Suggestions for New / Old Player

[Gruingar de'Morcaine]

Got a friend that used to play DnD clear back in 2nd ed when we were much younger. He is an experienced RPer and is familiar with the basic idea of the d20 system. What he does not have, is huge amounts of time to read through a dozen books, pour over the threads for hints on handling corner cases, putting together endless build options, etc...

I can handle generating a build for him and printing it off in herolab to give him a clear and complete character sheet. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of build to give him.

It needs to be fairly simple (not a whip trip magus) but not too boring (not a one trick pony). So I'm thinking about a switch hitting ranger with an archtype that trades out the animal companion. OR. A crossblooded sorcerer so he wouldn't have to learn too many spells too fast.

What do you think? Other suggestions?

[Fruian Thistlefoot]

Gruingar de'Morcaine wrote:

Got a friend that used to play DnD clear back in 2nd ed when we were much younger. He is an experienced RPer and is familiar with the basic idea of the d20 system. What he does not have, is huge amounts of time to read through a dozen books, pour over the threads for hints on handling corner cases, putting together endless build options, etc...

I can handle generating a build for him and printing it off in herolab to give him a clear and complete character sheet. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of build to give him.

It needs to be fairly simple (not a whip trip magus) but not too boring (not a one trick pony). So I'm thinking about a switch hitting ranger with an archtype that trades out the animal companion. OR. A crossblooded sorcerer so he wouldn't have to learn too many spells too fast.

What do you think? Other suggestions?

Crossblooded with limited spells is for a stronger player who can deal with the highly limited spell list.

The switch hitter Slayer or Ranger is a very fine start for anyone to learn the Game without being too bored or limited.

[Rory]

Gruingar de'Morcaine wrote:

What he does not have, is huge amounts of time to read through a dozen books, pour over the threads for hints on handling corner cases, putting together endless build options, etc...

There isn't a need to read a dozen books or build endlessly. This only occurs in games that are extremely optimized. Otherwise, the goal should be just to build a character to have fun and stop there.

So, first, determine what type of character does your friend like to play?

Mundane or Caster?
Frontline or Ranged?
Support role or self reliable?
Sneaky?
Utility?

Next, since the player is new to Pathfinder, limit the focus of books to Core plus one or two others at most. This doesn't mean occasionally tapping a trait or feat that you or he might find/suggest, but simply keeping the core character and/or archetypes limited in book count.

And finally, use your own expertise to make suggestions when he gets to pick and advance the next thing. Don't introduce an overwhelming set of options, but focus them around what he has enjoyed so far.

As such, Sorcerer is great for a simple start. Crossblooded isn't needed at all unless it is a highly optimized game. And since you mentioned specifically not making a one-trick pony, I'd doubly recommend against Crossblooded.

A Ranger using archetypes from the APG (Skirmisher + Guide) makes for a simple character with good skills, without the complexities of spells or an animal companion. The character comes from 2 books only with the future option to slowly pickup feats from anywhere.

[Gevaudan]

Barbarian. Run a standard invulnerable rager (so skip all the combat expertise hijinks).

It's a strong class. It has great flavor. It has excellent class skills. It's pretty easy to run and you get to learn about complexity by working out your constantly changing to hit numbers.

As well, you'll matter in combat and out.

[Secret Wizard]

I think most players with good system mastery but without encyclopaedic knowledge of every feat will quite enjoy the Bard.

Spellcasting is super straight forward and you really can't go wrong.

Combat is an interesting mix as you need to figure out when to cast, when to strike and when to perform.

You have plenty tools to interact out of combat.

I'd tack on a simple archetype like Silver Balladeer so he's introduced to the concept of archetypes, plus it's actually quite good.

A simple Silver Balladeer build for a human:

S10 D16+2 C14 I10 W8 CH15

Traits: Maestro of the Society, Resilient

Feats:

1. Weapon Finesse, Toughness
3. Weapon Focus (rapier)
5. Fencing Grace
7. Great Fortitude
9. Improved Initiative
11. Improved Critical

[Gruingar de'Morcaine]

Ok, you are probably right about the crossblooded sorcerer. And it's not like the std sorc has all that many spells to learn until he gets to higher level. So it would be a gradual learn.

He likes all kinds of characters. The big thing way back was that each character was completely different from anything he had run recently.

I wasn't sure about barbarian, the changing stats seemed like confusing for a newb. I will ask him.

He has zero system mastery. I don't think bard is all that simple and straightforward. I see some very experienced players get confused by all that they can do.