Help choosing a replacement character

[mamothpriest]

Hey everybody, my character just died in our level 9 campaign, and I'm trying to figure out what to play. I'm the most experienced player in my group and most of us are brand new and I really don't want to step on anyone's toes, I'm sure everybody understands how important a first impression is.

The party consists of:
a fire based wizard going into elemental savant (this is the only other player who has every played before)
a wildshape focused druid
a twf rogue/invisible blade
a melee combat focused cleric who I'm trying to teach how to balance support casting and buffs
and lastly, a warblade who's trying to play it as a charger

I know we're a little larger than the standard party and theoretically all the major bases are covered. So......what should I play? any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[RaginChangeling]

With so much Melee, a Bard never goes amiss. Force multiplication is always fun, and passively buffing the others is a great way not to step on any toes.

Other options might be a lockdown Crusader with some White Raven Maneuvers, be a flanking buddy for the Rogue and take the hits. Or you could go Beguiler, buff with Haste and then use some battlefield control and illusions to help your party out.

If you have access, you could be an Incarnate or a Binder and be a generic jack of all trades, fill whatever role your party needs.

[Doc Roc]

I'd go with Bard (DFI!), Factotum, or my personal favorite, the deep secret art...
War Weaver.

[holywhippet]

Yep bard - party support as well as knowledge and speaking skills.

[Kylarra]

I'll throw in another vote for DFI bard. You'll be really helpful to all your melee buddies and be less likely to overshadow things since they're the ones breaking everything in their path, not you .

[mamothpriest]

I appreciate all the feedback. The funny thing though... my last guy was a bard, a DFI bard... I think I might like to try a different approach lol.

[Doc Roc]

I appreciate all the feedback. The funny thing though... my last guy was a bard, a DFI bard... I think I might like to try a different approach lol.

Oh m*k, hehe, may I then suggest War Weaver? The dread king of force multipliers.

[RaginChangeling]

You could be a Dragonfire Adept and pick up the Draconic Aura feats to also get in on the buffing action. Then you can use your breath weapon and invocations for battlefield control and support.

[Curmudgeon]

If you don't want to step on any toes, how about a ranged combat guy? This is an archer build on a mostly spellcasting base, so you'll still have some spells to contribute (though not at a high enough level to dominate the party) when ranged combat isn't on the menu.

Here's an archer build I came up with a while back, intended to get more archery-related feats in a mostly spellcasting build; it's got something for everybody. (Note: The cheesy bonus feat swap may be RAW legal, but I recommend it only if you want to antagonize your DM.)

The most important piece of equipment is your composite bow, made for whatever STR bonus you have, enhanced with splitting (Champions of Ruin) to double your shots ─ when you can afford that enhancement. Splitting is a +3 cost enhancement, so start saving up; if you're frugal you should just barely be able to afford that when you reach level 11.

Race: Wood Elf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/elf.htm#woodElf) (+2 DEX, +2 STR, -2 CON, -2 INT; Favored Class: Ranger). Alignment: within 1 step of Chaotic Good. You'll need to join the Order of the Shooting Star (see Champions of Valor). This build requires DEX 17 by the time you get to level 6 for Dead Eye, and DEX 19 later if you pick up Improved Precise Shot.


Cloistered Cleric 1 of Solonor Thelandira. Domains: Knowledge, War, Elf; gain Weapon Focus (longbow) and Point Blank Shot feats as granted powers. Level 1 feat: Precise Shot. Should pick up 1+ ranks in Knowledge (arcana) and 4 ranks in Knowledge (religion).
Mystic Ranger 1 (Ranger variant in Dragon # 336, page 105). Gain wild empathy, Track feat. Should pick up 5 ranks in Survival.
Cloistered Cleric 2. Level 3 feat: Far Shot.
Cloistered Cleric 3.
Mystic Ranger 2. Take Arcane Hunter ACF (Complete Mage, page 32) to get Favored Enemy: Arcanists. Gain 3 more ranks in Survival to get 8 total ranks.
Seeker of the Misty Isle (Complete Divine, page 61) 1. Gain Travel as bonus domain; convert this to Travel Devotion (Complete Champion, page 62) feat. Level 6 feat: Dead Eye (Dragon Compendium, page 95): add DEX bonus to arrow damage within 30'.
Mystic Ranger 3. Choose combat style: archery; this grants the Rapid Shot feat.
Mystic Ranger 4. Gain Endurance as a bonus feat.
Seeker of the Misty Isle 2. You'll now have BAB 6. Level 9 feat: Manyshot.
Seeker of the Misty Isle 3.
Seeker of the Misty Isle 4. Do the Dark Chaos Shuffle (Fiendish Codex I, pages 92 & 95) to swap Track and Endurance for

Sword of the Arcane Order feat (Champions of Valor, page 34): cast Wizard arcane spells in Ranger spell slots; and
Holy Warrior reserve feat (Complete Champion, page 60): add level of highest reserved War spell to weapon damage.
You'll now have Cleric 7 spellcasting, BAB 8, and can cast Ranger/Wizard spells at levels 0-2.
If you want to spread on the cheese sauce, this is where you would do the Dark Chaos Shuffle with the 4 Elf bonus feats
Weapon Proficiency: Elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats. and pick up Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell), and Extra Turning; persist Divine Power to keep your BAB up all day.

At this point you qualify to enter Arcane Archer for a 2-level dip for the very useful Imbue Arrow ability. Then you might continue with Seeker of the Misty Isle for more Cleric spellcasting plus other benefits of that PrC.

With Divine Power you'll be at BAB 11.
You'll add (DEX mod +1) to attacks, and (with a composite longbow) (STR mod +4) to damage. (The +1 is from Weapon Focus; the +4 is from Holy Warrior.)
Within 30' you'll add an additional +1 to attacks, and (DEX mod + 1) to damage. (The +1 is from Point Blank Shot; the DEX mod is from Dead Eye.)
You'll have 10 useful feats (or 14 with the cheesy sauce added), without flaws. If at some point you think you've got enough skill ranks in the various Knowledges, you can convert Knowledge domain to Knowledge Devotion for bonuses to attack and damage against the corresponding creature types.

[holywhippet]

Maybe look into a psionic type class if your DM allows them?

[CaptainPlatypus]

You've got four meleé characters (three of whom are arguably tanks) and three full casting class (only one of whom seems likely to be spending most of his combat time casting). I'd go for a ranged-support role - a Sagittarius from these forums would be fun, a Soulbow could be very fun if you're starting at a high enough level to start with a prestige class (soulknife is, to me at least, no fun to play), a straight-up psychic warrior could certainly contribute - but you could also just go for a debuff-and-support sorcerer. You'd step on a couple more toes than if you tried to make ranged combat work, but it would be a lot simpler, and you could focus on the Entangle/Charm/Glitterdust side of things instead of being a "traditional" blaster to mitigate the extent to which the wizard feels infringed upon.

[dspeyer]

A battlefield controller would be also be good here. Sorcerer, wizard or psion are probably the choices. Sor/wiz has the advantage that it can buff too.

[Metahuman1]

Let me break it down.

Bard: Best in class versatility wise, buffing, healing, support from ranged or tripping attacks with the right build and UMD, social skills, what's not to love?

Swift hunter Ranger/Scout: Ranged attacks, something you guys are not heavy on from the look of it, additional skills which are nice as long as many of the one's that aren't ubiquitous (Hide, Move Silently, Listen, Spot, UMD and MAYBE Search, don't take Disable Device!), are skills only you have in the party. Vexing flanker helps the Rouge, and if you can get the DM to let you full attack while you move with your Bow, you'll still deal noticeable damage.

Either Knight or Crusader: Lock down build, forget Mounted combat for the most part if Knight, and lean toward a small number of devoted Spirit Maneuvers but concentrate on White raven if Crusader.You want to be a stand still impassible barrier between you, the Wizard, at times the Rouge, Druid, or Cleric, or Warblade while they buff, heal, position for next charge, and the monsters.

Sorcerer: Save or Suck/Lose/Die spells too keep control of the battle field, and one or two of the best spells form the wizards banned schools will give you plenty too do.

[ILM]

A battlefield controller would be also be good here. Sorcerer, wizard or psion are probably the choices. Sor/wiz has the advantage that it can buff too.
Yep, was my first thought as well.

[mamothpriest]

Oh m*k, hehe, may I then suggest War Weaver? The dread king of force multipliers.

Usually I'm good with knowing where a class is. What book is the War Weaver in?

[mabriss lethe]

...Heroes of battle?

[Particle_Man]

Are you worried about overshadowing others? You might go for a lower-power, higher-fluff character like a Hexblade or Warlock.