Can't live without them

[SnowleopardVK]

I was wondering which classes are the most common among people's groups, across all the (D&D or D&D-ish) games you play.

I got the idea when thinking about this in terms of the groups I've been part of. I expected it to be one of the healing classes. We play Pathfinder, and oracles are popular, but of course clerics are always classic.

After a some thought though, I realized that the split between those healingclasses it relatively even, and when one appears in a party, the other generally doesn't The class that appears almost without-fail (in fact our current game is the only one we've not had one in) is the rogue. We've had more rogues than we've had parties, I think that's the only class I can truthfully say that about.

Score one for paranoia I suppose. Players fear the wrath of the deathtrap.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

In every FRPG I've ever played, someone plays a dedicated arcane caster.

 

[KiloGex]

I've actually been pretty lucky in having creative players that choose different classes almost every time. I've run 5 campaigns in 2 years with a total of 33 characters, and the only repeating class that I have ever had was a druid, of which there's been 3.

However, it does seem that the most popular class played from groups I've witnessed has been the rogue, as well. I myself have played 5 of them, half of the total characters I've played. Plus out of my friends who also play I know that there's been at least 1 rogue in every campaign. It's probably because they are so skillful and are the easiest to place into nearly any roll on the field and in RP. Versatility is very alluring.

 

[Gilladian]

My PCs don't like to play clerics, so the NPC of the group is always the healer... and the rogue has died more often than anyone, so we are on our third rogue... but otherwise I'd have to say my players always go for base classes. Nobody ever dips into the PHII or other splatbooks. I sometimes wish they would!

 

[fireinthedust]

Oddly enough i'm finding Paladins are pretty popular: heavy armor, lots of weapons, and they can self-heal. Given that my games are infrequent due to scheduling, we don't often get past 7th level, meaning they're a very front-heavy class for our campaigns. In both 3e and 4e I've had at least one.

Rogues are usually there, but I don't see a great number of them in each group. Usually gnome rogues, too, or some other short class.

 

[steeldragons]

Fighters, Clerics, Magic-users and Thieves.

It's not a D&D game without, at least, these four. Can't live without 'em.

For personal enjoyment and flavor I'll add:
Rangers, Druids, Paladins...hmmm...yeah, those are really the only ones I'd say "can't live without" flavor-wise in a D&D game.

Assassins and Illusionists would be the third tier...

annnnd...I guess that would leave:
Barbarians, other Specialist mages, Bards, Shamans, Monks, Psionicists and pretty much any/all Prestige Classes as the least "necessary" classes from my perspective.

--SD

 

[BryonD]

There always seems to be a Barbarian in my group.
But that just comes down to multiple players who like them.

Current group:
Witch
Rogue
Bard
Paladin (just died, Inquisitor replacement next session)
Barbarian

 

[aco175]

There is always the big four as clasic classes and it could be argues that the rest are sub-classes or combo classes/hybrid classes.

I would like 4e to combine classes better, or at least have better multiclassing rules. Something like the swordmage class, but have a swordthief, and a swordcleric (paladin)? I always liked wizard/thief as a combo and a class dedicated to this would be cool. The problem is having it be similar to my concept of what a mage/thief would be like. I guess this is where the subclass comes in.

There may also be an arguement on too many classes and power creep with the new classes. I like more choices myself, but would want to limit choices for new players as to not overwhelm them. I also ran into a problem with setting up a new group when some of the players did not know which roles the classes fit into.

 

[Bedrockgames]

All the core 3E classes get pretty even representation. The ones I probably see the least of are the Druid and Paladin.

 

[Wiseblood]

Wizard, specialist or not is the most common pc class I have seen. Rogue is second due to mortality rate. Ranger, Fighter, Barbarian and Cleric all about even. Paladin and Druid come next. With Bard and Monk coming in last.