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I always thought they were brioche, barrel, dinner, and egg....
What Cavall just said.
Or 'What are the Class Roles' is not the correct question to be asking. There aren't really any classes that are a must to be played to fulfill a role. Maybe what classes fit what roles easiest ... or which roles are easiest for which classes to fill. But between archtypes, traits, feats, magic, etc., combined with player creativity in general pretty much all classes can fill any role one can come up with. Otherwise topics like parties with 4 wizards or one with no healer/divine magic become truly pointless.
Even when the original AD&D books came out with Fighter, Thief, Cleric and Magic User where the roles were more stereotyped you didn't have to play those 4. Otherwise there'd be no tales of Robilar going it alone with his trusty sidekick Quij or "Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure" originally with just Mordenkainen. Who then ran into a certain Golem, went out for help and came back with ... 2 more Magic Users. Atypical parties have been conquering dungeons/adventures I imagine since the game existed. The roles exist. The classes exist. The two aren't unequivocally linked.
And to add to this, a balanced party likely has nothing to do with the longevity of games or groups. I’ve been playing for a similar length of time as Piccolo with a similar track record for our groups. Some of my oldest friends are people who joined our group 25 years ago though life is such that not many of them come out anymore; wives, children and careers became priorities for them as time passed. We currently have members who are regulars that have been coming out for a decade or more yet I can prolly name every arcane caster that has ever been played at our table because they are such a rarity. We almost never have an arcane caster in the group. We have literally had so few wizards I can count them on both hands, maybe even one now that I’m thinking about it.
Party composition in a particular AP doesn’t make or break a gaming group. Piccolo has...
Actually, it's because I stress working together, backing each other up, being considerate of the other players. Party composition has a part in that. Instead of creating PC's without regard to anyone or anything else like so many on this website recommend, they make characters taking into account what the other players are going for, and what sort of campaign it is. This results in a balanced party.
I also do a lot of teaching, like showing them how to flank, what mistakes they made and how they can think ahead next time. And I handle personal disputes by noting problems, and talking to the people involved privately.
There's a lot to GMing that isn't written down somewhere, or at least not in any of the supplements I have ever read. This idea of everybody making their own special snowflake PC's is directly contrary in execution to the concept of getting people to work together. This is why I object.
...What Cavall just said.
Or 'What are the Class Roles' is not the correct question to be asking. There aren't really any classes that are a must to be played to fulfill a role. Maybe what classes fit what roles easiest ... or which roles are easiest for which classes to fill. But between archtypes, traits, feats, magic, etc., combined with player creativity in general pretty much all classes can fill any role one can come up with. Otherwise topics like parties with 4 wizards or one with no healer/divine magic become truly pointless.
Even when the original AD&D books came out with Fighter, Thief, Cleric and Magic User where the roles were more stereotyped you didn't have to play those 4. Otherwise there'd be no tales of Robilar going it alone with his trusty sidekick Quij or "Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure" originally with just Mordenkainen. Who then ran into a certain Golem, went out for help and came back with ... 2 more Magic Users. Atypical parties have been conquering dungeons/adventures I imagine since the game existed. The roles exist. The classes exist. The two aren't unequivocally linked.
And to add to this, a balanced party likely has nothing to do with the longevity of games or groups. I’ve been playing for a similar length of time as Piccolo with a similar track record for our groups. Some of my oldest friends are people who joined our group 25 years ago though life is such that not many of them come out anymore; wives, children and careers became priorities for them as time passed. We currently have members who are regulars that have been coming out for a decade or more yet I can prolly name every arcane caster that has ever been played at our table because they are such a rarity. We almost never have an arcane caster in the group. We have literally had so few wizards I can count them on both hands, maybe even one now that I’m thinking about it.
Party composition in a particular AP doesn’t make or break a gaming
You’ve completely missed my point. I play in a group full of special snowflake characters that has lasted a comparable amount of time to yours without. I don’t know why people keep coming to your game but it’s almost certainly not balanced parties or refusal to coddle otherwise my game would be cycling through players at breakneck speed.
Mostly you need to stop holding your style of game up as some sort of gold standard that others could only hope to approach in their wildest dreams. It’s arrogant, tiresome and unproductive.
You’ve completely missed my point. I play in a group full of special snowflake characters that has lasted a comparable amount of time to yours without. I don’t know why people keep coming to your game but it’s almost certainly not balanced parties or refusal to coddle otherwise my game would be cycling through players at breakneck speed.Mostly you need to stop holding your style of game up as some sort of gold standard that others could only hope to approach in their wildest dreams. It’s arrogant, tiresome and unproductive.
If you don't like what I have to say, born of fire, you don't have to read it. Pure and simple. But I wonder, why do you feel the need to get personal?
You know what? I really don't care. Flat out, I don't care what your opinion of me personally is. You've decided to be combative, and defensive. That's fine, but it's not what I would call adult behavior.
Now, while I do not think my gaming groups are perfect, they are a damn sight better than most of the groups I've encountered online or off. This has nothing to do with the quality of the players, this has more to do with a sense of cooperation and consideration.
You may have lucked out in your particular group of players who made PC's that were made in a void. This is irrelevant, since *ALL* of my given batches of players has lasted for years at a time. You think maybe, just maybe, I am doing something right? That maybe having a series of policies that are bent toward getting the group to cooperate and be considerate of each other has an effect on longevity?
For example, one policy is that you have to show up roughly 75% of the time. I know people have holidays, personal lives etc, so when you want to cancel, try to tell me the day before. This is not for my benefit, this is for the rest of the players. If I have too few players, there's no point in having a game.
Another is that everyone gets a equal cut of the loot. Charged items are typically left out of the kitty and distributed according to PC class, but everything else is sold for half price no matter what. Then the gp amount is divided equally. If you want an item out of the kitty, just give up half the base price in gold. Yes, you can go negative to do so (you'd be owing the rest of the PC's), but you can't go out and buy new stuff until you have the gold to do so.
Typically, one player records the loot list, and then that player and I periodically go over that list and sell off items, then divvy it up equally. Any items that the players might want are told to everybody. If two people want the same thing, I put it to a die roll to decide.
Another rule is to always create something different with each campaign. Don't just play the same PC every time we game. Try new things.
When you go to make a PC, remember that the AP I am running is going to feature certain challenges. Might want to take these into account, and yes I will ensure you know about them. Also, for the group to survive and thrive, it helps vastly to create characters that don't overlap in abilities, and are varied enough to handle anything the AP can throw at you. In general, this means some source of divine healing/restoration, some source of arcane magic, a warrior of some kind, and hopefully a skilled character to fill in the gaps. Interestingly, this philosophy has some dividends. Many times the arcane or divine spellcaster will blow feats on item creation that the spellcaster won't need but the group does. This is encouraged. It means to the group that permanent magic items no longer cost anywhere NEAR so much.
Don't worry about how you roll when your PC is first being created. I will improve any of your attributes if I think they are markedly lower overall compared to the rest of the group. One of the many advantages to creating PC's that don't overlap is that every one has a part to play in the group. Nobody gets screwed. I do grant max starting money for your class usually. If you are trying something new that is difficult, I might throw you a few bennies, like extra character traits. Or I might ensure that when you get more spells in the APs, they don't duplicate what you already have, etc. Heck, just to make familiars more durable, I grant the Imp Familiar feat for free, but you gotta wait to get yours if it is more potent than most, you gotta meet the minimum level requirement. That's another example.
When you think I have the rules wrong during gameplay, you are free to say so. However, normally I have a pretty good grasp of them, and some I just plain ignore for the sake of drama or gameplay. I might tell you to reroll when you've had a batch of horrible luck, claiming sudden blindness. I might do the same for the monsters too. If I am unsure, or if you are dead certain, I will simply put it up to a 50% chance for the game session, and then go look it up and give a final ruling. I just say "Evens or odds" and put it to a die roll.
I am willing to tweak the APs somewhat, replacing items for others of equal value but far more use to the party. If you have a wish list of what you want for your PC, let me know.
I tend to stick to the APs as written, so that I am as fair as possible. However, my villains tend to be ruthless unless I am given instructions as to combat behavior etc. This means they will genuinely try to kill your PC, they are VILLAINS. They will take advantage if you do something stupid, so pay attention when I say repeatedly "Are you sure about that?" and the rest of the group thinks it's a bad idea.
Keep your real world issues out of the game. So politics of any kind, social justice issues, religion, sex etc are frowned upon. The reason why is that they inevitably end up in arguments, and this is supposed to be a fun exercise, not preaching. If sex pops up in a game, it's fade to black as soon as the deed itself approaches. I don't care if you think it's a matter of life and death that the kingdom isn't more inclusive, it's fictional and based on a time long ago or far removed from the modern day. Don't apply your values to wildly unrelated contexts. (yeah, this is in direct contrast to the upcoming 2e, and I don't care, no politics means no politics) I realize some people feel the need to control others, to make them conform to their ideals. That's not allowed here. Everybody has different ideas, so respect them. I try to be as neutral as possible.
I don't care how potent your PC gets in any game system. This is fine. I am not going to place limiters on your PC specifically just because you did something potent. But if it gets in the way of the rest of the players having fun, I will ask you to stop.
If you have any problems with the other players or even with me, talk with me privately. I will ask you lots of questions, and do a lot of listening. Then I will try to resolve the problems with as little drama as possible.
If you want to smoke (whatever product), do not do it indoors, and limit your smoke breaks to a time that isn't in the middle of combat or other PC intensive task. Popping out in the middle of the fight is rude, as is fiddling with your smartphone. If you don't have the attention span to play with us without tending to your gadgets, you shouldn't be here. If you want alcohol, fine, but most players won't want to join you, as it slows down your thinking process.
We welcome newbies to the tabletop rpgs. I love to teach. I can even steer you to more mechanically simple classes if you want. If you see something you like, let me know what you want, and I will build it for you as per your parameters, and even ensure that your choices are wise given what I know by telling you why, and giving you lots of options. For example, you can pick out an archetype, race etc by choosing from a menu of options that work for the campaign or whatever concept you tell me about. I make sure to trick everyone out, so don't worry. Just buy some dice and have fun! I rarely make recommendations as to buying books, but when I do it's because I speak from experience and a lot of thought. Up to you what you want to do with that. The other players will likely try to help if possible. I will keep your character sheet with me, and even level up your PC if it doesn't involve making choices, but you gotta pick what you want to do with your own PC's growth.
Do not necessarily trust the NPC's. Sometimes they lie, or are bonkers, or whatever. Listen to the veteran players, they will keep your PC in one piece.
This is more than just a weekly gaming group. I consider my players as my friends, and that means certain privileges. Like, I might invite you to come over and watch movies, or buy you some minis or a dice box as a gift. If you are in a jam, tell us, and we might be able to pitch in. Yes, the jokes are really cheesy, but that seems to be a part of the genre of nerd we tend to be. You will never be a burden. Just help when you notice someone else in the group needs it, that's the most we could ask for. I even go hunting to find cheaper books etc if you want, just pay me back eventually. If I loan something to you, return it in a week or two in the same condition you got it in. Real simple.
That's the most I can think of at the moment. Might add to this list.
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@OP, and completely ignoring the thread hijack argument, I'm shocked that no one provided a link to TarkXT's masterwork treatise on this very topic. Notice how 109 people (as of January 2019) have marked that post as a Favorite.
After reading the two more recent attempts ('Character Class Roles' and 'Character Roles'), TarkXT's version is still far superior to either.
Here's the definitive answer to the question, "What are the class toles".
TarkXT's masterpiece "On Building a Balanced Party"
The above document is the Pathfinder equivalent of Sun Tzu's Art of War. If you heed the advice you will be victorious. If you fail to heed the advice then only an easy GM can save you from ignominious defeat.
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I find roles are very useful to be able to tell one another when creating a party. Lots of games have roles based on class, but pathfinder does not and it is confusing. As others have said, roles in pathfinder are nebulous things, any one class could hold lots of different roles. In early D&D days, we had the four roles of fighter wizard rogue cleric. Each could do things the other couldn't and an adventure would be written so that each needed to do their thing in order for the group to succeed. Current pathfinder rules and adventures don't have that aspect, so coming up with a good party balance is a lot harder.
The best way I have found is to describe what you plan your character to be good at. If you say "I'm making a melee combat guy," then I have an idea of what your intended role in the group will be. If you say "I'm making a cleric," then I have no idea what you intend to do.
I like to come up with roles based around common obstacles that exist in game. Like can deal with traps, can remove conditions, can kill swarms. Many roles, such as scout, can be very helpful but are not required. The only 100% required role is can defeat monsters, which everyone should be able to contribute to in some fashion.