I've found the series of "Best Character" posts on the Paizo blog but not a lot of discussion of best (and worst) characters in a given set.
My wife and I are about to start S&S, having taken Valeros/Ezren and then Meliski/Flenta/Zarlova/Melindra through RotR, and we're having fun looking at all the new possibilities.
I guess the first question is whether S&S plays better with its own characters, what with all the powers involving Aquatic monsters and Ships and Plunder, than with the various class deck characters.
And which characters/roles (aside from the ones we've already used) were the most fun to play through S&S with? Which didn't work very well?
thanks for any advice!
Karl
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So, while some S&S characters have specific powers that work well with this set (the aforementioned Aquatic monsters, ships, plunder, as well as some emphasis on firearms, Finesse weapons, and alchemy), there are Class Deck characters that can work just as well with the Adventure Path. Look at the characters in the set, and compare them to Class Deck characters you are interested in playing.
My fiancee and I just finished our play-through of S&S, and we found Jirelle and Damiel a strong pair of characters. They complemented one another quite well, and the only things we felt like we missed out on were Attack spells and non-finesse melee weapons. It wasn't a big deal.
Things to keep in mind: In each set, there are some skills that are quite handy to have. In Skull and Shackles, I'd say that Survival and Craft are the big ones. Survival is used to defeat most ships you encounter, while Craft lets you repair ships and take advantage of all the neat Alchemy you find. So if you go with Class Deck characters, having those covered would be a plus, IMO.
Edit: I forgot to mention: the most important thing is to pick a character you think you'll have fun playing. Having played through RotR twice with a total of three characters apiece, you probably have a good idea of what styles of characters you find more engaging and which ones you are less enthused about. Some people like sticking with what they know, while others like to try something newer. While eg Survival and Craft are good skills to have, don't let that stop you from playing a character whose preview you were excited to read. (And really, a good Wisdom die gets you much of the way with Survival; the same goes for Intelligence and Craft)
Well, there's some good info -- when I looked over the S&S characters, the frequent emphasis on Craft struck me as a minus, since it was rarely important in RotR (along with Knowledge). Thanks!
Well, there's some good info -- when I looked over the S&S characters, the frequent emphasis on Craft struck me as a minus, since it was rarely important in RotR (along with Knowledge). Thanks!
As it turns out, Knowledge gets its time in the sun in the Wrath of the Righteous.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I've played through all 3 APs with each character as well as about half of the class deck characters, and I have to say that it's a real testament to the designers that each and every character I've played has been really good at what they are designed to do.
Of the Skulls and Shackles AP characters, I personally had the most fun with Alahazra, Damiel, Seltyiel, Feiya.
From the class decks, I'd say Harsk, Seoni, Kyra, Zarlova, and Siwar are all good choices.
I'm currently playing though the Season of the Shackles campaign with Amiri, Sajan, Amaryllis, and Lini and it's going quite well.
Really though, as long as you have a good mix of skills and powers, you should be able to take just about anyone through the AP.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Well, there's some good info -- when I looked over the S&S characters, the frequent emphasis on Craft struck me as a minus, since it was rarely important in RotR (along with Knowledge). Thanks!As it turns out, Knowledge gets its time in the sun in the Wrath of the Righteous.
Oh, how I love my Interrogator. I recharge him to succeed at my knowledge checks against banes. He is almost as awesome as my quarterstaff of vaulting.
To answer the OP's question, we played in a three-person group with Alahazra, Feiya, and Jirelle and found we were pretty powerful. Alahazra scouted what was ahead, Feiya reduced the difficulty, and Jirelle killed it.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It depends a great deal on many things:
- How many characters you plan on playing
- What kind of play-style each of you enjoys
- The phase of the moon
A balanced party that includes fighters and healers should get you through. Other than that, you have rather wide latitude in how you do it. S&S is challenging enough to be fun but not so much so that you're very constrained in what characters you can take with you (which could be said about Wrath of the Righteous). On my part, Alahazra, Seltyiel, and Lirianne might be my favorites. If I had to pick a fourth it would probably be Jirelle.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My kids and I complete S&S with Damiel, Lini, and Seltyiel. My younger son sometimes brought Lirianne along but only in a few scenarios.
Lini's Survival, Damiel's Craft, and Seltyiel's general killing power meant that we did well.
No love for Ranzak?
Ranzak is all my wife plays. She likes getting those extra explorations. And since I play as Lem in our 6 person group... she gets to go again often. Ranzak is handy to burn through those boon heavy decks. She has never played him as the Henchman/Villain crusher, so I cannot comment. I love running with Ranzak in our group. He is a nice fit in our group of Valeros, Harsk, Seoni, Kyra, and Lem. By the way, we are running RotR right now, have not used Ranzak in S&S.
I did use a Ranzak/Ekkie team and destroyed the RotR adventure path. Was quite fun.