Kaeso
2011-08-11, 08:14 AM
Okay, so we put a druid, cleric and wizard on an island...
No, seriously now. I know the tier system is meant to put classes of relatively equal power in the same group, and is not meant to rate the classes in one tier relative to eachother. Nevertheless I've cought myself wondering which one of the (core) tier 1 classes is considered to be the most useful. I'll list what I consider to be the strong and weak points of each class, and then we can discuss in what order we would rank them.
Cleric:
Paladin, eat your heart out. This class has a fairly decent chassis: his medium BAB, ability to wear heavy armour, d8HD and simple weapon proficiency makes him a decent combatant, even at low levels. His two most important saves advance the fastest in the game, ending at +12 at level 20, and wisdom as his primary casting skill ensure that he'll have one of the highest will saves in the entire game. Domains also add some customisability to the cleric and there's always turn undead cheese. His weak points are that he has an underwhelming ammount of skills (though cloistered cleric can compensate that somewhat) and a spell list that is somewhat lackluster compared to the other big boys (though there are some gems here and there, like divine power). Spontaneous healing (or harming) is somewhat nice.
Druid:
Lord Bearnard Bearington, the unbearable bearbearian bearon of Beargundy, 'nuff said :smallamused:. This class has a decent chassis: proficient with medium armor, can use heavy armor (though metal armour is a no-no, but there are some ways around that) without spell faillure, d8 HD, some nice weapon proficiencies, a fighter cohort as a class feature, the same good saves as the cleric and wildshape. Oh, wildshape: this alone makes you better than the fighter for a limited ammount of time. Let's not forget that, if you take natural spell, you can still cast spells while you're in this form. This means that you can outflank them with your animal companion, summon extra animal friends and whatnot. His skill list is also decent, at 4+int skills/level and listen, spot and diplomacy as class skills. As far as I can tell this class has no real drawbacks, except for the fact that his spell list is perhaps a bit weaker than that of the wizard, but stronger than that of the cleric.
Wizard:
Oh boy, wizards. They're considered to be the gods of DnD, being able to shape reality with but a bat of an eye. I'm trying to challenge this paradigma, against my better knowledge. Their most prominent class feature has to be their incredible spell list. Unlike the cleric and druid, the wizard has at least one clear silver bullet at each level, an spell that can, if executed properly, turn a challenging encounter into a cakewalk, starting even at level one with such humble spells as grease or ray of enfeeblement. He does, however, have some drawbacks. First of all, he has a horrible skill list and a mere 2+int skills/level (though int as a primary stat may compensate this), which means all of his skill points must go to concentration, spellcraft and perhaps two or three knowledges. His chassis is rather weak, at d4 HD, lackluster weapon proficiencies, inability to wear armour without spell faillure and only one good save he's barely superior to a commoner. He also has no real class features of note beyond level 1, save the familliar (which can be a XP-loss time bomb) and some bonus feats, and he has to collect spells rather than just know them, but this is compensated by a very, very solid spell list.
So let's get back to the main question: how would you rank these three?
Personally, I'd put the wizard at number 1 because he always has a spell that can do the enemy in. The druid would earn the second place due to his raw power, putting the somewhat lackluster cleric at the bottom of tier 1. The cleric has nothing to offer compared to the other two: both classes have better spell lists and the druid is objectively superior in melee.
No, seriously now. I know the tier system is meant to put classes of relatively equal power in the same group, and is not meant to rate the classes in one tier relative to eachother. Nevertheless I've cought myself wondering which one of the (core) tier 1 classes is considered to be the most useful. I'll list what I consider to be the strong and weak points of each class, and then we can discuss in what order we would rank them.
Cleric:
Paladin, eat your heart out. This class has a fairly decent chassis: his medium BAB, ability to wear heavy armour, d8HD and simple weapon proficiency makes him a decent combatant, even at low levels. His two most important saves advance the fastest in the game, ending at +12 at level 20, and wisdom as his primary casting skill ensure that he'll have one of the highest will saves in the entire game. Domains also add some customisability to the cleric and there's always turn undead cheese. His weak points are that he has an underwhelming ammount of skills (though cloistered cleric can compensate that somewhat) and a spell list that is somewhat lackluster compared to the other big boys (though there are some gems here and there, like divine power). Spontaneous healing (or harming) is somewhat nice.
Druid:
Lord Bearnard Bearington, the unbearable bearbearian bearon of Beargundy, 'nuff said :smallamused:. This class has a decent chassis: proficient with medium armor, can use heavy armor (though metal armour is a no-no, but there are some ways around that) without spell faillure, d8 HD, some nice weapon proficiencies, a fighter cohort as a class feature, the same good saves as the cleric and wildshape. Oh, wildshape: this alone makes you better than the fighter for a limited ammount of time. Let's not forget that, if you take natural spell, you can still cast spells while you're in this form. This means that you can outflank them with your animal companion, summon extra animal friends and whatnot. His skill list is also decent, at 4+int skills/level and listen, spot and diplomacy as class skills. As far as I can tell this class has no real drawbacks, except for the fact that his spell list is perhaps a bit weaker than that of the wizard, but stronger than that of the cleric.
Wizard:
Oh boy, wizards. They're considered to be the gods of DnD, being able to shape reality with but a bat of an eye. I'm trying to challenge this paradigma, against my better knowledge. Their most prominent class feature has to be their incredible spell list. Unlike the cleric and druid, the wizard has at least one clear silver bullet at each level, an spell that can, if executed properly, turn a challenging encounter into a cakewalk, starting even at level one with such humble spells as grease or ray of enfeeblement. He does, however, have some drawbacks. First of all, he has a horrible skill list and a mere 2+int skills/level (though int as a primary stat may compensate this), which means all of his skill points must go to concentration, spellcraft and perhaps two or three knowledges. His chassis is rather weak, at d4 HD, lackluster weapon proficiencies, inability to wear armour without spell faillure and only one good save he's barely superior to a commoner. He also has no real class features of note beyond level 1, save the familliar (which can be a XP-loss time bomb) and some bonus feats, and he has to collect spells rather than just know them, but this is compensated by a very, very solid spell list.
So let's get back to the main question: how would you rank these three?
Personally, I'd put the wizard at number 1 because he always has a spell that can do the enemy in. The druid would earn the second place due to his raw power, putting the somewhat lackluster cleric at the bottom of tier 1. The cleric has nothing to offer compared to the other two: both classes have better spell lists and the druid is objectively superior in melee.