Simplest character

[smcmike]

What is the simplest effective character build?

"Simple" includes all aspects of character making and play, including source material, out of combat decision-making, bookkeeping, and tactics. "Effective" is a low bar - useful in a group of low op characters to level 10.

[Jormengand]

A sorcerer with a decent spell selection? You don't have to keep track of more spells than you can cast each day, and you're probably more effective than most people.

[Amphetryon]

Warlock is pretty much point and shoot, in one design type.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Straight barbarian. You don't have to be a charger to be a passable meleer in low-op.

[Uncle Pine]

I second Warlock: if you really want to keep it simple, the only two words you'll ever need to say are "Eldritch Blast". And you'll still be an effective character.

EDIT: Goblins settled in a cave near the city? Eldritch Blast!
The party's Rogue didn't show up for the session and there's a locked door? Eldritch Blast!
A herd of sheep is blocking the road? ELDRITCH BLAST!

[ExLibrisMortis]

If you have someone to tell you what spells/powers to use, a blasty psion, sorcerer or spontaneous cleric, with some hour/level buffs, can be very simple (a bit like a warlock, but with resource management). You keep track of power points (simple because it's one thing) or spell slots (multiple kinds, but you don't have to calculate power costs). Even at the easiest, though, I think warlocks still beat it, because of the completely at-will nature of invocations.

A warblade with a very small number of maneuvers that you actually use can be very simple. The Mountain Hammer line ignores DR, the White Raven Charge line ignores AoOs, Iron Heart Surge clears any effect with one maneuver, and Step of the Dancing Moth ignores difficult terrain and even water. Move, strike, recover, repeat. An idiot crusader is even easier (maneuver-wise, at least), as long as someone else builds it for you. You can use physical counters to represent delayed damage, say an abacus, with beads representing 1 hp and 5 hp. Or just ignore the mechanic.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I dunno; Warlock is pretty simple but its damage suffers without a bit of optimization. (Say, a one-level Binder dip and Hellfire Warlock).


I'll suggest the Horizon Tripper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?80415-The-Horizon-Tripper-%28Core-Melee-Build%29)-- core only, works at all levels, has passable combat stats and skills, and eventually gets a few supernatural tricks (dimension door every d4 rounds being the best).
Straight Barbarian is another good one, maybe eventually branching off into Bear Warrior or something. Adding a couple ACFs like Spirit Lion Totem, Wolf Totem, Spell Sense, Whirling Frenzy and Trapkiller can make you more varied and/or effective, but brings in more sources.
Scout is pretty dead-simple: grab a bow, multishot and improved skirmish and rock out-- you'll have solid damage, good skills, and few confusing mechanics. Again, a bit of dipping (Cloistered Cleric for Travel Devotion, Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian for Pounce, Ranger for a Swift Hunter build) can greatly increase effectiveness.
Any of the fixed-list casters are easy to build. Of the three, Warmage is probably the easiest to play.
Warlock, as mentioned, is the best simple-caster choice by miles. There are a few things you need to do if you want to do effective damage, though-- Eldrich Claws, Eldrich Glaive, Binder 1/Hellfire Warlock, and so on.
Dragonfire Adept is in the same boat as Warlock, but with the handicap that its actual use isn't immediately obvious. (They're not good at dealing damage, but they're fantastic debuffers)

[Harrow]

Along the same thread of logic that leads to the Warlock is the Dragonfire Adept. Sure, if you really want you can be a Dragonborn Mongrelfolk that uses a loophole to use a Dragon Compendium feat to qualify for Metabreath feats

OR

You could just be a dwarf, dump everything into Constitution, armor up and breathe away while still being reasonably effective. Armor interferes with your invocations, but if you just pick up out of combat invocations or ones with 24 hr duration you don't really care. In combat all you have to do is make sure your breath weapon covers as few allies and as many enemies (in that order) as possible. Don't worry about wading into combat, you've got good HP and good armor. You don't even have to make rolls, your opponents are forced to roll to defend. You aren't doing stellar damage, but it's consistent.

Again, you can play a more complicated one if you want. You decent skill points and some neat skills (bluff, diplomacy, intimidate, knowledge skills, use magic device) and potential synergy with invocations (Beguiling Influence, Draconic Knowledge, Magic Insight). You can pull out Entangling Exhalation. But you really don't need to worry about all that if you don't want to. If you want to play one simply and effectively, you've got one stat and one ability to worry about and that's it.

[smcmike]

Great suggestions all. Thanks.

I'm pretty well convinced blaster is the simplest concept. Melee combatants need to think more about tactics.

SRD builds are best. I'm thinking a halfling wilder with vigor and energy ray, with point blank shot, then psionic shot, psionic meditation. 1 pp for 5d6 damage at level 6, makes decision-making pretty easy.