I was reading through the Monk thread, and got to thinking...
How popular do you all find the classes below in your games?
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Barbarian : Rarely used (had 1, ever)
Bard : Rarely used (had 1 bard, ever), strictly support
Cleric : Very popular, especially multiclassed as fighter
Druid : Somewhat popular, usually as a healer in place of cleric
Fighter : Very popular, especially multiclassed
Paladin : Never used, at all. Replaced by Multiclass cleric/fighter
Ranger : Rarely used (had 1, ever)
Rogue : Very popular
Sorcerer : Very popular, more so than wizards
Wizard : Somewhat popular, but not as popular as sorcerers.
Other classes
Dragon Shaman: Never used.
Duskblade : Rarely used.
Factotum : Never used.
Healer : Rarely used.
Knight : Rarely used.
Marshall : Somewhat popular (bard replacement)
Ninja : rarely used. Played it myself, vastly underpowered
Scout : Very popular rogue replacement
Spellthief : Rarely used.
Swashbuckler : Never Used.
Warlock : Somewhat popular, and vastly overpowered.
Warmage : Somewhat popular, especially multiclassed as fighter
Also a bit curious as to how many people have had players use Prestige Classes? I've had exactly 2 characters in my games go to prestige classes, usually nobody bothers with them.
EDIT: Added Ranger (Thanks for noting I missed it!)
(You missed Ranger.)
The top 3 most popular classes I see on a regular basis are Fighter, Rogue and Ranger (in no particular order).
Since we do not uses none care classes I'll go off core this is with my current group.
Barbarian : rare( 1)
Bard : Never used
Cleric : Rarely used (had 1)
Druid : Never used
Fighter : Very popular one or 2 in every group
Paladin : Rare( had 2)
Ranger: Common, used most often after fighter and rogue
Rogue : Very popular, also one or more per group
Sorcerer :Never used
Wizard : Rare[2 total]
Barbarian : I have no Players willing to play one
Bard : Somewhat used, but not often the only long time bard came from a 1st ed campaigne and that is a much different bard then todays
Cleric : Few players will play them, I prefer them
Druid : Usually have one in each game
Fighter : Favorite of many players
Paladin : Pretty popular, usually have one in every game sometimes more
Rogue : Rare, not unpopular but still not many play it often
Sorcerer : Never had one in one of my games
Wizard : Popular, the players like how much more flexible they are then sorcerers.
Ranger : Not every game has one but many do.
Interesting ... going off our three AP campaigns, we have:
Barbarian = 1
Bard = 1
Cleric = 1, 1 multiclass with a level of fighter
Druid = 1 multiclass with a level of cleric
Fighter = 1
Monk = 0
Paladin = 1
Ranger = 1, 1 multiclass with a level of fighter
Rogue = 3
Sorcerer = 2
Wizard = 1
15 characters, and we've hit just about everything ... rogue being the one per AP since you can't easily cover his abilities any other way (Hoping that's fixed in the PFRPG!)
(bumping down the page to align better)
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Barbarian : I have had two players who never play anything else unless I request it.
Bard : I have seen two rolled up, but abandoned by level 5
Cleric : Always at least one in every group, different players rotate it, a few players prefer it.
Druid : Only played once in the last couple decades of constant gaming.
Fighter : 50/50. The groups where we have barbarians, we hardly ever have a fighter. Too bad, really.
Monk : A few times. The Celestial Monk with Vow of Poverty ruined a game. Otherwise, they seem weak.
Paladin : Not since 1st Ed., though I did have one player try it for a while.
Ranger : The most common of the unneccessary classes, I have a ranger in most groups I've played or DMed.
Rogue : Always a rogue. Not always the same player.
Sorcerer : Early in 3.0 everyone went Sorc instead of Wiz but over the last 5 or 6 years, that trend has reversed in my game.
Wizard : See my answer to Sorcerer. Always at least one of these in every group, sometimes one of each.
Other classes
Dragon Shaman: I've seen one once, an alternative for one of the guys who always plays a barbarian. He did't seem to like it, and the class seemed ineffective.
Duskblade : Never used.
Factotum : Never used.
Healer : I've seen this once. Was a very powerful alternative to cleric.
Knight : Never used.
Marshall : Never used.
Ninja : Never used.
Scout : Once. Worse than rogue or ranger. I've seen a few dips into this class.
Spellthief : Never used.
Swashbuckler : Only as a dip class.
Warlock : Only once, and vastly underpowered.
Warmage : Only once. I played this in a game and somewhat ruined the game since I was vastly more effective at dishing out raw damage than anyone else in the group - they all felt jaded.
I have tried and tried to get people to use prestige classes. My current group has a habit of running characters up to around 6th-8th level and then abandoning the campaign, often before anyone has any chance to ustilize a PrC - but some of them seem interested, at least they did in 3.5, they just never got to them.
My previous group that twice went from 1st level to epic never bothered with PrCs.
I am the only player I know who has regularly multiclassed and utilized PrCs to build a unique and/or powerful character, and it's something I really like to do.
EDIT: Added Ranger (Thanks for noting I missed it!)
You missed Monk, too.
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Let's see if I can count them all up from the last few years of playing:
Bard - 1
Barbarian - 1
Druid - 2
Ranger - 2
Fighter - 0
Cleric - 3
Sorcerer - 3
Monk - 1
Wizard - 2
Rogue - 4
Paladin - 2
I'm probably missing some but that's a pretty good estimate. As for the rest:
Samurai - 1
Ninja - 1
Knight - 1
Interesting how nobody in my groups ever wants to play a straight-up Fighter. Rogues and Clerics are almost always there, but a Druid sometimes replaces a cleric (or we had both once). I'm the only one in my group who loves to play monks (halfling monks are funny!) and I have a cousin who always plays a Paladin for some reason. The guy playing the knight gave the class awesome flavor - he had the whole chivalry thing down great. Our samurai didn't like it at all...but she was new to D&D and not really sure what she wanted to do anyway. The ninja had some memorable moments - trying to leap onto a high wall, missing, and flying clear over into an enemy keep comes to mind.
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Barbarian : Never used
Bard : Used often, almost 1 per game
Cleric : Rarely used (often lack divine spellcasting)
Druid : seen 1
Fighter : Very popular one or 2 in every group
Monk: seen 1
Paladin : Rare
Ranger: Common, used most often after fighter and always a legolas clone
Rogue : regular use, but not in every game
Sorcerer: regular use, but not in every game
Wizard : Regular use, but not in every game
After that I stick to just the complete series non oriental classes usually
Favored Soul: seen 2
Spirit Shaman: seen 1
Warmage: seen 2
Warlock: seen 2
Swashbuckler: never used
Hexblade: never used
Spellthief: never used
Scout: seen one multiclassed with ranger archery focused
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Oooh, what a nifty idea. I like this topic already!
That said, my group doesn't get together often, but we often roll up a new party each time we play. So, let's see how we roll!
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Barbarian : I've seen maybe one in all my time playing 3.0/3.5 and if I remember correctly I was playing it.
Bard : I've seen two, both played by the same player. They were both fun characters, though the games they were in died.
Cleric : A common choice among my group; they're often rolled to fill the 'buff myself and butcher everything that gets in my way' role.
Druid : Never seen one played by anyone in my group.
Fighter : Common for a one or two level dip, I've never seen anyone take more than two levels. Shame really.
Monk : I have one player that plays them on occasion, I've DMed for maybe two (one of which was a revised version I wrote up)?
Paladin : I have on player that plays them all the time; aside from that, the class is pretty much untouched.
Ranger : Never seen one played.
Rogue : Never had anyone in my group stay rogue for more than a few levels.
Sorcerer : More common than wizards, but still pretty rare in my groups.
Wizard : I've seen maybe two in play, most of my players don't like the bookkeeping.
Dragon Shaman : Never seen one in play.
Duskblade : I've had one player who played a duskblade a few times, he dominated combat. The damage potential was insane at levels 1 - 10 or so (he'd frequently one-shot monsters).
Factotum : Never seen one in play.
Healer : Never seen one in play.
Knight : Seen it played once, the player quickly rerolled as a paladin (yes, it was the aforementioned paladin player). He didn't like how the class couldn't flank and whatnot.
Marshal : Seen it played once in a gestalt game. I don't see them as very useful, they need full base attack bonus.
Ninja : Never seen one in play.
Scout : Often taken instead of ranger class levels with the excuse that they 'don't have crappy spells and get trapfinding.'
Spellthief : Never seen one in play.
Swashbuckler : Never seen one in play.
Warlock : Seen one once, was effective for the level ranged he played (1 - 6ish)
Warmage : Seen one once, he made stuff dead pretty effectively.
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I'll just go with those since AOW started since that is all I remember. I discourage non core classes unless they thematically tie into the character's history somehow. So, in one AOW (8 players), 3 STAP, 2 runelods and 1 crimson throne:
Barbarian : 2
Bard : 7
Cleric : 5 - both Girlfriends who didn't want to learn combat rules, but liked being around and being able to shoot things
Druid : 3 if you use spell compendium, it teams well with the Monk.
Fighter : 6 - two were newer players, others were people just wanting to get out of their normal class
Monk : 6 - One of my players is an NCAA wrestler... I know the 3.5 grappling rules all too well.
Paladin : 2 one of the girlfriends 'graduated' from cleric.
Ranger : 4 all played by me, all vastly different.
Rogue : 6 (I might be missing one or two)
Sorcerer : 3
Wizard : 4
Swashbuckler 1
Barbarian : I have no Players willing to play one
Bard : Somewhat used, but not often the only long time bard came from a 1st ed campaigne and that is a much different bard then todays
Cleric : Few players will play them, I prefer them
Druid : Usually have one in each game
Fighter : Favorite of many players
Paladin : Pretty popular, usually have one in every game sometimes more
Rogue : Rare, not unpopular but still not many play it often
Sorcerer : Never had one in one of my games
Wizard : Popular, the players like how much more flexible they are then sorcerers.
Ranger : Not every game has one but many do.
Most of the players in my game who chose rogue did it for dipping purposes, not really to go 20 levels as a rogue.
Wow.
I have no idea how to begin counting the characters.
I'll just start tallying backwards through campaigns until I get bored I guess, though I think I'll only include campaigns where the Player got to choose the class.
Here goes, adding .5 for multi-classed unless predominantly one of them:
Barbarian : 2 [This is quite a bit more popular than it looks.]
Bard : 3
Cleric : 6
Druid : 3.5
Fighter : 4.5
Monk : 4
Paladin : 6
Ranger : 4.5
Rogue : 6.5
Sorcerer : 4
Wizard : 8 [A heck of a lot of these didn't last long (like 5). It is a popular choice, though lacking one might make it so.]
Psion : 1
Psychic Warrior : 1.5
Wilder : 1
Artificer : Once, not a choice.
Dragon Shaman : Never
Duskblade : Never
Factotum : Never
Healer : Never
Knight : Never
Marshal : Never
Ninja : Once, not a choice.
Scout : Once, not a choice.
Spellthief : Never
Swashbuckler : Never
Warlock : Once, not a choice.
Warmage : Never
Prestige classes have been fairly uncommon. Perhaps 5-8 out of all that.
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Over the last 5 years:
Barbarian : 1
Bard : 3 (but 1 was abandoned due to ineffectiveness)
Cleric : 5
Druid : 1 (abandoned early)
Fighter : 9
Monk: 2
Paladin : 2
Ranger : 3
Rogue : 5
Sorcerer : 2 (not as popular as wizards)
Wizard : 4
Other classes
Scout : 1 for a brief adventure
Shadowdancer: 1 (became a very memorable character)
Duelist : 1 (eventually very powerful)
EDIT: Added Ranger (Thanks for noting I missed it!)You missed Monk, too.
Gah,
No one ever plays them in my games, so that's why. I did mention them in the top though. :)
Hmmm,
So, just from what we have so far, it seems like prestige classes are not used very much (fits with my own experience).
I'm a bit surprised at how many people had Paladin's used, considering my own experience, but they do seem to be the least popular. Bards seem to run a close second on the least popular list. Beyond those two, though, all the other classes seem to be pretty evenly chosen, except for Rogue and cleric which seem to be pretty popular across the board (again, not unexpected).
There are some really flavorful non-core classes that I really like, like Scouts, Knights, Favored Soul and Warmage. I actually played a favored soul and a warmage at various points before, when they first came out.
Legends & Lairs put out a book called Cityworks that has a couple of really nice classes, Acrobat and Pit Fighter. Acrobat is exactly what you think, a combination performer/acrobat (sort of a cross between a scout and a rogue without thievery or lawful tendencies). The pit fighter is sort of like a barbarian with tons of exotic weaponry feats, and limited rage ability.
All that said, I'm really looking forward to the final pathfinder core classes, I've already told my players we're switching over to Pathfinder when I get it and they are looking forward to it.
Trying to think how best to answer this in regards to my group is making my brain hurt. We have/ had 4-5 DM's that rotate with no defined schedule. Each has their own campaign or campaigns running. So, lots of characters for each player. I'll try for some sort of organization in my rambling answer.
PHB/PfRPG Core Classes
bard: 2 players will be a bard 75% of the time.
cleric: there is always a cleric, who plays one varies, nobody is ever forced into the role.
druid: 3 players, maybe 15% of their characters
fighter: in the past, always at least 1 fighter, this changed to warblade before PfRPG, now moving back to fighter
monk: often 1
paladin: fraking rare. maybe 5 characters since 3.x came out. primarily due to RP difficulties.
ranger: 3 players enjoy. party has a ranger 30% of time
rogue: always at least 1 rogue or a bard that thinks he's one.
sorcerer: not too common before PfRPG. 1 long-term character and a few dips. while having lots of spells per day, didn't like the limited known spells.
wizard: 1 player 60% of time
PHB2
dragon shaman: once, very effective, but hasn't taken root with the players.
duskblade: 1 player about 30% of time (same player as the wizard)
knight: never
ToB: Book of 9 Swords
swordsage: frequent dips, never straight
warblade: took over for fighter before PfRPG
[b]Other books[/]
scout: more frequently than paladin, often multiclassed with ranger with the swift-hunter feat.
spellthief: once, very effective
warlock: 2 or 3 characters, effective, but the evil flavor keeps the numbers down (yes, no need to be evil, but still has that vibe)
all others: almost every class has been tried, but my mind is turning to goo trying to recall.
Suffice it to say that while we often stick to the core classes, our group likes to branch. As to prestige classes, in 3.x if a game continued past 8th level, most characters would have a prestige class. So far with PfRPG, the base classes are interesting and flexible enough that only 3 characters have taken the prestige route.
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Hi! Thought I'd throw my four cents in (inflation adjustment)
Barbarian : Seen at least dozen since 3.0 started. Part of a multi-class fighter only myself.
Bard : Seen several over the years. If I discount the ones I played, I've only seen one, and he ditched the character at third level. You have to have a specific mindset to play a bard, I guess. Or in my case, a general insanity...
Cleric : Seen one at every table. Usually pure cleric, but occasionally as a level dip. The highest level character I personally played in 3.5 was a cleric with a prestige class (18 levels).
Druid : Very few, but invariably played by female players. Odd huh? Maybe something in the class attracts female players. Or I've just gamed with nature inclined women...
Fighter : Hundreds, if not thousands (OK, lots.) Single classed, prestige classed, two level dips, one level dips, etc. VERY versatile class.
Monk : Only one. Hence the monk thread I started earlier this month. No one at the table knew how to play or optimize one!
Paladin : Only one, in the above mentioned 18 level game.
Ranger : Several. Well like class.
Rogue : Many, usually multi-classed with sorcerer or fighter.
Sorcerer : Saw a few, usually multi-classed.
Wizard: Several. Everyone I can think of took the class into a prestige (usually full spell casting). It was like bonus abilities!
Other Classes
Dragon Shaman : Saw one in a short lived campaign.
Beguiler: Nope.
Duskblade : Saw one. Player really like it.
Factotum : Nope.
Favored Soul: Popped up once or twice, but cleric was more popular.
Healer : Saw one. I played it. Meh.
Hexblade: Nope.
Knight : Saw a few. None lasted long.
Marshal : Saw one. Neat mechanics, but the class felt underpowered compared to a bard.
Ninja : Saw one in a short lived campaign.
Samurai:Not in D&D. L5R.
Scout : Gained a lot of popularity with ranger players as a option.
Shugenja: Not in D&D. L5R.
Spellthief : None.
Spirit Shaman: Saw a few, usually by female players again. Maybe I've played with nature and spirit sensitive women?
Swashbuckler : Someone tried when it first came out, and disliked it.
Warlock : Saw one wreck one of my campaigns by rendering many of the other player's character's useless. He killed 75% of what they encountered for the first 7 levels. His kill percentage dropped as time went on to 10th level, but he still held the majority. Don't allow them in my campaigns anymore - my experiences were poor.
Warmage : Saw several times. Lots of players like the blasting mage in armor concept.
Wu Jen: Nope.
Book of Nine Swords Classes: Saw one as a level dip.
Psionics: Never played at a table that allows them. Don't allow at my own.
Prestige Classes: Seen lots, usually on a spellcaster. Off the top of my head: Malconvoker, Archmage, Loremaster, Shadow Dancer, Focused Specialist, Seeker of the Song, Spellsinger?, Arcane Trickster, Pious Templar, Hospitilar, Master of Chains, Master Thrower, Exotic Weapon Master, Shadow Weave Mage (or similar name), Church Inquisitor, Radiant Servant, Warpriest, Sublime Chord, Wild Mage, True Necromancer?, Frenzied Berserker.
Can probably think of a few more if I run back through old campaign notes or books to refresh my memory.
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Reading over these posts it's surprising to me other campaigns haven't had Hexblades in them. Our group has and they turn out to be very fun and interesting characters to DM for.
Just wanted to add that.
Normally though, aside from maybe the Ranger core class and the Hexblade, I've never really seen anyone in the group stay one class without multiclassing in other core or picking up prestige classes.
Normally though, aside from maybe the Ranger core class and the Hexblade, I've never really seen anyone in the group stay one class without multiclassing in other core or picking up prestige classes.
And I've hardly ever seen anyone use prestige classes except for me and a rare one or two others.
But, thinking back on the games I've played in, they were invariably groups with lots of D&D newbies with few veterans, or the veterans were old-school players who had barely glanced at 3.x rules. Some exceptions, to be sure, but not as many as I would have thought.
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Normally though, aside from maybe the Ranger core class and the Hexblade, I've never really seen anyone in the group stay one class without multiclassing in other core or picking up prestige classes.And I've hardly ever seen anyone use prestige classes except for me and a rare one or two others.
But, thinking back on the games I've played in, they were invariably groups with lots of D&D newbies with few veterans, or the veterans were old-school players who had barely glanced at 3.x rules. Some exceptions, to be sure, but not as many as I would have thought.
Been playing with primarily the same group of players for 5 years now. One of them even being my brother who I played 2nd and 1st edition with, so we've been around enough to enjoy dabbling in prestige classes and such.
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Barbarian - a few, for short term or one-night games, never seen one played in a campaign. We love them for one-night games or 'Delves' and delve groups that have two or three Barbarians are much fun.
Bard - never in the core group, a newbie played one, once, and then never again.
Cleric - tons of these. Everyone seems to love them in 3.0, 3.5. Specialty Priest in 2E were also *hugely* popular, and multi-cleric parties were commonplace, as specialty priests could be radically different, mechanically, from each other, depending on choice of diety (we played lots of Realms stuff in 2E).
Druid - quite a few of these. Invariably one of the Cleric lovers will 'settle' for a Druid if we feel that we're getting too 'Cleric heavy,' although it's turned around in the last few years to where the person who didn't get dibs on the Druid 'settles' on a Cleric!
Fighter - rare, in 3.X the 'party tank' is more likely to be a Ranger, Monk, fighting Cleric and / or Animal Companion. When Fighters existed in earlier editions, they were prone to being Giff, Wemics, Ogres, 1/2 Ogre Magi, Xixchil, Krynnish Minotaurs, etc.
Monk - we've had one or two, but, excepting Oriental Adventures games, where there's always one, and they are much enjoyed, never for more than a few sessions.
Paladin - we've made it almost two decades without anyone expressing an interest in playing one of these party-conflict-magnets. Yay us.
Ranger - a few, but only two long-lived.
Rogue - another one played once or twice by a newcomer to the game, but quickly abandoned. We *never* have a skill-monkey or trapfinder in our long-term groups.
Sorcerer - never. Anyone who wants to play an arcanist plays a Wizard. Acquiring spellbooks seems to be half the fun of playing an arcanist, and the Sorcerer is left out in the cold, compared to the Cleric, Druid and Wizard, with their potentially unlimited Spells Known.
Wizard - often, if not always, one (or two!) of these in the group. Sometimes a specialist (usu Conjurer), more commonly a generalist.
Others
Psionic classes - not since 2nd edition has anyone played a psi-based character, although they were briefly popular after The Will & the Way (a Dark Sun supplement) sexed them up.
Tome of Magic - none of them.
Book of Nine Swords - none of them.
Heroes of Horror - both an Archivist and a Dread Necromancer have found popular niches.
Miniature's Handbook - none of them.
Complete Arcane - Warlocks had a brief run of popularity, but it didn't last past the introduction of Reserve Feats.
Incarnum - none of them (although a Totemist variant based off of Undead, Dragons, Aberrations, Elementals, Fey or Outsider 'melds,' instead of the thematically squishy Magical Beasts Type, would be hot like sex!).
Complete Warrior - a Swashbuckler 'dip' was seen, but never anyone who wanted to play one past a single level.
Complete Divine - none of them.
Complete Adventurer - none of them.
Oriental Adventures - the OA Monk was hugely popular in both 1st and 3rd editions. The OA Samurai, Ninja, Wu Jen and Shugenja also saw use.
(The only way most of our group would even touch a Samurai or Monk would be to use the OA rules over the Complete Warrior or PHB rules.)
PHB2 - we had one Dragon Shaman (who didn't last) and a Duskblade (who lamented being such a one-trick pony and also rerolled after a few games). No Beguilers or Knights.
Unearthed Arcana - one Cloistered Cleric and a variant Monk (that gained DR instead of fast movement or something).
Al-Qadim (2E) - The Sha'ir were insanely popular, and dragged into other settings whenever allowed! Many of the kits from the Complete Sha'ir supplement also turned into variant classes (replacing rules that were, in some cases, nightmarish!), particularly the Clockwork Mage, Ghul Lord and Spellweaver...
Prestige Classes from any source: very, very rare. As in, less than the fingers on one hand, in the entire time that 3.X has been out!
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PrCs are fairly common in my games. Usually half the characters wind up with PrCs, although often they are custom built to match a character concept that develops in game.
I have no multiclassing penalties but I only allow players to have two base classes and one PrC per character, Or if they are roleplaying it well three base classes, no PrC.
90% of the time when gaming with a party of 4 I'll see two players with straight base class characters, one with a PrC out of a book, and one with a custom made PrC.
In my game right now I have one player going straight ranger and one player going Sorcerer/Favored Soul/Mystic Theurge.
Barbarian: Very rare. I have one player who starts as barbarian 2 out if every 4 times he makes a new character, but for some reason those campaigns just never end up going anywhere. In total, I think I've seen 4 out of the many campaigns I've had.
Bard: Also rare. I'm a huge bard fan myself, but I've only had one player play one (though two others considered it before switching), and he went from 1 to 9 before he was swapped out for a Goliath monk.
Cleric: Kind of in between on this one. I've had two players play some serious, long term clerics, and one got all the way to 22 before the campaign ended. Those were with my old players though, and my new players have yet to really give the class a chance.
Druid: Like the barbarian, the druid is often picked... and the campaign goes nowhere for some reason. Very popular otherwise.
Fighter: Hands down the most popular class for us. The bonus feats are always enticing, and despite the fact that many of my players acknowledge the fact that any spellcaster will often times outmatch them at higher levels, they continue taking levels in it, including once all the way to 25.
Paladin: I would've said never had one of my players not just made one up. We started a month ago, and so far he really loves it (granted, we're in an area littered with undead).
Ranger: Oddly enough, I have never seen a ranger. It's bizarre because (again, like the druid and barbarian) they always want to play one, but when it all comes down to it they end up going something else.
Rogue: Oddly unpopular, but only because one of my old players gave them a really bad name. Now they all think of his character when they think rogue... but they're slowly losing that stigma. One of my players might multiclass rogue.
Sorcerer: Very popular. I don't know what else to say. My players just like sorcerers.
Wizard: Again, kind of in between on this one. I have a handful of regular players who strongly favor sorcerers, but I have two wizards right now despite that (and no sorcerers). So I can't say they're all that rare.
Dragon Shaman: Never Used. Though I have one player who really wants to make one.
Duskblade: Rarely used, but a popularly considered.
Factotum: Never used, don't have the book.
Healer: Never used (because it sucks).
Knight: Never used, but popularly considered.
Marshall: Never used, seen as too weak.
Ninja: Used once, but still considered weak.
Scout: Pretty popular.
Spellthief: Used once. Never used again since.
Swashbuckler: Never used.
Warlock: Somewhat popular, but seen as repetitive.
Warmage: Somewhat popular.
Beguiler: Only had one, but he was really fun.
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Barbarian : Popular in my prison game, not so much in my free world games.
Bard : I've played one, but no one has played one in a game I've run.
Cleric : One in every group, minimum.
Druid : A couple here and there.
Fighter : One or two in every group. Multiclassed with rogue is my favorite to play.
Monk: One. He sucked.
Paladin : One.
Ranger : Here and there, not overwhelmingly popular, though.
Rogue : My other favorite class to play. Very common in all my groups.
Sorcerer : One guy in my current group always plays a sorcerer.
Wizard : None currently, but usually quite popular.
PrCs are rare in any of the games I've played. The only one I've ever played was a Warforged Juggernaut in an Eberron campaign.
I don't use splats, so no data there from me.
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Here's my recollections from the dawn of 3.0 til now.
Barbarian : 7, one played by a female player
Bard : 2, both by me. The 3.0 one was lackluster at best. the PFRPG is fun!
Cleric : At least one per party, per campaign. It's essential IMO
Druid : 3
Fighter : Every party, every campaign, at least one plus some level dippers
Monk : 4, one was a cohort
Paladin : 2, one 3.5, one PFRPG
Ranger : 3 or 4, half pre-PFRPG
Rogue : At least one per party per campaign
Sorcerer : Very few before PF, now there's at least 2 that stand out in recent memory
Wizard: Usually one per campaign per party, less now that the sorcerer has some stones
Other Classes
Archivist: 2 -They are IMO the ultimate Pre=PFRPG Divine Caster
Artificer: 1 -Nice concept, just not workable with PF rules.
Dragon Shaman : 3, they're fun and multiclass well
Beguiler: 1
Duskblade : 1
Factotum : 1
Favored Soul: 0
Healer : 0
Hexblade: 1, it was dumb
Knight : 1, she did well
Marshal : 0
Ninja : 2
Samurai:0
Scout : 0
Shugenja: 0
Spellthief : 0
Spirit Shaman: 0
Swashbuckler : 1
Warlock : 2
Wu Jen: 0
(bumping similar to DM_Blake)
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Barbarian : I've seen 4, not counting the one listed in the Bard entry below.
Bard : I've seen two played by one player, and I've played a skald-type character (1/2 Orc Barbaarian/Bard). Lots of fun as a support characer, and opening up some extra healing options when the cleric is down.
Cleric : I've seen many. I've even had two groups without a cleric. Those were rough, as they didn't have a druid or Favored soul, or anything else to help them.
Druid : I've DM'd two. Both the same player, and a lot of fun to play, especially when they know how to grapple as an animal. I have played one (heavily multiclassed, see below).
Fighter : I have had at least one fighter per campaign, and I usually see at least one multiclassed with a Wizard or a Rogue (usually Rogue).
Monk : Two. I really enjoyed them until they invoked grappling rules. I still have a primer sheet for my DM crib notes to this day because of that.
Paladin : I really like this class, especially if you take the watchful spirit alternate feature from Dungeonscape. It creates a viable ground pounder holy warrior who doesn't need his special horse for a dungeon. I'd really like to see something similar for the PFRPG, even more so than the current incarnation (which is a great step up). Also, my FIRST D&D PC was a paladin.
Ranger : Several. I have many players who really like the class, although some consider the scout to be better.
Rogue : Many, usually at least one, and usually one multiclassed with Fighter (I've not seen a rogue/Wizard mix)
Sorcerer : One, with the Dragon Disciple PrC.
Wizard: not as many as other folks campaigns. Many of my players like the visceral qualities afforded by the other classes. I've seen 3 drow wizards (meh), along with one multiclass Fighter/Wizard (1/2 elf), and I'm currently playing an elven wizard in a PbP.
Other Classes
Dragon Shaman : Never seen one.
Beguiler: I played one, a Gnome Beguiler specifically, and I really like the class. The only thing I feel is missing is two (total) sneak attack dice to make it really fit. I think it should be the Gnome favored class over the Bard, but then again, I'm biased. Color spray all the way!
Duskblade : Nope.
Factotum : Nope.
Favored Soul: Never seen one, I always felt it was out of whack with the cleric, more so than the sorcerer and wizard.
Healer : I had a player really want to play one, and I think the concept is great, especially for the Realm's clergy of Ilmater.
Hexblade: None yet. I'm interested in playing the concept.
Knight : I've seen one. Not sure, as the campaign didn't last long.
Marshal : I like the class, but I've not been able to play one or to see one in action.
Ninja : Nope.
Samurai: I prefer the L5R Oriental Adventures version, although I usually just alter the fighter to fit the concept better. I won't allow the Complete Warrior version. It just feels "wrong" in some way.
Scout : I've had 3, by one of two players. They feel that this is more of a "Ranger" than the ranger in the core.
Shugenja: Not once, see Wu Jen below.
Spellthief : Great fun, I've had one in a group that I've run. It was a blast, and the player really got a lot out of it.
Spirit Shaman: Not once. I'm interested, especially to try a Native American type of character. I think it would really work in Maztica (Forgotten Realms).
Swashbuckler : I prefer the duelist PrC rather than this, and I've not seen even one player look at it.
Warlock : I haven't run across even one of these in a campaign. I'm interested in playing it, specifically as a Hellbred from the Nine Hells' Fiendish Codex.
Warmage : I have not encountered this even once.
Wu Jen: Nope. I don't personally like this unless you're on the trade way with Kara-Tur, myself. But, barring that, someone in Rokugan or a Mythic China setting would make this a fun class to play.
Book of Nine Swords Classes: I would only allow the swordsage in my own campaigns, the others feel... wrong in some manner. I currently have a swordsage in my PbP game here @ paizo.
Tome of Magic Classes: Although I've heard they were underpowered, I would especially like to try the Shadowcasters and the Binders. I haven't seen either of them in play yet.
Psionics: I had a DMPC Psion way back in 3.0, trying out the rules. It wasn't popular with the other PC's, and I eventually got him killed (by the PC's even }:) ). Really, psionics isn't for everyone, and I realize this. I have great fun with them, especially soulknives (even if they really need trapfinding and some other skills to actually be "worth" playing, in my opinion).
Green Ronin master Classes:
Necromancer and/or Death Knight (Secret college of Necromancy): I've had one necromancer as an enemy in 3.0. It was great fun, especially since that group didn't have a cleric.
Noble: High concept, really difficult to pull off.
Cavalier: Similar to noble
Shaman: This was a nice class, and I like a number of elements from it
Witch: I really like this class, especially for NPC's, something the Player's aren't likely to play and know all the abilities of is always fun in my book.
Assassin: I actually had one of these in a Planescape campaign. They're actually a fairly balanced class, especially once the 3.5 revision hit.
Avatar: This class needed some heavy reworking. I like the concept, but I'm of the "two sides of a coin" school of thought, so I reworked a bit for a good and evil (pick a side, no neutral (LN, TN, CN, otherwise you're good). I think this has a place in a standard campaign, albeit with a few better abilities, which I yanked from one of the classes in the Advanced Player's Guide, as I don't otherwise use that book.
Unholy Warrior: Have yet to utilize this class for a villain, although it will be fun when I do.
Psychic: This class had potential. I mixed with a bit of the Spycraft Shadowforce Archer psionic rules, and I came up with something that I was really pleased with for a skill-based system. I like the idea of a reserve pool equal to hit points, and then burning hit points once that is gone, which meshed fairly well with the core rules. I felt this had more of the feel for Psionics as I envisioned them, but was actually balanced for 3.5 type parties.
Prestige Classes/Notes on my playstyle: I'm very fond of high concept characters, and as such, have played the most prestige classes of anyone I've gamed with (excluding other DM's, of course), mind you this includes playing some strange combinations.
I've played a Rogue/Druid/Daggerspell Shaper/Master of Many Forms that has taken the highest mantle (favorite character ever). The concept was the character Face from the A-Team, but the personality was almost Murdoch from the same show. Great fun, both as a foil for chaos, as well as a starter of chaos. (see KnightErrantJR's Mistledale Campaign in the Campaign Journals archive for further details on said character).
After that, I have played a Wizard/Cleric/Hallowed Mage from the Book of Hallowed might. Again pious wizardry was fun. I'd play a mystic Theurge if I were given the chance.
Of all the combinations I dislike in campaigns, the following are the worst for me:
Troll Paladin (yes, a savage species character)
Drow Anything. I despise Drow as PC's, I prefer them to be villains and call it a day.
Psionics notes: I really like psionics, although most that I play with don't like them all that much. I view psionics much like The Force, which is in everyone, but only a special few can use them. Perhaps that's why I like the Shadowforce Archer rules more than the XPH and such. Then again, that's preference for you.
Anyhoo, I think I've rambled long enough.
The most common classes in the 4 groups I played 3.edition are:
Very common:
Ranger(I think in every group) cleric, druid, bard, rogue, paladin, fighter (but not once a single class fighter)
Also played:
Monk, barbarian, sorcerer, Duskblade, warlock,
dragon shaman (2, one played by me, one of the most fun PC’s I ever played)
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Barbarian: 3 of them and they were BRUTAL!
Bard: I've had 1 and he died quickly
Cleric: If I don't have one of these in the campaign, then there is a druid
Druid: See above & my wife absolutely loves this class
Fighter: Multiclassed usually, but my wife is one in another game
Paladin: Only once and she died quickly
Ranger: Never had one, weird huh?
Rogue: Always or else they die.
Sorcerer: Never had one
Wizard: Popular, but my people HATE them, so I kill them with MY wizards!
Other classes
Scout: Used to a wonderful extent and she died quickly as well!
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i will count what comes to mind, for the campaigns we have played in all the games I have been... I don't remember all of them:
.
.
.
.
class / my games / PFS
barbarian: .....
bard: ... / ...
cleric: ............ / ..
druid: ... / .
fighter: ....... / .
paladin: .......
monk: ....
ranger: ......
rogue: .......
sorcerer: ...
wizard: ......
----
Samurai: ...
Ninja: ..
ok by my account by memmory, there is always a cleric, and surely a wizard, but my memory is alcking and we have tried a lot of games with alternative clases (Arcana Evolved)
damn you have left em thinking, now I need to check old notes :S
I myself can say I have played with:
1 Fighter-Corsair (2nd Ed), 1 Fighter-Kensai (2nd Ed), 1 Ninja (2nd Ed), 1 Rogue-Holy Assassin (Al-Quadim 2nd Ed), 2 Paladin, 4 Clerics, 1 rangers, 1 Ranger/Cleric, 1 Cleric/Wizard, 1 rogue/cleric, 2 wizard, 3 rogues, 1 monk, 1 barbarian, 1 bard, 0 druid, 0 sorcerers
Barbarian: Very rare. I have one player who starts as barbarian 2 out if every 4 times he makes a new character, but for some reason those campaigns just never end up going anywhere. In total, I think I've seen 4 out of the many campaigns I've had.
Bard: Also rare. I'm a huge bard fan myself, but I've only had one player play one (though two others considered it before switching), and he went from 1 to 9 before he was swapped out for a Goliath monk.
Cleric: Kind of in between on this one. I've had two players play some serious, long term clerics, and one got all the way to 22 before the campaign ended. Those were with my old players though, and my new players have yet to really give the class a chance.
Druid: Like the barbarian, the druid is often picked... and the campaign goes nowhere for some reason. Very popular otherwise.
Fighter: Hands down the most popular class for us. The bonus feats are always enticing, and despite the fact that many of my players acknowledge the fact that any spellcaster will often times outmatch them at higher levels, they continue taking levels in it, including once all the way to 25.
Monk: Very popular. It also helps that I have two monk lovers in my regular group.
Paladin: I would've said never had one of my players not just made one up. We started a month ago, and so far he really loves it (granted, we're in an area littered with undead).
Ranger: Oddly enough, I have never seen a ranger. It's bizarre because (again, like the druid and barbarian) they always want to play one, but when it all comes down to it they end up going something else.
Rogue: Oddly unpopular, but only because one of my old players gave them a really bad name. Now they all think of his character when they think rogue... but they're slowly losing that stigma. One of my players might multiclass rogue.
Sorcerer: Very popular. I don't know what else to say. My players just like sorcerers.
Wizard: Again, kind of in between on this one. I have a handful of regular players who strongly favor sorcerers, but I have two wizards right now despite that (and no sorcerers). So...
Forgot Monk.
Over the last few years:
Barbarian : 2
Bard : 2 (one started as a monk)
Cleric : 3
Druid : 0
Fighter : 4
Monk: 2 (one became a bard)
Paladin : 2
Ranger : 3
Rogue : 3
Sorcerer : 1
Wizard : 3
Other classes
Scout : 1
Gun Mage(IK): 1
Artificer: 1
Totem Warrior : 1
Prestige Class
Loremaster : 1
Knight of the Pale(Ptolus) : 1
Great Captain : 1
Assassin: 1
The Agent (IK): 1
Here's just from my personal experiences and those of my pawns... er, players...
Core Classes
Barbarian : Uncommon, used heavily for 1 or 2 levels in 3rd ed, now seem more popular choices in PFRPG.
Bard : Probably physically the weakest choice for a PC, heavy on the roleplay but weak in battle compared to others. Haven't seen any played beyond 6th level or so as they tend to lack firepower and the players get bored. None played yet in PFRPG.
Cleric : One of the big four, not everyone's favorite but usually have one or two in almost every party. They've taken a dip in popularity in PFRPG due to the new Domain rules.
Druid : Very powerful, popular choice in my groups. Players love the nature-themed spells n' shapeshifting. None played yet in PFRPG.
Fighter : One of the big four, everyone loves the Fighter. Very powerful, best choice for melee or ranged combatants due to heavy Feat opportunities. In 3rd ed, often beefed up with multiclassing with Barbarian, Ranger or Rogue levels.
Monk : Uncommon choice, they lack staying power in 3rd ed, but gaining popularity in PFRPG. Seen two played with the new Monk write-ups, both very successful. Popular choice for those who play half-orcs.
Paladin : Uncommon choice, in 3rd ed. Pallys fall behind Fighters n' Barbarians once they hit 5th or 6th level or so. Now with the PFRPG rules, everyone wants to try one.
Ranger : Very popular, every bowslinger wants one. Usually have at least 1 in every party. In 3rd ed it was common to take 1 level in Ranger to get free Tracking and more skills.
Rogue : Another one of the big four, this is the most popular choice at my table, even more so since the PFRPG conversion. With the rogue tricks, they can get a Feat every single level. Also popular multiclass in 3rd ed to get more skill points and 1d6 sneak attack to start off, Evasion at 2nd level.
Sorcerer : Not as common as wizards in 3rd ed, but gaining popularity thanks to the new bloodlines in PFRPG. Unlimited cantrips and a bloodline power makes multiclassing more attractive too.
Wizard : The last of the big four, every group has always had a wizard. Someone always wants to play one, even had 3 wizards in one 7-player group. Wizards are extremely versatile compared to sorcerers, but seem to be losing ground since the PFRPG switch, mostly because sorcerers aren't quite as limited anymore.
Other classes I've seen used include:
Swashbuckler: Extremely weak, like bards without the magic. They can hit but do very little damage compared to other high BAB alternatives. Only seen it played twice, neither time with any success... in one case, the player grew so bored with his inability to keep up in combat that he begged me to let him change to a rogue/fighter instead.
Warmage: Used to be more popular, but players soon learned that sorcerers were more effective glass cannons than light armored melee mages. Several died horribly.
Warlock: VERY popular, to the point that I don't allow any new ones to be introduced in my campaigns any longer. They are extremely unbalancing at mid- to high-levels, with unlimited firepower and special effects. Voracious dispelling is a good example of an ability that should never be allowed to exist as an "at will" ability.
Artificer (Eberron): Somewhat popular, but can be limited as it requires a particular type of campaign and resources to utilize properly. I still allow them for players who ask, in any campaign (not just Eberron).
Scout: Somewhat popular, despite being the rogue's retarded backwoods cousin. At my own table, scouts don't last long, as it's very easy to counter their skirmish ability with movement hampering spells or effects, or even just close-condition battlefields. Tanglefoot bags are a wonderful thing...
Spell-thief: Only used once in past 7 years that I've seen, and the player seemed bored much of the time.
Well, there ya go... all the classes I can remember being played either at my table or in other games I've ponied up to during the all too brief lifespan of 3rd edition D&D aka Pathfinder RPG (or the Hobby-formerly-known-as-D&D).
I am going to list the classes I’ve played over the years (and I’ve played since 1982), but only those from 1E to 3.5E and Pathfinder Beta. Please take not that about half the time I was DMing, not playing. Most of them are 1E or 2E characters, with some converted to 3.0/3.5E.
Barbarian 0
Bard 0
Cleric 2 (multiclass 4)
Druid 0 (multiclass 1)
Fighter 9 (multiclass 7)
Monk 0
Paladin 2 (multiclass 1) *My very first character was a paladin.
Truthfully its my most favored class, even though I’ve only played
3 of them.
Ranger 1
Rogue 2 (multiclass 5)
Sorcerer 1 (multiclass 1)
Wizard 2 (multiclass 5)
Grand total of 31 characters.
*Plese note that most 0f my characters never died from during campaigns, and often leveled up to 15th level+, some even to 30th level+. Most have either been retired/semiretired (aka NPCs), died from old age, or still on stanby for future campaigns.