What is your favorite full casting class? Mine is wizard.
Also I have noticed Druids aren't that popular around the forums and in a lot of gaming groups, anyone else notice this?
Bump
Shaman for sure. Thanks to their wandering spirit/wandering hexes they have a ton of versatility. Hexes give them a bunch of staying power on top of their spells. On top of that they have odd level casting progression so you never feel behind. They have enough skills (4+INT) that you are not skill starved enough to feel limited.
With proper use of the Human/Half-Elf/Half-Orc favored class bonus, you can turn their pretty so-so list (I don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be) into a very solid one. And if all else fails you still have 3/4ths BAB! Really you can do just about anything with a Shaman and if you don't like what you are doing you can just change it up tomorrow.
Psychic is pretty great, especially with the Rebirth discipline getting you access to whatever you need off of the Sorcerer list. You've got good class skills, and Int base for enough skill points, your discipline for fun stuff, and your phrenic amplifications for dealing with boring things like spell resistance.
Witches, Druids
I love Druids, they are very versatile and have a lot of good archetypes. After that, it is a toss up between Psychics and Oracles.
Druid on top, Cleric and Sorcerer right behind it.
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Oracle.
I like themed powers more than a massive pile of unrelated ones.
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First Oracle, because its insanely customizable. You can fine tune every aspect to fit your concept.
Then Druid because it has an interesting and diverse spell list, and useful class features even when compared to spellcasting.
Third is Shaman. Similar to druid, but its abilities are a bit too bland by comparison.
I am attracted to things that have more class features, so Arcanist, Oracle, and Shaman are in the top running (with honorable mentions for Exploiter Wizard and Sorcerer). Shaman suffers from really confusing organization of the writeup, and thus loses out of the top space. Between Arcanist and Oracle, Oracle gets the nod for being able to build so many different types of characters with it, whereas Arcanist (and Exploiter Wizard) is more walled into a traditional full caster role (not sayingn it's bad, just that you can't get as much diversity out of it). Sorcerer suffers from very uneven quality of the Bloodlines, but could get a lot more interesting if we got a Sorcerer Unchained (for the most part actually Bloodlines Unchained.
I find myself to be partial to the flexibility of an Arcanist with quick study.
Oracle. Plenty of ways to build them and make them your own. It's also harder to smash the game into fine dust than any other caster with them...except maybe the Psychic, I haven't really read that one's deal.
Arcanist for quick study + wizard list or Shaman for all of their flexible goodness.
My favorite is fighters.
Sorry.
Actually I'd say witch
Flavour: Druid - I like Pets and shapechanging
Design: Oracle - because every Oracle feels different
Arcanist. All the benefits of a spontaneous caster with all the benefits of a prepared caster, plus they get exploits on top - Dimensional slide is crazy good and available at first level. Get out of jail free - retreat from all those nasty creatures that have surrounded you without provoking AoO, get past all bad terrain without falling prone, cross that chasm, climb that wall - all rolled into one.
^For raw power, yes, you get the worst of both worlds. For flexibility, you get the best of both worlds -- still delayed by 1 level relative to the Wizard, but in exchange you get Arcane Exploits, of which a decent enough subset is really good. You can get some of this with Exploiter Wizard (less flexibility and fewer Exploits, but no delay in spellcasting progression, so it probably comes out about even in overall power unless you just absolutely have to have the highest level spell possible anywhere in the universe). And that reminds me . . . The Exploiter Wizard is an Arcanist-Wizard backcross hybrid. I'd also like to see an Arcanist-Sorcerer backcross hybrid (that is different from the Blood Arcanist -- instead add some Arcane Exploits to a Sorcerer).
Sorcerer. Not for mechanical superiority, of course, but rather for the sheer flavor of having my spellcasting capabilities derive from my charisma (as if I were a natural conduit for the mysterious arcane) is just plain f***ing awesome ;) I've always appreciated passion and natural-born talent over dedication, diligence, and studying haha :3
I like every full caster, my only issue is that Arcanists are better in every way than the sorcerer, it's literally a straight upgrade to the point that I don't think I'd ever play a sorcerer again unless I was going Razmiran Priest. Or maybe Crossblooded for Orc/Dragon bloodlines, but that trick only needs one 1 sorc level and then you just play a 19th level wizard.
Arcanists also created a second monster, the Exploiter Wizard. Sure I lose one spell slot per level, but I don't have any opposition schools and I can use Quick Study for ultimate utility and Potent Magic to push my CL and DCs by 2. Just a bit silly.
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I like me some classics. Cleric, Druid and Wizard, with Cleric being my number one choice.
Of the newer full casters, Witch would be my favorite. I love Hexes so much that I'd be willing to play a Witch with improved access to Hexes and less spellcasting!
The bloodline powers / revelations that Sorcerers and Oracles get just don't, IMO, make up for delayed spell progression or a tiny spells known list.
Arcanist, because their exploits sidestep many of the standard rules.
APG Summoner.
Just because I wanted to get my sarcastic answer in too. :-D
Oracle.
Hrm... Hard choice between Oracle and Witch for me. I think I'll have to lean Oracle in this case though, mainly because they're flavor-riffic.
Big fan of the spontaneous casters, generally I think it's a much better mechanic (from a design perspective) to prepared casting. Arcanist gets some points for being halfway there.
If I had to pick one.. Sorcerer. Psychic would be if it was more flexible in its option, but it's not. So sorcerer.
I like sorcerers, not necessarily the most optimal, but they've got the arcane casting I love, fireballs, flight, haste, timestop etc. all my favourites, bloodlines are one of my favourite class features, and the naturally good at magic thing is fun to play.
Shaman, even though its archetypes are so weirdly written that it's embarrasing. It was never proofread, that much is clear. It's too bad that they didn't correct any mistakes in the ACG errata
The Cleric is my favourite. What I like best about Pathfinder is the setting and the Cleric character class is the most entwined with the inner sea region of Golarion. I could happily swap out the game mechanics for 5e or some other system and just use the inner sea source material. If I did that the Cleric is probably the only character I would convert across.
Gotta be the Oracle - love the spontaneous casting, love the variety of themes and concepts you can create with them. I'm also becoming a big fan of the Shaman for similar reasons; the hexes and the flexibility of the Wandering Spirit makes up for the prepared casting factor that I'm not a big fan of.
Honorable mention goes to the Witch, the Sorcerer, and the Summoner (Chained & Unchained).
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APG Summoner. For reals. You're basically a Sorcerer who only knows Summon Monster in his highest slot at any given time. You also get the big hitter spells to play Substitute should your party lack a Wizard.
And Eidolons. Mmm mmm. The freedom to build what you want with whatever theme you desire with the spare points to take more flavorful options and still be viable.
Summoner if that counts. Otherwise Aracanist has I have a fun build that ends up with a Character who just Teleports in and out in 1 turn slicing up people.
Witch! Winter Witch to be more precise.
Witch! Trickery vanilla witch to be more precise.
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Wizard hands down. Not only are you usually the smartest person in the party. You do not have alignment restrictions like a druid or cleric. you also are not limited to spells known like with a sorcerer or an oracle. And your spell list is MUCH broader then a Witch. Want to buff the party, make a Transmuter, want to mess with the enemies heads, Illusion or Enchantment, want to blow s@@! up, Evocation, want minions to do everything for you while you take a smoke break, Necromancy or Conjuration. The Wizard, with enough planning, can do everything.
Plus from a Role play perspective they are one of the more flexible classes. They can be devout or faithless, Law abiding citizens or anarchists. I don't have to worship Nature like a Druid, make a deal with a Patron like a Witch, or join a church like a Cleric. You only have to determine how you first learned magic and BAM, everything else is completely open.
Oracle. A satisfying blend of being flavorful while still being effective.
Sage bloodline sorcerer. Spontaneous casting plus high intelligence. I made an item crafter build with one that's cross blooded with the verdant bloodline, so he only needs two hours of sleep, freeing up plenty of time. Love the versatility and skills.
So, I compiled the votes because I have waay to much time on my hands. Some people voted for more than one, and it's ok because whatever.
10 Arcanist, Oracle
9 Druid, shaman (big surprise for me, I thought it wasn't widely liked)
8 sorcerer
7 witch
6 cleric, wizard
4 summoner (if people are voting for it, then it counts)
1 poor psychic
I have to say I expected the Oracle to be up there, but the arcanist is a surprise. The wizard scored a lot lower tan I thought it would.
I'm really glad the shaman was up there with the best of them. I try to play shamans for every campaign I start, but most of the time I get discouraged when I check the mess that are the archetypes. I keep waiting for carification on how some of its class features work.