Which WotC base classes fill the 4 core roles well?

[MerricB]

Here are the primary roles as I see them:

Fighter - the person who can stand out the front and swing a big sword.
This is filled well by the Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin and Knight. CW Samurai and Hexblade just might make it, likewise Soulborn and Totemist.

Rangers don't have the HP or AC, Swashbucklers lack the damage potential, as does the Monk.

Trapfinder & Expert - able to deal with skill-based problems and traps!
The Rogue, Ninja, Scout and Beguiler, strangely enough. (Spellthief, possibly, but I'm not familiar enough with them).

Bards lack trapfinding, as does the Lurk (biggest problem with the class).

Blaster - massive damage-dealer through spells; some utility spells.
Wizard, Sorcerer, Druid (strangely enough), Psion

Healer - must be able to cast Restoration, Raise Dead, Cure spells, and contribute in battle
Cleric, Favoured Soul

The Healer role has the most holes in it; if you lack access to spells such as Restoration, and Raise Dead things can quickly become problematic in big campaigns such as Age of Worms. Turn Undead is not a necessity.

Many classes are "hybrid", and make great 5th members (e.g. Bard, Marshal, Dragon Shaman).

Cheers!

 

[Heathen72]

Turn Undead is not a necessity.

Perhaps not a necessity, but pretty close to it. Obviously it depends on the campaign but Turn Undead is such an advantage, particularly with a lot of the published module series (where they seem to expect there will be someone who can turn undead) and especially at the lower levels. Yes you can get by without it, but when the stat and level draining 'no crit' and '50% miss chance' incorporeals start coming your way you start losing your 'resources' really quickly.

It something my group really noted of late playing through the Freeport and Witchfire series and also in my own homebrew when the Cleric's character was separated from the rest of the group for an extended period.

 

[Glyfair]

Healer - must be able to cast Restoration, Raise Dead, Cure spells, and contribute in battle
Cleric, Favoured Soul

The Healer role has the most holes in it; if you lack access to spells such as Restoration, and Raise Dead things can quickly become problematic in big campaigns such as Age of Worms. Turn Undead is not a necessity.

I don't place as much weight on Restoration and would consider the druid & spirit shaman reasonable for the role.

One class only mentioned occasionally is the Artificer from Eberron. That class can actually fill 3 roles reasonable well, although maybe not as well as a first tier character in those roles. They have trapfinding ability, so can fill some of the more important roles of the rogue. They also can create items with any spell with a UMD roll, often before the class that has them can actually cast them. Thus, they can fufill the role of Arcane & Divine caster.

 

[Hussar]

Sorry if I'm repeating here.

Tome of Magic has a couple of classes that fill roles very well.

The Binder works as either the rogue or warrior very well and, really, depending on need, can actually do both. Possibly could do blaster, but, not very well.

I'm not sure if the shadowcaster can replace a standard arcane caster. Works well as a 5th, but, not as a primary IMO. Although, that is only from reading the book, not from experience.

The Truenamer works as a cleric replacement very well. Despite some reservations about the skill base vs Level mechanic, I know that the truenamer in our party has proven very well. He gets most of the buffs and the healing as well as some serious firepower.

 

[ForceUser]

Any of the following classes can fill the archetypal role without multiclassing.

Arcane--beguiler, sorcerer, warlock, wizard, wu jen
[Driving criterion: Spell list flexibility. For warlocks, this is covered in part by the ability to use any magic item through the Use Magic Device skill.]

Divine--cleric, druid, favored soul, shugenja, spirit shaman
[Driving criterion: Healing capability.]

Expert--beguiler, ninja, rogue, scout, spellthief
[Driving criterion: Trapfinding as a class feature.]

Warrior--barbarian, fighter, knight, paladin, samurai
[Driving criteria: Ability to wear medium/heavy armor; d10 or d12 HD.]

Sources: PHB, PHB II, Complete series.

 

[Aus_Snow]

For 4 PCs in a very traditional D&D style campaign or adventure, as referred to in the OP:

(Note: I don't have PHB II, so classes therein were absent from my selection process).

Warrior - Fighter (1st), Barbarian (2nd), Paladin (3rd.. maybe); there is no samurai
Expert - anything with Trapfinding (i.e., see ForceUser's Expert list, in the post above)
Arcane Caster - Wizard (1st), Sorcerer (2nd), possibly Wu Jen (as 3rd)
Divine Caster - Cleric (1st), Druid (2nd)

 

[Remathilis]

Fighter - the person who can stand out the front and swing a big sword.
This is filled well by the Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin and Knight. CW Samurai and Hexblade just might make it, likewise Soulborn and Totemist.

Rangers don't have the HP or AC, Swashbucklers lack the damage potential, as does the Monk.

Fighter should be broken up into tank and scrimisher. tank is defensive, scirmisher is mobile.

Tank: Fighter, Paladin, Knight, Barbarian, Samurai, Psychic Warrior
Scrimisher: Monk, Swashbuckler, Ranger, Soulknife, Hexblade, Duskblade

Trapfinder & Expert - able to deal with skill-based problems and traps!
The Rogue, Ninja, Scout and Beguiler, strangely enough. (Spellthief, possibly, but I'm not familiar enough with them).

Bards lack trapfinding, as does the Lurk (biggest problem with the class).

Spellthief is a trapfinder, as is artificer. Artificer can also fill a mage-like role, and a healer for warforged.

Blaster - massive damage-dealer through spells; some utility spells.
Wizard, Sorcerer, Druid (strangely enough), Psion

Wu Jen, Warlock, Warmage, Dread Necro all go here as well. As can a shugenja (fire) and a Wilder.

Healer - must be able to cast Restoration, Raise Dead, Cure spells, and contribute in battle
Cleric, Favoured Soul

Healer, druid and spirit shaman (lesser), and Ardent (With correct mantles) all can fill this role as well.

Many classes are "hybrid", and make great 5th members (e.g. Bard, Marshal, Dragon Shaman).

The latest role is the "buffer": someone who makes others better at doing something. Divine Mind, Bard, Marshal, Dragon Shaman all have "buff" abilities that grant near-constant bonuses. Most also have face/charisma ability as well, and make a fine 5th.

 

[der_kluge]

I see the for roles as:

fighter (tank, meat shield)
rogue (picking locks, finding traps) -or- a bard (diplomat) depending on the campaign
cleric (healer/protection)
wizard (arcane magic)

For the last one, I don't see wizards as being just damage dealer, but their utility magic is crucial - removing magic locks, dispeling magic, read magic, detecting magic, identifying magic items, etc. Granted, cleric can fulfill much of this role, but not all of it. I don't see the wizard's use in just being able to deal large amounts of damage. That's where fighters come in, really.

To this end, I don't think the warlock or warmage fill that role very well, since neither of them can actually read or detect magic. So, their use as 'wizards' is limited greatly.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I think the old 4 are the best for a balanced party (not that my group EVER has a balanced party):
Rogue
Fighter
Cleric
Wizard

Wizard over sorcerer because of versatility and bonus feats for item creation.

Edit: I might take Psychic Warrior over a fighter for a good meatshield, not barbarian though AC isn't their strong suit.

 

[MerricB]

Healer
Healer, druid and spirit shaman (lesser), and Ardent (With correct mantles) all can fill this role as well.

Although the druid can heal damage, the druid cannot heal ability drain or level loss - or effectively heal ability damage. This is a big drawback against outsiders and undead, who often use such forms of attack.

Cheers!