What non-"essential" characters do you play?

[Lancelot]

I'm almost always the DM, so my playing is restricted to a 6-hour session every 2 weeks. Having said that...

• Deva Avenger, from 1st to 15th level. Retired her when the rest of the party was TPK'ed in P2 Demon Queen's Enclave (wraiths are bad news...). Rather than continue the campaign with a bunch of new recruits, she decided to head back home and continue running her Temple to Kelemvor (god of the dead), with the assistance of local widows and young acolytes.
• Half-Elf Bard (valorous), from 1st to 9th level. Same campaign as above. Retired half-way through H3 Pyramid of Shadows, as we picked up a new player in our group. With 5 players rather than only 4, there was no longer any need for me to be playing a "bonus" character. The bard's somewhere in Waterdeep, neck-deep in cheap alcohol and cheaper floozies.
• Human Bard (cunning), only 1st level so far. New campaign. Why choose a bard again? Because I enjoyed the first one, and the party needed a Leader. I got the short straw. I'm not a big fan of most leader classes, as they tend to be squishy and melee-oriented. The bard, with its many ranged options and good mix of defenses, is surprisingly durable.

If anything happens to my current bard, though, I'll be going an Essentials wizard. I was impressed by the revision of the wizard powers in Essentials, and I quite like the return of "schools" (e.g. evocation, enchantment, necromancy, etc).

 

[Mengu]

So, what do you play that isn't a Fighter, Cleric, Magic User, Thief, Ranger, Rageblood Barbarian or Sorcerer?

I play only one of those, a gnome cosmic sorcerer. I do play a barbarian, but he is a half-orc thaneborn. My other long running characters are a dragonborn inspiring warlord, a dwarf unity avenger, and a goliath wrathful runepriest. Started a human wrathful invoker for revenge of the giants, but that game has been on hiatus. I'm about to start a human sorcerer-king pact warlock for Dark Sun (unless there is another one in the group, in which case I'll switch to a halfling iron soul monk).

I don't really see myself playing any essentials classes other than maybe the mage. I do kind of like the rogue movement tricks, but it's unfortunate they don't have the breadth of encounter powers of the rogue or daily powers.

 

[Zaran]

I currently play 2 characters. both are cClasses. One is a Staff mastery Wizard. The other is a Two Hand Fighter. Before Essentials caused another game to end (The GM refuses to run 4e anymore) I had a tempest fighter. They are all humans. I would not change to eClasses for anything. Closest I might go is using spells for my wizard from it.

Frankly I find Essentials classes to be quite boring looking. I like having encounter powers for my fighters. I like being able to charge into an enemy and knock them prone. People say that eFighters are more like they were in 3.5 and I think that's wrong. 3.5e fighters were able to specialize out the wazoo in almost any way. They didn't just hit something with their sword. They were able to Trip and Disarm. They were able to use combat expertise to assume a defensive stance. And they got multiple attacks a round. A fighter that only has the power to mark and attack and do damage is just going to be boring.

4e was built to be a tactical game with powers adding variety to the game. You take those powers away and it just becomes a boring minatures game.

 

[sigfile]

4e was built to be a tactical game with powers adding variety to the game. You take those powers away and it just becomes a boring minatures game.

OffT: You do still use powers to enhance the fight. They're just separate from the attack - either some movement buff that includes an attack buff, or a stance that modifies your at-wills. And then there are encounter-resource-based attack enhancers. I like crazy-complicated characters (coming off a paragon-tier warden), but I'm playing a Thief in the new campaign and he's been a ton of fun so far.

OnT: I had an Earthsoul/Firesoul Genasi Wildblood Warden/Paladin. He had a *deep* bag of tricks.

I primarily use a human shielding swordmage for LFR. Pulls, bursts, punishments, interrupts, teleports... Again, a deep bag of tricks.

My Dark Sun Encounters character was an Eladrin (I *adore* Athasian Eladrin) Taclord with a Hungry Greatspear. This character *is* going to get used again, somehow. There didn't seem to be a wrong action this character could take... just varying shades of right.

 

[mikeloop86]

I once rolled up a Artificer|Shaman hybrid modeled after Emanuel Zorg from The Fifth Element. Game was set in Sigil, but eventually fell apart.

I never even got to play past level 1 ;__;

 

[Chris Knapp]

I have a 5th level 2H Fighter w/ Execution Axe (how cliche. . .) and am seriously considering switching him to a slayer.

My favorite right now is my 3rd level Protecting Shaman in LFR. The spirit companion is an awesome mechanic. Many DM's refuse to even attack it since they have to do 11 hp on a hit to even affect it. Immune to blasts & bursts is a life saver. Immune to most effects. Healing 1 player + 1d6 to another is very effective. Claws of the Eagle at-will allows for the warlord mechanic of granting basic attacks to allies. As long as there is a striker in place, I can do some awesome damage on my turn. Only problem is that my shaman becomes a target for certain DM's who recognize the effectiveness. I'm going to take the feat that allows my Melee spirit 1 to become Melee spirit 2!

 

[ourchair]

That sounds like... the Masked Mallard!!!

It was a deliberate allusion.

 

[Fkewl]

I've played

Morthos, the tiefling resourceful warlord (died)
Emere, the Earthsoul Assault swordmage
and ..

Morthos, the revenant tiefling ardent w/resourceful warlord multiclass feat.

Morthos has come back with the Hellfire Heir and Crimson Curse background and kicks a$$ !!

 

[Riastlin]

I mostly DM so not much experience on the playing side. Thus far I've really only done:

Half-Elf Cunning Bard (who was really a mix between Cunning and Valorous in terms of power choice) and a Dwarven Runepriest (who is still only level 1).

That being said, I had around 50 or so PCs in the old CB.

 

[Keeblrkid]

A dms favorite character

I have only ever been dm in my home campaigns but of all the characters my players have had; my favorite would have to be an Artificer Dwarf, named Hroflgar Lolskates, even though he was the worst thing, just because my player was so dedicated to roleplaying him as a drunken inventor dwarf who struggled with his ex-fame.

My favorite "flavored" character was a wilden who's tribe and patch of forest was destroyed by a portal into the abyss. The Wilden was a nihilistic swarm druid who constantly had termites and maggots crawling on and in her body. Of course she turned into a swarm of flying termites and other unpleasant forest bugs.

Build wise my favorite has been our Goliath assassin, though back asward he packs an insane punch and his feat selection has been disturbingly well stacked.