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Okay, so assuming you are just playing the game straight through with your friends (same people, same characters game after game), and not doing 'official' play, what would be the best team to go through the game? That is, how do you maximize what you have and what you need,. Get the skills you need to close locations, acquire the stuff to make checks better, enough combat prowess to fight off the big bads, and the ability to not die?
From my point of view, here's what I think. Of course, this is all RotR (I don't have, and have never played, S&S), so if someone wants to pipe in with that, please do.
My thoughts:
1)Kyra. The must in all forms of pathfinder (PFS, or the card game), Kyra brings the hurt to undead, has an (pardon the pun) ungodly wisdom, and can cure by ditching any 'divine' card (including her starting holy water.) This makes her almost crucial support, as she can heal anyone about to die in almost any circumstance.
2)Lem. While Ezren is better at arcana, Lem can get arcane AND divine spells, can aid others at his location for ANY check, and has the arcana skill attached to his generous charisma. In addition, his high charisma lets him pick up allies like they were nothing, and he can aid others at his location with ANY check, and deck-cycle as the same time!
3)Harsk. The sleeper of the group, some might wonder why I bring Harsk into the mix and not someone else with strength and such. Well Harsk's deceptivly puny d8 dex (+3 ranged) actually seems to get most combats done in a hurry Additionally, he can aid others at other locations (and cycle his deck to boot) and has a beefy Con and some Wisdom abilities. When he gets into his advancement he also can get a cure spell or two to be even more self-sufficient. Give him some lockpicks and his dex (which you should put feats into immediately) can even have him disarming traps and jumping over pits.
4)The fourth one on the list I struggled with. Ezren would be good for the int and knowledge skills, and the group I've put fourth doesn't have any big melee hitters, Lini can add +1d4(+2) to any check she rolls just by showing that she has an animal, and can buff her Str or Dex to a d10, but I think I'll have to go with Seelah. In addition to YET MORE CURING (just so everyone has a chance to save someone else), she hits decently hard, and can add a d6(+1) to any roll for the cost of a card (or possibly a deck cycle.) Her terrible dex is made up by Harsk and Lem, and she is strong enough to get through most fights (especially if Harsk or Lem are helping her out.) Her 'no items' thing does hurt A LOT as most of the cool loots in the game are items, but I think the trade is worth it.
I love both Harsk and Lem, but I think they work at cross proposes in the same party. With Kyra and Lem in the group, I think Valeros would be of more help than Harsk.
Dunno, but if we're just talking Rotr and you put Lem on your team, you really gotta take a hard look at Valeros. He complements Lem so well and can make such good use of all the cool weapons. And since you got good access to healing, you gotta think about Seoni, the super blaster and ace ally recruiter.
There's a lot of great combos, even if not every 11 choose 4 = 330 combos would work well.
I think Lini has to be included in any optimal party. Her ability to add a d4+4 to any check allows her to close any location in RotR.
I think I would run Valeros, Seoni, Lini and Merisel and feel very confident. I could be convinced to go Seelah over Valeros or Ezren over Seoni, or Harsk over Merisel, but that list is what I'd run with.
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There's a lot of great combos, even if not every 11 choose 4 = 330 combos would work well.
This. The possibilities are incredibly numerous. As long as there isn't any skill-duplication among team members, and most of the major skills have at least a d8 (or better), you should be able to succeed in Runelords. Early on, it's important to consider the total number of "extra exploration" cards you get (total # of allies + blessings). Ezren and Valeros come out low on that end, whereas Sajan comes out as very good, with others in between. Getting enough explores in is key.
Skull & Shackles seems to be somewhat more difficult, and there are also different characters to consider - some of which seem uniquely tailored to that adventure (e.g., with powers that rely on aquatic banes).
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There's a lot of great combos, even if not every 11 choose 4 = 330 combos would work well.This. The possibilities are incredibly numerous. As long as there isn't any skill-duplication among team members, and most of the major skills have at least a d8 (or better), you should be able to succeed in Runelords. Early on, it's important to consider the total number of "extra exploration" cards you get (total # of allies + blessings). Ezren and Valeros come out low on that end, whereas Sajan comes out as very good, with others in between. Getting enough explores in is key.
Skull & Shackles seems to be somewhat more difficult, and there are also different characters to consider - some of which seem uniquely tailored to that adventure (e.g., with powers that rely on aquatic banes).
I don't know about Sajan. In my experience, he needs to keep all his blessings for combat, since he doesn't have any weapons, and only has that one amulet of the mighty fist.
I don't think Kyra's absolutely necessary to have; if you have Seoni in your party, possibly, but I can build effective parties without a Cleric, though you should have a healer. I actually don't need to heal a lot in my fights. I do have a lot of support healing cards though - Father Zantus, Poog, Staves of Minor Healing.
Lem can pull Cures out of his discard pile when he needs them, and intentionally fail the recharge check. Lini can stuff her deck with Cures and almost be guaranteed to make the recharge check due to her 1d4+1 check.
I also don't think there's a "best" 4-person party. Calthaer, while Ezren doesn't get explores directly, because of the number of spells he has and the fact that his power allows extra explores, you can squeeze a lot of explores out of him, it just takes more effort. He likes places with Magic Items and Weapons because those give him extra explores, Detect Magic gets extra encounters and Augury/Scrying negates the need to explore as much by pulling out henchmen and villains.
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Many of the cards that enhance Ezren's ability to explore (Haste, Augury, etc.) aren't available to him from the outset. There also aren't a ton of magic weapons in the base Runelords set.
The consideration of "number of extra-exploration cards" is something that's largely valid only in the base and first adventures. Ezren shines later on, to be sure, but can be tougher to play early on (hence the phrase: "early on"). A six-player party filled entirely with characters that have fewer blessings and allies will have a tougher time getting in the extra explores required to make it through the early adventures (until they can get better cards, a card feat, etc.).
I've played a party of Ezren, Sajan, Amiri and Merisiel with my wife. No one died. It was awesome.
I do think Ezren is more suited to someone who has more of an understanding of the game than Seoni, who is relatively easy to play.
These are the base number of Ally/Blessings for each character in RotR:
3: Ezren
5: Valeros
6: Harsk, Merisiel, Amiri
7: Kyra, Lini
8: Seelah, Lem
9: Seoni
11: Sajan
I think I actually took one of the lowest base number for one of the runs (Ezren/Valeros/Harsk/Lini). But it was a solo game which means the teamwork aspects are a lot better, and I can make decisions I wouldn't dare make in a team game.
I was able to conserve explores by making better checks on average, I think.
VampByDay, are "lockpicks" (those don't exist in RotR) Thieves' Tools and Masterwork Tools? If you're using them for the recharge ability, Harsk doesn't have Disable so you only roll 1d4 for him if you use it. Otherwise, they discard for any barrier check lower than an amount, so increasing his dex is nice but doesn't really interact with Thieves' Tools/Masterwork Tools.
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I do think Ezren is more suited to someone who has more of an understanding of the game than Seoni, who is relatively easy to play.
These are the base number of Ally/Blessings for each character in RotR:
3: Ezren
5: Valeros
6: Harsk, Merisiel, Amiri
7: Kyra, Lini
8: Seelah, Lem
9: Seoni
11: SajanI think I actually took one of the lowest base number for one of the runs (Ezren/Valeros/Harsk/Lini). But it was a solo game which means the teamwork aspects are a lot better, and I can make decisions I wouldn't dare make in a team game.
I was able to conserve explores by making better checks on average, I think.
VampByDay, are "lockpicks" (those don't exist in RotR) Thieves' Tools and Masterwork Tools? If you're using them for the recharge ability, Harsk doesn't have Disable so you only roll 1d4 for him if you use it. Otherwise, they discard for any barrier check lower than an amount, so increasing his dex is nice but doesn't really interact with Thieves' Tools/Masterwork Tools.
Sorry, yes, I meant using the theives' tools discard ability when appropriate, but when not, you still usually have, a good dex, likely boosted as high as possible, which gives you a chance. And you can throw blessings at it for a higher chance. That's what I did when I played though as Harsk and I did okay. Especially since we didn't have a rouge.
As long as you have a mix of characters and skills then you should be fine. If you don't have a mix (Amiri, Valeros, Seelah and Kyra say) then you will probably still manage, but might find it a bit harder in places.
With 4 players I didn't find time much of a problem. You can't ignore it, and you probably want to close most locations as soon as you can, but it wasn't the same as with 6 players, where early on, every ally and blessing went on extra explorations.
Having some way of healing yourself is probably a good idea, but I honestly found Seelah was sufficient in most cases, especially if you take her healing advanced role after AP3. If you include Seoni though, then early on she can be pretty fragile if she has to deal with a lot of combat, so having a bit more healing might be useful.
Lini is nice, but a 4 person party is large enough that I would rather have specialised characters than someone who is pretty good at everything.
If I had to pick a 4 person party, I would probably run with Amiri, Seoni, Sajan and Kyra.
Just my 2c.
First of all, all the characters are viable and can be used. There are only a few things characters need to do well: Combat, Acquire Boons, Explore several times per turn, Close Locations.
But if you want to make an easy-mode party in ROR, this is what I’d go with:
1) Lini: She can do everything and do it well. She explores quickly. She casts divine spells and cures. In short, she is overpowered and if you’re strictly talking about optimization, I don’t know how you leave her out.
2) Ezren: Powerful combat with the ability to recycle spells and explore quickly. Arcane spellcaster. Decent ability to acquire boons.
3) Seelah: Powerful combat, cure spell, and can dump cards to do everything well.
4) Either Valeros or Harsk or Lem: Good combat and most importantly good support for everyone else, but not effective at boons/barriers.
Reasons I would leave other characters out of an “optimal party”.
Kyra: It’s not that she’s bad, she’s just bad compared to Lini. One healer is enough, so she’s really unneeded. Not a fan of her power. Still, she is OK and you could have her in spot #4.
Sajan: He’s OK but he’s really weak in combat initially and will drain party resources. Has limited opportunity to explore because of his hand size and discarding to be effective at combat. Becomes more effective when roles and blessing upgrades are gained.
Merisiel: Best solo character and does everything well, but also has limited synergy with other characters. Still not a bad option and could replace Seelah (although I prefer Seelah).
Amiri: Good combat but extremely limited ability to close and acquire boons.
Seoni: I don’t find that she starts with enough spells in her hand to be as effective as other spell casters or as effective in combat compared to other characters. Limited ability to recharge means she’s extremely healer dependent and is a resource drain. Has died more than any other character because of her hand size.
But in the end it all comes down to this:
"Play whatever makes you happy"
You only "win" this game if you're having fun.
On Ezren/Seoni: It's funny how two people can play the same characters and have completely opposite reactions to them. I find that Ezren's ability to explore hinges greatly on his ability to acquire magic boons. This means that there are times when he will struggle, especially early on when magic boons are more rare. Likewise, his combat ability hinges greatly on the spells in his hand.
Seoni, on the other hand, has a minimum of 4 allies and 5 blessings in her deck. That means she has a great deal of exploration out of the gate. Similarly, she can use her arcane skill for combat regardless of what is actually in her hand. So, while she has few spells, she can use those spells for non-combat purposes and end up with a ton of utility. She won't match Ezren's potential for utility, but she will be more reliable in combat.
Both characters are awesome, but Seoni is probably easier to play and fits perfectly with a pair of healers (Lini and Seelah) to keep her from killing herself.