For the purposes of this thread I am separating the nature classes from the divine classes as I feel despite sharing the same 'type' of casting, they are very much focused on their own tropes and traits.
Non-Magic: Cavalier
I absolutely love Cavaliers, the difficulty in fitting them in to most campaigns is frustrating, but I play one whenever I get a good chance. To me it's the closest thing to a fixed Fighter and the easiest way to play the charismatic warrior without magical powers. (I don't like the Swashbuckler class for a host of reasons).
Arcane: Bard/Skald
I love the jack-of-all-trades nature of Bards and Skalds and the idea behind them. Being a badass storyteller or ministrel is such a cool concept. It's so easy to build a Bard or Skald that feels completely different than another Bard or Skald.
Divine: Oracle
Are you seeing a pattern? I love charisma based classes. Oracle mysteries and curses make for incredible RP out of the box and for tons of different and viable builds.
Nature: GAH!
This is the tough one for me. I earnestly like all of the nature classes. They each have something super cool about them that makes me want to say them, before I think of something about one of the others that makes me lean their way instead.
what about psychic?
Fighter
Sorcerer(I like to make focused arcane people not generic can do everything's even if it's more powerful)
Cleric(i just like clerics)
Ranger
Occutist
Good point! I forgot occult. Add that too.
My favourite occult class is definitely Kineticist. I love the elemental vibe.
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Investigator is one of my favorite Classes, and might well be my favorite in whatever category it's in. No idea what category that fits into, though.
Non-Magic: Vigilante, they have so many awesome in and out of combat options (especially the social stuff), plus I like the thematic elements involved. Slayer and Barbarian are close runners up.
Arcane: Bard, great in-combat and (especially) out of combat skill options (particularly social ones), spell casting, really they can do all kinds of neat stuff.
Divine: Inquisitor, mostly for the same reasons as Bard. Even social stuff with the Conversion Inquisition.
Nature: I guess maybe Hunter? I like skill options, pets, and spells being available...the lack of social options is less than ideal, though.
Occult: Medium, probably. Again, for a lot of the same reasons as Bard. Being able to swap spirits around leads to some pretty neat stuff.
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Arcane: rogue
Divine: samurai
Nature: kineticist
Oh, i misread the premise.
Non magic....tie between fighter, monk, samurai and rogue (all awesome)
Arcane: i use my vote to lure the bard class into a dark room and kill it. Arcane classes just have lame options. I can have fun once in a while but i wont play any particular arcane class over and over.
Divine: cleric, so many options and fun ways to play it.
Nature: kineticist
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We may need a ruling on where Alchemy falls in this list
probably arcane... it has it's own rules so it's pretty much it's own thing.
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Non-Magic: Slayer.
Arcane: Skald
Divine: Oracle; love it, all of it.
Occult: Medium (Storyteller Archetype) - this class reminds me of a cool character concept from The Swan's War Trilogy called a "Storyfinder". They "listened to the voices" of ruins and other places. These "voices" told them the stories of the people who lived there in the past. It's probably based exactly on this concept, who knows . . . .
Nature: Shaman - feels sort of "Druid-like" but combines Oracle and Witch which I think is a fantastic idea.
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I would put Alchemist in arcane personally.
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Non-magic: Vigilante. Kick butt with full BAB and feat-or-better features on even levels, have a good will save, and enjoy the easy life of lots of skill points and class skills. Archetypes provide a ton of specialization, allowing it to imitate most of the other major class types.
Arcane: Sorcerer. Kills me with its terrible skills and the worst second level improvements in the game, but once you get past that, it's great. Special mention goes to Sylvan Sorcerer for making those low-level full caster doldrums a breeze.
Divine: Oracle. Extra Revelation never should have been a feat, but it is, so enjoy having the game's best selection of menu-item class features. Animal companions, hidden casting, Cha-to-just-about-anything, you name it. With the Wrecking Mysticism curse, there's even access to some of that arcane trickery goodness the spell list is missing out on.
Occult: Kineticist. You're just shy of impossible to kill, and if you're a human, you can take every feat you need to be competent for the entire game at level one, freeing you up to do whatever you like with levels three through nineteen. Decent damage is built right into the class. (Honorable mention goes to Rebirth Discipline Psychic for being the best spontaneous caster. One flexible spell goes a long way.)
Nature: Meh. Druid, I guess, now that they have some feats and archetypes to get spells other than just plant/animal effects. The category isn't really one I particularly care for because it's largely limited to the kind of character focuses I don't care about. Maybe Fey Trickster Mesmerist?
Non-caster: Barbarian. I like the idea of them, ever since they brought them back in 3rd edition.
Arcane: tie between Bloodrager and Sorcerer. I like the bloodline part of both, and Bloodrager combines the sorcerer with my fave non-caster.
Divine: Paladin. I enjoy the class, and don't find the lawful good requirement to be restrictive.
Nature: This one is tough. The idea behind the Hunter is something I really love, but I have never played one before. I do like the druid, though.
Psychic/Occult: Haven't played any of them, but I would probably pick the Kineticist. I have an obsession with the elements. >.>
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Non-caster: Ninja. I like the idea of an assassin that can use a few tricks to make themselves seem more elusive.
Arcane: Summoner. Even unchained, I love the idea of a caster with basically a pet outsider that they can tweak. If anything, I like the unchained more, because it feels more balanced.
Divine: Shaman. I like witches, and I like oracles, but when you put the two of them together, well...it's pretty great.
Nature: Hunter. For the same reason as the Summoner, except that in this instance it's not just "master and the pet that actually does things" it's "master and pet and both work together."
Occult: Kineticist. Because playing a bender is by far my favorite thing to do.
Non-caster: Vigilante. Huge amount of diversity through their archetypes, plenty of skill points, and class abilities that improve the character both socially and in combat, what's not to love?
Arcane: Witch. Both the theming an mechanics are great. Hexes give you plenty to do when run out of spells & patrons represent an good RP-hook GMs can play with. (Runner up: Arcanist)
Divine: Inquisitor I guess? I honestly haven't played many divine-focused characters, but inquisitors have a lot of fun archetype considerations, less restrictions from their deity, and bane.
Nature: Ranger. Because Combat styles. Maybe I'll consider druid once I get around to actually playing one.
Occult: Kineticist. Partially because its one of the few occult classes I've actually fully read-through, but also because of their great switch-hitting ability and elemental theming.
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Non-caster: Vigilante. Lots of fun choices in this category, Rogues and Brawlers and Unchained Monks, but Vigilantes win out due to sheer versatility.
Arcane: Bard. Love Bards.
Divine: Shaman. This one has so much flavour. Favourite full caster in the game.
Nature: Shaman again. What, they can totally be built as a nature-based class. Otherwise, I'd say Hunters.
Psychic: Mesmerist. The nega-bard. :D
Non-caster: Slayer
Arcane: Bard
Divine: Warpriest
Nature: Hunter
Psychic: Kineticist
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Non- magic: Barbarian, I love the variety rage powers give (granted some are definitely better than others)
Arcane: Sorcerer, again variety is a huge bonus, and an offhand remark referencing another sorcerer I played snowballed and now all of my sorcerers and bloodrager characters are related in our games. Mechanically this does almost nothing, but flavor wise it's been great.
Divine: This one is tough for me, but I think I'm gonna go with cleric, they've got what you need just a day away at most and can be combat and support.
Nature: Gotta be druid, but I haven't played hunter yet. I really like animal companions, so hunter is definitely interesting.
Occult: Haven't played any, but I'm going with Kineticist, because I like avatar.
Arcane: i use my vote to lure the bard class into a dark room and kill it. Arcane classes just have lame options. I can have fun once in a while but i wont play any particular arcane class over and over.
I get not liking arcane, but can I ask why Bard deserves such ire?
Non-magic: Warleader (from Path of War). I like the ability they have to fight and grant some buffs at the same time. If limited to Pf official classes, Vigilante, for reasons well explained here already.
Arcane: Magus and Bloodrager tie. I enjoy the fusion of melee combat ability and magical capability.
Divine: Oracle. The build your own approach is something I wish most classes offered.
Nature: None, thanks
Nonmagic: monk, partially because of some cool role-playing potential beyond combat, but also because of good survivability. And many nice memories, such as a 3rd-ed high-level monk kiting a non-killable high-level frenzied berserker, really affect my personal choices.
Arcane: wizard. Played them since 2nd Ed and still loving them, after all the changes and updates. A class theat needs no dips or archetypes, it is already great.
Divine: paladin or shaman? paladin or shaman? ... let's say paladin, I played them more and have a bundle of nice memories, while the shamans are still "new stuff, most options not tested" for me.
Nature: druid. Wild shape is not a class ability, it is a lifestyle.
(yes, there seems to be a pattern too. I defenitely tend to favor core classes, even when base and hybrid ones present really good options).
Occult: none. We are not playing occult stuff in my group, so I never get my hands on any of these characters.
Would I be a bad person if I said this?
Non-caster: Vigilante
Arcane: Vigilante (Warlock)
Divine: Vigilante (Cabalist)
Nature: Vigilante (Agathiel)
Occult: Vigilante (Psychometrist)
In all honesty, though...
Non-caster: UMonk. It was an amazing feeling when I saw that Paizo had detached itself far enough from 3.5 that they could make a better Monk. Archetyped regular Monks can still be good, but UMonk as a base is just that much better.
Arcane: Magus. Arcanists have a lovely casting system and great exploits, but Spellstrike and Spell Combat are such amazing inventions that make sense on a thematic and mechanical level that the Magus takes the cake. And I like wizards that can take and dish out hits. Secondary shout-out to Investigator.
Divine: Inquisitor. Hands down one of the best Pathfinder classes ever. Does everything well, good at making teammates not hate you. Uses teamwork feats well, actually does something useful with domains/inquisitions. Honorable mentions to Paladin.
Nature: Druid. The Ranger and Hunter are wonderful, but a domain/Animal Companion choice together with relatively unrestricted Wildshape and 9-level casting have me sold. The Hunter is much more Druid than Ranger, anyways.
Occult: Kineticist. Mediums are versatile and Occultists are powerful, but Kineticists are thematic, customizable, and still good. All Mediums have the same class features, not all Kineticists do.
what happened with the vigilante, I stopped playing for about a year, and so stopped paying attention, this was during the playtest and all i remember is everyone saying they all sucked, except maybe the combat one.
Non-Magic: Gunslinger. I like guns. Guns are cool.
Arcane: Investigator. They get alchemy, so I'm counting it here.
Divine: Antipaladin. I like paladins, and switching all of their features to being offensive to pretty much anything, not just your opposed alignment? Great.
Nature: Hunter, specifically the verminous hunter. There's something about teaming up with a giant wasp that's really cool to me.
Occult: This one's complicated for me, because I haven't had a chance to actually play any of these yet, but from purely a flavor standpoint, Spiritualist is my favorite.
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what happened with the vigilante, I stopped playing for about a year, and so stopped paying attention, this was during the playtest and all i remember is everyone saying they all sucked, except maybe the combat one.
That was true in the playtest version (though the 'combat one' actually sucked in the playtest too, IMO).
The final version is actually seriously awesome. They used the design space opened up by not having an 'Extra Vigilante Talent' Feat to make the Talents really good, and to allow them to be exchanged for other really good stuff by Archetypes.
It's probably the best (or at least best Paizo made) non-caster in the game in terms of non-combat options, and can be made on par with full BAB classes in combat as well.
I highly recommend taking a look.
Non-magic: Ninja (Runner up: Noble Fencer Swashbuckler)
Arcane: Arcanist (Runner up: Alchemist)
Divine: Oracle (Runner up: Inquisitor)
Nature: Ranger (Runner up: Fey Trickster Mesmerist)
Occult: Kineticist (Runner up: Mesmerist)
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Non-Magic: Vigilante
Arcane: Magus (I still need to sit down and play a Bard though)
Divine: Warpriest (All the feats of the fighter, and 6-tier casting, blessings, the nuts!)
Nature: Ranger (Though not really because I'm in love with the Dandy archetype. Hunter seems ace)
Occult: Occultist (The true blue jack-of-all-trades class! Super flexible)
Overall: Investigator. I'm onto playing my third, now?
Martial- Rogue I love skills, Have always enjoyed playing rogues, even if they are not the most powerful.
Arcane Witch, Again very flexible with skills
Divine- Inquisitor, flexible, good in combat, lots of skills
Nature- Love druids
Occult Occultist
Martial -- Fighter
Arcane -- Sorcerer
Divine -- Cleric
Nature -- Druid
And adding Occult -- Psychic
what about psychic?
Fighter
Sorcerer(I like to make focused arcane people not generic can do everything's even if it's more powerful)
Cleric(i just like clerics)
Ranger
Occutist
Fighter
WizardOracle
Ranger
Finally, about the Occult classes. I hate all of them.
Non-Magical: Skirmisher Ranger. If archetypes to remove spellcasting are cheating, throw Slayer in here.
Arcane: Alchemist. While I dislike Mutagen, thanks to the Alchemical Sapper and Cryptbreaker, I don't need to bother with it. Its versatility is fun, and its bomb-chucking appeals to my pyromania. Honorable mention to the Bloodrager.
Divine: This is a tough one for me- I love both Clerics and Oracles. I think, today, I'll say Oracle. Tomorrow I might say something else.
Nature: Druid. Magic, shapechanging, pets if you want them (I seldom do), more magic if you don't, just fun, versatile sorts.
Occult: Wellllllll, this is a little tough... I dislike Occultists, Spiritualists, and Mediums, for a variety of reasons, but Mesmerists and Kineticists are both awesome. I'll say kineticists. Sometimes I want to be versatile, sometimes I want to blow things apart without a lot of fiddly book-keeping.
what happened with the vigilante, I stopped playing for about a year, and so stopped paying attention, this was during the playtest and all i remember is everyone saying they all sucked, except maybe the combat one.That was true in the playtest version (though the 'combat one' actually sucked in the playtest too, IMO).
The final version is actually seriously awesome. They used the design space opened up by not having an 'Extra Vigilante Talent' Feat to make the Talents really good, and to allow them to be exchanged for other really good stuff by Archetypes.
It's probably the best (or at least best Paizo made) non-caster in the game in terms of non-combat options, and can be made on par with full BAB classes in combat as well.
I highly recommend taking a look.
I've been pretty much reading up on the vigilante and then the entire social encounter section of the book. AHHHHH what happened to my day.
Non-caster would be the Cavalier. They are so much fun to play. This is a really fun class for a knight and with the right archetype you have a very good guard in a city. The sharing teamwork feats is brilliant!
Arcane would have to be either the wizard for all the fun crafting possibilities and the limitless spells or the alchemist because they are so versatile. Though the much loathed Summoner is a solid number three for me. There is so much potential for shenanigans there.
Divine is a tie between the oh so loved Oracle and the not so loved Paladin. Oracles have so much flavor in them. I love the Seer archetype, so much fun! Chatting with the Gods was the highlight of our RotRL game. And the Paladin is a really fun challenge to play and play with. They add a beautiful element to a game if done right.
Nature would have to be the Ranger. This is such a fun class with a lot of potential versatility.
Occult is defiantly the Spiritualist. I love the fluff for the and the potential to be a threat on the front-line. I do not recall being impressed with their spell list but for fluff I will suffer far more than I should be willing to.
Thinking about this, I have realized that my favorite characters are the Swiss Army Knives, the ones with exactly the right ability for the current situation. When faced with a size #6 oval hole, let me rummage around in my backpack for a few moments, and -- aha, a size #6 oval peg.
To that end,
* Arcane : Batwizard. Of course. I have a spellbook full of every possible solution to any possible problem. Arcanist is a close second, having the same spellbook, but not as many slots....
* Divine: Actually, divine and nature are kind of easy, since they get the full spellbook for free simply by asking for it. So, cleric,
* Nature: ... and druid. Full spellbook and wildshape for when you just need an extra pair of wings, or tentacles, or gills, or whatever.
* Non-caster: Brawler. Gosh if only I had taken Improved Disarm so I could capture this duelist alive and unharmed. Oh, wait,.... I did! And now that I've captured the duelist, I need to take his place in the arena with his Klingon bat'leth... good thing someone's got proficiency and weapon focus with it, huh?
Non caster... monk, a suboptimal choice, but fun when I can get the right attribute rolls.
Arcane... I love them all I love wizards, have yet to try arcanists and sorcerers, but had the most fun with an alchemist.
Divine : oracle, sure they are a lot more restricted than the cleric, but the cleric is often a glorified field medic anyway, so its versatility and power are mostly wasted.
Nature : I never got to try a druid, so I have to go for the ranger.
what happened with the vigilante, I stopped playing for about a year, and so stopped paying attention, this was during the playtest and all i remember is everyone saying they all sucked, except maybe the combat one.That was true in the playtest version (though the 'combat one' actually sucked in the playtest too, IMO).
The final version is actually seriously awesome. They used the design space opened up by not having an 'Extra Vigilante Talent' Feat to make the Talents really good, and to allow them to be exchanged for other really good stuff by Archetypes.
It's probably the best (or at least best Paizo made) non-caster in the game in terms of non-combat options, and can be made on par with full BAB classes in combat as well.
I highly recommend taking a look.
So I'm intrigued and go looking for this class...and can't find it in the PRD. Turns out it's in Ultimate Intrigue, which isn't in the PRD. Any ideas when it will make it in, or if not, why not?
Yes, I can check d20pfsrd, but as a GM I'm reluctant to allow stuff into my game if I don't have it at least on the PRD -- and as a player, I know that my GMs are even more reluctant! (A lot more reluctant, actually.) Am I going to be forced to shell out hard dough for a rulebook just to get access to a cool class? (Oh, and a feat one of my players might be interested in for his magus.)
For the record, I've bought what I think is a reasonable share of the Golarion books and some of the APs, too. I understand the concept that Paizo has to actually sell things to make money, and that making money is important if they're going to stay in business and keep putting out great products. However, they've chosen to distinguish between rules content (free) and world content (for money). From my fan's chair, it looks like they're turning "giving rules away for free" into a winning proposition.
Sooo, Ultimate Intrigue looks like rules content -- so why isn't it in the PRD? Is there a time lag?
Hate is a strong word. What's so awful about them?
I guess I'll have to say I'm not a big fan of them. I won't run NPCs of them, that's for sure. They work for a lot of people I guess, but I'm a psionics fan.
The psychic and the rest doesn't fill that niche for me. Although I'm pragmatic enough to include them in a campaign write-up, I hate them because my campaign showcases psionics instead of Psychic Magic. Just see for yourself.
My thanks to you, the Pale King, for a fun thread!
Non-Magic: Tough for me because I've played a rogue and a monk, and didn't have fun with either. I simply enjoy flash-bang. Then again, I'm itching to try investigator, if that counts -- certainly, my interest is more for the class's mundane abilities than the alchemical ones, but I'm thinking the odd extract could do a lot to augment them.
Arcane: No question: sorcerer, every time. You want to do a different kind of character? Just pick a different blood-line.
Granted, I've enjoyed playing a witch but I wouldn't rate it a fave. Pro: the hexes are spontaneous slots with a different feel than spells. And at least I had a very small list of spells to pick from in the morning, which reduced analysis paralysis. Con: it seemed like I always picked the wrong ones. So now you can see why arcanist looks like forbidden fruit to me, but it does look sooo cool. A spontaneous caster based on INT -- with all the skills that brings! And on top of that, one who can go for the odd utility spell normally left to wizards! But would I pick the right ones out of a large spellbook -- and would I simply grind the game to a halt every morning trying to do so? Tempting, tempting, all the same.
Divine:
Oracle
Are you seeing a pattern? I love charisma-based classes. Oracle mysteries and curses make for incredible RP out of the box and for tons of different and viable builds.
I would have agreed w/ you on oracle, except that now I've taken a good look at shaman, and it looks like it might be even more fun. The shaman has the same limits on decision-making as the witch, only it adds "wandering spirit" flexibility! Plus, it's thematic in being a divine-caster based on WIS. I hear there's a skill called "Sense Motive."
Nature: I have to say, hunter is the first Nature class I've seen that I'd ever want to play. It's a spontaneous caster based on WIS! Plus, it looks like a hunter's companion might actually be a useful addition to combat (and survive), based on what I'm seeing a player do in my game. All the same, you're now talking front-melee, so I'm not as entranced with the class as I am with some of the other new ones.
Occultist: n/a I tried playing a psychic rogue in 3.5 and hated the way they'd done psionics. So maybe that distaste is what is in my mouth when I glance at Occult Adventures. Maybe a GM I play with will put together a specifically occult game sometime & I'll have to examine the classes. Hmmm, in other games I periodically try to play a ghost -- is that an option?
I can sum up my list very simply: the Advanced Class Guide did a fabulous job. I have my old-school favorites (sorcerer and oracle), but now I'm questioning them and saying I'd like to play this or that -- and the this's and the that's are all out of the ACG.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Non-magic: Fighter. I've seen so many ways to build a successful fighter in Pathfinder.
Arcane: Sorcerer. I can make a wizard that plays well but I love spontaneous casting.
Divine: Cleric. I have to go old school here. My very first D&D character was a cleric.
Nature: Druid. Just a solid, versatile class.
Occult: Haven't had a chance to play one yet, but my first will probably be an Occultist. I love the theme there.
Non-magic- Swashbuckler
Arcane- Sorcerer
Divine- Oracle
Nature- Druid
Psychic- Kineticist
Skill- Unchained Rogue
Ki- Monk/Unchained Monk
Hate is a strong word. What's so awful about them?I guess I'll have to say I'm not a big fan of them. I won't run NPCs of them, that's for sure. They work for a lot of people I guess, but I'm a psionics fan.
The psychic and the rest doesn't fill that niche for me. Although I'm pragmatic enough to include them in a campaign write-up, I hate them because my campaign showcases psionics instead of Psychic Magic. Just see for yourself.
In the history of my homebrew world, a psionic race once conquered nearly half of the world. Over time, the subjects of their empire began to rebel, and because they lacked psionics, psychic magic was created to combat their psionic overlords. By doing so, the psychic class was the first to emerge, followed by the others as other secrets were unlocked by the magical research that was being done to prepare for rebellion.