In my homebrew-setting game, the existing five characters have just reached level 2, and a sixth player is being introduced this week.
Existing characters are:
Half-elf illusionist wizard
Gnome strength/luck cleric
Dwarf bear shaman druid
Human generalist fighter
Halfling mounted paladin
... so I'm recommending that player #6 consider a rogue, or maybe a bard, to fill in the skill support party role we're currently missing.
I'm a new PF GM having run 3.5 games for years; the whole group is new to PF, however.
Assuming this player takes my recommendation, what sort of advice/guidance should I give him toward building a fun and effective rogue or bard for this group? It's 32-point buy at level 2, so he has the stats to pull off a very MAD build well. Any advice?
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It's 32-point buy at level 2, so he has the stats to pull off a very MAD build well. Any advice?
Is that PF 32-point buy or 3.5 32-point buy? I'm assuming the later.
He'll do fine with pretty much anything. Any bard build will allow the group to function as a whole better, and pretty much any rogue build will bring some more damage to the table. Honestly, the only guidance I think you can give is campaign based. If you anticipate wanting to add a number of traps, rogue would be the better option.
What kind of challenges do you think he needs to fill in for? Do you think the party has been struggline on the social side? Keeps falling into poorly hidden pits? Needs someone to sneak in and reconoiter before the party kicks in the door? The kind of challenges they are struggling with will be useful in sorting out what kind of character the player could best make use of.
Also if you want specific builds and ideas what material is allowed? Core only? APG allowed? 3rd party material? 3.5 stuff? It makes a big difference in terms of what I would recomend for the player to play.
Go bard, I'm assuming that the bear shaman and probably the cleric are relatively melee oriented. In a 6 person group inspire courage can have a really nice multiplier effect. Later on some of the group buff spells (haste in particular) can take a bit of pressure off the Illusionist.
The Arcane Duelist archetype in the APG is definitely a nice revision on the class.
I still love rogues but you already have a ton of direct damage dealers I think it's better to strengthen the rest of the party instead.
Is that PF 32-point buy or 3.5 32-point buy? I'm assuming the later.
It's PF 32-point buy. Yes, I know that's very high.
What kind of challenges do you think he needs to fill in for? Do you think the party has been struggline on the social side? Keeps falling into poorly hidden pits? Needs someone to sneak in and reconoiter before the party kicks in the door? The kind of challenges they are struggling with will be useful in sorting out what kind of character the player could best make use of.
Really the thing the players seem to be struggling most with so far is working together. Outside of combat the characters have been playing to personality very well, staying pretty cohesive, collecting information and dealing with NPCs well. Very positive.
Inside combat the party doesn't seem to be working together or supporting each other as well as they could.To be honest, the group doesn't NEED a sixth character; they've been handling challenges just fine so far.
Really the thing the players seem to be struggling most with so far is working together. Outside of combat the characters have been playing to personality very well, staying pretty cohesive, collecting information and dealing with NPCs well. Very positive.
Inside combat the party doesn't seem to be working together or supporting each other as well as they could.
To be honest, the group doesn't NEED a sixth character; they've been handling challenges just fine so far.
A new player is just going to exacerbate this problem, but I recommend the bard, for sure. Especially in a group that size. +1 to hit and damage at level 2 is huge, especially if the cleric gets his party buffs to stack. I was in a level eight group of similar size, and due to the sheer number of attacks we had, the +2 to hit/damage made the bard MVP every single time.
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Assuming he goes Rogue -- or maybe Bard -- the thing you learn is he's either interested in that generic concept or he's going blind and doing whatever you say.
Either way, let him pick the stuff he seems to like. Recommend a small handful of Feats from which to choose one at 1st level. Let him choose without any help from a peanut gallery and their endless vomiting of advice.
Recommend two or maybe three of the Races and let him choose.
Skill Rank allocation you may want to do for him.
Help him deal with Ability Score point buy.
Don't worry about 2nd or 3rd, etc. level. He'll be better informed on what he wants to do when he gets there and can cross those bridges by himself.