Class Popularity (NOT power!)

[blue_fenix]

Plenty of arguments abound about class power, but what do you actually find fun to play? e.g. what is your favorite Core class, favorite other base class, fave prestige class, etc? What do you dream of playing but never got to? Also, what do you think are the most popular classes? I've been surprised by how often I see recruitment threads on here with three and four melee builds being offered.

I don't really have particular favorite classes because I've only played a few so far, but I have a few specific dream characters:

Dragonfire Adept - only got to play this to level 3ish before a party wipe, and half that time we were fighting fiendish monsters so my fire breath did NOTHING. I really want a chance to play this at higher levels.
Kensai (complete warrior) specializing in two-ended sword - I know TWF is non-optimal, but something about this idea just calls to me as highly Awesome
Shadowcaster - Love the flavor of this class, love the interesting spell options, hate hate hate the way WoTC made Tome of Magic so underpowered (except a few binder exploits of course). Worst part of shadowcaster is that at levels 1 through 6 you literally have a number of spells per day equal to your level, excluding 0th level.

[Dhavaer]

Favourite classes are Duskblade, Hexblade, Warblade and Psychic Warrior. Favourite prestige classes are things like Abjurant Champion and Suel Arcanamach.
Favourite core class would probably be Ranger or Bard.

I like the Shadowcaster too, but full casters aren't really my thing. Arrow of Dusk actually does quite a bit to keep them up to scratch for the first few levels, as long as you don't find too many undead or constructs.

[Krellen]

I'm boring. My favourite class is, and always has been through every edition of D&D, the Cleric. Usually Dwarven.

[nerulean]

While this will probably label me as a social outcast forever more, I have to say I rather enjoy playing paladins: from lawful anal to chaotic righteous and the somewhat more subtle variations in between, I've had a lot of fun with good-aligned paladins.

[talsine]

I'd say bard if i could count my Iron Kingdoms Trollkin varient bard. He fronted the worlds first metal band. Metal + Steampunk + Bards that yells = WIN!!

but in most games i'd say either Wizard (i have a thing for Neromancers) or Dark Companion Hexblades.

[blue_fenix]

While this will probably label me as a social outcast forever more, I have to say I rather enjoy playing paladins: from lawful anal to chaotic righteous and the somewhat more subtle variations in between, I've had a lot of fun with good-aligned paladins.

It's really too bad what has happened to paladin. Paladin, in my opinion, is very much like what is stated explicitly about Kensai in CW, a powerful class intended to challenge the player with interesting roleplaying requirements. Unfortunately, Paladin doesn't actually stand out all that much in power in the final analysis (especially post-ToB), and there aren't really enough mature roleplayers out there to give paladin the good name it deserves.

[psychoticbarber]

My favourite character to play thus far was a Lawful Evil Enchanter, though I quite like Bards and Rogues in core, Scouts and Swordsages outside of core, and as far as prestige classes go, all bets are off.

[Shas aia Toriia]

I like druids. Yes, I realize this isn't power, but the concept is just so great, with animal companions (one time I swindeled a phoenix into being my animal companion), the restrictions on weapons and armor (causing me to always be an elf), I love it all.

I also like the Hierophant, and the Favored Soul.

[Fax Celestis]

This should be no surprise to anyone: Spellthief.

[StickMan]

I love playing Druids and Barbarians both alot of fun. I have a Ranger that I built for Archery that dealt more damage than the party spell caster. We only got to 6th level though (Well I got to 7th because I showed up to every session and was the best roleplayer), but I had a build worked out that may have allowed me to keep up, OK it involved a homebrew PRC but still that gave me an extra set of arms and powerful build, it was making me slowly become an Arrow Demon. This was fun of course because I was playing a Lawful Good Knight (Title not class), who would flip out at times do to demonic influence.

Also I want to play a Gestalt Cleric(Positive energy)//Dread Necromancer. Just need a DM that will not call the creation of undead not automatically evil and running a Gestalt game.

[Reel On, Love]

Swordsage. Swordsages are freakin' awesome.

[Tellah]

A generalist wizard. I'm not talking about power here, mind you--I'd play the wizard class even if it were weaker than a one-armed monk. Even if the DM banned all save-or-suck and save-or-lose spells, I'd still love 'em. I just love the utility spells! Levitate, tenser's floating disk, knock, web, spider climb, mount, minor creation--no other class, other than perhaps a well-prepared skillmonkey, allows for the same degree of lateral thinking and unorthodox solutions to problems.

[Rachel Lorelei]

I'm in love with the Beguiler.

[13_CBS]

Hmm...I don't have enough experience with D&D to post a specific favorite class, but I've always wanted to play a Dragonborn with the Heart feature.

[PaladinBoy]

I like playing paladins; moral questions and issues interest me greatly. I just love being a beacon of Good in the world, inspiring others with powerful Good and honor. I also like being a counterexample to the Lawful Stupid smitebot paladin archetype.

Second up is a PrC, the windwright captain. Because being able to guide an elemental bound airship from 2 miles away is just that much fun.

Next is the wizard. I don't care about power; in fact, I don't really like using many save-or-lose spells. My wizards are blasters and buffers. I just love the utility and the spellcasting.

[BardicDuelist]

I love the bard, but rogues and swashbucklers are a close second (I know you are all surprised).

Lloyd Alexander and Alexandre Dumas ruined me...

I am very interested in trying the Factotum now. It seems to have the whole intelligent jack-of-all-trades I like.

Spellthief is arguably my favorite class to use for NPCs. They tend to always throw players off.

[Kurald Galain]

I'm in love with the Beguiler.

Same here, it's just awesome.

I tend to play casters for the versatility (usually of the arcane kind), although I occasionally play a good skillmonkey instead (that'd probably explain why I love beguilers, as they're both). I had an awesome paladin character once, too. I've never even considered playing a fighter.

[Fax Celestis]

Spellthief is arguably my favorite class to use for NPCs. They tend to always throw players off.

Spellthieves are fun in general.

[Reel On, Love]

Same here, it's just awesome.

I tend to play casters for the versatility (usually of the arcane kind), although I occasionally play a good skillmonkey instead (that'd probably explain why I love beguilers, as they're both). I had an awesome paladin character once, too. I've never even considered playing a fighter.

Beguilers are awesome--highly useful in combat (without access to the most overwhelming spells, especially at higher levels) against almost everything (although, again, it fades at higher levels... but that's what Use Magic Device and Heighten Spell are for), and incredible outside of combat. Have you seen the Conceal Spellcasting and False Theurgy skill tricks in the Complete Scoundrel? So incredibly useful (Conceal especially).

But they are pretty damn girly.

[Wolf_Shade]

I'm fond of rogues and monks.

[Damionte]

Despite all my nay saying about them, I really like playing Monks, Warlockes and Dragonfire Adepts. I also enjoy Psions and Psychic warriors.

[Reel On, Love]

Why naysay Dragonfire Adepts? DFAs are like Warlocks, but GOOD--they make great battlefield controllers. Entangling Exhalation, coupled with the Slow Breath? Aw yeah, debuffs. Come to daddy.

[Ivellios]

Sorcerer. Elven sorcerer.
I like the fact that you can just go day by day with a sorcerer and not worry about too much besides where your next meal is comming from. You get more spells per day that wizards(but less actual respective spells) and you don't need to prepare them. You are flexable in the sense that you can cast any spell you know pretty much whenever. The simplicity allows you to concentrate on more important things, and the money that you don't spend on books and whatnot is better spent on stuff like magic stat enhancement items. Although you don't normally get too many skill points, your charisma score warrents you the position of party leader. There are plenty of prestige classes to pick from, and the requirements are usually easier to meet then you might think.

[tainsouvra]

I like spells and skills, in that order. The Wizard, who knows a lot of spells and has the Intelligence to get a decent number of skills, is a classic pick...I sometimes splash a level or two of Rogue on spellcasters who don't have many skill points to keep a nice balance.

[Tengu]

I like gishes - druids, clerics, wizards/eldritch knights (or another similar class), psions/slayers, psychic warriors. ToB classes are (probably) also cool, though I've only seen the stats of Warblade.

I like paladins as a concept, but not as much as a class (since they are rather underpowered, not counting crazy mounted charge builds) - a cleric or a crusader could also fit the fluff. Nevertheless, I salute people who play paladins the way they should - as bastions of valor and virtues, without a stick up their arses nor detect evil (in order to smite everything that reads as red, of course) constantly on. In today's world where everyone and their dog thinks that being a spineless anti-hero is hip, those who have morals are even cooler!
And I mean it.

[lotofsnow]

Oddly, my favorite class is usually the one I'm currently playing so...

Fighter, Beguiler, and Paladin of Tyranny(well, not playing that one yet, but will be soon).

[Artemician]

Definitely Warlock. Blowing stuff up in a myriad of different ways is always good.

Or failing that, some hard-hitting melee class like the Warblade or the Paladin. Because smashing stuff is FUN!.

[BardicDuelist]

Spellthieves are fun in general.

My DM hardly ever throws casters at us, and when he does they have the worst spell selection (when he plays, he is typically a barbarian, so I don't think he understands the nuances of magic and its uses as well as somone playing a spellthief would like). Because of that, it's not very fun.

[LotharBot]

I usually invent my own PrC's to fit my character.

I like ranger-rogues, clerics, and sorcerers. My first character was a fighter, so he'll always have a special place in my heart.

[Ailurus]

Another vote for paladins. They're my favorite overall, and I usually try to end up more like Hinjo then Miko (if I want 'hit it first, ask questions later' I'll just go barbarian or something).

Favorite prestige class (and my second favorite playstyle) would be the Duelist. Never tried playing a homebrewed version of it, but I think I'd like dashing swordsman too.