? ect?

[Psyren]

I can't decide... From Warlock/DFA's unlimited ammo, to Shadowcaster's creepiness, Sorcerer's simplicity, Psionics utter awesome, or Binder's... everything!

I hate playing wizards though, even if I can make them work well.

[Kaww]

As said this is very subjective. Personally I enjoy mechanically complicated classes. I like to have a ton of options and for the character to be unique (this becomes increasingly difficult with each new PC).

On the other hand I know people that enjoy sorcerers for their sheer simplicity and fluffiness. Some of them say the same goes for bards, but from my experience you can make a bard rather complicated by lvl 12 (PrCing).

All in all what do you actually wish to play?

[Edan]

Sorcerer or any other spontaneous caster who doesn't have to do a lot of bookwork. With an optimized spell list they can handle most realistic situations in a game without much difficulty and it stream lines play. I like being able to play the game smoothly and I've always felt that wizards and their like of prepared spell lists bog down the gaming group (although I'm sure there are exceptions).

[Vladislav]

I like Duskblade and Beguiler the most. The former just have this awesome Arcane Channeling ability - you no longer to to decide between whacking your enemy with a piece of metal or casting an arcane ritual of power on him - now you can do both! And the Beguiler has a fairly versatile spell list, and can cast any spell on that list spontaneously.

[Warsmurf]

Well I have played Psions before and admittedly I love that class and whole system. However I felt that I was too blowing-things-up oriented. Any really good casters for battlefield control?

Re: above posts. I was looking for subjective answers really. Just wanted to hear what other people felt about certain classes and see if any of it rang true with me.

[Tenebris]

I can't decide... From Warlock/DFA's unlimited ammo, to Shadowcaster's creepiness, Sorcerer's simplicity, Psionics utter awesome, or Binder's... everything!


This list misses Incarnate's flexibility... For me there is not really a choice when speaking about most enjoyable caster :smallsmile: Nevertheless, everyone must decide themselves what fits them best.

[Zaydos]

For pure casting I enjoy Wizards. Too bad you don't have access to the Dragon Magazine Compendium (Enspell Familiar is awesome)

For more than that: druids; I like buff-casting, and I love the animal companion and its ability to be used as a front-liner.

[ericgrau]

Seconding sorcerer for low prep options each adventure yet most options during combat. IMO sorcerer > wizard > druid > cleric ~= bard. I'm not too into psionics but I can see the appeal that psions would have for the same reason. With fewer powers wilders seem like they'd be boring though.

EDIT: Both of my sorcerers were battlefield control and they were awesome fun. Wizards and druids have control too. Bard has a little but not much. In addition to battlefield control spells I would recommend lots of low level utility scrolls regardless of your choice. Skip the familiar, whether you trade it in for something or not, it's more tedious minor prep. On PrCs make sure the Pre-reqs are worth it as sorcerers have a harder time with them. For battlefield control especially the spell level isn't as important so the only major advantage a wizard has is spell swapping, which is un-fun.

[balistafreak]

This list misses Incarnate's flexibility... For me there is not really a choice when speaking about most enjoyable caster :smallsmile: Nevertheless, everyone must decide themselves what fits them best.

To be fair, Incarnates aren't exactly casters. More like...

Actually, I can't think of a good analogy. :smallconfused:

+1 to Optimized Sorcerer (with associated PrCs). All the power of the best Vancian spells taken as spells known, and then wand/scroll the rest.

[Rankar]

For battlefield control go Wizard conjurer specialist. Clouds, summons, teleports... Way fun to make an encounter what you want it to be by placing friends where they need to be and hindering monsters. I played one who carried around a chair and a book so after he'd cast his handful of spells in the first few rounds, he'd sit and read while his friends did their part.

[valadil]

I like fast metamagic sorcerers with loads of metamagic. Mixing and matching spells with metamagic to fit the situation is just plain awesome.

[Tvtyrant]

I like Shadowcasters the most myself, they aren't as strong as most of the others but their powers are cooler IMO, especially since you can get a godless number of time stops a day :D

Other then that probably Cleric, since it gets everything without all of the work.

[ThunderCat]

Beguilers. Slightly tougher and harder to hit at the lower levels than most arcane casters, has a great spell list, isn't bogged down by Vancian casting, powerful without being broken, and has a butt-load of skill points on the side.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Oddly, the only full caster I can never work up the enthusiasm to play is druid. I'm not sure why... something about the flavor, I guess, even though they're not much different than a cleric of a cause or philosophy. I'd probably enjoy playing a cleric of a nature god more than a druid.

Why? Why don't I like druids? I can't figure it out. I just have no desire to play one, ever.

[Amphetryon]

Stumping for Dread Necromancers. They blast, they BFC, debuff, and they can fill in as healer, secondary tank, and trap-monkey. :xykon:

[Force]

Druid. For the mook encounters, wildshape + animal companion + a buff or two wins the fight. And when the BBEG happens by, I have nature's vengeance at my disposal.

[Warsmurf]

I'm loving all of these answers! But lets go specific now.

What is the favorite Tactic you've ever had as a caster?



Also could someone outline the Incarnum stuff, I've had the book but never really took a shining to it

[Hyfigh]

Tactic based around casters? Or based around whatever I think is cool?

For casters I'm fond of Warlocks ability to battlefield control - Wall of Gloom and the tentacle abilities are cool.

For the "whatever" category I really like the function of Swiftblades as Ex Haste is cool. I like the Bone Knights lots-o'-immunities-akin-to-undead-but-not-quite-undead. I also appreciate the Swift Hunter in it's entirety - hit-and-run FTW.

Incarnum seems a bit too complex to sum up quickly but I'll try. The soulmelds work similar to items; they bind to a specific "slot" on the body. When they are bound they offer a certain set of abilities. They can be enhanced by investing essentia in them to confer more of the power they are offering. Binding them to their specific slot generally confers more abilities.

[Kaww]

Favorite strategy: write down what you cast, in which order, get drunk, read from list, after three rounds take a nap. Your character as well.

A bit less silly: cast two buffs and two debuffs, go make tea. If things start going south intervene. Don't overkill, since then the DM knows exactly how strong you are. Also be stingy with your spells. Don't throw more than 3-4 if not in a dire emergency.

[AmberVael]

Incarnum users are not casters. Really. All the best builds I've seen and made for them have been either skill or melee/ranged combat focused builds (with maybe a few exceptions... but those more splashed incarnum into other caster builds, so they don't truly count). Don't let anything fool you on that score- they just don't have a system that gives them similar capabilities to a spellcaster.

Essentially, to the unfamiliar, the Incarnum system is a system that allows you to create magic items for your personal use only. They tend towards just giving you flat bonuses to similar skills or abilities, but can be expanded to give you other useful benefits (extra hit points, resistances, etc).

You have a large list of these 'items' (known as Soulmelds) which you can choose to benefit from each day. The interesting part comes in with the short term variability of them- each item can be upgraded by investing points into them, and you have a pool of points you can reinvest into your soulmelds every round, therefore changing up what benefits and bonuses you currently have.

But really, if you're looking for a caster, look somewhere else.

[Rankar]

Favorite strategy: write down what you cast, in which order, get drunk, read from list, after three rounds take a nap. Your character as well.

A bit less silly: cast two buffs and two debuffs, go make tea. If things start going south intervene. Don't overkill, since then the DM knows exactly how strong you are. Also be stingy with your spells. Don't throw more than 3-4 if not in a dire emergency.

This. Although I do it sans alcohol.

[Dvandemon]

Sorcerer, Druid, Warlock, Psion, Cleric. That covers pretty much what I look for in a game

[nedz]

Illusionist, which can be a Sorceror, Wizard or Beguiler.
Sorceror works, because there are very few spells per level that you need to know. Most Wizard based ones I've played always took the same spells anyway.
Beguiler I've not tried yet - but its probalby next on my list.

Its the creativity I like.

Sometimes though: they suck :smallbiggrin:
There are monsters which are, like, immune - tedious.

[Magic Myrmidon]

My favorite caster is probably beguiler, but wizard comes close. I also used to dislike bards, but they're growing on me.

As for tactics, I've always loved controlling enemies while flying above the fight like a puppetmaster.

[Seatbelt]

I have a summoner wizard. I enjoyed him because I'd drop a summon and a buff spell. maybe a debuff or BC if needed, and then he would sit out the fight while I still got to play. :P

[ericgrau]

Favorite tactics:
There is no problem that can't be solved with liberal application of sleet storm. Melee? Sleet storm to make them trickle out one by one. Army? Sleet storm all of them with 40' radius. Range? Obvious sleet storm so they can't see. Orphanage on fire? Sleet storm puts it out. Enemy caster? Sleet storm forces concentration check. My only regrets are every problem for which I did not use it.

Level 1-2 scrolls. Lots of them. Be ready for every single utility situation. Trap on the ceiling? Spider climb the rogue. Mysterious urn? Unseen servants slide it off the surface at which point you feather fall it. They slide it to you and you pop your scroll of identify.

[HunterOfJello]

If you didn't like playing a Cleric then I'm going to guess that you didn't like the prepared spellcasting aspect of it.


With that in mind, I would suggest a Sorcerer or Psion. Both use their powers spontaneously (without preparation) and can handle the spellcaster slot in a party pretty well.

[Telasi]

I love being a cleric or wizard. I like prepared casting best in the context of D&D, and those are the iconic spellcasters. I'm a traditionalist on that one.

Wizard I particularly enjoy just for the variety of spells I could potentially have. I have my old favorites, but there's always something fun and different to differentiate the spell lists for my various mages, even within a specialty.

[Scarlet-Devil]

Warlock.

Second place might be sorcerer or bard (though bards do more than cast spells of course, so they might not count).

[Yukitsu]

Favorite strategy: write down what you cast, in which order, get drunk, read from list, after three rounds take a nap. Your character as well.


I've done this before, but replace rounds with session. Teaches my DM for letting me get that drunk.

I play wizards. It's for caster players who want to have a hard time with life.

[Amridell]

I personally like wizards, as they're so versitile! I can cast pretty much everything the party needs. Yeah, they'll wring you from time to time for cowardice, but, hey a D4 hit die is NOT something you should go into melee with.

[J.Gellert]

I personally like wizards, as they're so versitile! I can cast pretty much everything the party needs. Yeah, they'll wring you from time to time for cowardice, but, hey a D4 hit die is NOT something you should go into melee with.

On the contrary, my favorite spellcaster is a wizard who goes into melee. All warfare is based on deception and all that.

Sure, yes, I can summon a horde of angels to do the dirty work for me, but I can also do it myself and it's a lot more fun.

And I don't mean a full-time gish either, I don't like their style. I want to hack at you with my greataxe one round and use a save-or-die in the next; I don't want to spend all my slots buffing myself with round/level spells before every fight.

[Achernar]

My favorite casters I've played were both summoners into Battlefield control: A Raptoran Cleric [Air, Sky] (Aside: why do I never hear of people playing raptorans? They have to be my favorite race) who used Air-Summoning Talent to its full potential with Augment Summons. He was a fun support caster and could muck around with just about any part of the fight, especially by giving the rogue flanking.

The other was a "Closet" Malconvoker / Conjuration Specialist, and old-fashioned wizard in a steampunk setting. He would use summons for battlefield control and except for once, would do his damnedest (pardon the pun) to cover up the fact that he summoned fiends. Fun character, especially since I played him NG. His other favorite spell was Cloud of Knives, and use of Acidic Splatter feat. Good damage capacity overall, and a fun setup.

/2cp

[TurtleKing]

I like the Favored Soul which is basically the divine version of a Sorcerer. The one I have played took the ACF of replacing Deity's Weapon Focus/ Specialization and instead the choice of granting temp hp on any spell.

Favorite tactic would usually involve some type of ranged spell. Not to keen on getting all up in their grill.

[Draz74]

I vote Dragonfire Adept, followed by Psion, Warlock, and Ardent.

[Eldariel]

Druid. The class has the biggest inherent versatility of the big casters (spontaneous Summon from an immense list, spontaneous Wild Shape from a near-infinite list, solid and extremely good varied spell list with both, solid offense, defense & utility), and they're just about as good as anything else.

[Warsmurf]

What book is the Dragonfire Adept in?

[gourdcaptain]

What book is the Dragonfire Adept in?

Dragon Magic. I like them personally.

My favorite caster? Probably Bard (everyone underestimates you), Psion, or the PF Magus class. Manus isn't that good, but seriously, Spell Combat is AWESOME conceptually (two weapon fighting with one of the weapons being a cast spell).

I tend to play melee or half casters anyway.

EDIT: Fixed stupid spelling error on my part.

[Eldariel]

Dragon Magic. I like them personally.

My favorite caster? Probably Bard (everyone underestimates you), Psion, or the PF Magnus class. Magnus isn't that good, but seriously, Spell Combat is AWESOME conceptually (two weapon fighting with one of the weapons being a cast spell).

I tend to play melee or half casters anyway.

The class is Magus. Magnus is a person's name.

[Draz74]

What book is the Dragonfire Adept in?

Also available online (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060912a&page=2).

[CycloneJoker]

Psion, Truenamer, or Bard.

Strategies:Charm/Dominate/Deathurge/Manipulate king to kill people for me.
Truenamer: Damage/buff, abusing wording using meta-whatevers to avoid Law of Resistance
Bard: Hit things, using my sexiness to hit (Wardance/Slippers) and to kill(Slippers/Gauntlet of Heartfelt Blows). What, you never said I had to specialize in casting.:smalltongue:

[TurtleKing]

Truenamer if the mechanics weren't so bad. Must use fixes to be personally playable otherwise grab some extreme cheese. Fixes may include taking some of the existing mechanics out back to be shot repeatedly with a railgun of doom.

[Chuckthedwarf]

Clerics and druids have the greatest chance to be that just due to their versatility.

Having all spells in the spell list and not having to worry about lugging some stupid spellbook around is simply great and overpowered.

Otherwise, I like spontaneous casters due to fluff and simplicity.

Bard is one of my favorites, but I wish it offered a little bit more casting.
Sorcerer is great; Beguiler is awesome too.

[Renchard]

Gnome Focused Illusionist/Shadowcraft Mage.

Because why would you want to memorize more than 1 spell?

[thompur]

Warlocks are alot of fun.
I also recommend Binder. Not only is it extremely versatile, you'll also never have to worry about losing your book report.;-)

[Tytalus]

I recommend beguiler. It's a very well-designed class that gives you plenty of options without excessive bookkeeping.

I've played many spellcasters so far, and while I enjoy that, I've grown tired of those classes which involve bookkeeping. Prepared casters are a bit of a pain, especially if a high-level PC has to pick spells in-game in a non-standard way (i.e., in preparation of a specific situation or expected encounter).

Clerics, druids and wizards all suffer from that problem. Clerics have the added downside that they tend to have poor skills, and druids are probably the most involved class to play, with spellcasting, animal companion, wildshape and constantly having to recalculate stats due to buff spells. All powerful, though.

[Allanimal]

I like Duskblade and Beguiler the most. The former just have this awesome Arcane Channeling ability - you no longer to to decide between whacking your enemy with a piece of metal or casting an arcane ritual of power on him - now you can do both! And the Beguiler has a fairly versatile spell list, and can cast any spell on that list spontaneously.

I'll second the Duskblade. Played mine for the first time last night and it was a blast.

[Darth Stabber]

Dread Necromancer with an undead army. Ride a skeletal creature into battle, lay down some control spells (necro has a few, Kelgor's gravemist immediately leaps to mind, and my skeletons are immune to cold). They lay down some debuffs on stuff that would otherwise be too strong for my minions. Worst case scenario I have a brain full of save or die effects should my army be unable to rule the day on their own. Undead Leadership + raise Dead + control undead + rubuke Undead = Epic zombie apocalypse.

If undead aren't your thing, may I reccomend the best blastomancer there is Wilder.

[LordBlades]

My favourite caster is Druid.

Mainly for sheer versatility.
I feel like being a primary Battlefield Control caster? Druid can do it.
I feel like summoning? Druid can do it.
I feel like melee-ing? Druid can do it.
Also, you can provide decent healing, since you have Lesser Vigor on the list.
Add Animal Companion and a good skill list and you get one of the most interesting to play classes in the game (IMHO).

The downside of the druid is bookkeeping:
-you need to keep track of the stats for your animal companion
-you need to keep track of how your stats change in Wildshape, also need to research Wildshape forms at least a bit
-you need to keep track of the stats for your summons (and how different summoning feats change them) but that's a general summoner problem

[Aharon]

Artificer. I really really like their versatility. Using stuff from the BG-cost-reduction handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=7274.0) I cranked out lots of buff-wands, but the guy was really functional just by using the "Concurrent Infusions" infusion. Could have dealt lots of damage via wand, which I would have liked to do, but didn't because I didn't want to take away the fun of the buffed melee guys.

[peacenlove]

My list over the years of playing:

Solo games: Druid. Between summons, second fighter++ animal companion and excellent spell list, not to mention wildshape versatility you can take one or 2 roles simultaneously. Very fun to play for you not so fun for the rest of the party. :smallwink:

Experienced party that prefers low tier games: Shadowcaster. Few mystery uses / day, but has Intimidate as a class skill and Charisma as one of his casting stats. Imperious Command (from DotU) makes you useful after level 5, Warp spell with Practiced Shadowcaster makes you vital against enemy mages.
Very good debuffer if you select the right mysteries.

Mystery / Roleplaying games: Beguiler. Practically a rogue / wizard hybrid without the brokeness, have seen it in play. Also easy to build.