One-off game, 15th level. 5th party member?

[Just Pete]

We're doing a one-off this weekend, and I need to create a character - so far, we've got

1) Arcane caster - wizard or alchemist
2) a Tank (massive defense fighter or cleric)
3) Ranger or Magus
4) Almost definitely a Druid
5) Me...

I'm open to playing just about anything. Suggestions to round out the roles?

[Sic_Pixie]

You are kinda woolly on the other characters. Not your fault as they don’t know what they are playing but this is what I see.

1. Arcane Caster – Wizard or Alchemist …

There is so much difference between the two, what sort of wizard or alchemist? Controller, blaster, god, etc. You could have another wizard and just go with what the other is not doing and you would be golden.

2. A Tank

Fighter or Cleric, both can tank nicely

3. Ranger or Magus

Too big a disparity between the two; very different styles for both; is the ranger going ranged, melee, switch hitter. Magus is usually just a high damage dealer and would be devilishly effective at this level.

4. Druid …

What sort of druid. Summons, wildshape, stand back and cast or up close and personal? Animal companion?

The way I see it depending upon how the other four choose you have a wide open field of opportunity. You could play anything; at this level you could make something very effective without the bother of going through all those nasty low levels … But without knowing what the others are planning there is no way to give a clear direction.

Personally I would grab something that appeals to you and to hell with what everyone else is playing.

They could use a Bard for the skills but by this level they should have most covered and 15th level is too nice a place to be without full caster progression. Will there be much in the way of traps? ... this could be covered by the ranger with the correct archetype otherwise a rogue may be of use. Maybe only a few levels dip. Maybe go arcane trickster as they should be good at this level.

A sorcerer could be a viable party face or a Paladin would fit in nicely. Possibly too much front line if 2 and 4 take melee char’s and the druid has an animal companion and summons … Monk is another option again with the over use of melee characters but they are very effective against other casters. I would not suggest any other melee characters.

Oracle is a good option allowing the tank to tank without worrying about healing if they take cleric. Also allows the druid to be a druid for the same reason. 3-4 of the party could have healing abilities of one form or another which is nice.

All in all you have a great opportunity looks like you will have fun.

Sic

[ub3r_n3rd]

Answer is simple: Play whatever you think would be the most fun. The other guys don't know what they want to be yet, so you pick what you want and let them figure it out! Even if you have a little overlap it's not the end of the world as your builds will be different, your items will be different, and it's a 1-shot game that doesn't really matter too much.

[Lincoln Hills]

Exactly! It's a one-off. All I can say is either A) play a class that you have a lot of experience with, or B) play a class that requires very little rules mastery... assuming such an animal exists. By then, even fighters and rogues have a lot of rules to keep straight - just... not quite as many.

[Just Pete]

Sic, thanks for the well-thought response!

Yes, the player for the tank is an uber-gamer across the board - he's incredible at min-maxing, but still manages to role-play the character. We can expect a full shield-wall no matter what he builds.

He's also probably going to build or help build the arcane caster - but that will be a much softer construction - I expect this will be more a controller build, with elements of blasting.

The Ranger or Magus player will be a melee-type. This player is known for charging in near-blindly, and almost getting killed in every combat. He's a lot of fun, but doesn't optimize well.

The druid's player makes almost the same character for every game. He enjoys playing the shape-shifting druids, and does it quite well. Not the top of the optimizing league, but well-done. Animal companion is not a certainty here - his last build did not have one.

So what we've got is a tank, a controller, a skirmisher, and a hybrid tank/skirmisher. This almost screams stealth or divine caster, but that really depends on the flavor of tank, I think. I'm tempted to go the exact opposite of Lincoln's advise and play something I usually don't (rogue or bard), but I'm also leaning towards a Zen Archer Monk. The problem with that is - the last time this GM ran a one-off, which was also the last time we gamed with him - I played a L20 Fighter/Archer...but my guess is that this group will have little-to-no ranged ability without it.

And the last character I played was a paladin - I feel I'm getting a bit type-cast with them as well (twas the first class I played, in the early, dark ages of the game).

Probably won't be much in the way of traps, and with this GM, what traps DO exist are generally unavoidable (but also not lethal, just weakening. He's fair). So a straight rogue isn't called for, unless it has a different focus.

I'm also concerned that this group will have very little buffing with the classes as presented. The guy playing the tank has previously done most of that, so I'm hoping that he goes for a cleric build, but we'll have to see.

More tomorrow as the builds get fleshed out a bit!