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View Full Version : Which 3.5 Class is the Most Fun to Play?



Chronicled
2008-05-17, 04:10 AM
Which 3.5 class (base or prestige) have you had the most fun playing?


For this thread, I'd prefer that we stuck to WotC published classes. (Much of my group is anti-homebrew, and I'm trying to decide on a class for what might be our last 3.5 campaign for a while. I'm considering a pirate captain rogue/swashbuckler Daring Outlaw, but I'm unusually indecisive about it.)

Kol Korran
2008-05-17, 04:24 AM
i'm realy a bad choice, sincei like to play so many of them (when i'm a player, i mostly DM). most of my choices are defined by roleplay aspects though. anyway, if i must choose favorties then i'd go with:

1. cleric/ favoured soul: i like the aspect of fiath, belief, and so on. i do not tend to optimize much though
2. rogue/ bard: extremley versatail in his options (and the source of it's options- not just spells)
3. barbarian: for when you realy liek to just smash.

that's me anyway. but i realy think you many concepts fit many classes, and can be played well.
Kol.

Dhavaer
2008-05-17, 04:32 AM
I prefer Duskblades, Hexblades and Warblades. WotChan seem to give good classes *blade names.

KIDS
2008-05-17, 04:34 AM
By both roleplaying ideas, openess to reflavoring and in-game options (not power - at least not by power above what is considered reasonable power appropriate to your level), I'd choose these three:

1. Druid
2. Warblade
3. Psion

Rachel Lorelei
2008-05-17, 04:45 AM
The Beguiler. I love the Beguiler. It's like they made it for me.

You've got plenty of options at all times. You're a powerhouse in combat, most of the time (save-or-lose output, with slightly higher DCs than a wizard since you can afford Spell Focus and have Surprise Casting), and you aren't helpless against mind-immune things either (Silent Image, Glitterdust, Haste, Slow, Solid Fog, etc). You've got 6+INT skills--and you're an INT-based caster. You've got a great, full skill list, and you can be the party face (or just a charming scoundrel) on top of covering traps and scouting. You can be sneaky and stealthy, or flashy and fancy.
It's a great class.

The only problem... why is Prestidigitation not one of their cantrips? Why?

Makkura42
2008-05-17, 04:52 AM
I just love the Barbarian class. Simple, straightforward, SMASH etc. Rage is a lifesaver, and if you can end the battle quickly enough, you don't have to worry about the penalties you suffer afterward. Not to mention the eventual damage reduction... :smallbiggrin:

Kizara
2008-05-17, 04:53 AM
Personally, I can never play too much cleric.


Really, the class has everything I want in it unless I have a very specific concept (which is often "man, I should play something other than cleric for once")

As a cleric, you get:

Great RPing: Religion, exploring your faith/spirituality, preaching, exploring your moral compass, fulfilling your duties/championing your cause.

Presence: Between control spells, combat ability, healing and good AC/HP you really wade a path in battle. You are the rock that holds the party together.

Support: Healing, buffs, status removal, utility, what's not to love? You may not be Batman, but you can make do if you are creative (although not as astoundingly as batman if he's also creative).

Novaing fun: Sure, you have a decent amount of sustainability (assuming you didnt do DMM persist, then ignore this statement), but your real joy is casting 4-12 buffs before a fight (depending on level), and wading in with all the righteous wrath and power of your god flowing through your viens. NOTHING can stop you or stand before you!

And with this comes: Leadership. When you are the rock, the moral compass and the light of hope to your party, it becomes natural for you also to be their leader. Lead the faithful to victory.

Clerics: Winning DnD when the druid wasn't around and having alot more interesting RP since 3.5 ed.

Kurald Galain
2008-05-17, 04:54 AM
Beguiler.
Rogue.
Wizard.
Warlock.

DrowVampyre
2008-05-17, 04:55 AM
Warlock was hands down my favorite to play, though I want to try other Warlock-esque ones too (Dragonfire Adept, as well as the ToB classes with their semimagical, unlimited but needing refreshment powers). Druid was probably my second favorite, although I used my spells almost exclusively for summoning. Sorcerer would come in at number 3...spontaneous casting is just sooooo much more fun than prepared for me (only reason the Druid gets number 2 is that spells were always useful because I could drop crappily prepared ones for summons, and wildshape gave me a bunch of options). I've always wanted to try a Psion, but never had a chance...I suspect they'd be at number 2, but without actual experience, I'm hesitant to put them there.

Illiterate Scribe
2008-05-17, 04:57 AM
I can never play too many Artificers. The sheer joy of pulling any fourth level spell out of your hat, any armour/weapon enhancement, at a moment's notice makes them basically the Garry's Mod of the base classes.

Solo
2008-05-17, 05:01 AM
http://www.geneticanomaly.com/RPG-Motivational/slides/sorceror.jpg

Generic Archer
2008-05-17, 05:13 AM
i've always had fun with rouges because you can customise them to do anything you want. want a character that can hide in a shadow the size of a dime, no problem... talk themselves out of anything, no problem... anything you want in terms of skills a rouge can provide

Swordguy
2008-05-17, 05:15 AM
1. Fighter (Hit stuff with a stick)
2. Paladin (Hit stuff with a stick while screaming "REPENT!")
3. Ranger (Solely because I got to use the frelling awesome Reaper "Dwarven Bear Cavalry" miniature)
4. Sorcerer (At last...freedom from having to choose spells every day!)
5. Warmage (What is it? I blow it up. > I invoke Celerity/Time Stop/WTFPWN Combo-of-the-week)

bosssmiley
2008-05-17, 05:34 AM
^ This is truth! :smallbiggrin:

Swashbuckler (of course)
Warblade - swashbuckler + extra egomania
Crusader - Paladin without the squabblicious Paladin's Code baggage
Barbarian - "Thog SMASH!" :thog:
Druid (PHB2 variant) - Nature's Transformer

axraelshelm
2008-05-17, 05:56 AM
Wizards, clerics, sorcerors gimmee spells of ultimate power!!! I'll shall use all the enviormental help I can to rip through the enemies lines. Crush them all of them!

Jerthanis
2008-05-17, 06:03 AM
It's between Swordsage or Wizard.

Swordsage because it has dozens and dozens of build options representing a huge variety of flavors and personalities, and also allowing for choices and options in combat and out.

Wizard because the frail, bookish archetype is one of my favorite in fiction. Mentors, plot aides, silly sidekicks... they're almost always awesome. Also, there is a huge number of cool spells around.

Swooper
2008-05-17, 06:34 AM
For me? Wizards. The different ways to play them are damn near infinite, what with all the different spells around. Like the poster above me, I'm fond of the archetype. Second choice would be warblade - melee powerhouse with more options than 'hmm, how much do I powerattack for this round'.

Call me a poor roleplayer but I've never been able to play a cleric or other religious type confidently. Maybe because I'm such a firm atheist myself. One day I'll try a cleric though, maybe refluffing it as a shaman or something would make it easier.

Tengu
2008-05-17, 06:38 AM
I've never played DND, but I'm sure I'd like one of the ToB classes most. Melee + power level competetive with casters + options other than "I hit it", "I trip it" and "I hit it harder" = win.

Xuincherguixe
2008-05-17, 06:43 AM
Psion seems like it could be awfully fun. Melt people's brains and such.

Fri
2008-05-17, 06:44 AM
Bard

...What? I love playing bard. I played bard more than anything else in DnD. They're fun to play, and have various way to play it.

Jarlax
2008-05-17, 08:21 AM
two come to mind, the warblade and the beguiler.

the warblade for me was what fighters in 3.5 should be like (and more or less will in 4e) the fighter for me, no matter how many supplements granted them new feats, was just boring. a fighter can be summarised as a collection of feats and nothing more.

meanwhile here was the warblade, he gets his weapon feats, but he is a master of all weapons, he can change his weapon feats to any weapon of his choosing. he gets bonus feats too, but they are spaced between additional class features. maneuvers aside it was still a better class than a traditional fighter. you could strip out manuvers, give them heavy armour proficientcy and full fighter feat progression and bonus feat selection instead of level -2. only the 20th level power would be affected and you would have a brilliant tank class.


then the begulier, just a decent, fun class. they released all those complete books saying things like "add a magical touch to your non-magical class" but here is the beguiler, a class that defines that concept. a touch of caster on a rouge.

Eldariel
2008-05-17, 08:30 AM
Sorcerer - Love the Dragon Heritage-flavour given by the feats; if only they didn't make 'em almost strictly worse than than Wizards.
Wizard - Highlevel Wizards are damn interesting to play due to everything they can do. And the bookworming stuff is fun too, as is knowing every damn thing.
Druid - May see a pattern here, but I really like characters that don't get boring with time and Druid probably has more options than any other class; spontaneous SUMMONS are the most versatile spells in the game, their main ability in Wildshape is one of the most open-ended abilities and they can have literally any Animal Companion.
Cleric - When I wanna play a demigod, this is my choice. I'm a direct link to my divinity and I have the asssmashery to show for it.
Unarmed Swordsage - Whenever I want to be a martial artist. I absolutely adore the huge maneuver count of Swordsages; makes 'em very interesting to play.
Bard - Yes, they're awesome. Jack of All Trades, and with some optimization, the King of All Trades.
Psion/Ardent - I don't really have a preference with these two, but I really prefer the Psionics rules over the Magic-rules. The multitude of uses and the versatility of Psionics is friggin' awesome. I don't really love the classes as much as the rules.
Warblade - Yea, when I wanna play a normal warrior, or an archer. This is my favourite class since it can make an impressively powerful Archer who just happens to be a skilled martial melee warrior too. Oh yeah, and I love the whole "smart Fighter"-concept a Diamond Mind-adept Warblade embodies.
Crusader - I find their recursion abilities pretty interesting, making for forced versatility in combat.
Factotum - They can do everything. They can either pull any class abilities from other classes! I love that part. Also, they have tons of other fun abilities without being overpowered.
Artificer - The epitome of doing WTF ever you want.
Archivist - The Divine Wizard.
Binder - The whole idea of being a guy who summons ancient powers, combines himself with them and gains power depending on the power he chose just screams "Awesome!"

Vortling
2008-05-17, 08:59 AM
I prefer clerics, followed closely by rogues. Sometimes you want to do some righteous ass whoopin', sometimes you want to be the sneaky sneak thief.

Curmudgeon
2008-05-17, 09:21 AM
Rogues, for the manifold options.

ShneekeyTheLost
2008-05-17, 09:40 AM
As with most, I have a list of classes I love to play...

Swordsage: I've always been an anime fan... I can just see my character actually yelling the maneuver name as he executes it, ala Street Fighter.

Warlock: Flavor aside, I love the mechanics. I've written a homebrew Bard, Arcanist, Priest, and Wylder (druid) incorporating these mechanics, I like them so much. Doing cool things all day long, even if they're not Batman-level broken things, is very fun.

Rogue. Specifically, Rogue/Sorc/Arcane Trickster. Just call me the Grey mouser.

Beguiler. See above. Less damage, more battlefield control and 'you can't see me'.

Bard. I've always had a love of music, and always been a fast-talking little hawker, so it comes naturally. Too bad the class mechanics are made of fail. Check out my homebrewed variant, though. It fixes most of the problems without being too broken.

Paladin/Crusader/Cleric. Really, I love them all for the same reason. Sometimes, you just want to ride your high horse, and these are the best classes to do it. Paladin and Crusader are more martial about it, Clerics are more into the converting the heathen than smiting them. Usually. Nothing beats walking up to the Litche BBEG, pulling a Holy Symbol, and shouting "By Pelor, BEGONE!!!" and Greater Turning the foul abomination into dust.

Warblade. "I am the ultimate combat machine. I combine martial prowess with tactical and strategic expertise and show you civvies how war is *really* supposed to be done"

Zeta Kai
2008-05-17, 09:46 AM
I suppose, like most people, it depends on what I'm looking for in my game at the moment. If I'm shooting for utter pwnage, I gravitate towards the CODzilla or the specialist Wizard. If I'm in a mood to kick in door & slaughter green people with my own hands, the Barbarian is hard to beat. If I'm in a drama-heavy campaign, with lots of intrigue & true role-playing, the Bard is the way to go.

But my favorite class has to be the Rogue, as it's versatility & skill-based abilities make for a diverse play experience that usually can't be gotten any other way. A well-equipped Rogue can fulfill most of the roles given above (although their pwnage is mostly situational), which is fantastic considering their lack of magic in an increasingly magic-oriented game.

Plus, I really dig sneaky, spying, double-crossy kind of games. Now, I just wish there was a real capstone for the Rogue. Oh, wait, there is (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a)!

Bosaxon
2008-05-17, 09:47 AM
A class by itself can be as fun or boring as I make it be. Therefore, to answer this, I have to look back at my funnest character and determine what made him funny

*looks over notebooks*

Dread Necromancer, for its character, Dread Kennesaw Mountain "Lefty" Landis. Without a doubt the single most evil character I will ever play, he just did every horrible thing with such...pizazz. Sure, with the Dread Necromaner you face a fairly limited spell list, but you can easily suppliment that creativity, intellect, and having a strike force of undead at your desposal. Tomb tainted soul means auto-heal, and the DR is awesome. How rarely do you face a magic warhammer? The imagery. DN is the only real Necromancer in D&D.

Xefas
2008-05-17, 11:01 AM
Crusader or Wizard for me.

Crusaders get access to my 3 favorite disciplines: Paladin, Hulk Smash, and Warlord. You usually get enough maneuvers to specialize in two of them, with dabbling in the third, and I usually go with Paladin/Warlord. Beating your enemies into a bloody mess while keeping your allies up, running, and buffed is just cool for me.

Wizards are just Wizards. They always have been and always will be awesome. There's just so much you can do with them, and when you're done doing it, your allies get the privilege of going around, mopping up the remainder of the blind, deaf, paralyzed, slowed, grappled enemies while you use Prestidigitation to flavor your trail rations like steak, or salmon, or lobster or whatever the heck you like.

Azerian Kelimon
2008-05-17, 11:06 AM
Factotum. Because It's THIS. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1c05_yXmaI)
Swordsage. Because badass mystic swordsmen never get old.
Wizards. No explanation needed.
Duskblade. See Swordsage.

Qanael
2008-05-17, 11:13 AM
I love rogues. I must have played 4 or 5 of them since I started D&D. I also have a ranged spellthief that I'm currently in love with, and am planning on playing Wizard if/when it gets killed.

I love the sneaky nature of the rogue (yes I know caster classes can do it better, but what can't they do better?), and its relatively complex and involved tactics in combat. +35 Tumble, ftw!

I started on a Spellthief after reading about it in Complete Adventurer and reading Fax's guide on these forums (awesome guide, btw) and I'm loving it. Sneak attack on a CR 18 critter at level 13 results in:

Me: "Give me a 6th-level spell."
DM: *rolls* "...Disintegrate".

The CR 18 critter was undead. It also had a CL of 25.

It's a really fun class, and I highly recommend people to try it if you like rogue-types with a little extra.

xPANCAKEx
2008-05-17, 11:22 AM
if we're talking PHB1 only then

rogue rogue rogue rogue rogue rogue

druid

and erm

rogue

John Campbell
2008-05-17, 01:31 PM
I've always been all about the fighter/magic-users and fighter/thieves. Interesting options + the ability to hand out a beating with the old beating stick if need be. Versatility for the win.

One of the very short list of things I like about 3.x is that I can do that without being a frickin' Keebler. On the other hand, 3.x has thrown out multi-classing and gone to dual-classing - which has never, ever worked right - for everyone, not just humans, so I get to spend several levels being useless at everything before the prestige classes start kicking in and push me up to just inferior at everything.

I played bards in 2E, too, but I don't like what 3.x did to them. 2E's were more a jack of all trades / traveling historian and storyteller than 3.x's console-game-esque "I want to SING!" bards.

I tend to play my mages buff-and-blast style... haste the party, then start laying down area-effect support fire, and, once everything's thoroughly softened up, throw up shield and wade into melee to help the primary fighter-types mop up. The only reason I don't play evokers is that I don't want to limit my flexibility by giving up two entire schools. Versatility, again, wins over specialization.

Rangers are good in 3.x, too. Full BAB, a nice sprinkling of interesting class features, and enough skill points and class skills that, unlike the fighter, they're useful outside of combat.

Indon
2008-05-17, 01:54 PM
I don't have a preference. They're all fun.

mabriss lethe
2008-05-17, 02:16 PM
I've found that all of the single school spontaneous casters are fun. Beguiler, Dread necromancer, yes, even the warmage is fun

Invokers like warlocks and DFAs probably push my buttons like no other caster class. They're just absurdly magically awesome. They're pretty much the only classes where you can be just darned frivolous about your magic. makes for some amazingly over-the-top characters who chose to fly everywhere instead of walk, use disembodied appendages to answer the door, etc.

I love the versatility of the bard class, but hate the flavor. pretty much all of my bards undergo a complete fluff overhaul before they hit a game.

Binders..they're just awesome.

Spiryt
2008-05-17, 02:29 PM
Rangers/ Preferably Rnager/Barbarians.

Rogues are great too.

FMArthur
2008-05-17, 07:08 PM
Chameleon is my favourite class ever. For a while I was getting bored with classes too easily after playing a Swordsage well enough for ToB to be banned from my group (:smallfurious:), going from Psychic Warrior to Fighter/Kensai to Scout/Ranger over the course of about a month. This time, I have no desire to switch characters, since I can switch roles so easily and effectively.

My other recommendation is Swordsage, which is an incredibly flexible, stylish and actually useful melee combatant.

Keld Denar
2008-05-17, 07:44 PM
Dragonfire Adept. Oh yea, this class is both versitile, and fun. All day battlefield control, damage, and utility. What more can you ask for? And DFAs do it all day long without tiring. Such a wonderful and versitile class.


I also like bards. Bardic badasses are amazing and fun to play. Splash together with Warblade or Crusader, and you've got a strong, yet fun, melee character to play.

Hadrian_Emrys
2008-05-17, 07:51 PM
I second the Mystic Swordsage. Best. Single. Class. EVER. It is so easy to be absolutely broken, yet a little tlc will make it all colors of fun.

Edit: The ability to "Alter Self" a warforged msytic swordsage into a wagon, and back, all day long is the single most magical feeling EVER. *sniff* "Transform and roll out!" *sniff* So beautiful...

Bag_of_Holding
2008-05-17, 08:00 PM
After all those years, Druid remains to be my favourite class. So much versatility and raw power to boot!

Behold_the_Void
2008-05-17, 08:06 PM
Swordsage, Warblade and Psion are probably my favorites.

lordofthe_wog
2008-05-17, 09:14 PM
Overpowered Fighter. Sure you need some pretty damn not-possible to get items, and a really good build, but there is something that makes me warm and fuzzy inside when I do good with a fighter.

Barbarian. I like smashing stuff. I SMASH HARD!

Warblade. As has been stated forty bajillion times before, this is what the fighter should have been.



Guess the pattern, win a prize.

Recaiden
2008-05-17, 09:47 PM
Psion, then
warlock or dragonfire adept,
and finally druid.

I've never actually played a rouge in 3.5. I always did in 1st and 2nd edition.:smallconfused:

Worira
2008-05-17, 09:48 PM
Psychic warrior. A new, awesomesauce power every level, plus plenty of feats.

Sanzh
2008-05-17, 10:54 PM
Warblade for me-- it's like a fighter, but fun.

happyturtle
2008-05-18, 04:44 AM
I'm having a blast with my cloistered cleric. Bardic knowledge + skill points out the wazoo + healing and buffing. I have every knowledge skill, am maxxed out in several, and my bardic knowledge (which we renamed Scholar's Knowledge) is very high due to taking Obscure Lore as a feat. Basically, unless I roll a one on a knowledge check, I generally know *something* about *everything*.

I play her as combat support only. She doesn't do the self-buff/wade-into-melee thing because it doesn't fit the character concept (and the party doesn't really need another combat monster) but someone who made different choices could easily make a cloistered cleric into a Badass Bookworm (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BadassBookworm).