What's your favourite class?

[bendking]

Just like the title suggests, comparing myself to other people around here makes me feel like a complete noob, even though I played for like 2 years (though 1.5 hours a week)
And so, I want to know the feel around here about classes.
So please, all classes are welcome, and of course an explanation about why you like the class is welcome too.

[Deca4531]

i like the idea behind warlocks, even though they arent very powerful in the long run. i like ranged spell casting but most classes run dry after a few fights. the lore behind warlocks its pretty cool as well, power gained through pacts with demonic creatures in ages past.

[ArcturusV]

Well, I would say Cleric... except for about 90% of the groups I'm just a PC in, I have to play the Cleric because no one else will. Even in groups I DM they expect me to NPC a Cleric for them. I get burned out on Clerics.

The problem is that I can have a lot of fun with almost any class. I will admit though I have a soft spot for "Crappy" or "Low Tier" classes. Like in my current game where I am getting to be a PC again (If the game continues, the group has been flaking out lately), I ended up playing a Vasharan Ninja.

[Duboris]

Fighter, simply because there's 702^9th way to play a meat shield.

[inexorabletruth]

I like beatsticks, really. I play mostly skill monkeys and knowledge junkies because you get to roll more dice that way... but ultimately, I'd rather just bash the monsters brains in.

Barbies, Fighters and Dragon Shamans, as punchers, get much love from me.
Cloistered Clerics and Bards are fun for knowledge junkies, though the Factotum is growing on me.

But my secret guilty pleasure is playing a Monk. I just wish the crunch matched the fluff. :smalltongue:

[Siltharon]

In general I love to play charakters who are acrobatic and can move around very well (Tumble is a must have for me :) luckily our dm allows to swap out some skills if it's reasonable).

Another thing is, while I like caster-like classes, I probably don't like stiff ones like normal wizards or clerics. Since first are (mainly ofc / there are always the more dexterous ones) quite stiffy in their robes and second are (usually) heavy armored frontline casters/supporters (reflavoured clerics are quite cool though).

Favourite class? I'd probably have to say Psion (Nomad) -> then manifest wall walker or (I actually prefer that one) take the Up the Walls feat. Makes a great battlefield controller and has one of the most awesome flavours possible to me. The "wasted" Up the Walls feat can be somewhat compensated by going the typical Psicrystal + feat leech comb.
Running on walls, teleporting yourself, allies and enemies (baleful teleportation to the sky ... never gets old) around, taking EK: energy missile, etc.

alternatively if I really had to min/max in a high opt. campaign I'd start off with an Erudite (StP version ofc) and achieve the movement through powers (though swaping out some skills gets me a lot too)

If playing fighting classes I'd pick Ss or Wb (both ToB). Both great stylewise, mobilitywise (SS obv. better here) and dmgwise. Wb also makes for a great tank if you into that kind of thing and both classes make solid dips for lots of fighting builds (Also went SS1/Binder4/KotSS one time for dexterous fighter with lots of sup. options).
Another option for me is going Duskblade. Might not be the strongest class in game but with the right feats superfun to play and has great flavour. Oh and btw ... Duskblades make great Mageslayers with the right feats.

Hope that gave you some stuff to think about

[RoyVG]

Fluff wise, I've always had a soft spot for Paladins. Fearless knights of the divine, trained to defeat the forces of Evil while defending the weak. but should they ever fall, the can become the most dreaded people to walk around.

Mechanically I like the Crusader and the Swordsage. The Crusader due to his divine nature, so it wins in the fluff department as well. I like the Swordsage for being a different take on a 'melee wizard'.

[Gildedragon]

FACTOTUM!!! Seriously I love the class utterly and completely. So hard.
Besides that, Swordsage,Monk, and Paladin make my second faves then Binder, Cleric and Wizard, though I play those last few much less often than I would like.

I love playing the swordsage as a rogue of sorts, its got all the cool poofy powers and a nice degree of versatility. The monk appeals to my minimalist go-around-half-naked sensibilities, and paladins are pretty cool but need a great deal of party cohesion. Both of those last two i end up playing as ittinerant sacred fellas, which i like; there is a joy in beig all saintly and serene and capable of kicking ass. These classes are second in my books because I end up multiclassing them a lot, using them as the flavor core to something crunchier.
As to the last three, I rarely get a chance to play them, I love the idea of them (though I am so used to lvl4 theurging that pure wizard makes me a tad uncomfortable) besides I find the binder's pact to be interesting but needs more meat to it.
I've been trying to set up a variation of the binder where the vestiges are either spirits or ghosts with agendas, and the binder would become possessed. Failure on the checks would mean that the entity has one work towards its goal...

[WildPyre]

My favorite class to play would be Summoner in Pathfinder. I'm a big fan of customization, and getting to build your pet from the ground up appeals to me.

Second to that would be the Witch class in Pathfinder, decent spell selection, some fun abilities to pick from, and a flavorable class all around.

[BTB]

Bard, specifically the pathfinder version. It's just so much fun to play the bard, and you can do so much with them. Last one I built abused spellsong and was basically James Bond. The game is in progress. It's been fairly awesome.

[Gigas Breaker]

I like Psychic Warrior and the Tome of Battle classes for being FUN melee classes.

[Vaz]

Base classes, although 3rd party, the Rokugan Courtier has a ton of options, based on what clan it's from. 3 abilities per clan, 5-6 abilities available to all, and up to 6 levels at which you can select said ability, the ability to make up to any 10 skills permanent class skills, leadership boosts, party face... Yeah, it's powerful. It would be considered completely broken, I think in any game that's not set in Rokugan, but because it is Rokugan, it's fairly decent.

Outside of that, I have a bit of a love currently for the Geomancer after the Iron Chef, and also, a Demonbinder.

[Seharvepernfan]

I love scouts.

For years, I had been tinkering with a custom class that combines aspects of rogue, ranger, fighter/barbarian/monk. The only thing I ever came up with was "warbandit" (I was in 7th grade) - my friend asked me, "What's the point of this class?" Heh.

My reasons for liking it are many.

1. I think it's what I'd be if I were a D&D character. Stealthy, fast, movement based attacks, lots of skills and feats, wilderness capable, assumed-highest constant initiative bonus. Thematically cool - I love the words scout and skirmish, and their meanings. I wish I could fit "sniper" in there somewhere.
2. It's right where I like to be in the party, a skillmonkey/warrior who's tougher than the rogue, but not quite as badass as the ranger.
3. It has a cool skill list - you ever notice the speak language? (I just wish it had open lock).
4. It gets bonus feats, and more specifically, my favorite kind of bonus feats.
5. I love the class features, and it gets a lot of them.
6. Most likely to be camoflaged - hell, the elf chick (anybody know her name?) in the pic is wearing some.
7. 50ft. speed + blindsight + freedom of movement + perfect stride = mouth watering free-running.
8. It also combines nicely with my favorite school of wizard (transmuter) for my favorite prestige class (swiftblade).

Yup, I love me some scout.

edit: Hell, I'm gonna keep going.

They're total lpwners - no charisma skills, no familiars, no animal companions, which makes sense given their name. If I were to live in a D&D world, I'd want to be a scout (preferably a scout//transmuter/ruathar/swiftblade) - I'd get to see all kinds of natural wonders and the different cultures (couldn't infiltrate those cultures, just see'em). The ability to adroitly out-maneuver anyone but a monk or prepared caster (and sometimes even them) is just awesome. They're the most perceptive class - which has always been a thing with me. I get kind of a Man-with-No-Name feel from them.

With this class, I can be a sneaky, perceptive, clever, quick-witted, athletic, acrobatic, speedy, all-terrain, tough, whirling-twirling badass who moves through a fight like the wind in any terrain in any conditions. Anybody ever play fallout? You know that perk, "Slayer"? The Scout walks the Earth!

I like the high initiative and the ability to speak many languages without having to be a caster.

I like how their weapons are usually shortsword, handaxe, throwing axe, shortbow, or light crossbow. Those are probably what I'd use in a non-guns world. They also give the feel of a colonial soldier or, well, scout - which is great, because I'm american and I love the revolutionary war era. However, I also like rapiers, longswords, and longbows, which combined with my favorite race - elves - means I get the best of both worlds. I could play an elf or human scout and be perfectly happy.

My only regrets about the class are:
1. No open lock.
2. No easy way to get skirmish more than 1/round.
3. No class feature reason to have high wisdom - it's just beneficial for the skills and will save.

If I could add a few things to the scout, it'd be sudden strike at the same progression as skirmish AC bonus, the swordsages wis-AC bonus, some sort of precision-damage-at-long-range-sniper attack, and the ability to use TWF or Rapid Shot in conjunction with Spring Attack or Shot on the Run.

[Killer Angel]

For the concept, Ranger.
Agile and resistant, lots of skills, self-sufficient, great for scouting, a sparkle of magic, lots of things to do outside combat and very capable in combat (altough in its own peculiar way).


edit: I know you didn't ask for, but the one I like less, is the monk... It's the only class I've never played, the concept isn't appealing to me, so, even if it were a T1, I wouldn't play it.

double edit: given that PF is cited, i'll add Summoner. :smallwink:

[Krazzman]

Honestly... I can't decide.

PF Sorcerer is awesome, I'm playing one in a group and well it's quite cool.
From Archetypes Paladin or Bard or Rogue/Scoundrel are my favourite, (yes I can't decide). The thing is I never played a Paladin in any game so far. Everytime I planned one and had some real cool background... that campaign never even started or changed it's rules that hard I had to start from the baseline and... then broke apart after 1 session.
Rogue/Scoundrel because... well I like light armored classes (as such I can't decide between Rogue, Swordsage or one of these with dips in each other).
Bard is similar to Paladin, but I actually played one for 2 sessions and well let's just say he ended up 2 levels higher, "poorer" (books of Arcane Thesis, Drakonomicon or such books but except for clothing he had nothing left...) in the middle of nowhere threatened by a djinn because of party stupidity.
Cleric is another class I like because... well divine power from the gods. Never played one with a real concept for feats but... thinking about having one as backup char for when my Warblade dies (as the group needs healing badly).

[Kuulvheysoon]

But my secret guilty pleasure is playing a Monk. I just wish the crunch matched the fluff. :smalltongue:


Fluff wise, I've always had a soft spot for Paladins. Fearless knights of the divine, trained to defeat the forces of Evil while defending the weak. but should they ever fall, the can become the most dreaded people to walk around.

RoyVG and Inexorabletruth have the, well, truth of it. My favorite guilty pleasures would have to be Shadowcaster, Spellthief, Warmage and the Favored Soul. I love the fluff of all four, even though mechanically, they could use some work.

Real-playing wise, I'm a fan of Spirit Shaman, Bard (both Divine and Arcane), Psions and Wu Jen.

[Eldonauran]

2e -> Bard
3.XE -> Paladin and/or Duskblade (multiclassed too!)
Pathfinder -> Magus

I enjoy playing other classes. I've given them all a go. I just happen to get the most enjoyment out of those four.

[Arcanist]

Artificer. Spreadsheets: The Game = best game.

But in all seriousness, because I enjoy running around with a Wand of Knock and referring to myself as "The Doctor".

[Amphetryon]

In 3.5:
Hexblade, if allowed to use the Mearls Fix; if not, Dread Necromancer or Psychic Warrior, with Wilder and Crusader not far behind. If restricted to the PhB, Ranger.

[DMVerdandi]

Spell to power erudite.
Absolutely. Conceptually It attracts me as a mentalist whom has the power to wield both the psionic power of his own mind and using it to memorize and power arcane spells with his own power rather than relying on cosmic forces.

Rather than gaining power from the world without, his power comes from within.

For me the erudite is how I would play a wizard and wish for one to be. Best manifester. Best mechanics. (Unique powers per day is the only broken part of it.)

[mistformsquirrl]

Just like the title suggests, comparing myself to other people around here makes me feel like a complete noob, even though I played for like 2 years (though 1.5 hours a week)
And so, I want to know the feel around here about classes.
So please, all classes are welcome, and of course an explanation about why you like the class is welcome too.

This really depends on what I'm after; but I'd say my absolute favorite is probably Warblade. The Iron Heart and Diamond Mind disciplines are largely non-magicky; and so they fit my desire for a melee class with a lot of options. I also like that there's only so many options discipline-wise, so I don't get overwhelmed like when I play casters.

That said... there are plenty of situations where I play other things, so ultimately my class choice is based on concept. Warblade is just the one I enjoy most mechanically and feel I can get the most out of (not in terms of power, just in general terms.)

[Silverbit]

Warlock for me. At will stuff is awesome, and combined with Eldrich Blast and item creation, makes a pretty damn epic class. If D&D was real, I'd probably be one. A rather unoptimised one though.
(On a side note, does anyone know of any homebrew invocation gish base classes? They must exist, but I can't find any.)

[RFLS]

Swordsage, Artificer, and PF Paladin all the way. Although, to be honest, I prefer multiclassing like no one's business. I've currently got an Artificer 2/Monk 2/Ninja 2 in a Pathfinder game (We switched the Artificer's Infusions out for Alchemist Extracts).

He's an archer.

[tiercel]

There are a lot fun archetypes one can make in D&D (using a class or using a class/class/other class/PrC/Other PrC/Other Other PrC build), but overall I still have a special weak spot for the bard.

Yes, yes, tier 3, balanced power, blah blah blah. But the bard is a class that is meant to be reasonably good at many things without outmoding any other character's preferred role, and more or less hits the spot. Useful skills in and out of combat, decent fighting ability (especially with self-buffs), limited-but-potent spellcasting, plus the group buffs (or debuffs, especially with ACFs) of bardsong.

Yes, wizards can do anything -- and even do it better than anyone, with the right prep/spells -- but it feels like cheating, narratively, not only because your buddy's PC might not matter as much as your wizard at higher levels, but because of the narrative background of wizards... In most fantasy stories, while wizards are powerful, they are often still generally vulnerable to the unexpected and/or in-your-face melee. (In D&D, above a certain level -- depending on your level of optimization -- wizards can wind up vulnerable to very little, including being surprised.)

With the bard you have the luxury of lowered expectations -- bards aren't, narratively, supposed to annihilate their enemies, they're typically supposed to outwit, finagle, finesse, aid their buddies in, and/or escape by the skin of their teeth from trouble. When a bard does this, it lives up the archetype (and makes for a great story besides) -- and when a bard does drop a trump card on a situation, it's exceeding expectations.

And a bard can do all this without needing to be some Exalted Dragonblooded energy-flinging PrCing-into-sorcerer uberbuild -- not that you can't trick bard out, but Bard 20 is perfectly viable and fun.

I like bard because it means I can often do something a little different each game session, depending on my mood when I come to the table and/or depending on the group needs my character to be at the moment. (And while one could do this with Chameleon or Factotum, etc., I prefer a do-a-bit-of-everything class that feels like it has its own tricks too, and doesn't feel so much like just "my class power is mostly to just steal a little bit of some other class' power on the fly.")

No offense to people who enjoy Factotum -- it just has a different feel to the class.

Interestingly, bard doesn't seem to have nearly the famous archetype that many other classes have, which has left it slightly tainted by the "you spoony bard" CRPG stereotype of a useless prancing lute-wielder.... but not having such a strong archetype can actually give you a little more narrative room to make your bard what you want; and if anyone still thinks bards are weak, well, you can surprise them :) (Though, I've argued before that probably the most famous archetype of bard as related by actions is probably Gandalf, his designation of "wizard" or official status as Maiar aside.)

[shortround]

I am so deeply infatuated with Paladin it hurts me. I enjoy playing Warblades and Barbarians more, but I always come back to Paladins.

[Erik Vale]

Warlock. Fluff reasons and I like the idea of being able to go all day every day, and considering I played NWN first it allowed my to not rest after every fight which seemed silly and helped a boatload in MotB

[MeiLeTeng]

I love the Warlock and the Binder quite a bit, despite their Mall Goth and Hipster Cleric-ness.

[UnjustCustos]

Factotum and Binder. Easily those two tied. I like the idea of not focusing on anyone thing and getting rid of the party role pressure. And the idea of making deals with otherworldly powers daily just makes the evil side of me giggle.

[TopCheese]

I like classes that aren't a total waste of space.

Warblade, Totemist, Wizard, Swordsage, Rogue, PF Barbarian...

Though my favorite build so far was...

Dragonborn Warforged Totemist/Wizard/Soul Caster

So much fun having your "caster" grapple dragons :p

[Archmage1]

I would have to say spellthief, as they can do everything(so long as the DM does not just say "no", and have all his casters have blur up at all times)

Warlock(So much fun to refluff)

Beguiler(You are the skillmonkey that mind controls everyone. What else to do?)

And, of course, if the goal of the game is pure power, wizard, with cheese filled PRC's

[Psyren]

I love the fluff of binders, and the crunch too. I just wish they got more vestiges faster, they can be a pain to play when you can only bind one.

[Amidus Drexel]

Warlocks, Binders, and (to a lesser degree) Shadowcasters. They're all really cool classes that are about the right power level that I have a lot of fun playing them.

Plus, Warforged Warlocks are one small refluff away from being flying robots with lasers. :smallcool:

I like playing Wizards, too, although they're not my favorite.

[kardar233]

I absolutely love the Paladin of Tyranny. Sure, it's a pretty weak class, but I can use it as a base for all sorts of fun builds. The current build I'm waving around looking for a game to play it in is a high-mobility Fear-based build based on PoT and save debuffing.

I also have a huge soft spot for Warblade; it's one of the few classes that I will play straight to 20, and I dip it in a ton of melee builds, mostly at 9th level.

[Fyermind]

Hellfire Ur-lock is a very fun build. (Warlock 4 / Binder 1 / Urpriest 2 / Eldritch Theurge 10/ Hellfire Warlock 3)

I have a soft spot of crusaders. I like their recovery mechanic and the fact that they can fight all day straight even at low levels. Dipping cloistered cleric and PRCing out is great fun to.

My true favorite though, is undeniably dragonfire adept. Dragonborn Warforged DFA make some of the coolest robot soldiers ever.

[Axinian]

My favorite is Sorcerer. I like being able to just throw out the spell I need when I need it. I also like gishes of all kinds. Sorcadins are fun in that respect. I also really like Warlocks but I'm constantly frustrated by the lack of decent support they got. I like bards too, but usually only when multiclassed with something else.

Basically give me any CHA-based caster and I'm happy :smallwink:

[The Viscount]

I have a great fondness for Dread Necromancer. It's like a stray puppy with a bad ear, with its confusing skill list, its poorly done spell list, and its class features written without correct terminology (for example, the advancement section has no rule advice, only backstory advice and a single sentence saying you can cast all corrupt spells spontaneously). I legitimately like that there is a focused caster in a school that gets very little attention.

If I had to choose a favorite though, it would be Binder. The fluff is great. The vestige stories are captivating. The abilities are varied and applicable in many situations. The possibilities for role-play are enormous. Mostly though, it's because it's a totally different system that works. WotC showed that it's possible to make an alternative to the magic system, and it works.

[Valdis]

Cleric or Wizard.. Tier 1, world breakers.
I like being able to do more than say "I swing my sword" 200 times during a sitting.

[MukkTB]

All 3 Tome of Battle Classes
PF Inquisitor

If I had to choose... Unarmed Swordsage with a quick Crusader dip.

[prufock]

Factotum. I love their jack-of-all-trades concept, I love the mechanics, I love the intelligence focus, I love that I can build them to be effective at essentially whatever I want apart from primary spellcaster.

One of my favourite characters was a factotum/chameleon named Abel. Yes it's a pun. His motto was "I can do that."

I've also had a lot of fun playing sorcerers and clerics.

[Threadnaught]

I love the Tier 1 Classes. My top three are.

1: Wizard, can do anything a Wizard can and still has the squishiness so you still have to watch your back. :smallamused:
2: Druid, hands down the most versatile Class in the game, some would argue the most powerful. I'd agree, but that'd probably cause a 30 page discussion on how Wizards are so much bettah.
3: Monk, yeah, surprised you all there didn't I? I just like the Monk, they interest me.