Which class makes the best 5th wheel?

[SSquirrel]

And the ENnie goes to...

The Wizard idea is definitely one that I would agrree with. Especially once you get up past 5th or 9th level, things start getting just plain silly in the spellpower department. I'm running a 17th lvl right now and if your DM allows you to research Realms Spells, go for the 5th level spell Firebrand. 1 5' radius mini-fireball/level doing 1d6/lvl (15d6 max) and you can scatter em around within your range (100ft+10ft/lvl). I've taken out several boats, a whole dock full of enemies, etc with this spell.

If magic isn't what you want, try a Psychic Warrior or a second Rogue or Cleric. The Bard is also great, altho when I played one I was never able to really make his music abilities work well for our specific party.

End result of this thread is that it's hard to go wrong. To really choose a "correct" answwer, you would need to also provide info on what kind of campaign it would be. I remember proving in 2E that specializing in Dart could actually be the most effective way for a fighter to go if you would be running a high level shorter campaign where you're in a war against goblins or kobolds
A VERY specific scenario true, but it was correct

 

[WattsHumphrey]

I'd have to agree that there isn't really a wrong way to go. On the other hand, if I needed to pick an additional character, I'd choose druid.

Healing. Support. Scouting (Wild Shape, Track). And dealing with societal elements that the normal party members may feel out-of-place dealing with (Rangers, Druids, etc).

Barring Druid, I'd have to second a ranged cleric. I wouldn't have thought they were all that great, but after the game I'm currently in, I realize that ranged clerics are hella good.

 

[bret]

Once you have the basic four, you can pick any character class and it will work fine.


If you are looking for what class to increase the power of the group, I would say a Sorcerer that cooperates with your current wizard.

By cooperating, I mean tell the wizard what spells you know. The wizard should also let you know what areas of magic he will take care of. Provided both focus on different aspects of magic, the team comes out much better.

The Wizard can afford to take the Sleep spell at first level. After it runs out of steam, he just buys another spell to fill in.

If the Sorcerer takes a few buff spells, he is probably capable of buffing the whole group. A wizard or cleric has to be much higher level before they can do that.

Provided the two characters work together, it can be a very powerful combination. The only problem is that now the group has two characters they have to protect, so the Cleric and Rogue should both be ready to melee.


A monk makes a good support fighter. They have great maneuverabilty and are able to get into hard to reach areas. They can not stay in a fight as long as a regular fighter, but they can generally chase down a fleeing opponent or get around an obstacle that would take the fighter too long.


A bard is a strange sort of character. It is a mix of several different things, mostly rogue and sorcerer. Some people love playing them, others hate it. They aren't a weak in combat as a Wizard or Sorcerer, but really shouldn't be a front line fighter. They can be very good support characters, but are not nearly as straightforward to play as the other classes.

A ranger gives you a tougher scout and another chance to spot an enemy before they ambush you.

Provided that your character concept fits in with the rest of the group, you really can't go wrong with any class.

 

[darkbard]

i think it definitely speaks to the great job of game balance the designers achieved that we can make strong arguments for practically any of the classes. now, if only the game was more easily balanced for groups without 4 members approximating the abilities of the 4 "standard" classes.

 

[pogre]

Paladin

Actually... scratch that, the best 5th wheel in this case is Paladin all the way.
-z

Yep - that's what I was going to say. Plus one added bonus - A Paladin gives the DM a treasure trove of plot hooks. I mean that goofy save the princess stuff actually seems legitimate with a Paladin around!