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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Empirate" data-source="post: 6092592" data-attributes="member: 78958">In a core-only environment, Sorcerer aaaall the way. There's just no contest if you pick your spells wisely.With more books open, Bards might have access to Sublime Chord, bringing them close, or to Dragonfire Inspiration plus other Inspire Courage options, making them damn powerful while keeping their versatility. But still, Sorcerers may now have access to Mage of the Arcane Order (rendering versatility problems null and void), Incantatrix (providing ever so much raw power), or some variant class features (which can benefit Sorcerers immensely if you pick wisely).The other classes? Can hit things, or can sometimes hit things really hard. In Core, some of them are probably better than a Bard, but never than a Sorcerer. Rogues have some flexibility built in, but simply lack a lot of oomph, and so many things are immune to sneak attack. If more books are open, there are variant class features out there that make potent builds possible: Paladins can go into Inspiring Courage themselves and become very powerful party support. Rangers can pick up Master of Many Forms via Wildshape Ranger (and Mystic Ranger, if you're allowing that kind of thing, is probably even better). Rogues can at least get their hands on a lot of sneak attack related gear/feats/variant class features, enabling them to contribute against Undead and the like. Staggering Strike is probably the one feat that keeps higher-level Rogues alive in melee, and is available outside Core.But generally speaking, outside Core these classes don't even come close to a Bard, let alone a well-built Sorcerer.Note that this estimation reflects actual play experience. Sorcerers and Bards have been at my table a lot, as have Rangers, Barbarians, and Rogues. Sorcerers and Bards are good at solving encounters all the time, and often go to outright solve adventures. Rangers, Barbarians, Rogues? Can occasionally do the former, but very, very rarely the latter. Paladins, Fighters, and Monks simply don't hold up well enough anywhere, anyhow (except as dip classes, or in the case of the Paladin with a ton of alternate class features).</blockquote>

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