I started thinking about this question because of this comic. Rogues and Barbarians can fit the bill in different ways, and depending on what type of terrain you're in a Ranger could work well. But when it comes to all-around best guy to walk at the front of the party, what class is best?
I think it depends on level and what kind of dangers you are worried about running into.
A rogue that's good at being sneaky and spotting things can be a fantastic scout.
But honestly, necromancer's bloody skeleton or a summoner's eidolon can work as a cost effective trapspringers/decoys for the party.
After all, it's far less detrimental for them to get injured and/or killed then it is for one of your fellow party members to get hurt.
Arcane Eye spell
I think the minions and arcane eye are definitely the safest, but don't really answer your question.
A slayer with the rogue talent for trap spotting. A barbarian works, too, but I wouldn't want them getting hit by something that would keep them from being capable to rage in the next encounter.
So it's definitely a rogue, because nobody else in the party cares if the rogue dies.
joke answer hellknights
real answer monks
Why monks?
Good saves, high touch AC, good dodging abilities, slow fall for pit traps, deflect or snatch arrow...
And just like the rogue, nobody misses them when they're gone.
The most useful trait the "point man" can have is being expendable.
Therefore eidolon wins.
I think this has been asked before (probably a lot). Someone suggested the Summoner for what they can summon quickly (not their favorite Eidolon) and send it forward on command. If it's a trap that needs to be disarmed, I don't know if bashing it will do the trick. Sometimes having a rogue or a rogue type is the answer.
I think this has been asked before (probably a lot). Someone suggested the Summoner for what they can summon quickly (not their favorite Eidolon) and send it forward on command. If it's a trap that needs to be disarmed, I don't know if bashing it will do the trick. Sometimes having a rogue or a rogue type is the answer.
That's why the rogue is the one with these talents... because they are more disposable than the favorite Eidolon.
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unfortunately edolon is not a playable class
But we all know which class gets the eidolon, so there's no need to get smug in such pedantry, thank you.
Banned? What sort of outback Nazi law enforcement bans an entire character path in a fantasy game?
I get it, they clutter up the battlefield and it takes forever because they are too afraid and fragile to fight for themselves, but banned? Come on.
Banned? What sort of outback Nazi law enforcement bans an entire character path in a fantasy game?
I'm not really surprised that they get banned. I remember being in a party with one and after a month or so he started doing less in combat after getting tired of being accused of cheating and having to defend his build by showing in the rules that everything he was doing was perfectly legal and by the book.
I get it, they clutter up the battlefield and it takes forever because they are too afraid and fragile to fight for themselves, but banned? Come on.
That wasn't my experience, his eidolon would hulk smash everything and even when the thing died, he'd just whip out a wand and bring it back. If anything, the complaint was the combats went too quick and it felt like one character could do the work of four characters of equal level.
Granted, not all summoners are like that. I had someone play one in one of my campaigns and in that game they were little more than a weaker version of a wizard.
But no one remembers the summoners that got played like "normal" characters, just the ones that broke the camel's back... in ten places.
pfs for one does so, there are also a plethera of gms that ban it
PFS does not ban Summoners.
Or rather, unchained summoners are fair game, so saying summoner is banned is disingenuous, as the unchained summoner is basically a long errata to the summoner.
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Banned? What sort of outback Nazi law enforcement bans an entire character path in a fantasy game?
I get it, they clutter up the battlefield and it takes forever because they are too afraid and fragile to fight for themselves, but banned? Come on.
I don't trust a DM who won't ban a class or two.
Fantasy does not necessarily mean Sky Captain and the world of tomorrow. Fantasy doesn't have to be a furry and a gunslinger and a samurai and a gnome barbarian fighting androids. If wanting to keep a coherent and internally consistent setting and style makes me a nazzi I might as well tattoo a swastika on my forehead. I'm Jewish but life is a series of compromises.
I'm Jewish but life is a series of compromises.
0_o
I don't trust a DM who won't ban a class or two.
Fantasy does not necessarily mean Sky Captain and the world of tomorrow. Fantasy doesn't have to be a furry and a gunslinger and a samurai and a gnome barbarian fighting androids. If wanting to keep a coherent and internally consistent setting and style makes me a nazzi I might as well tattoo a swastika on my forehead. I'm Jewish but life is a series of compromises.
Personally, I'd rather that be a discussion among the group setting expectations than a decree from on high.
pfs does in fact ban summoners, you are not allowed to play a summoner period you can however play a completely neutered version of it called the unchained summoner which i wouldn't even call a summoner nor would i even call their pet an edolon
Even unchained, the Summoner is still far and away the most powerful sixth-level spellcaster in the game, and the only sixth-level spellcaster that can stand as an equal next to some of the ninth-level casters. Specifically, the spontaneous ones.
Neutered or not, it's still one of the most powerful classes in the game.
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normal summoner was on t1 right below wizard, cleric and sorcerer, unchained summoner is down at t3 somewhere in the middle unchained summoner is nowhere near any of the t1 classes.
Normal Summoner was not remotely a tier one class. It never had the nigh limitless diversity that defines tier one. The eidolon is a ball of numbers that, while nice, is not any amount of diversity that can elevate a 6th-level spontaneous caster anywhere near tier one.
Unchained Summoner brought some things in line, but didn't alter the root of what makes Summoner highly potent at what it does with a moderate amount of flexibility on the side. It went from tier 2 to tier 2. Just lower within the tier. Still the most powerful sixth-level caster in the game, and the only one that can hang with any of the ninth-level casters. Namely, the spontaneous ones, like I said.
And even if it had landed in the middle of tier 3, that would just mean the "neutered" version is on a level of performance alongside the most reasonably balanced classes in the game.
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Spiritualist has a phantom who can be a beast at a few skills like Perception depending on the emotional focus, and can go through doors and walls. Moreover you can see with his eyes and quickly have accès to ability like See Invisibility.
Best scout for me by far. And if he’s spotted there is a good chance he can come back alive. .
Aether Kineticist with the Trapfinder trait. Disabling devices form afar, telekinetic mage hand, telekinetic haul go into earth and get temorsense.
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Spiritualist has a phantom who can be a beast at a few skills like Perception depending on the emotional focus, and can go through doors and walls. Moreover you can see with his eyes and quickly have accès to ability like See Invisibility.
Am I missing something? I thought the emotional focus only granted skill ranks, not bonuses. With lowered HD progression and a base Wisdom of 10, that's not really high Perception, is it?
Summoner's also got the Bond Senses ability and See Invisility, and the Skilled evo grants a +8 to perception. Of course, it's hard to compete with incorporealness, even if Eidolons can have permanent total concealment and immunities.
In the end, it probably depends on the types of traps you're expecting.
@Omnius: I'm with you, but let it rest. As usual, Lady-J's post have little to do with reality, arguing with her is pointless. Just in case you need a warning against arguing with someone who writes 183 words without a single upper case, line break, or even period.
If anything, the complaint was the combats went too quick and it felt like one character could do the work of four characters of equal level.
"I don't buy into the martial-caster disparity myth"