Most of my gaming gets done in play by posts, so that maybe skewing what I'm seeing a bit, but there are times there seems a dearth of certain classes when recruitment starts up.
Of course, it varies depending on the Adventure Path. For example, Carrion Crown gets a fair share of clerics, and Skull and Shackles pretty much warns off any LG types so Paladins tend to be out.
But that sort of thing aside, I've noticed that rogues, fighters, and clerics seem out numbered by other classes that fill similar niches. One AP recruitment I saw had 6 Oracles, 3 Druids, and one Healing Patron Witch vs just one cleric. Another campaign had 5 barbarians submitted to one fighter.
So I was just curious if I'm seeing patterns that aren't there or not. Seeing as I'm still but a lost child in the Pathfinder Wilderness compared to many here, I thought I'd ask:
What are the most popular classes the players pick in the APs you run?
Which are the least popular?
And does it make a difference if it's your 'usual' gaming group or more open?
How much does the specific AP itself seem to change the odds of this or that class getting picked when it might not normally?
Do you think any particular classes deserve a little more love or attention in any future Adventure Paths?
I hope I've put this in the right part of the forums :)
In adventure paths I've played in (only counting the ones that made it past the first few levels)...
Note -- out of 7 examples, I've personally played a cleric 3 times and an oracle once, so perhaps I'm skewing the figures! (Not to mention the times I've played a cleric in games that failed to make it off the ground, too.)
So all of the core classes are represented, and all of the APG classes except for the Witch and the Inquisitor.
Looking at that list, the least popular core classes were probably the Monk and Barbarian (two PCs each, but not representing many levels in total).
The two APs I've run have the following:
Runelords
Ranger/Wizard (eventual Eldrich Knight)
Bard/Cleric (only 1 level of Bard)
Barbarian
Sorceress
NPC Thief/Wizard (eventual Arcane Trickster)
Reign of Winter
Cleric/Wizard (eventual Mystic Theurge)
Ranger
Fighter/Wizard (Eventual Eldrich Knight)
Thief
NPC Sorcerer/Druid (only 1 level of Sorcerer)
NPC Paladin (Undead Scourge)
(The second group started out with only two players, thus the two NPCs.)
While we'll not play it in a while, currently it seems our eventual Wrath of the Righteous group would include a Druid, a Cleric, a Ninja, and a Magus.
so far the 3 APs i started (and a 4th that characters have been made for) everyone has a Bard of some sort and a witch those APs are RotRL, Jade Regent, Serpent's Skull (everyone died or stopped, i no longer own it) and the fourth with made Pcs but not started due to summer Skull & Shackles, another very common class is Ranger (RotRL doesn't have one but the others do)
I will only list the two AP's we ran to completion so far below. But for the most part we have a very balanced group.
Legacy of Fire
Gnome Cavalier of the Cockatrice
Gnome Oracle of the Heavens
Dwarf Barbarian (earthbreaker and fleet based)
Elf Alchemist (Bomb build)
Half Elf Fighter (Archer build)
Tiefling Rogue with Poisoner Archtype
Rise of the Rune Lords
Human Wizard (Evoker)
Gnome Druid (Tempest)
Dwarf Cleric of Sarenrea
Half Elf Bard (Magician)
Human Fighter (Sword and Shield build)
Elf Rogue (Archer)
@Hogarth- Yeah, I hadn't thought of it until you mentioned it, but while there have been some exceptions, monks aren't exactly up there for submissions when recruitment starts up that I've seen either.
@ Tangent- Thanks. WoR is one of the few APs I've seen that has paladins lining up in larger numbers than usual. Maybe it's just seen as more 'pally friendly'. But as your eventual group proves, they're not a must by any means.
@ Captain Yesterday- Bards seem very popular as the 'fifth guy' in a team of five, and given their versatility and use as a 'face', that makes sense to me. I've seen a lot of players praising Urban Rangers over rogues for city based APs. Not sure if that actually plays out as the case for the experience of others.
@ Thazar- Sorry, didn't see your post so I came back and edited to thank you for the input as well :)
As a group fighters barbarians clerics seem to have been most popular over several Ap. The arcane spellcaster slot seems to vary a bit with witch in second darkness sorc in rise of the runelords magus in jade regent and sorc once again in skull and shackles. Theres been some variation in the 5th man slot though.
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@Hogarth- Yeah, I hadn't thought of it until you mentioned it, but while there have been some exceptions, monks aren't exactly up there for submissions when recruitment starts up that I've seen either.
@ Tangent- Thanks. WoR is one of the few APs I've seen that has paladins lining up in larger numbers than usual. Maybe it's just seen as more 'pally friendly'. But as your eventual group proves, they're not a must by any means.
@ Captain Yesterday- Bards seem very popular as the 'fifth guy' in a team of five, and given their versatility and use as a 'face', that makes sense to me. I've seen a lot of players praising Urban Rangers over rogues for city based APs. Not sure if that actually plays out as the case for the experience of others.
@ Thazar- Sorry, didn't see your post so I came back and edited to thank you for the input as well :)
actually we only have 4, but with archetypes they can assume any role, be it trap finding or healing. that way my wife can play the vengeful witch type she loves so much:) and a happy wife = a happy marriage ;)
Kingmaker: Alchemist, Paladin, Monk, Cleric, Summoner
Wrath of the Righteous: Paladin, Ranger, Barbarian, Rogue, Cleric
Homebrew Campaign #1: Alchemist, Cavalier, Summoner, Ranger, Fighter
Homebrew Campaign #2: Ranger, Cavalier, Summoner, Ranger, Magus
Homebrew Campaign #3: Ranger, Cleric, Fighter
Homebrew Campaign #4: Rogue, Ranger, Ranger, Fighter, Bard, Rogue
Homebrew Campaign #5: Alchemist, Cleric, Ranger, Ranger, Rogue
I'll be running Rise of the Runelords and then Jade Regent this year after we finish Wrath of the Righteous, so I'll have more Paizo-product specific findings to report then. Core classes seem, by far, to be the most popular with players (with most of mine gravitating towards more melee-hybrid caster classes, or taking clerics and turning them into melee fighters). I have one player who I almost have to shake down physically to get him to play anything besides a summoner.
I have never, in the year since I've switched over to Pathfinder, seen a single Witch or Gunslinger.
Been involved in 6 APs
There have been no PC ninjas, summoners, gunslingers, samurai, alchemists
There has only been 1 druid, cavalier, paladin, bard,
There have been lots of fighters and sorcerors
There has been 1 mystic theurge, 1 eldricth knight, 1 assassin
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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LoF: Cleric, Paladin, Wizard, Druid
KM: Druid, Fighter, Bard, Cavalier/Cleric, Summoner, Monk/sorcerer Ranger (retired)
CC: Sorcerer, Ranger, Cleric, Paladin, Fighter??
SK&SH: Alchemist, Wizard, Fighter, Gunslinger/Bard, Oracle, Fighter/Sorc/DD
S*: Cleric, Wizard, Bard, Fighter
RoW: Witch, Paladin, Magus, Cleric, Rogue, Gunslinger
WotR: Druid, paladin, Cleric, Inquisitor
So
Alchemist: 1
Barbarian: 0
Bard: 2.5
Cleric: 5.5
Cavalier: .5
Druid: 3
Fighter: 4.5
Gunslinger: 1.5
Inquisitor: 1
Magus: 1
Monk: .5
Oracle: 1
Rogue: 1
Ranger:1
Paladin: 4
Sorcerer: 2
Summoner 1
Witch: 1
Wizard: 2
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RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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No barbarians is kind of surprising. The lack of monks really isn't, the one in KM retired to swap to sorcerer and never looked back.
The most surprising is how infrequently someone played a skills-based class like rogue or alchemist even ranger. The three most played classes are all 2 skills per level and low int.
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Runelords (started in 3.5): Wizard (Evoker), Fighter, Cleric, Warlock, Rogue, Ranger (deceased), Fighter
Crimson Throne (started in 3.5): Swashbuckler, Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Ranger, Wizard NPC
Council of Thieves: Paladin, Oracle (ret), Bard (ret), Wizard (ret), Rogue (ret), Fighter (deceased), Alchemist (deceased), Fighter (deceased), Oracle, Rogue, Sorceror
Jade Regent: Wizard, Gunslinger, Witch, Cavalier, Rogue
Reign of Winter: Sorceror, Inquisitor, Alchemist, Fighter, Bard, Cleric
Age of worms:
Paladin
Cleric of St. Cuthbert
Ranger
Rogue
Shackled City
Wizard (illusionist)
Rogue
Ranger/cleric
Savage Tide
Figher/Rogue
Figher/wizard/eldricth knight
Druid
Magus
Monk
Curse of Crimson Throne
Paladin
Rogue
Rogue
wizard
fighter
Most popular classes among my groups seem to be three of the basic ones; cleric, fighter, and wizard. The least popular classes seem to be cavalier and rogue, neither of which have ever technically been played at my table during an AP (though their alternate versions, Samurai and Ninja have both been played). Cleric happens to be the most common 'pure' class, as all the clerics I've seen have refrained from multiclassing, while most of the wizards and fighters were multiclass.
My usual group tends to multiclass, but it doesn't particularly affect the class count very much, aside from that they tend to have a paladin more than my other groups.
More detailed count below in spoiler tags:
Carrion Crown: Oracle, Cleric, Ranger, Lantern Bearer, Paladin, Hellknight
Jade Regent 1: Paladin, Druid, Monk, Magus
Jade Regent 2: Summoner, Summoner, Barbarian, Ranger, Cleric, Wizard, Inquisitor (some multiclass, some death and character replacement)
Jade Regent 3: Witch, Fighter, Fighter, Alchemist, Sorcerer, Barbarian, Monk, Bard, Samurai, Wizard, Cleric (lots of dead PCs getting replaced)
Skull & Shackles: Wizard, Gunslinger, Fighter, Druid, Oracle, Witch
Reign of Winter: Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
So the class count would be as follows:
4 Clerics
4 Fighters
4 Wizards
3 Barbarians
3 Druids
3 Monks
3 Paladins
3 Sorcerers
3 Witches
2 Bards
2 Inquisitors
2 Oracles
2 Rangers
2 Summoners
1 Alchemist
1 Eldritch Knight (PrC)
1 Gunslinger
1 Hellknight (PrC)
1 Lantern Bearer (PrC)
1 Magus
1 Ninja
1 Samurai
0 Cavaliers
0 Rogues