So what do you never play as?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 8

I've never played a monk.

In the very first session of my group's original 3.0 game, that we started in the first couple of weeks of 3.0 coming out, it was a toss-up between a half-orc druid and a half-orc monk. I went for a druid, who became my longest running character who's been turning up in the campaign for 12 years now. I've played every other core class since then but I still haven't played that original monk.

On gnomes - I never got them until I read the 2nd ed. Book of Gnomes and Halflings. That book brought gnomes to life for me and I've loved them ever since. Some of my favourite characters, and NPCs I've run, have been gnomes. I love them as tinkers and I love what PF has done with them.


Never played Lawful Good or Chaotic Evil.

Never played an Elf, or a Half-Elf.

I have very much enjoyed playing Gnomes and Halflings though - and am somewhat disconcerted by the level of gnome hate on this forum.


Never play as dedicated prepared spell casters like wizard, druid, or cleric. Having to pick spells each day unduly stresses me out for some reason ;o.

Will also never play a gnome or elf, besides my one elf with a rugged beard who was a paladin of Mordin who came back wrong from a spell.


Set wrote:

I never play in games where I'm supposed to play myself, statted up for some setting. Ugh. I pretend to be myself every day!

Same reason why I usually go for non-Human races.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Thorkull wrote:
Orthos wrote:
I've never seen Halflings as comic relief characters personally, with the exception of Kender.

Merry and Pippin from Lord of the Rings were pretty much exclusively comic relief to start out. They evolved into more serious characters by the end of the books, but they never completely lost the humor they started out with.

Oh, and that reminds me, I *really* hated gnomes in Dragonlance.

I hated what Dragonlance DID to gnomes, and player character kender make my teeth ache. I love the gnome background in Golarion.

Grand Lodge

I've played practically all the races and classes save the gnome (not cause they are cool, I'm just not a gnome kinda guy, unless its Hackmasters Gnome Titan) and haven't played a cavalier, Unless you count the samurai.

as for evil My group has a strong draw towards evil, as we are all shifty in some way even if we are good aligned, which makes alot of our none core members who play with us a little shocked and well having to be on guard.


I've GM'd so I've played everything.

As a character though, I tend to shy away from class that uses a higher power to get their own power as well. I've also played every core race, but all my friends know I like elves the least. The only monstrous race I have ever really enjoyed was goblin, although I have really wanted to try a kobold.


I've never played a full caster - and only a single session each of bard and magus.

As a GM I say no to summoners and grumble at witches.


I used to hate monks but as you can see from my avatar, they've grown on me. I love the way Sajan is presented in the Pathfinder artwork and play one similar to him now.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I love gnomes!

I just don't play them...

Grand Lodge

I'm not surprised by the hatred of gnomes by this point. Gnomes are the most hated player race this side of Dragonlance.

What I'm curious about now is why all the Bard hate? I mean, no, they aren't Wizards, but I'd always thought they were at least a tier above fighters and rogues. (We don't even need to get into Monks.)

I've never played a Fighter. No reason---just has not fit any of my concepts so far. Or a Ranger; I'm sure the Ranger has its uses, but it seems like a less optimal fighter crossed with a less optimal Druid. "Ooh, I get bonus feats along a very specific feat path that a fighter could replicate easily? Ooh, I get a weak animal companion? Ooh, I get a diminished natural spell list? Ooh, I get extra attack and damage to one class of enemy that equals a fighter's ability against ALL enemies?" I've also never (nor will I ever) played a Gunslinger. I hate Gunslingers and everything to do with guns in high fantasy. Also the eastern classes. I would in an eastern campaign, but somehow ninjas and samurai in my medieval-Europe-style lands is putting too much peanut butter in my chocolate.

For races, I've never played a Dwarf or Half-Orc. I just never cared for Dwarves and Half-Orcs I cannot see any mechanical reason to choose over a human, while also being very 'meh' about the flavor.


I suppose I have played them all at one time or another. The only things I personally dont like are:

Monster's as PC - I am a core race kind of guy. I have no interest in playing gnolls, orcs, drow or any of that stuff. And I strictly prohibit them in my games when I DM.

Evil PC - I like redeemed PC's with a dark past, and I like edgy PC's who walk in the gray. But all of my PC are good/neutral aligned and no evil guys or gals when I GM.

I have no like or dislike for any class core or base. They are all cool in my book.

I have no great like or dislike for any weapon or weapon type.

I dont like playing with or GMing for large parties in the PFRPG or any variation of D20. 5 is the max for me!

!!!!Splat books hate them hate them hate them!!!!

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
walter mcwilliams wrote:
!!!!Splat books hate them hate them hate them!!!!

More for me then!


Never played a half-elf. Just have never had a reason.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Has anybody come right out and said they hated gnomes? Just because people don't want to play them does not necessarily mean they hate them.

Grand Lodge

Ravingdork wrote:
Has anybody come right out and said they hated gnomes? Just because people don't want to play them does not necessarily mean they hate them.

A couple people mentioned they cannot stand gnomes, but beyond that, may I direct you to this thread?

Sovereign Court

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I had a home game once where the DM had the nasty habit of "accidentally" killing a character every few weeks, if there were more deaths we all threatened to make a gnomish clan with the last name "Gazpacho." We were even going to fight over who got to be the bard.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Actually, I do recall playing a female gnome rogue/wizard in 4E.

My GM had the character captured, hauled to a dungeon, and raped. She escaped, but was killed soon after.

I'm thinking maybe he didn't like gnomes either. Typically, sexual abuse is not something we ever have show up in our games.

Neither gnomes nor that kind of abuse have appeared before, or since, in our games. Brings up too many disturbing images/feelings now I think.


I say we should replace CRB gnomes with an updated version of the lizard kobolds.

I already replace all gnome NPCs with kobolds anyway. Short, mechanically and sorcery inclined lizard is usually more interesting than short mechanically and sorcery inclined people. It also stops players from confusing them with short elves or halflings.

Now that i think about it. I haven't played gnomes at all, ever. Or even GM'ed one...

I don't hate them, though.


what core races i never will touch

Gnome and Halfling (too childlike for me)
Half Orc, Dwarf, (outside of a few concepts)

what classes i refuse to touch
anything with less than 4 base skill points per level. except fighters, which will always be lore wardens and intellegence based casters, which always gain a bunch of skill points by virtue of thier high intellect.

what gender i will never touch
male (except specific concepts)

what ages i will never play
anything younger than 12 or anything older than 30

Grand Lodge

Ravingdork wrote:
Has anybody come right out and said they hated gnomes? Just because people don't want to play them does not necessarily mean they hate them.

I did. You can scroll back upthread if you want my reasons.


I don't play elves. I find them generally uninteresting compared with all the other races, especially in PF. Most DM's/settings just don't do anything interesting with them and don;t get me started on the irrational love affair between the Drow and certain notable settings.

I liked the elves from spelljammer though, just the right mixture of superior/snooty/despicable.


I haven't played anything normal yet. My first character was a Dromite (Small Ant people from Psionics Unleashed) Ninja and Stormborn Sorceror. In the campaign our group basically became superheros to save this city ruled by an evil government.

I was known as Lightning Bug, the 3'4" Ninja with a 6' long katanna that used electric magic.

Sadly, that game fell apart at 5th level but I still haven't played a core race or straight core class in any game yet.


As far as core goes, I have not ever played a half-elf or a gnome, either in Pathfinder or in Dnd.

That's about it, though. I've played all the core classes at one time or another.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

The only thing I've never played was a character specifically built or aimed to screw up the rest of the party.


Just made my first halfling a "alchemist / gunslinger" I never considered the race a good one. I have never been able to play a gnome either. on the same note a centaur is a race I have not played.

fyi the lvl 10 hafling has a Ac ranging from 13 flat footed no armor to 28 with his +4 quilted armor and a dex mutagen.

His bab is low but all guns use touch ac for the first range slot anyway. Add Weapon fenesse to give him a limited melee weapon.

The Exchange

I've played all of the core races except for dwarves. I play quite a lot of halflings and gnomes, and I seem to be the only one in my group that does. I just see all the bonuses they get over the taller races and I'm sold. That, and PF Gnomes are just so much more interesting than the rest of the boring races.

As far as classes, I've never played a druid, paladin, cleric, cavalier, or gunslinger. For the paladin and cleric, I've just never had the urge to play someone that devotes themselves to a god/ideal. I'd like to pay a druid, but that idea usually get's beat out by some other concept I was thinking of at the time. Cavalier is hard because the mount is often a burden in most campaigns unless you're a small race, but it's hard to make an effective 1st level small cavalier so I don't usually bother. And if I want to use guns, I take the exotic weapon proficiency and play a more interesting class

I do, however, play a lot of arcane spellcasters- wizards, sorcerers, bards, summoners, witches, and magi. And since everyone in my group approved of them, the Psionic classes from dreamscarred press. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, a Gnome Wilder would be really fun to play.


I never play any races other than human and the "half-"races. There's no personality, philosophy, or culture that you can't represent with a human, so I just don't see a reason to ever consider playing the other races.

As for classes, I never play full casters. I just find them boring.


The only things that cause me not to play a certain character are the limits to my imagination.

Heck, I played a Warblade back in 3.5, and I don't even like the book.

Grand Lodge

Class wise I never cared for the rogue, and tend to shy away from the cleric. Race wise oddly I really dislike playing Human, I only did it once because I was forced to. Then there's Alignment I never played either LG or CE both seemed to extreme.


Thorkull wrote:
H.P. Makelovecraft wrote:
I soon am making a Chaotic Good character who wants to bring about the end of the world.
I really don't think you understand the meaning of Chaotic Good.

Well what alignment would someone be who helps the sick and needy so they can live to see the destruction of the realm by the Great Old One Asatoth?


I will never play a halfling or gnome. I usually cant play dwarves either.
I cant play paladins. Love the mechanics/tone, hate the alignment.
I wont play barbarians or fighters because they bore me.
I cant play a class someone else is playing. So I never get to play rogues or rangers. :)
I cant play evil characters.
I usually cant play lawful characters, which eliminates monks.
I dont like perma familiars or animal companions.
I also would never play alchemist, summoner, cavalier, or gunslinger. Yuck.
I want to play a staff magus but apparently they suck, so ill never play magus.
I hate end-of-the-world storylines.
I usually have a hard time playing clerics, most of the gods suck. Plus GMs hook me.

Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I typically can't bring myself to play what "everyone else" seems to play:

Martial types with low INT, rogues with high CHA and low STR, chaotic characters, characters with dark-and-edgy or excessively exotic backgrounds, characters affiliated with Cayden Cailean/Sarenrae/Torag, etc.

Silver Crusade

There are a lot of races I haven't played, but want to play.

I've played, Sylph, Assimar, Kitsune (was eaten), Lizardfolk, Tiefling, elf and am planning a Damphier.

One race I will NEVER play ever....

Human.

I'm one already, I don't need to play one in a fantasy game.


I can't stand to play elves (light or dark meat). Clear back to 1st edition, they just seem to be the most overdone by players. And it seem slike everyone that plays an elf automatically feels they are better at everything than everyone else. Or if you find something they are not better at then it must have been unimportant.
I think too many players grew up on books where elves are the ultimate magical, intellectual, graceful, natural, etc... Those books do not match this game. By this game they have a +2 on int and dex and a human can just about match their maxes. They are only slightly better, not 'god-like' better.
I will admit, the last few years with PF they are not quite as overblown as PC's. But the previous (way too many) years have just left a bad impression.

I haven't really given bards a try. I've been think about forcing myself to try them for my next PC just to be fair. But I have a real hard time with the whole concept of a guy that plays music or sings while fighting. Or music that makes everyone else instantly fight better (or worse) just because they are in the area where it is happening. Yeah, I know magic/fantasy. But I can only suspend my disbelief so far and this is pushing that envelope.
Mechanically I like what the bard gives you as far as the magic, skills, and martial abilities. But conceptually, they make my head hurt. Like I said, I may give them a try in the future, a few of the archtypes are not quite as unbelievable.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Animation wrote:

I want to play a staff magus but apparently they suck, so ill never play magus.

They don't suck. Plenty of staff magus players do.


Easy answer: The Rogue.

Finding and springing traps usually is a matter of just rolling perception checks and disable device checks. Trapfinding is not nearly as much fun in game as it is on paper, as there is never enough puzzle solving, and adventures are usually written so that a rogue isn't needed anyway. Traps are actually MORE fun without a rogue, as finding an alternative solution to a disable device problem requires actual creativity. Battles would feel repetitive as all you are going to do is try to move yourself to flank. You are weak, vulnerable, with ability scores spread out too thin and without any of the cool abilities of fellow skill based classes (bard, alchemist, ranger, inquisitor), and you always have to be on the front line. If I really wanted to go the sneak attacking route, I would probably take one or two levels of rogue, and then the rest in vivisectionist or ninja.

I also don't really get the point of barbarians. I think they make a good multiclass option, but I don't know why anyone would take more than 3 or 4 levels of one. I think mixing a drunken brute and alchemist would be excellent, as then you could rage and drink your mutagen and extracts as move actions to buff up while fighting, but straight barbarian sucks as all of your abilities don't really exist until you rage, so even at level 20 that's only going to be about five minutes per day. Then at later levels, there is a good chance you will die when you come out of rage. Plus, tracking your current con and AC is a pain always going in and out of rage. Ugh. So much effort for a few extra hits and damage.

The Magus also doesn't really appeal to me. Spell combat and spell striking means having to cast defensively all the time, which is very annoying and ineffectual. The only workaround I've seen is using a scorpion whip, but I don't really feel like the class has much flexibility then.

I also really hate spellcasters that only function as blasters. I often play society games with multiple wizard/sorcerers that only know blasting spells, which takes strategy out of the game. It usually comes down to: well we will destroy everything in two rounds, unless they are resistant to fire, which makes it a TPK. This makes witches more appealing, but I wish they had more of a useful hex selection. I find myself rather bored with primary casters, as any class that relies on one magic spell that will mean the difference between the game being extremely difficult and extremely easy isnt very interesting.

I like all of the base races and love toying with unique combinations: a half-elf wizard with maxed out UMD, a halfling archer paladin, a half-Orc summoner who uses his eidolon as a cute skill monkey, while destroying and demoralizing foes with his battle axe and maxed out intimidation. The more customizable the class is, the more options for creating unique and interesting characters, which is what I like.

Scarab Sages

Kydeem de'Morcaine wrote:

I haven't really given bards a try. I've been think about forcing myself to try them for my next PC just to be fair. But I have a real hard time with the whole concept of a guy that plays music or sings while fighting. Or music that makes everyone else instantly fight better (or worse) just because they are in the area where it is happening. Yeah, I know magic/fantasy. But I can only suspend my disbelief so far and this is pushing that envelope.

Mechanically I like what the bard gives you as far as the magic, skills, and martial abilities. But conceptually, they make my head hurt. Like I said, I may give them a try in the future, a few of the archtypes are not quite as unbelievable.

Bard's have a lot more options in PF. I play two bards. One is extremely cocky and very racist. Because of this, the party fights harder and faster to get him to shut up (that explains the mechanics for the bonus to hit and damage). If he thinks the fight is boring, he breaks out the bagpipes. The other one gives stirring battle speeches, kinda like what you see during those cheesy sports movies (especially football).


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Bards don't have to sing and dance to do their job. Their bardic music could easily be described as an encouraging war cry or war chant.

My bards don't look like little nancy-prancy boys. They look like viking warriors with an axe to grind.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Had a player run a half-Orc bard. He played the trombone and thought exclusively in college football terminology. My cleric was 'coach' and the enemy leader was the 'quarterback'.


Thorkull wrote:

I detest gnomes. I refuse to play one and I constantly mock them when I play. Why? There's nothing that gnomes bring to the table that another race doesn't do better.

1. Want to be small and sneaky? Play a halfling.
2. Want to be an underground dweller, perhaps with a penchant for things mechanical? Play a dwarf.
3. Want to be in touch with nature and magic? Play an elf.

They're worse than Jawas!

Gnomes make excellent sorcerers! The only competition they have there are humans with the favored class bonus - but I prefer gnomes with sorcery. The con bonus is a huge addition to the cha bonus for gnomes.

I had a gnome sorcerer who was a cunning linguist (gift of tongues) with maxed bluff and diplomacy (infernal) and with a handful of languages you can befriend or pursuade anyone!

Pyromaniac is awesome for a crossblooded blaster and the +1 DC for illusions comes in handy for your more sublte casters.

They're awesome sorcerers!


Even though I never play gnomes, I think they're a really fun race to play as kind of alien and full of wonder. There's nothing like having a wide-eyed gnome playing a fighter a little sadistically as it revels in some "fascinating" violence.


Never played a dwarf. Short, smelly and ill-tempered...I will play a halfling who hasn't had his morning coffee yet.

Classes...haven't played a summoner or a witch yet, hadn't played a mage in years and years till about six months ago when I started a conjurer.


Ketli Inkwhistle wrote:

Plus, as a gnome, everybody always has the most precious looks of surprise and alarm when you smile a beatific smile and reveal that you were the serial killer mastermind all along... [/Gnometangent]

That settles it, I have to make a Gnome now.

I have never played Cavalier, nor do I have any desire to. This extends to Samurai as well. I just don't like them.

Liberty's Edge

evil characters. It just never feels right to me.

Liberty's Edge

I am another one that does not like playing gnomes / halflings. Funny enough, I have really enjoyed playing a Bard a couple of times. The classes that I have a hard time playing are the low int, high str, classes such as barbs and straight fighters.

Grand Lodge

I don't think I'd ever play a gnome. I love the bleaching, but I find forced in-game zaniness irritating. Having said that, I love halflings, and I love the idea of halfling heroes making 'the biggies' look slow-footed, unskilled and dense a brilliant source of roleplaying fun. But that might just be because there was so much wonderful fluff about the canniness of the Faerunian halflings and the savagery of the plain-riding Eberron halflings.

I don't think I'd ever play a Nagaji, though I love the rest of the oriental races.

I don't think I'd ever play a magus, as I've heard too much about how they have one trick and that's it. I love versatility. That means it's unlikely I'd play a sorceror too.

I'd never play an Osirion human because it immediately evokes mental images of horribly cheap 'Stargate' scenes and bad actors in stiff cardboard outfits saying stuff like "Jaffarrrrr." Ugh.

I'd never play a monk, because I sing 'Kung-fu fighting' enough in real life as it is. And I hate the idea of a guy trying to kick someone wielding a sword. That'd be the shortest combat ever and you all know it.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
KestlerGunner wrote:

I'd never play a monk, because I sing 'Kung-fu fighting' enough in real life as it is. And I hate the idea of a guy trying to kick someone wielding a sword. That'd be the shortest combat ever and you all know it.

I've seen plenty of fights between unarmed and armed combatants that ended with the armed ones dead. So no, they are not the shortest fights ever, unless you count the ones that were over before the weapon wielder had a chance to do anything.

Shadow Lodge

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Don't really play Evil characters or allow people to start as them when I GM, from my experience they either devolve the game down as the troll the party or end up just being boring unless they are played perfectly (which is a thing of beauty). Never really ran an Antipaladin either, always felt like it was built more to use against a party then play as but I will say I would really love to see a LE paladin class, I've always thought that Asmodeus would rather make his own paladins from the get go to further his needs then just break every paladin wandering around.


Haven't had a crack at Gnomes or Halflings, just because I wasn't that wild on them and there hasn't been any campaigns I have been in that really made me think it'd fit.

I also find Halflings mechanically to be pretty inferior, which irks me.

Dwarves have been on my Taboo list for over a decade now, on the basis that we had these two stoners who ALWAYS played Dwarves who were always carbon copies of the last ones and possibly the most annoying way imaginable.

I reject the group-think that suggests any and all dwarves must be odious low Cha alcoholics who all sound like Scotsmen/Pirates. Really? We aren't all well and truly over that by now?

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