Help! Entering a new group.....

[Thresher]

Try a druid?
They can sort of heal, sort of fight and sort of annoy people with spells if you wanted a bit of versitility. Though I think you could pretty much play any type of wiz and help out that area.

 

[Nifft]

Munchkin Concepts

Elven Bard Archer -> Arcane Archer

Here's a fun one: LG Human Sorcerer1 -> Paladin -> Dragon Disciple (Gold)
Take "True Strike" and "Feather Fall" for your Sorcerer spells.

LN Monk1/Druid -- high AC in animal form! And Evasion!

CG Elf Cleric with the Elf (FRCS) and War Domains -- a classic

-- Nifft

 

[Surefoot]

The cleric is good for he (or she) is

a) tough, doesn't die very well
b) useful for the party, players will love u
c) can do nice stuff

but

d) generally viewed as some sort of automated healing/negating bad conditions item

if you can see past d) then i'd say go cleric. at 11th lvl consider contemplative from dotf

 

[KnowTheToe]

I vote for the druid, they can be very fun becuase of ther versatality and no one is depending on you to fill a specific role. You can fill the gaps or take the lead, your choice.

 

[shilsen]

An elven bard archer? Uh...why is that a good idea?

Imagine the surprise on the other players' faces when they hear what your character is. Smile secretly to yourself as they try to hide their disdain. Burst out laughing as they see your incredible effectiveness with a GMW-ed bow and arrows, backed up by bardic music to enhance the entire party, enchantment spells to charm and dominate opposing monsters, bardic knowledge about all kinds of strange subjects, and incredible diplomatic skills.

Or you could just play a druid and animal growth your dire bear companion

 

[Nail]

Munchkin Concepts

Elven Bard Archer -> Arcane Archer

Here's a fun one: LG Human Sorcerer1 -> Paladin -> Dragon Disciple (Gold)
Take "True Strike" and "Feather Fall" for your Sorcerer spells.

LN Monk1/Druid -- high AC in animal form! And Evasion!

CG Elf Cleric with the Elf (FRCS) and War Domains -- a classic

-- Nifft

See, now this is what I was talkin' about: the board is way smarter than I am....err, wait. Okay, Nifft is waaaay smarter than I am. Thanks. Thanks to the rest of you too!

Unfortunately, neither I nor th' DM have FRCS, so th' elf domain is out. (And I've got no idea what it does.)

Why Feather Fall for the DD?

shilsen
The bard archer idea sounds better and better....what about a Human Brd 1/Clr 2? When can I get into that Arcane Archer class?

surefoot said:
"if you can see past d) then i'd say go cleric. at 11th lvl consider contemplative from dotf"

I can "see past" that last point. I've now seen them play: they need an "auto-healer". And contemplative is on the list for sure.....but I do want to continue to be effective when turning UD. Contemplative doesn't give that too, does it?

 

[Zad]

Unless sorcerer is only a sideline for that Sor/Clr, you're going to be really underpowered in the healing department. A multiclass cleric has a hard time keeping up. I'd suggest cleric or maybe druid to add oomf in that department.

 

[Nail]

So....we had our (or rather: my) first meeting last night.

The group was finishing up The Sunless Citadel. They had taken out the major baddies, so I only got to see a bit of combat. Mostly, we just sat around and talked.

I now have "complete info" on the group (in case you're interested):

• 
  Half-Elven Sor 2/ Clr 1: He took the cleric level at 3rd "Because we needed some healing!". The player isn't really into strategy or maximizing, or anything like that....so the power-down in the arcane magic department wasn't a big deal for him.
  
  Elven Alt.Ranger 3: He's played by the pre-teen son of one of the players...and boy does he "wanna kill things!" I'm thinking he should have been a Barbarian. This guy is going to be the one that rushes into room, pulls unknown levers, yells alot, and touches evil altars. You know the type, eh? We'll have our hands full.
  
  Human Fighter 3: She also likes killing things (which ain't a bad thing, I warrant....), but she's a bit more cautious. Her fighter is not really maximized either, since she's fairly new to 3e. the player's been playing D&D since 1e, tho' (and I mean one "e"!).
  
  Halfling Rogue 3: Definitely the "brains" of the bunch, in that he keeps track of the party inventory, gives the party reasonable directions, and knows a bit about position's role in combat. In this group he's generally the front-line fighter! He gets in there, hacks with his magical halfing pick, and lets the goblin peices fall where they may. As an added benefit, the player knows when sneaking is appropriate too. Good thing, that.

...and then there's me. I've finished the rolling part, but not the final touches. Comments are very welcome!

Rolled Stats (4d6, drop lowest): 17, 16, 14, 14, 14, 12
Starting level: 3
Starting gold: 2700gp

I'm gonna stick with a straight cleric, I think........I'd like the higher level spells, and the party needs magic badly. I'll be doing a Cleric of Luck and Sun, with an archer emphasis, if possible. I think I'm shooting for the Sacred Exorcist PrC in DotF....but I've not seen the cleric PrCs in FRCS or Quint:Cleric. I'm open to suggestions.

What I'm truely stuck on is the feats:
Either...

• 
  Scribe Scroll
  Craft Wondrous Item
  Point Blank Shot
  Rapid Shot
  Extend Spell

Of course, as a 3rd level PC, and an elf, I get only two of these.....ideas? (Should I take 1 level of fighter? Be a human for an extra feat????)

 

[Airwolf]

My Suggestion

Here is the character I would design:

Stat Block
Fred the Bard, Human, Brd3;
CR 3; Medium Humanoid; 5'x5'/5';HD 3d6+6; hp 19;Init +3; Spd 0/x0;AC 12(+2 dex);Atk +4 Must be 2-handed (1d8,×3, Composite Longbow), +5 Within 30' (1d8+1/×3, Composite Longbow), +3 One-handed (1d4+1/19-20/×2, Dagger);SV Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +5; AL N;Str 12(+1), Dex 16(+3), Con 14(+2), Int 14(+2), Wis 14(+2), Cha 17(+3);Skills & Feats: Bluff¹ +6, Disguise¹ +9, Perform¹ +9, Sense Motive¹ +8, Spellcraft +5, Use Magic Device +6.Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
Spells:
0th: Fine-Tuning, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Open/Close, Read Magic
1st: Ambient Song, Cure Light Wounds, Unseen Servant

Whatever you do, make sure you pick a character you will have fun playing, not just one that fills a gap left in the current group.

 

[Conaill]

Scribe Scroll
Craft Wondrous Item
Point Blank Shot
Rapid Shot
Extend Spell

Extend Spell is nice, but you may want to hold off until you can get some more use out of it.

Scribe Scroll could come in *very* handy, if only to make CLW scrolls. The other Cleric can use them, as well as the Rogue (via UMD) and the Ranger (access to divine spells).

CWI versus archer feats: both are good, it all depends on how you want to develop your character. If you feel like you don't want to just "provide services" for the rest of the party (healing and crafting), go with the ranged feats. If you think there's already enough fighters in the party, go with CWI.