Creating a Solid Party

[Tetraplex]

Greetings, Playgrounders!

A friend of mine is setting up a new campaign, since the last one collapsed (Ruins of Greyhawk with a newbie DM, an Eldritch Theurge and somehow one guy convinced him a Kyton was a viable player race) and so we're rolling new PCs.

This time around, homebrew and anything not in the books he owns (Complete Divine, Arcane, Psionic, and Adventurer, PHB, PHBII, DMG, MMI, MM2, and one other I can't recall) are restricted, but if we can print it out and he approves it anything goes. Since the group has shifted a bit (1 potential player who has never played and one who has only ever used basic pre-written characters) and the other veteran of the Ruin that was Greyhawk dislikes over-complex builds, we're keeping it fairly simple this time.

All the same, I would like some opinions/suggestions, especially for the other non-new player (we'll call him Gavin), as I've heard odd things about his class.

So far, the characters we have are (starting at level 5):

Gavin, with a Paladin/Shadowbane Inquisitor, taking SBI as early as he can and possibly some Blackguard depending on where he ends up with the character.

Myself, with either a straight Samurai (this homebrew version (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206517), subject to DM approval) or a Druid/Dragonfire Adept (I know, I know, pure Druid is better. But I promised to multiclass any full casters to keep from incidentally overshadowing the new guys)

The two new players will likely be filling support, caster, or rogue-like duty, so if you have suggestions for what they should play to complement the Paladin/Samurai or Paladin/Druid combo, feel free. Thank you!

[Amphetryon]

I'd advise you to take the Druid option, so that you're covering more bases than would be the case with the Samurai (which fills a similar role to the Paladin) and so that you've got some power in reserve if the newbies need the help in a sticky situation.

For the caster, Dread Necromancer would be my first choice, but if you don't have the option to print that one out, I might consider Ardent from Complete Psionics. It's not as 'caster-ish' as the DN, but is a solid base that limits the menu of options once constructed, so that a newer Player (or one averse to overly complex builds) shouldn't be overwhelmed during play.

The rogue-like duty (along with secondary caster duty and some support) might consider the Beguiler. That would give you an INT-based trapfinder with some casting ability and the option to be the party Face without trampling on the Paladin's CHA focus.

The above party should be reasonably solid without overwhelming either the Players or the DM.

[Tetraplex]

The Druid, eh? I certainly like it, but I worry that Wildshaped breath weapons will seem as broken to him as the Warlock does. This is going to end up a fairly low-op game in all likelihood, but I've certainly got it in my pocket if the others pick no magic classes. Other than Natural Spell and Entangling Breath, any suggestions?

As for the DN/Ardent, that would certainly be interesting. The story is apparently going to involve taking sides in a conflict so having an Inquisitor and an Ardent could lead to interesting RP. Looking through it, from what I've heard of her the Ardent seems more her preference. I'll ask, but in the mean time, any suggestions for feats, etc?

A beguiler would definitely be cool here, though as always with new players illusions could either go really well or really poorly.

[eggynack]

The Druid, eh? I certainly like it, but I worry that Wildshaped breath weapons will seem as broken to him as the Warlock does.
You shouldn't worry about that, as breath weapons explicitly don't work in a wild shape. This combination isn't the best plan, in other words.

[Amphetryon]

The Druid, eh? I certainly like it, but I worry that Wildshaped breath weapons will seem as broken to him as the Warlock does. This is going to end up a fairly low-op game in all likelihood, but I've certainly got it in my pocket if the others pick no magic classes. Other than Natural Spell and Entangling Breath, any suggestions?

As for the DN/Ardent, that would certainly be interesting. The story is apparently going to involve taking sides in a conflict so having an Inquisitor and an Ardent could lead to interesting RP. Looking through it, from what I've heard of her the Ardent seems more her preference. I'll ask, but in the mean time, any suggestions for feats, etc?

A beguiler would definitely be cool here, though as always with new players illusions could either go really well or really poorly.
The first choice for an Ardent, to my mind, is the Mantles. Normally the Natural World Mantle is highly recommended, but it's sometimes considered high-powered (I'm using 'Warlocks are OP in the DM's eyes' as a measuring stick) and you have a Druid covering a similar shtick. I'd probably consider the trio of Pain & Suffering, Knowledge, and Death for a 5th level Ardent, with a sort of 'Fated Philosopher' spin.

Feats are somewhat dependent on Race. One option, but certainly not the only one, is to pick Elan as the Race, then take the Feats: Psicrystal Affinity and Enhanced Elan Resilience for now, adding on Psicrystal Containment to pull off a version of the "Share Pain Trick" and be very tough to bring down. Combine this with your preferred metapsionic Feat and Metapower and you will be more than just a punching bag.

[Tetraplex]

Well alright then. Everyone's got their classes, for better or worse.

The Paladin/Shadowbane is sticking to his guns, planning to move into the Inquisitor at level 6 and possibly replace his mount with something. I don't know why, since it's pretty clear we'll be travelling a bit.

One new member is going Druid/Sorcerer, with the intent of moving into Geomancer ASAP. I have already recommended Druid 3/Sorcerer 1 (Precocious Apprentice, maybe Practiced Spellcaster to catch up to Druid)/Mystic Theurge 1 at start so she can prestige at the same time as the Paladin and progress both spell lists at once.

The other newbie is apparently going straight Rogue for now, having never played.

Finally, since we now already have a Druid, my Hengeyokai (Koi) Samurai has been requested by the DM. The only nonhuman as of now.

So, with the classes and races, is there anything I should suggest while staying relatively simple for the newcomers and optimization-shy DM?

[ChaoticDitz]

Well, a party of Warforged is QUITE solid, but that's probably not what you meant.

Optimization or no, unique items are always a great defining trait for characters; try to coax your DM into letting some of you have non-Good Ancestral Relics or let mr. Fallen Paladerp get an evil blade similar to the Holy Avenger (I think that's actually a thing but I don't have the source on hand so I couldn't tell you the name).

[Tetraplex]

Well, being a Samurai gets me a pseudo-Ancestral Relic as a class feature, but I'll certainly run the unique item angle by him. As for PalaDerp, I'm not honestly sure where he expects to go, alignment-wise and the alignment system was not built to handle ambiguity like the Inquisitor anyway, so he might stay Good unless he does take Blackguard.

Actually, that raises a couple of questions:

*Inquisitor levels stack with Paladin to determine Blackguard bonuses, but 11+ levels of Paladin allow one to trade ten of those levels for Blackguard levels. Does this allow Inquisitor levels to be traded?

*Is there any benefit to going, say, {Paladin 5/Inquisitor 10>Trade 10 levels and then reach 20>Blackguard 10/Inquisitor 10}?