My buddy will be running a game with myself as the only P.C. due to our time restrictions with school and work it is going to be a forum game. The rulebook is pathfinder and I need some advice. I am a huge fan of martial classes rogue being my all time favorite but I am looking to branch out a little bit this time (not much). I like the idea of survival by killing faster, even though I know it is a risky way to run because I have to have decent rolls to do so. I was thinking of playing a gunslinger, but doing some reading it looks like they are a bit squishy. Since this is a single player game I have to balance Damage/Mitigation/Social. Any constructive input would appreciated.
Summoner, or maybe druid, but primarily, look at the summoner. The powerful eidolon as a 'second' character is really helpful in a solo game. The summoner also has a very versatile spell list, being able to buff, heal the eidolon, use control spells, or even swing some damage himself. And if you are in a situation you or the eidolon cant handle, chances are there is a monster you can summon that can work for it. The are charisma based so assumming you can use some traits to make social skills class skills you can handle social situations, or you could even give your eidolon the skilled evolution and have it be the face of your 'party'
The druid is also a good choice, with alot of the same benefits as the summoner, the only difference being there is alot more power concentrated in the druid with its full casting, and wild shape, and less in the animal companion as compared to the eidolon.
Archeologist bard. Plenty of rogue flavor, trapfinding, spells, plenty of abilities for a solo character.
Not sure if freebooter and urban ranger stack, but that would be a good choice as well.
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One way to mitigate 'squishiness' is to start above 1st level! What level are you to start?
You can't really face a published AP with a single PC, but the good news is that the DM must therefore tailor the campaign to your PC, whatever it is!
Just make sure that your PC can do stuff outside of combat as well as being effective in combat.
One way to approach a solo PC is for the DM to play allies, that can act as a de facto party, so you may want to bear that in mind when creating the persona.
More than any other type of game, the solo campaign benefits from collaboration with the DM during the character creation process. Get the DM on board and motivated to help your PC be cool right from the start.
I played the bard once and it was interesting but I failed to use it to the full potential. I looked at a summoner before and ruled it out due to a lack of knowledge and interest. The abilities sound cool but it doesn't fit into my play style. If I went druid how well would it mesh with alchemist for the mutation style play/potions? I haven't played the druid before and unfortunately do not know a whole lot about them.
Thanks for the input so far. I may have to look into the urban ranger idea, I haven't played one since 3.5
Seems like a bard or inquisitor would be good. Magic, some combat ability, and lots of skills would give you some versatility.
I like the archaeologist bard, myself. You'll want a high cha for people skills when fighting doesn't seem like a good idea, and have good DCs for your spells.
One way to mitigate 'squishiness' is to start above 1st level! What level are you to start?
You can't really face a published AP with a single PC, but the good news is that the DM must therefore tailor the campaign to your PC, whatever it is!
Just make sure that your PC can do stuff outside of combat as well as being effective in combat.
One way to approach a solo PC is for the DM to play allies, that can act as a de facto party, so you may want to bear that in mind when creating the persona.
More than any other type of game, the solo campaign benefits from collaboration with the DM during the character creation process. Get the DM on board and motivated to help your PC be cool right from the start.
Having played his games in the past he is always pretty good about letting you get away with something if you can come up with a good reason. For instance if I have low charisma but I make a convincing argument he normally will allow a situation to be swayed. It is a toss up at the moment we are either starting at lvl1 or lvl5 depending on his game plan which he is working on as I type. At this point in time his idea was to let me run solo without "A.I." being introduced but if it becomes to difficult he said he may toss someone in there. He is a pretty forgiving DM as long as I don't kick his puppy :D (no puppies were kicked in this post)
I concur with the "druid or summoner" sentiment. Oracle or paladin might also be fun.
Not sure if freebooter and urban ranger stack, but that would be a good choice as well.
Why would you choose freebooter for a solo campaign? Its abilities are based on teamwork. I suppose Freebooter's Bane is more flexible than Favored Enemy, but then you're also giving up your animal companion for a (useless) bonus to flanking.
I am going to look into the druid and ranger tonight. The basic feeling I am getting is that gunslinger isn't really viable for this unless I A) am higher than level 1 or B) Make a hit and run style char so that I can have high damage and decent social skills while sac'ing a bit of mitigation.
Thoughts?
Are you using point buy? If so, how many points?
Take a look at Monk (Master of many Styles) 4/Fighter (Brawler) 4/Ninja 4 using crane style. Strong survivability, good damage, lots of skills.