Best class for max starting stats

[maniacalmojo]

Not a debate against already high tiers like wizard or druid but what is a low tier class or a MAD class that if they have perfect starting stats would shine much higher then others. Would a monk suddenly become amazing? Would a bard be badass?

[Vhaidara]

Monk still suffers from low BAB, low HP, low AC (yes, level 1 you have better if you have straight 18s, but as soon as full plate comes online you're behind).

I would say Paladin has a lot of potential. Barbarian could be good (skill list lets you use your Int).

Out of Core, I'd say Knight, Swashbuckler, Favored Soul, and Shapeshifter Druid would be fun with straight 16+

[ManicOppressive]

In my experience, Barbarians are the dominant force in level 1-3 settings already. They're going to have the most health, and often the highest AC as they're so SAD that they can dump extra points into Dex. If they got a boost to their abysmal saves, they'd be pretty unstoppable early on.

[Gavinfoxx]

I would say Divine Bard is very MAD, and is quite useful.

[sideswipe]

i have built a level 4 monk with perfect stats (18's all round) and i still look at its bonus to hit and say "a fighter/barbarian would still be much higher....."

[Dread_Head]

Cleric. It gives a good physical chassis for all your buffs to go on top of, int for skill points, a high casting stat and lots of turn attempts you'll want for divine feats.

Edit: Bards are already badass, max starting stats will just allow them to be badass in melee combat as well as at buffing, casting and ranged (don't quite need all max stats for bards to be good at melee but it certainly helps.)

[Coidzor]

I would say Divine Bard is very MAD, and is quite useful.

18 Strength gives 'em some damage if they want to bow it up, throw it up, or mix it up in melee.

18 Dex gives them enough AC after they put on armor that they should be about on par with what's expected of the melee types.

18 Con gives 'em HP equivalent to a 14 Con Cleric/Ranger/Druid or 10 Con Fighter, so they should be good for that level if they need to rub shoulders, and the size of their HD becomes less important as they level.

18 Int gives more skill points which is always nice, should have the Rogue beat, generally.

18 Wis gives the necessary oomph for divine bardness

18 Cha gives bardness.

So, yeah, if one wants a melee or archer divine bard or to go melee Savage Bard>Ur-Priest model zilla, all 18s works out pretty well there.

[Elderand]

Not a debate against already high tiers like wizard or druid but what is a low tier class or a MAD class that if they have perfect starting stats would shine much higher then others. Would a monk suddenly become amazing? Would a bard be badass?

the thing is, high starting stats don't matter that much past the first few levels. You can't afford to keep all the stats you need as high as possible by the end game because of WBL anyway. At best you end up with a couple point difference. Not that big a deal.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Good or even perfect stats don't even come close to being enough for a weak class to keep up with well played/designed Tier 1-2 characters with mediocre stats. After a few levels the perfect-stats-Monk is going to be only slightly better than the mediocre-stats-Monk, while the mediocre-stats-spellcasters have buffed themselves way beyond what the perfect-stats-Monk has.

A character with perfect stats starting out would probably be most fitting as a Human (Cloistered) Cleric of Zarus (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20041203a), or failing that a Favored Soul of Zarus.