| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Cards77 |
Posted - 12 Aug 2025 : 02:02:09
New campaign. One character only, one player only.
I need your best suggestions for a character than can "do it all".
Or at least your best jack of all trades.
Pathfinder and before is fair game. No 4e or 5e
Extra planar abilities/survival necessary
Homebrew welcome
1358 DR or before
Horizon Walker? I like this idea of adding planar mastery based on in game moments and adventures.
Mystic Theurge? probably the best jack of all trades (once you can get into it)
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| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Diffan |
Posted - 18 Aug 2025 : 13:27:59
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I think it's sad that nobody's interested anymore in standard Fighter, Mage, Cleric, and Thief.
The biggest question is what Edition we using? In 3.5/Mathfinder, standard classes, especially basic ones like the Fighter and Rogue/Thief, just don't pull their weight as much when magic is around. This is because of how hyper focused magic became after 2e. The combat round was shortened, allowing casters to get off multiple spells in a turn due to metamagic feats and even immediate magic effects (see Player's Handbook 2. Couple this with not needed hours to memorize spells per day and you can blow off your entire memory and not have to worry, because an hour of study and they're all back. If I remember correctly, before 3e, it took a wizard 1 hour per level PER SPELL to memorize. So five 1st level spells was 5 hours, three 2nd level ones were an additional 6 hours, etc.
So, with spellcasting becoming so easy and the restrictions on casters to keep that in check gone, there is very little reason to play a fighter when a Cleric could fill that roll well.
In 4e, I absolutely love playing a Fighter. Good ol' Sword and Board and I just laid into monsters as often as I could. Magic was reigned in, casters became team players again, and it made it far more group-focused. I held enemies in-check, kept them off my allies and had features that facilitated that instead of having to jump through hoops of 5 different splat-books and an array of feats that didn't see play until 8th level.
For 5e, I still see a lot of Fighters and Rogues. Sometimes they're really flashy like Echo Knights, Battlemasters, or Arcane Archers, but I do see an occasional 'champion' that doesn't use feats and still does a decent job. Same with Rogues.
I think 3.5 is an anomaly when it comes to class design because of how many classes there were and how much overlap there was to get the same outcome. You add an additional layers like Prestige classes, which makes bass classes kind of irrelevant after about 6th level and no ones playing a basic Human Fighter 14. |
| Diffan |
Posted - 18 Aug 2025 : 12:59:21
quote:
Originally posted by Cards77
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I think it's sad that nobody's interested anymore in standard Fighter, Mage, Cleric, and Thief.
Anything 3.5 and below is fair game.
I'm totally interested, what's your idea?
I had a 2nd edition elven fighter/mage epic level PC. Was so much fun.
Hmmm... well you can be cheesy and go the Easy/God-Mode route:
Human Druid 10/ Planar Shepard 10 with emphasis early on by taking Greenbound Summoning. Your animal companion and nature's ally doing the 'tanking' for you until you hit a point where your spells just win encounters. This build has protective capabilities, utility capabilities, and offensive capabilities. Druids in 3.5 are just top-tier and when you hit Planar capabilities....its off the charts. Probably why most DMs ban the prestige class (myself included).
Option 2:
Human Cleric 20 or 10 levels of a divine inspired PrC that adds no LESS than 8 or 9 spellcasting levels. Clerics are very versatile and adapt well in most situations. Add in things like Persistent Spell and Nightsticks and you have 24-hr active Righteous Might/Divine Power going.
Option 3:
Human Abjurer 5/ Eldritch Knight 3/ Abjurant Champion 5/ Eldritch Knight 7. This one has a Base-Attack bonus of 17, spellcasting level 19, uses abjuration spells like a boss and can do fun things like Counterspell fast. Add in feats like Spell Mastery for Uncanny Forethought and you're exceptionally versatile too. Metamagic School Focus is a great feat to lower those Metamagic restrictions on spells.
Edit: this build requires the feat Militia from Player's Guide to Faerūn in order to qualify for the Eldritch Knight PrC at Wizard level 5
Option 4 or 'Hard-Mode':
Human Warblade 9 / Wolf Totem Barbarian 2 / Fighter 1 / Ranger 1/ Horizon Walker 7. This one is super-melee focused BUT its a lot of fun, has offensive and defensive capabilities and decent utility due to HW and the Warblade. Heavily dependant on magic items, so the DM should pay particularly close attention to Wealth-By-Level Advancement for the character.
Edit #2: This build focuses on tripping opponents and uses Pounce from the Barbarian. Use a polearm tripping weapon like a Halberd for Reach, add in Leap Attack and Shock Trooper + Rage for amazing DPR and utilize Maneuvers and Stances from the Tome of Battle that enhances your standard actions when pounce isn't available. Because you're a Ranger, you can activate wands with spells from the Ranger's list like Rhino's Rush or Cure Spells and lastly, grab a Valorous weapon for double-damage on charge attacks (x3 with Rhinos Rush). |
| Cards77 |
Posted - 18 Aug 2025 : 04:34:25
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I think it's sad that nobody's interested anymore in standard Fighter, Mage, Cleric, and Thief.
Anything 3.5 and below is fair game.
I'm totally interested, what's your idea?
I had a 2nd edition elven fighter/mage epic level PC. Was so much fun. |
| Athreeren |
Posted - 12 Aug 2025 : 15:26:22
How does your DM feel about it? An accommodating DM could always grant you the magical items to compensate for any missing skills. Alternatively, they could give you challenges tailored to your skills, or a NPC made to be a convenient sidekick. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 12 Aug 2025 : 07:27:34
I think it's sad that nobody's interested anymore in standard Fighter, Mage, Cleric, and Thief. |
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