And what would all of you say about clerics? Common? Uncommon? Not common enough?
I love playing the non standard cleric that's not a heal bot, but can heal if he has to. I just love there full spell availability.
And his conjugate the oracle? Me love battle oracles.
I've seen 2 clerics, one straight oracle, 3 druid, and quiet a few dips into cleric/oracle. Give or take, hard to remember all the games I've ever played. Definitely less oracle though!
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In my experience, clerics, druids, and oracles are pretty common. And I'm not just saying that because I have 3 clerics and an oracle among my 13 PFS characters. Other people play them, too.
But they aren't just healbots, and every table always wants a healbot, even if nobody at the table wants to be the guy who plays that role. So people complain that there aren't enough clerics, even though they're one of the most popular classes.
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So just out of curiosity, I decided to check our signups for our local game day that usually has 5-6 tables, to see how it looks. We have 31 players signed up for tonight's game, 10 of whom didn't specify a character in advance, so that's 21 PCs worth of data. Actually, one guy listed two possible characters, and there were a few multi-class, so here's the breakdown by class of the 22 PCs signed up for our game tonight:
Alchemist: 1
Barbarian: 1
Bard: 1
Druid: 3
Fighter: 3
Inquisitor: 4
Monk: 2
Oracle: 2
Paladin: 2
Ranger: 2
Rogue: 2
Summoner: 1
Wizard: 2
I was pretty shocked to see two wizards, but no sorcerers or clerics. The popularity of inquisitors surprised me, too. I would expect that among the 10 with no PC specified, there will be at least a couple of clerics and sorcerers, just because I know how popular those classes are. Also, a couple of those who didn't pick a PC are probably newbies who will end up playing level 1 Kyra and Valeros.
Here's the race break down for the same PCs, while we're at it:
Aasimar: 1
Dwarf: 3
Gnome: 1
Half-Elf: 2
Half-Orc: 1
Human: 10
Nagaji: 2
Tengu: 2
The lack of halflings and tieflings surprised me a little, since I know they're both at least a little popular. The high number of humans doesn't surprise me. Also, I didn't know that there were two nagaji PCs around in this group. I actually thought I had the only one. Though come to think of it, I've never played that character with this group, because I play so many characters with a few different groups.
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For the longest time the least played classes in my area were those that were dedicated to healing/buffing and then around last August we got a bunch of new players that all decided to make healing/buffing characters.
The 'least played class' is a very fluid thing because as soon as you make a character that is interesting someone else wants to make one similar.
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Yeah I have noticed barely anyone has mentioned the Gunslinger in this thread. Locally our numbers are skewed towards fighters and bards (for some bizarre reason). I run 1 out of the 2 gunslingers locally and 1 out of the 2 Wizards. We have a bucket load of fighters, a couple of Rogues, quite a few bards. Few clerics, fewer Summoners, Witch's
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I have seen most everything between local players and the online groups I participate with.
For my own PCs, and bear in mind that I actually have two that are (or became) unformed, at present:
1) Fighter 10/Cleric 1/Ranger 1 (Longbow, Desnan with Travel & Liberation, FE: Human)
2) Fighter 10 (Polearm Master, Dex build, spec'ed for Trip/Disarm, has both ways to pass crits, and an Agile weapon to do actual damage with)
3) Fighter 6 (7?) (Lore Warden, uses a whip, does trip and disarm without the feats, Str build)
4) Magus 6 (Kensai, Bladebound, scimitar, nothing to see here, move along)
5) Sorcerer 4 (Elemental: Air bloodline, human FCB for more spells on his list - 8 cantrips, for example)
6) Gunslinger 4 (vanilla, uses a musket)
7) Bard 4 (Sound Striker)
8) Rogue 3 (vanilla, Str build with Gang Up and Improved Feint)
9) Summoner 2 (vanilla, small eidolon with reach, not a BBCE)
10) Monk 2 (Zen Archer)
11) Fighter 2 (Archer)
12) Dhampir 2 (formerly Undead Lord Cleric, still being slow to finish rebuild)
13) Aasimar Oracle of Life 2 (spec'ed out to be a channel bot)
14) Sorcerer 2 (Kitsune, Undead bloodline, Razmiran Priest archetype, built to be weird)
15) Unknown 1 (originally thought to have died, turns out that even a TPK in that Tier 1 module does not cause PC death)
Aaaand... two more PCs with XP I have currently blanked on...
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Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (South Bay)
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I have yet to see a Divination specialist wizard in all of PFS.
My main character in PFS is an 11th level wizard, divination specialist. He has an arcane bond, so his ability to call up a spell in his spell book has actually saved lives. (Life bubble is very useful.) Also, his initiative has helped the party a bit. (We had someone also play an inquisitor with a team work feat that fed off of the wizard's initiative -- so this helped a lot. It was also amusing that the inquisitor is a Chelaxian and the wizard is an Andoren. It got more amusing when the wizard started to fly and the inquisitor tried to position himself underneath the wizard.)
I have seen a fair amount of wizards locally. I have yet to run into a gunslinger in a PFS game.
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Playing a monk is kinda rough in PFS because you start at level 1. Monks stink at 1 (and for a few levels afterwards) - and unlike other classes which are weak early they need to wade into the fray to do their job, with the exception of zen archers.
I did just level a monk to 2. :P (I did get knocked to -4 in my last session though.)
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I have been at around 100 PFS tables I am guessing.
I have never seen a druid or oracle.
I have never seen a pure wizard.
I have only seen 1 samurai.
I'm surprised by the druids and oracles. They're both pretty common around here.
In fact, my table last night consisted of a druid, 2 oracles, an alchemist, and a bard. It was a very well balanced and effective group. My battle oracle, the druid's animal companion, and the wild shaping druid were all up on the front lines. The life oracle kept the three of us up and running from 30 feet behind us, while the alchemist and bard (archery focused) provided ranged support.
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The problm with Finese rogues is they can't get though DR/ that you run into increasily at higher levels. So it they can't get into precision damage situations they are usually worthless. If they are one of 4 players playing season 0-3 or 1 of 6 in season 4 the fact they can't contribute creates a very difficult situation for eveyone else in the party. On tables when there are extra PC's over what the scenario is written for they are fine.That's what agile weapons are for. Or backups of different materials, or +3 or higher enhancement bonuses, or energy damage enchantments (flaming and friends), etc.
This. And part of being a GOOD rogue IS getting into situations where precision damage applies. My 11th level rogue does a damn good job of pulling his weight in combat. Except against elementals. :(
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I have been at around 100 PFS tables I am guessing.
I have never seen a druid or oracle.
I have never seen a pure wizard.
I have only seen 1 samurai.I'm surprised by the druids and oracles. They're both pretty common around here.
In fact, my table last night consisted of a druid, 2 oracles, an alchemist, and a bard. It was a very well balanced and effective group. My battle oracle, the druid's animal companion, and the wild shaping druid were all up on the front lines. The life oracle kept the three of us up and running from 30 feet behind us, while the alchemist and bard (archery focused) provided ranged support.
Building on this, I've seen up to 4 oracles at the same table. Oracles are great and are one of the few classes that can fill a party without significant gaps.
Honestly, for a while there there weren't many druids. Now people are playing them again in this region.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16
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This. And part of being a GOOD rogue IS getting into situations where precision damage applies. My 11th level rogue does a damn good job of pulling his weight in combat. Except against elementals. :(The problm with Finese rogues is they can't get though DR/ that you run into increasily at higher levels. So it they can't get into precision damage situations they are usually worthless. If they are one of 4 players playing season 0-3 or 1 of 6 in season 4 the fact they can't contribute creates a very difficult situation for eveyone else in the party. On tables when there are extra PC's over what the scenario is written for they are fine.That's what agile weapons are for. Or backups of different materials, or +3 or higher enhancement bonuses, or energy damage enchantments (flaming and friends), etc.
I recommend bane(elemental) on something stabby. :)
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I have been at around 100 PFS tables I am guessing.
I have never seen a druid or oracle.
I have never seen a pure wizard.
I have only seen 1 samurai.I'm surprised by the druids and oracles. They're both pretty common around here.
In fact, my table last night consisted of a druid, 2 oracles, an alchemist, and a bard. It was a very well balanced and effective group. My battle oracle, the druid's animal companion, and the wild shaping druid were all up on the front lines. The life oracle kept the three of us up and running from 30 feet behind us, while the alchemist and bard (archery focused) provided ranged support.
Building on this, I've seen up to 4 oracles at the same table. Oracles are great and are one of the few classes that can fill a party without significant gaps.
Honestly, for a while there there weren't many druids. Now people are playing them again in this region.
FK,
I agree completely, Oracles are great. My 11th leve Oracle of Stone can be a front liner if need be, has a decent ranged attack, is a decent healer, can help with reconnaissance, and help buff the party. I also LOVE playing him and he is one of the only characters I have played on slow progression since that has been an option.
Nathan Meyers
NYC PFS Player/GM
AKA Nard Oracle of Stone
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I have a small group here. So far I have/had
1 tetori monk
2 druids
2 fighters (1 scythe boom, other axe and board)
2 magi (1 a spell dancer, 1 regular)
2 sorcerors
1 ranger
2 rogues
2 ninjas
1 alchemist
1 barbarian
1 wizard
2 paladins (1 whose soul was sacrificed to Lissala, so no more of her)
2 clerics
Overall, we have a fairly diverse group with perhaps a preference to melee builds over range (not too much of a problem in PFS).
I myself have a thing for odd niche builds or strange synergestic combos: Urban Barbarian/Martial Artist, Aasimar Paladin/Monk (for Champion of Irori), Magus/Ninja (for Arcane Trickster), Dwarf Guntank, Transmuter Wizard (for Hellknight Signifier), Gnome Knowledge Oracle riding an Axebeak (mostly because I found it the most interesting use of the QfP boon).
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In vegas, well normally I would say Wizard but last game day I saw 2. Out in Vegas, I as of yet have not seen a Samurai, or a Cav and have not seen a Witch yet. But other then that I think I have seen all the other classes at least once a month.
Heh. I forgot to mention my Samurai (Sword Saint) 2, and I am in Vegas. I just have so many options to play, that he may not have been seen at Game Day much...
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Heh. I forgot to mention my Samurai (Sword Saint) 2, and I am in Vegas. I just have so many options to play, that he may not have been seen at Game Day much...
And I think you've touched upon the key to why there are so few Samurai/Cavs in PFS. SO much of those classes are mount dependent and most PFS battles are not mount friendly. Using an option like Sword Saint is a good remedy, but even that seems WOEFULLY underpowered compared to sneak attack.
That being said, my Lantern Lodge (soon to be Silver Crusade) Aasimar Cleric of Shizuru took his first level of Sword Saint at 4th and is going to take nothing but Samurai levels from here on out. Just to make him EXTRA Samurai-ey I've got the feat Antagonize and my Diplomacy is off the charts.
I'm still not sure if the magus is good or not. That being said, I don't see them very often now that I think about it.
There are a few in my area. I think its a little difficult to play a magus if your just starting out and don't have someone to help you understand its mechanics. I think they do pretty well in PFS, but YMMV.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I think the only Magus we have is actually a Nagus (Ninja 1/Magus 2). This is also the gentlman who gave us the Cluid (Cleric 1/Druid X) so take it as you will.
He also is the source of me saying "GM's don't kill characters. Repeated application of Fireball kills characters."
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I have been told by people who play in the 12+ level events that most of the magi they see are not built to survive those encounters and often don't. They run up, do their nova magus thing, fail to kill the enemy, and then get smoked by full attack actions and AoE damage. The saves on a magus are stinky due to which attributes drive the class. They don't exactly have tons of hp, either.
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Venture-Lieutenant, South Dakota—Rapid City
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@Nosig: He'll eventually get a bucklergun (currently just using a regular buckler). That allows the firing and reloading to be done while still offering a defensive (and offensive!) boost. I figure I'll keep specialty ammo that's near impossible to reload efficiently (ghost touch bullets for example) in there for emergencies. Besides, I like the idea that my protection is another gun!
Not as keen as your tiefling method (which would allow you to keep your buckler AC and fire a 1H pistol with no problems), but it'll work. I figure for the musket that since I don't get the buckler AC when I shoot with a musket (in most cases) anyway, using the buckler hand to reload isn't an issue either.
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In my regular group of 8 people I only see a Rogue when I play one. As far as I know, we have one Bard, one Barbarian, one Cleric, one Druid, one Monk, two Paladins, two Rangers, one Rogue, one Sorcerer, one Wizard, two Alchemists, one Cavalier, three Gunslingers, two Magi, one Oracle, three Summoners, one Witch, and a handful of Fighters (maybe 4?).
The only class I know none of us have tried in PFS is Inquisitor. I have one in an Adventure Path right now, and I like it so much I'll probably make another one as my next PFS character.
We also don't have any Ninjas or Samurais, but they hardly count. :P
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I have yet to see a Divination specialist wizard in all of PFS.
My first PFS character is a Magus-7/Wizard-1 who splashed Divination-specialized Wizard for both "Forewarned" and the extra slots for True Strike spells. Why True Strike? Being Verbal only, True Strike isn't affected by spell failure chance though you'd still need Broad Study to use it in Spell Combat (I don't; I've used it for ranged attacks or while I sneak up on a BBEG with Vanish).
If your Magus doesn't wear armor, or has the Arcane Armor Training feat and wears armor with a low Spell Failure chance like a Mithral Chain Shirt, then Broad Study can be used to enable casting Touch of Fatigue in Spell Combat, which is a very nice way to occasionally shut down Barbarians who roll badly.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I think the only Magus we have is actually a Nagus (Ninja 1/Magus 2).I have a level 7 Magus. He must be pretty forgettable :(
Sorry. Have you ever ran him at a table with me? I mean my characters aren't easily forgotten, but that's because they're being ran by a large ham. ;-)
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I'm interested in playing something not seen that often at a table, for varieties sake. But I'm not experienced enough (at all really) with PFS to have a good idea of what that might be. So I humbly ask, what's the least represented class in PFS?
No doubt it is regional - I have seen a few wizards, lots of rogues but I have only ever seen a Pre-Gen Samurai. I've never had someone say they were playing one at the table.
non-small cavaliers also fall into that category, but small cavaliers are more common but still rare.
Clerics seem fairly rare as well (except that I have two - one actually a Cavalier Cleric) - Oracles have pretty much replaced them.
Pure non-archtype bards are not common but not as rare as those above.