So, I have a party of adventurers in my mind that I kind of need to stat out. There are four of them - a paladin, bard, sorcerer, and oracle. What would be good builds & archetypes for those four classes to make the best, most well-rounded party?
There are so many options.
Do you have some sort if theme in mind to help narrow the choices?
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just skip the archetypes and play vanilla, you'll find that you're well rounded
There are so many options.
Do you have some sort if theme in mind to help narrow the choices?
Yes, lots of options, which is why I'm paralyzed with indecision. =D
The theme is that they're all worshipers of a particular Goddess in my homebrew world - the Goddess of Justice and Righteousness. So they're definitely all good aligned. They travel throughout the land performing deeds of heroism in the name of their Goddess. The other theme is that they're all charisma based classes, as you can see.
It's mostly the oracle and bard I'm having trouble with. The paladin will be a melee combatant, while the sorcerer will be a typical sorcerer. I'm just not sure how make the bard and oracle to best complement the other two.
Fielding the paladin alone makes the bard less than stellar here. I'd make the sorcerer or oracle summon some celestials to benefit from the performance. Or you could go with a selfish bard archetype in this case.
Fielding the paladin alone makes the bard less than stellar here.
Can you clarify? What does the paladin do that takes away from what the bard does? I've not played a bard in a 3.x system so I'm not entirely familiar with all their strengths and weaknesses.
Bardic performance helps all allies doing physical damage. Your party only has one dedicated meleer, so it would be good to summon some more.
Bardic performance helps all allies doing physical damage. Your party only has one dedicated meleer, so it would be good to summon some more.
Good point. What about the oracle? I seem to recall seeing on the forums that the oracle has some potential as a melee-type, particularly the battle mystery. And the archer bard seems popular as well.
Sure does, though if you want to build a more martial bard/oracle, you aren't charisma based. It's still an important stat, but you rely on your physical stats and avoid spells that have saving throws.
Sure does, though if you want to build a more martial bard/oracle, you aren't charisma based. It's still an important stat, but you rely on your physical stats and avoid spells that have saving throws.
Oh, I should've clarified; when I meant charisma based I meant their spellcasting was based on charisma, not that they were going to want to make charisma their main stat. Having a bard and/or oracle with a 16ish charisma still fits my theme.
I'd recommend the bard be an archeologist above all else for magical traps, skills, and off fighter. For oracle I'd recommend lunar for the animal companion; that frees the oracle to cast OR battle as the player wants to. Paladin I'd go something that off heals without losing combat ability. Sorcerer is hard to pin down. Given the number of players I'd go control with hint of blaster.
Lunar mystery, where's that from?
Edit: Found it. I'm gonna check it out, thanks for the suggestions.
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My recommendations:
Melee Oracle. Lunar is a great idea, have them ride a Tiger into battle (providing another thing for the Bard to buff).
Vanilla Archer Bard. Spends the first round buffing (with Performance + Good Hope at 7th level+) while the Sorcerer does the same with Haste (or does an area effect spell,in which case the Sorcerer does Haste on round 2), and then goes to town with archery. Very solid build that benefits from his own bonuses (as well as giving them to the Paladin and Oracle...and also the Paladin's mount if they have one).
So, I have a party of adventurers in my mind that I kind of need to stat out. There are four of them - a paladin, bard, sorcerer, and oracle. What would be good builds & archetypes for those four classes to make the best, most well-rounded party?
Human or Tiefling Oath of Vengeance Paladin that takes Fey Foundling at 1st level and takes several Extra Lay on Hands feats.
Human Arcane Duelist (archer) or Dervish of Dawn (melee)to make sure your Bard and contribute in combat.
Kitsune Sorceress with the Fey or Serpentine Bloodline to dominate foes.
Human or Halfling Life Oracle to keep everybody on their feet or Flame Oracle to add ranged support.
Of course, this is just a few of the many, many effective combinations available. You might be better off asking about specific classes/archetypes or figuring out what role you would like each character to fill and then asking the best way to go about it. One point though - since they are all Charisma-based you should definitely look into the various options available to you through Eldritch Heritage, lots of things there to enhance any sort of character. Particularly consider the Arcane Bloodline.
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Me read thread title. Think about Jello slip-and-slides, barbecued Halflings, chocolate chocolate chip Elf ear cookies, and Super Soakers filled with hallucinogenic potions.
Click. Sadly disappointed.
Personally I would switch Druid with Oracle.
I feel like the core build here is meant o be an iconic party, and everyone here is CHA based. Was that intentional?
I would nix the bard, or just use him as a 5th member. In his place, I would recommend a ranger with the archetype in place that gives him Trapfinding, I like the Urban variant. And have him go full archer, while the paladin goes full melee.
I like Travel Domain Sacred Servant paladins the best for mobility and stuff. Oath of Vengeance is a very popular build also.
Sorcerers make ideal blasters mostly.
Oracles have so many options, and considering that everyone else on the team save the sorcerer has at least limited access to self healing, making it the dedicated healer would be wasteful imo. This character oughta be your support buffer, or replaced with the bard as your main supporter.
I feel like the core build here is meant o be an iconic party, and everyone here is CHA based. Was that intentional?
I would nix the bard, or just use him as a 5th member. In his place, I would recommend a ranger with the archetype in place that gives him Trapfinding, I like the Urban variant. And have him go full archer, while the paladin goes full melee.
I like Travel Domain Sacred Servant paladins the best for mobility and stuff. Oath of Vengeance is a very popular build also.
Sorcerers make ideal blasters mostly.
Oracles have so many options, and considering that everyone else on the team save the sorcerer has at least limited access to self healing, making it the dedicated healer would be wasteful imo. This character oughta be your support buffer, or replaced with the bard as your main supporter.
Yes, one of the primary themes of the party is that everyone's Charisma based. (They're also all human or half-elf). So I'm not adverse to changing classes, it's that Pal, Sor, Bard, Ora are the best I could come up with that fits my criteria as being Charisma based.
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Yes, one of the primary themes of the party is that everyone's Charisma based. (They're also all human or half-elf). So I'm not adverse to changing classes, it's that Pal, Sor, Bard, Ora are the best I could come up with that fits my criteria as being Charisma based.
And it's a perfectly valid party. Don't feel the need to change it. Bards are pretty great, IMO.