Joining game as 1 of 2 players. What do I make?

[jakebacon]

There'll be 2 of us playing, and the other guy has already created a half orc fire sorcerer. It's a homebrew steampunk setting, starting at level 4. My first thought was an alchemist or maybe a fighter bodyguard for the other PC but I'm coming up blank.

This is both my favorite and most feared part of gaming. Infinite possibilities but I have no idea where to start. Any suggestions?

[SunsetPsychosis]

Alchemist would fit the steampunk setting. Paladin is also a good choice if you can make it work. Strong martial ability, high saves, self healing.

[Stome]

For 2 player games classes that bring an extra body also work very well. Druid or summoner do well for example.

[soupturtle]

A switch hitter ranger seems like it would work very well. Help the sorcerer destroy things from afar when possible, and defend him physically when necessary. And you get a companion to boot. It's not very steampunk though, so unless you can find a cool way to refluff it you might want to look elsewhere as well. An inquisitor could also make a decent switch hitter, and is a lot more steampunk. Pick a deity with a decent favored melee weapon, and get power attack, quickdraw and as many ranged feats as you can fit in. A level of fighter would help you get started up. Or you could take a level of gunslinger, and make a gun wielding switch hitter inquisitor. You'll be terribly feat starved though, but it does seem very steampunk.

I wouldn't worry too much about pure combat capability, by the way. Your GM will have to tone it down a bit anyway since there's only two of you. What I would worry about is skills. A campaign where you fight slightly easier enemies but still experience the same challenge is still a great campaign. A campaign where you can never make any skill checks quickly becomes boring. So I'd play a character with at least 6 skill points per level, especially since the other guy is playing a sorcerer, which isn't exactly a skillful class.