Me. vs. Universe

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I need a character class (using existing ones) that can survive a swarm of orcs, kobolds, and CR 1 homebrew undead straight from level 1. I'll be journeying with:

A ranger who uses archery

An arcadian ranger (homebrew, ranger/wizard combo, can't use spells that damage hp)

A dwarf fighter (but I'm not sure)

I'm thinking warlock, but I'm not sure about invocations...

or maybe soulknife.

Fighter with Power Attack and Cleave should be well suited to take care of swarms of low CR enemies.

I think a Bard would be good, but on the side of the "swarms" of monsters - what character class else can add at least 5 % (and more) to the damage output of a combat group?

Considering the setup of the party, I think you need a Cleric. No dedicated healer is never a good idea, and you also lack someone that can handle undead directly. Clerics are pretty survivable, too.

 

[Magesmiley]

You haven't said what sources you have available, but since you mentioned the warlock, I'm assuning your DM is ok with a variety of source books and whatnot.

I'm going to touch on the dwarf fighter, and what I feel is an outstanding 1st level dwarf fighter build for survivability, particularly when faced with hordes of creatures.

Books you need:
Races of Stone
Unearthed Arcana
Savage Species

Ask your DM if you can take flaws from the Unearthed Arcana book. If you can't, then this build doesn't work. You also need an 18 for one of your stats too. No 18, and once again this doesn't work.

Take dwarf as your race. Put the 18 into Con, which combined with dwarf's bonus will give you a 20 Con.
Take 2 flaws (from Unearthed Arcana). This will increase your starting feats to 3. I realize you take a couple of penalties, but its worth it (see below).
Use the dwarven fighter substitution level from Races of Stone. This will give you a d12 for HP.
For feats, take toughness (needed as a prerequisite) and Roll With It (from Savage Species) twice.
You also get a +1 to hit with all axes courtesy of the dwarf fighter level too (but that's not the cool thing about this build).

This gives you a 1st level character who has 20 (12 dwarf fighter + 5 Con + 3 Toughness) hit points and Damage Reduction 4/-. Adding on an even mediocre suit of armor and the CR1 enemies are going to have an awful time doing anything at all to your character.

Every 3 levels you can take Roll With It once again to add another 2 to your DR too. Then just use your fighter bonus feats to get your combat type feats.

Enjoy!

 

[Someone]

You need lots of AC and Cleave. Fighter is the best option, lots of Str and Con, decent Dex, Power attack, Cleave, best armor, large shield.

 

[Hairfoot]

My money's on druid. Healing & area effect spells, d8 HP, 4 skill points, animal companion that can handle CR1s, and woodland stride for hasty retreats.