Your favorite class and race and other things.

[Galethorn]

Just a few fun questions.

1 what is your favorite combination in class and race?

I'm a warrior at heart...human, and a ranger, barbarian, or fighter, with higher-than average mental scores. Oh, and preferably NG, CG, or LE if I have to be anything non-good.

2 what would you suggest for new players to be?

No idea.

3 what is your favorite fighting style/weapon?

I have a few, but not too many...so I'll list them...
1. Two-handed sword. Not a pike-lopper like most think of when they hear 'greatsword,' but something a step up from a bastard sword; something good for chopping.
2. Spear (or Trident) and Shield; take TWF and Improved Shield Bash...coolness ensues.
3. Just-a-knife. Works best at high levels with incredible strength, Improved Grapple, and a very magical dagger.
4. Heavy crossbow. Loaded. Improved Initiative. Quickdraw. THWUCK. Ow.
5. Lucerne Hammer; imagine a halberd which, instead of an axehead, has a spikity warhammer sort of head...basically, the ultimate anti-armor weapon.

 

[toberane]

Favorite Race/Class: Human Rogue. Actually, I usually go Human Fighter 2/Ranger 1/Rogue X. (I play 3.0 not 3.5, so I take advantage of the frontloading of the Ranger's skills. ) I never really played rogues or thieves before 3rd Ed, but I think 95% of the characters I've played since 3rd Ed came out have had most of their class levels as rogues.

And I know this has been pointed out a thousand times or more, but a "rogue" is a scoundrel, thief, or other sneaky character. "Rouge" is something women wear to make their cheeks pink.

Class for new characters: All classes have a learning curve. I love rogues, but it took me several months to really learn how to play them well. Fighters seem easy, but there are so many bonus feats that it takes some time for new players to figure out which feats work well together, so even that makes it hard for a new player to jump right into the fighter class.

I have often warned new players not to play spellcasters because of the sheer number of spells and magic rules involved, and I have had those same players quickly turn into expert spellcasters with a much better knowledge of the magic rules than I have ever mastered. So I say, play whatever. If they want to learn how to play a class well, they will take the time to read, study, and learn.

Fighting style: Two weapon, with lots of dodging and tumbling, particularly as a rogue who wants to tumble into a flanking position, sneak attack, and then tumble away the first chance I get to avoid getting slashed (tumble to avoid attacks of opportunity.) Spring attack also works well with style, particularly with boots of striding and springing, so that you can spring forward your full move rate, attack, then spring back your full move.

And when the levels are high enough, throw in a ring of blinking to deprive the enemy of their dex bonus so that I can get a sneak attack with every attack. Sure, there is the occasional miss chance, but with two weapons and a few levels, multiple attacks insure a couple of good hits with sneak attack damage.

 

[No Name]

1. Human Monk tops the list. I like the concept - seeking to perfect mind, body, and spirit.

2. I try to direct new players to melee classes, especially the fighter, since spell selection and use tends to be a bit overwhelming at first.

3. With the monk, I like to design my own martial art styles. In general, I pick several feats/skill rank and stat minimums that fit a ideal, and when all those have been acquired, a benefit that equals about half a feat is gained (like +2 to initiative for example). Unarmed Strike is the preferred weapon. Examples of martial art styles can be found in Unearthed Arcana and Dragon #309, and a several other books as well.

 

[S'mon]

I too like Human Fighters far more than anything else, both male & female. Style-wise I like bastard sword + shield, but 3.5e preferences greatsword so I'd be more likely to use greatsword for a new PC currently. Fighter is a good class for new players, but Sorcerer is a good fun class too, albeit weak at higher levels (I let them spontaneously Quicken spells if they take the feat, that balances them out fine IMO).

 

[MonsterMash]

1. Tricky - I like lots of classes for different reasons, but often end up back with the combat heavy types like fighter or a combat optimised cleric. Often I seem to play dwarves or humans, with the occasional gnome illusionist for variety.

2. Generally I'd avoid spellcasting classes until they've got some experience with the system, if they're really keen on a spellcaster then a sorceror, but I'd generally recommend fighter or barbarian.

3. Warhamer and shield or Morning star and shield (piercing and bludgeoning - take that with your DR!)

 

[Arkhandus]

1 what is your favorite combination in class and race?
2 what would you suggest for new players to be?
3 what is your favorite fighting style/weapon?

1. My favorite combination, if using the core rules, would be a human monk from a style perspective, or an elven druid from a more useful (read: playable) perspective. My monks are always screwed by poor ability scores (oh how I loathe point-buy) and a lack of decent AC-boosting or Constitution-boosting items in the campaign, both of which result in my monks getting knocked unconscious or nearly so within the first one to three rounds of combat, against any sort of appropriate-CR foe. I truly want to love the monk in design and in concept, but alas, the system fails to make monks survivable without forcing the cleric to do double-duty on the monk alone, 24/7. Elven druids though can be fun to play, though not so much as monks, and at least druids are a strong class that doesn't suffer so much fatality.

2. I'd suggest a newbie to start with a 1st-level halfling sorcerer, carrying a tower shield, a dagger or two, a spell component pouch or two, and having Magic Missile and Charm Person (or alternatively, something else useful like Spider Climb or Expeditious Retreat or Mage Armor) as his initial 1st-level spells. Even if forced into something so cruelly pathetic and average and decidedly anti-heroic as 25-point-buy (which I would never dare to impose on anyone when I DM), such a character could start with a 20 Dex and 15 Cha, being reasonably hard to hit (20+ AC to start with) and capable of contributing plenty during any typical combat, and even in several combats a day, without worrying about the complexities of melee combat and the woes (or distracting tactical considerations) of sundering, bull rushes, trips, grapples, disarms, and whatnot. It's quite easy to figure out how to have a character cast Magic Missile each round and pick the right targets, while keeping away from melee. The other 1st-level spell chosen will help them be useful in other situations too, depending on what it is, while their skills, halfling bonuses, Charisma, and Dexterity will help with general situations. They won't have to worry about attack rolls and such for a while, if they stick to their Magic Missiles and their save-or-suffer spells like Lightning Bolt.

3. I dearly want to like two-weapon fighting, but it's such a poor and pathetic little thing most of the time, hardly given any consideration, a whipped dog just because the designers must be sick of Drizz't Do'Urden clones. I don't even read most D&D novels (just a few here and there amongst the settings), so I don't care. But damnit, I want my twin longsword-wielding half-elf fighter to actually hit things for a change. I want my monk to actually get some use out of Flurry of Blows, Ambidexterity, and Two-Weapon Fighting to rain down a series of cool punches and kicks like I describe him doing in play (except that in play, the majority of attacks miss terribly from TWF penalties) (mind you I'm a 3.0 guy and in 3.0 the rules didn't forbid FoB+TWF+unarmed, because in 3.0 the rules generally made sense). So. I would prefer two-weapon fighting with pairs of swords or axes, or with quarterstaves or two-bladed swords, but from a practicality standpoint, since I can't get the blasted style to work in play (friggin' absurd penalties, that are only potentially worthwhile as-is if you use twin bastard swords or dwarven waraxes)....... I'd have to choose the good ol' reliable sword-and-board, or better yet a flail and shield, seeing as flails can do some nifty tricks. And there's less around the Monster Manual with particular resistances to bludgeoning.

 

[Wombat]

1 what is your favorite combination in class and race?

Currently? Loresong Faen Magister (maybe becoming a Spryte later)

2 what would you suggest for new players to be?

Well, Dwarven Fighter is nice, simple, and straightforward

3 what is your favorite fighting style/weapon?

**shrug** Highly variable. Sometimes it is sword-and-board, sometimes it is longbow and distance, and sometimes it is mounted lance and CHARGE! No real single favourite.

 

[Estlor]

1. I like the human bard. Really, bard + anything is good, but I prefer human because it allows me to take both Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot at first level letting me fire into melee from a distance. It's really the only way a low-level bard can be useful in combat. Sure, at higher levels I'm going to get Spell Focus (Enchantment) and Leadership, but a 1st level bard can only tumble so much

2. Usually I reccommend a new player stay away from spellcasting classes until they get a better grasp on the system. The nuances involved in picking spells, especially for bards and sorcerers that are stuck with what they pick, can sometimes be a bit much to handle. If they're dead-set on playing a spellcaster, I'd push the Warlock since his selection choices are more limited and he's a slightly hardier character in combat.

3. There's nothing quite as satisfying as a high-level ranger with two weapons taking a full attack action and laying into someone with 4+ attacks in the same round. Yeah, that goes against my bard/sniper character type, but the munchkin inside of me likes to deal multiple dice of damage, use my Cleave feat, and turn to swat down another person in the same round.

 

[TheGemini]

1) Halfling sorceror/rogue

2) I don't care, but probably human fighter. It's a great way to learn combat, feats, etc...all in a package that really only needs a couple of good stats.

3) Heavy Flail with Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, and Power Attack. "Uh, yeah...I guess I'll trip with my first attack, then while he's on the ground I'll pound him to paste."

 

[Runesong42]

1) My fav combos are two that I have yet to play: Dwarven Monk, and Aasimar Monk/Paladin.

2) For beginners, I always recommend some sort of warrior class, usually Fighter or Ranger. But I can adapt any NPC to follow around new players and act as their coach, which is really fun for me

3) Fav weapons include the two-bladed sword, falchion, and scythe. Scythes are so chewy if you want to work on them and get their threat range up. I am also partial to quarterstaves. If I go 2-weapon, I like a good pair o' nunchuks, or sai, or sometimes I'll even go with maces... oh, I almost forgot the whip-dagger. That thing rocks!