So I am joining a game of Jade Regent, and am looking for suggestions on what class to pick considering the following:
* I rolled 18/16/15/14/13/9, which is actually about in like with the group.
* The group already has a Beastmorph/Gloom Chymsist alchemist, a Warlock Vigilante, and some kind of shadow-rogue 3pp thing.
* We are just starting the AP, so lvl 1.
* I already play an Oracle and just got done playing a Cleric, so I really don't want to do those classes again.
Originally I wanted to roll up an Unchained Monk given those stats, however now that I know that this group is leaning so heavily on damage I probably shouldn't. That said I don't want to be a med dispenser for everyone and I am all cleric/oracle'd out. Any suggestions?
It sounds like the rest of the party will be at least adequate at stealth, you might want to play a character which can at least keep up rather than be the one left behind. Some variety of inquisitor or bard perhaps? A bit of ability to heal, some stealth, and perhaps the odd buff or debuff.
I've been GMing the AP for the past 18 months. We are about to finish the 4th book. We have had the full gamut of classes, and noone has ever complained that their characters were ineffective due to the challenges they faced...
We have had people play
Half orc monk (died - split the party)
Dwarf zen archer (retired)
Ifrit sorcerer (died - caster left unprotected during boss fight)
Human rogue (only one still left from the original party)
Elf warpriest (retired)
Suli Paladin (died stupidly but later raised)
Human kineticist (died boss fight)
Aasimar Oracle (he died almost immediately, but it was the player's fault for giving the guy a 7 con/18 hp @ 6th level)
Snowcaster elf wizard (story-driven retirement)
Samsaran Winter Witch (retired)
Human ranger
Dwarf wizard
And an modified Aranea Stalker Vigilante
FYI, There are 4 story-driven npcs that are with the party almost throughout the entire AP, a ranger, bard, rogue, and cleric.
With that stat array I could see some fun had making a dragon Disciple.
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Given your complete lack of a healer in that party, something that can manage that might be a good idea (if perhaps not completely necessary given there's an NPC). But even with Cleric and Oracle out of the running, you could easily fill that role as a Witch, Druid, or Shaman without being relegated to 'med dispenser'.
With those stats, going Witch is basically a waste, so I'd be inclined to go Shaman or Druid. There are basically three builds that make really good use of those stats:
1. Wild Shape Druid. Tiger-based murder is in this year. Might overlap a little with Beastmorph, though.
2. Melee Shaman. Different theme from the Druid, but similar functionality. Works something like a battle cleric, but not quite.
3. Lore Shaman. The key thing here is you can have Wis 20, Int 15, Cha 16 on a starting character, which makes the 'Arcane Enlightenment' Hex amazing, giving you three or four Wizard spells as 'on your list', and replace them as you level (or daily if it's your Wandering Hex) and thus function as a full offensive caster cherrypicking Wizard spells as well as healing and having Hexes (heck you can have Slumber, which is always great).
I'd go with the Lore Shaman version, personally. Full offensive caster is fun, a needed role, not a healbot at all but still able to do healing in emergencies (or with a Wand), and Charisma is good in Jade Regent specifically.
Given your complete lack of a healer in that party, something that can manage that might be a good idea (if perhaps not completely necessary given there's an NPC). But even with Cleric and Oracle out of the running, you could easily fill that role as a Witch, Druid, or Shaman without being relegated to 'med dispenser'.
With those stats, going Witch is basically a waste, so I'd be inclined to go Shaman or Druid. There are basically three builds that make really good use of those stats:
1. Wild Shape Druid. Tiger-based murder is in this year. Might overlap a little with Beastmorph, though.
2. Melee Shaman. Different theme from the Druid, but similar functionality. Works something like a battle cleric, but not quite.
3. Lore Shaman. The key thing here is you can have Wis 20, Int 15, Cha 16 on a starting character, which makes the 'Arcane Enlightenment' Hex amazing, giving you three or four Wizard spells as 'on your list', and replace them as you level (or daily if it's your Wandering Hex) and thus function as a full offensive caster cherrypicking Wizard spells as well as healing and having Hexes (heck you can have Slumber, which is always great).I'd go with the Lore Shaman version, personally. Full offensive caster is fun, a needed role, not a healbot at all but still able to do healing in emergencies (or with a Wand), and Charisma is good in Jade Regent specifically.
This is good advice, assuming the idea is to use Wandering Hex for the Lore spirit's Arcane Enlightenment hex daily. It will require a certain amount of bookkeeping to keep track of, but realistically you'll probably have a "usual" list of spells you'll take via the hex, so it won't be that bad, but can offer flexibility where you need it.
Then you can choose amongst the other spirits for your main spirit. Sounds like you want to avoid being overly 'divine'-oriented, and perhaps want to stay away from being a primary healer, in which case avoid choosing Life as your primary spirit.
Flame could be decent for blasting power, but I personally like the Waves spirit in this configuration, to combine the otherwise-somewhat-crappy* Crashing Waves hex with some water descriptor spells picked up via Arcane Enlightenment (I'm look at you Snowball and Aqueous Orb). Water Sight also combines well with spells like Obscuring Mist and Fog Cloud for area control.
If you really want to max out your spell choice breadth, consider playing a Samsaran with Mystic Past Life to cherry pick a few spells from the Druid list (again, Snowball and Aqueous Orb are nice options to combine with Crashing Waves), which frees up Arcane Enlightenment for other stuff.
*: The hex usually suffers from the distinct lack of water descriptor spells on the Shaman list.
Shouldn't this thread be in the Jade Regent area?
Personally I would look at a full arcane caster, or follow avr's advice and go bard/inquisitor.
If I went wizard/sorcerer/arcanist i would invest in some stealth as the opportunity to have a whole party capable of stealthy movement does not come up often
Sounds like the party could use a support, but if you're not interested in playing another support, you shouldn't feel obligated to do so. Your alchemist can rock out cure wands with no trouble, and the Jade Regent NPCs include a bard and a cleric, which the AP encourages the GM to use if the party needs them.
I think you actually have the freedom here to play whatever you like, oddly enough.
*Personally*, I'd probably play an Oradin in this party. The combination tank/healer seems like it would be a great fit, and playing an honor-based character in this AP has a lot of great opportunities (important caveat, of course: if your party or GM hates paladins, nevermind.)
You could go Witch, or Strength Patron Witch/EK if you want to take advantage of that stat spread. Witches get some curative magic, a potion making hex, and can take Channel Energy through an archetype if they want to; but otherwise they're unique arcane caster/hexers. Or if you go Strength Patron Witch/EK, very unique arcane caster/warriors. One can actually use a Witch/EK to get major combat bonuses and pounce by level 9... if one were so inclined.