[PF] What do I play next?

[genderlich]

My fighter is almost certainly going to die next session as when it got so late we had to call it a night she was blind, prone, and at 0 HP within reach of a dire wolf and an owlbear. So I'm rolling up a backup character to bring in just in case. Problem is, I have no idea what to play.

I have to be able to fill a melee role as the party consists of a squishy arcane trickster, two archers, and a sorcerer, and I prefer heavy armored Str-based melee people over Dex-based ones. Other than that... I'm lost. I've grown so tired of min-maxed characters that just do one basic thing really well (DPS, combat maneuvers, intimidate, etc.) and I like to have more options in combat than "move, full attack, repeat", but I hate keeping track of a full caster's spell list. I also kind of want to play a "weird" race like kobold, gnoll, duergar, etc. basically anything other than core and planetouched races.

I think I have option fatigue from oversaturation of looking at the SRD for hours on end and having played Pathfinder for 10 years I've done most everything that appeals to me, because I can never come up with builds anymore. We're level 7. What the hell should I play?

[Particle_Man]

What about Paladin? They fight, they heal, they smite, they cast a few spells (but not too many), etc. They have a main job but they can branch out a little.

If evil campaign I guess anti-paladin? Blighted Myrmidon and Tyrant (so long as you go for the magic weapon gift, you are not in conflict between archetypes) gets you an LE anti-nature dude (which is usually more feasible than an "I smite good for some reason!" CE guy for party cohesion and usefulness). Could be kinda different.

As for the race, it depends on how weird you want to get (and what your DM allows). Hobgoblin is a nice standard one. Orcs are strong.
Getting a little weirder, Centaurs can charge with lances, which is pretty cool.

[Rynjin]

Paladins are awesome. If you want to to even further afield, Inquisitors are a grab bag of amazing tricks. They fight well, have a ton of skill points, and have a versatile spell list.

6 casters in general are perfect for versatile, but still good at fighting characters.

[Ellrin]

Alchemists can make pretty good bruisers if you go with a Jekyll and Hyde build, while also having a nice bag of tricks both in and out of combat in the form of bombs and extracts.

Doubt you’re interested in going full T1, but I love the Nature Fang druid archetype for versatile characters. You give up wildshape, which seems counterintuitive for a frontline druid, but in return you get studied target (+1/4 level attack and damage, basically making up for the 3/4 BAB), +1d6 sneak attack (pretty minor by itself, but you can use it to qualify for other things), and a slayer talent every two levels starting at 4th—which lets you access ranger style feats (early access to a lot of standard combat feats) as well as what amounts to fighter feat progression if you dump your slayer talents into Rogue talents like Combat trick and Feat. Combine that with the shifting jerkin and you can redefine a huge portion of your feats over the course of a few days, letting you change from, e.g. a more caster oriented build to a bruiser, melee debuffer, or ranged as long ad you have some downtime. Plus you still have 9th level casting, and an animal companion/domain/druidic herbalism.

Granted, you have to use non-metal special materials to get good armor, but you also have barkskin and stoneskin, so whatever. And druids have no restrictions on using metal weaponry, so you’re fine there.

[vasilidor]

fighters, barbarians, cavaliers and samurai are the only core non ranged combatants without spells. If you want a good combatant that is not one of those things and is not a spell caster (or something resembling a spell caster) I recommend giving spheres of might a review.

ooh, almost forgot about slayer and brawler from advanced class guide.

with spheres of might there is a way of giving any character an animal companion, and keeping it on par with you called the beastmaster sphere. take it, do a few things with the athletics sphere and the guardian sphere or some such. you might enjoy it.

[Maat Mons]

I've long thought a Samsaran with Mystic Past Life would be interesting.

Alternately, you could play a Grippli named Jeremiah who speaks with an incomprehensible accent and drinks copious amounts of wine.

[Kurald Galain]

I have to be able to fill a melee role as the party consists of a squishy arcane trickster, two archers, and a sorcerer, and I prefer heavy armored Str-based melee people over Dex-based ones. Other than that... I'm lost. I've grown so tired of min-maxed characters that just do one basic thing really well (DPS, combat maneuvers, intimidate, etc.) and I like to have more options in combat than "move, full attack, repeat", but I hate keeping track of a full caster's spell list.

How do spontaneous casters sound? Get a shorter list of spells known, but still a lot of versatility. Hunter does a good job at this, as does a Magus with the Eldritch Scion archetype. Also, I second the Paladin (possibly with a dip in Oracle for non-action healing) and nature fang Druid.

What I find works well for "build fatigue" is either to pick a bizarre archetype and find a way to make it work; or start by defining your character's personality and then take only build options that fit with that.

[Albions_Angel]

I've long thought a Samsaran with Mystic Past Life would be interesting.

Alternately, you could play a Grippli named Jeremiah who speaks with an incomprehensible accent and drinks copious amounts of wine.

"Jeremiah was a Grippli" DUH DUH DUH "CHA higher than mine" DUH DUH DUH "I never understood a single word he spoke, but I helped him with a skin of wine!"

That is all.

[Elricaltovilla]

What books do you have access to? What sources are you allowed to use? Is third party material allowed?

Paladin and ranger are both strong choices for front line combatants. Paladin can tank like a boss with swift action self healing, while the ranger can use their animal companion as a flanker and secondary tank. Both have access to spells for some versatility.

Warpriests are stronger spellcasters than paladins and only slightly less tough. They get some silly abilities at higher levels like swift action summon monster and can provide battlefield control spells. Alchemist can be a very strong bruiser thanks to their mutagen ability and other extracts for self (and later team) buffing.

You do have options.

[Particle_Man]

Come to think of it, Centaur has a Cavalier archetype (charger)

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/other-races/more-races/monstrous-races-21-30-rp/centaur/

[geekintheground]

if PoW is on the table, you could go w/ a warder. theyre full on front line and have plenty of options w/o being an overwhelming number like a caster.

[Ssalarn]

If 3pp is on the table, the zodiac (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/zodiac) with the solar orbit is an effective frontliner with a more diverse toolset that let's you do things other than just swing away.

If you need to stick to Paizo products, the hunter can be a really interesting class who fulfills the melee role effectively while also having a fair number of skills and mid-casting.

[ngilop]

Paladin is good, plus if you are worried about spells you can pick up 3 archetypes which replace spells


Divine Guardian: (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo-paladin-archetypes/divine-guardian-paladin-archetype/) Pick a person and be a body guard (not really worth it)

Virtuous Bravo: (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo-paladin-archetypes/virtuous-bravo-paladin-archetype/) Get the swashbucklers panache and deeds class features (pretty decent if you don't want to cast spells)

Warrior of the Holy Light: (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo-paladin-archetypes/warrior-of-the-holy-light) Channel lay on hands (which you get bonus uses) to do cool with with light, like restore ability damage, holy aura, or blast evil (not really worth it)


BUT there is one that i think you'd like
Chosen One: (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo-paladin-archetypes/chosen-one-paladin-archetype) Give up holy bond to get an improved familiar which smite when you smite, can can lay on hands and channel energy on their own.

[the_david]

I was going to suggest a reach cleric, but you're not interested in full casters. The party does seem to be in need of a divine spellcaster, though.

I'm also going to suggest 3rd party material, because you've played almost everything that appeals to you. I think Spheres of Power would be a good choice for you. Even better, if you slap the Sphere Cleric archetype on that reach cleric you'd have a decent character. At level 7 you'd get 4 talents from the Life Sphere, which could help you cure blindness, for example. You'd get 2 talents from spheres associated with your domains. You'd also get 5 talents to choose as you like. I'd advice you to go for the Alteration Sphere and the Size Change talent. That would allow you to turn into a huge humanoid, which would be a great start for a reach cleric.

[Eldonauran]

TWO archers, a arcane trickster (which I assume is ranged), and a sorcerer? Well, ouch. You need melee backup.

Personally, I'd try to fill in the two niches that you have missing: A frontline combatant and a healer. I'd do it with two bodies, yourself and a companion creature. Out of all the choices that you have for those options, I'd steer you towards a Spirit Binder Summoner. You can spec yourself out for combat, and your Eidolon as well. If you pick the Life Spirit and the Agathion subtype for the Eidolon, you'll have Channeling and at level 8, your eidolon will have lay on hands. Plus, you get access to Hexes and some half decent buff spells.

But, that's just how I'd approach the situation. I like flexible characters.

[NomGarret]

I’d recommend dipping your toes into the 3pp pool if you haven’t done so yet. After 10 years whatever you haven’t played yet isn’t going to be all /that/ different from what you have. Some quick suggestions:

Aegis (Ultimate Psionics) - reconfigure your armor on the fly to self-buff and respond to different scenarios. Doesn’t have a whole lot to break out of the basic attack routine unless you also incorporate other systems.

Warder (Path of War) - There are other classes that would work but this one is particularly tanky and easy to wrap your head around. Where the Aegis is going to shuffle around your passive abilities, the Warder gives you a bunch of maneuvers to cycle through.

Daevic (Akashic Mysteries) - A spirit is riding along with you and giving you a pool of power you can shift around every round. Go with Domination, or Wrath if you want to claw some face.

Spheres of Might - No one class jumps above the others, because they’re all so customizable. Armiger lets you Swiss Army knife different fighting styles. Blacksmith lets you sunder like a beast and buff your companions. Sentinel is particularly defense-focused. Conscript is as open-ended as Fighter. The whole system lets you grab a variety of tricks that all build off the mechanics you already know and break the full attack cycle.

Earth Elemental - Or any monster class, really. The earth elemental cane to mind as it rises from the ground where your old character died and may be her reincarnation, it’s hard to say. But yeah, if you want to play a weird race, go ahead and play a weird race.

Treat yourself. You’ve earned it.

[Psyren]

I'd go with Warpriest in a group like that. 7 is a nice place to start since you'll just be getting access to 3rd-level spells.