what is the rarest class race combo?

[tarchon]

I can't remember the last time I saw someone play a single-class human fighter.

 

[Sammael]

On the other hand, I've never heard of a half-orc bard (which eats up both of a bard's strengths).

I'm playing a half-orc ranger 4/bard 5 right now. It wold be easier if my dice rolls were a bit higher, but I am practically handicapped as is and my character concept simply isn't working out.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

I've always wanted to include an opium-smoking dwarf monk in a game. Probably would fit well in Eberron.

Don't know about the opium eek: ?) but the Dragonshards on monastic orders had mention of an order starting off in the Mror Holds:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20041213a

Really, the more I think of it the more I like it. Monks don't care squat about the CHA penalty (really, does anyone?) and the Con bonus bumps a stat they usually don't have the points to boost, what with needing a good score in everything else. Darkvision is good for any combat character, and the monk's eventual speed bonuses will overcome the dwarf's speed penalty, one of their main drawbacks. Sure, the monk would still be 10' slower than his fellows, but he could get the drop on them at night.

For Eberron, I was picturing a stumpy, bald dwarf covered in tattoos and with a long, Pai Mei styled beard, that he would naturally keep flipping back and forth during combat. Especially is he's using a longsword as a monk weapon.

(I love the dwarf drunken monk idea; that angle hadn't occurred to me at all)

Otherwise, I think that Gnome barbarian and Elven paladin would probably be the things I'd least expect to see. The gnome for mechanical reasons, the elf for stylish reasons- I have yet to find an elf yet played as a noble warrior type. Don't get me wrong, I've played my share of elven rogue/wizards in my time.

 

[Old_Man_Fish]

We have had the whole spectrum of dwarves in my current game (Running WLD) mainly for the darkvision. We currently have a dwarvern monk....

 

[Sejs]

Gnome barbarian or monk.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

I can not say I ever seen or heard of a dwarven monk. Seems kinda comical

Not so funny with the Vow of Poverty and all of its additional abilities and bonus feats.

I play one in FCWesel's game; during the first combat I kept forgetting about all he can do, since he has (I think) 31 class abilities, vow abilities, feats, and bonus feats as a 10th level monk. Even with all those abilities, there are still some things he is very ineffective at (ranged attacks, bypassing hardness, etc.). Still, the Vow of Poverty is so overpowering I put his best stat in CHA, just to tone him down a bit. Makes all of his monk-y acestic goodness more believable, at least to me--he is a paragon of selflessness. The most fun part is when the halfling cook tries to get him to eat, whic he doesn't have to do.

But, that game is on hold and now I'm playing a dwarven bard. And in other games I've also got an elf barbarian, a half-orc paladin, and had (briefly) a gnome fighter who is now a half-elf fighter (started as a dwarf, but two Reincarnations later....).

The weird stuff is out there. It's just not as common. The characters I play the most frequently are the (formerly dwarven) half-elf fighter, human rogue, human wizard, gnome cleric, pixie warmage, another human rogue, half-orc paladin, halfling cleric, the elf barbarian (pretty much in that order). Dead characters and PCs from dead games included an elven cleric, gnome rogue, halflling rogue, human druid, and human wizard. Mostly "normal"--but I can only play the "normal" stuff so often before I want to play something a little "different" (hence things like the pixie warmage or the half-orc paladin).

 

[Gez]

No one ever plays dwarf bards...

I beg to differ. I've seen two dwarven bards in play.

OK, actually, they were multiclassed as fighter/bard.

And OK, both died in combat, proving this combo not to be very effective. (Well, the first died from wyvern venom secondary damage, Con damage is always nasty for wounded characters. The second died because the player left.)

 

[Kuld]

Aassimar wizard. Their advantages are just wasted.
You would think Dwarf bards, but I used one as a reacurring villian ...

One of my favorite NPCs I use is a Dwarf bard. He's a good guy though. I use him all the time. I think the first PC I create, if I can find a DM, will be just that.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I have yet to have a player play a Dwarven Paladin.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Half-orc sorcerer. That -2 cha hurts bad.

At first I'd say it was half-orc monk, but that +2 strength made many people go, "Grog Smash"... "But do it with enlightenment..."