Carrion Crown group compositon ( how difficult will it be )

[Elandral]

So the group I game with are going to start carrion crown AP .

So far the group is going to consist of a tank paladin ( he does not want to be a heal bot ) , a monk , a barbarian and a witch .

That leaves me I really want to play a summoner but with out any dedicated healer is this AP going to be a to hard to do ? or should I just break down and play a cleric .

My thought was that i could spend a evolution point for skilled in UMD for my eidolon for a extra wand wielder .

with out any spoilers can yall give me your opinions about our groups chances based just on our class choices .

[Morgen]

Hrm....how much do we advise before it becomes too much of a problem... Maybe something more generic for my suggestion.

A party never is in /need/ of a dedicated healer. As many people will argue the idea of a character that exists to heal is actually more of a drain on party resources then simply having the additional character working to end combats faster when they happen. It compounds later on when things like Restoration are much more important then simple hit point recover.

Obviously if your playing in a group used to having a dedicated healer that means there might be habits that have developed assuming that every fight starts at maximum hit points and so on. Caution and "playing smart" help a lot towards that end. Don't be afraid to work to avoid encounters and to not fight them where they're "supposed" to fought, etc.

The type of character that can be quite useful would be that of a Support Type. Someone who makes the whole group work better or swings the balance of encounters in their favour. A summoner can be excellent support given their slightly early access to spells like Haste combined with more expendable help from summoned creatures.

[Raptor2012]

I agree with Morgen.

I have a very fervent belief that RPG's be about the story that the GM and the players want to weave. To that end (in my opinion) it is not solely the responsibility of the party to make sure that healing is covered. A GM is just as culpable to ensure that the resources are available if no one in the party "feels" playing a dedicated healer.

Sometimes this means swapping out some swank loot with stuff the group can use to get the deed done. AP's are a beautiful frame work upon which to build YOUR group's story. There are no AP police wandering the halls of geekdom randomly enforcing that each encounter be run exactly the same or that the adventure turn out in a similar manner every time :D. Make sure you discuss party composition with your GM, they can help alleviate quite a bit of worry if you let them know your concerns ahead of time!

I have run this AP a lot (a lot, a lot). In my party recommendations, I always hold up cleric of Pharasma. I never hold up a HEALING cleric of Pharasma because the healing aspect of things is not what makes that particular class great for this adventure (unless you want to blow up a whole bunch of undead with channel energy...just sayin'). The RP aspect present in the story construct is what makes the class great.

A support caster would likewise be very beneficial, but ultimately, you have one. A witch is a terrifying engine of flexible destruction. They can heal, they can buff, they can harm. As long as (just like Morgen said) you play smart, I think your group will be fine and have a lot of fun.

A summoner adds more bodies to the battlefield and that alone mathematically relieves some of the stresses that are present in a non-healer party. Theoretically, the bad guys will be taking swings on summoned critters, the critters will be taking swings on bad guys. On your side hit point damage will be spread to things that don't need to be healed and the hit points of the baddies will go in the opposite direction.

Good luck with your game, sounds like it's going to be fun! :)

[Pan]

Nobody has to be the healer as long as they realize they may need to heal at some point. Pally has Lay on hands, witch can mem cure spells or get the heal hex. Your summoner can get a respectable UMD. You have a lot of fire power here I think your group will be fine. Keep in mind folks will want to chip in for wands of cure and lesser resto at some point. Otherwise party sounds just fine.

[Helaman]

Agreed with all of the above. I personally don't like the summoner as a class but your millage will vary. I won't say more for fear of putting spoilers out there.

[Cornellius Aggredor]

Our group does not have a dedicated healer. I am also of the opinion that a group doesn't need one character to be that.

With that said, I am surprised that our group has lasted as long as it has. All but one character has died at least 1 time, and it seems we are on the verge of a TPK in 1 out of every 4 encounters.

I know it is not because we suck as players because we are all very experienced. But in this particular case, Carrion Crown has proven to be a very tough AP for us to survive so far. If I were to play this AP again, I would lean toward a dedicated divine healer and not a witch, a bard, or some other minor healing character class.

Anyway, that is my opinion.

group make up:

Crusader (BoNS) tank
Inquisitor
Ranger/Rogue (melee)
Rogue (ranged)
Witch (healing theme)
Alchemist

(yes, we have 6 in our group and are having problems...)

[Caimbuel]

For this ap I love an ancient Lorekeeper life oracle. Pick good wiz control/dam spells and Being able to nuke, heal as swift, and channel as move is potent.

[Cat-thulhu]

Don't play the healer unless you want to. I agree with all the above, you can get by without one. Our party had a paladin, bard, wizard, inquisitor and a cleric (but has certainly no healer). I can highly recommend the inquisitor - he was a terror and I thoroughly enjoyed playing him. Your party may be light on for magic - we try for two dedicated casters each time but the party as stands should be fine - really depends on the DM, there are some truly horrific, deadly encounters and situations in the AP.

[hargoyle]

Everything said above is agreeable.

We just finished Trial of the Beast (2nd book) yesterday with two gestalt characters, monk/sorcerer and paladin/oracle of life. Healing provided by the latter was needed at times, but in no way was it mandatory. It could get more rough later on however, as Cornelius Aggredor stated.

The most important thing to consider is this: do you want to play a character that you are enthusiastic about (summoner) or a character you feel you are obliged to play (healer)? The fact that you don't have a dedicated healer in your group might provide some alternate tactics you haven't thought of before.

Go forth with the summoner, and godspeed.

[Keep Calm and Carrion]

I agree with everyone else here that the answer to “What class should I play?” is “The class you want to play.”

However, to answer your question, “[H]ow difficult will [this adventure path with our party composition] be?” without spoiling adventure details:

You will have a significantly harder time than a party with a full-power positive energy channeler would. With five of you in the party, assuming decent builds, you should be capable of finishing the adventure. But certain parts will be much more of a challenge and a drain on your resources.

Carrion Crown spoilers, for folks other than the OP:

I’m referring to haunts, of course. The haunts in Harrowstone can be tough, and the Tyrant’s Whispers and other haunts around Virlych can be devastating.

[Piccolo]

I have found that despite the stereotype of clerics being a "healbot", our current Cleric is the second most effective character in the bunch. Those turn checks are murder on incorporeal undead, and the gold they save on healing is amazing. That doesn't mean you have to take the Healing domain, just that having a Cleric is sooooo handy when you fight undead every other combat.

Second, I find that having a skill monkey, especially the Rogue as it is the king of skill monkeys, is vital. Critical skill checks abound in this adventure series so far, to the point where a successful check earns xp. So far, Diplomacy, knowledge (local) and (religion), not to mention (arcana) are the most used checks, bar none.

Yes, having a Paladin in an adventure series like this rocks, because they are virtually immune to most saving throws and dish out extra damage versus evil (enemies like this abound in this series). Having someone to roll Diplomacy when the Cleric fails is very very useful, as so far I have noticed that more rolls calling for it than any other single skill exists in the adventure series.

That said, having a Wizard with all those high Knowledge checks is really handy!

Understand, this comes from running the adventure series all the way to Trial of the Beast so far, and about 20 years of gaming experience.

[SeaBiscuit01]

From what I have seen:

Paladins rule, Clerics shine, Inquisitors can be awesome Wizards for Utility are super grandiose.

And others well they all have a opportunities, except perhaps Enchantment Spellcaster.

The campaign is undead and resistance energy heavy. Always be prepared to whip something up for incorporeals.

[FireberdGNOME]

In our Carrion Crown we have (all level three, not out of Harrowstone yet...)

Bard (Chelish Diva)
Rogue (Burglar)
Paladin
Alchemist (beast/viv)
Witch
Ranger (Spirit)

Almost everyone *can* heal, but we have no dedicated healer. HP is not too much an issue, but sometimes Stat damage is crippling. In general we have decent enough tactics, so that saves some resources. It would be nice to have an AoE heal effect, though...

[Elandral]

Thanks for all the input guys I appr it .