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Who has the greater claim to fame? heh.
Note, this is a largely opinion based thread. SO that in mind, please be civil.
I'm just curious, and I like discussing Pathfinder, so I figured I'd ask a few questions about some of my favorite "gish" classes.
Which of the above classes do you prefer/enjoy more and why?
Which do you think is the strongest combat wise of the bunch?
Note- this takes into account versatility, offense(damage), defense, survivablity, party support(keeping crowd control off the party/themselves and or buffing the party) and control (debuffing/crowd controlling enemies)
which do you think is better suited for solo play if it was required? (or which is most self sufficient)
Do you have any particular builds with the above you enjoyed particularly well?
Which one has the best "flavor" to go with their mechanics?
Archetypes are allowed and encouraged to be discussed as well!
If I had to play from one list of classes for the rest of my Pathfinder unlife, I think it would be your little Alchemist, Bard, Inquisitor, Investigator, Magus list. Lol.
Bard and Magus are the only ones I have personal playtime with, and of those I like Bard the best.
Bard is probably my favorite class in the game, honestly. May not be dishing out the sort of damages Bane or Bombs brings to the table... but just imagine those same Banes and Bombs, now with Inspire Courage!
Yeah, Bards make everything better.
An investigator has the best solo play and the worst team play; they can make others irrelevant for skills.
Alchemists are like druids, too many themes in a single character. You can ignore or trade away via archetype the parts you don't want but I think the original design was an error.
Bard and magus are solid in their roles. I like the magus particularly
- setting up for a big shot, and prepared spellcasting work for me.
Inquisitors are a little finicky but there are archetypes to make them work a bit better.
Inquisitor has a lot going for it. A lot of skill points with skill boosts. A few good spells. And some amazing class abilities. The class itself is very versatile and there are archetypes to specialize in some crazy stuff, like summoning with the monster tactician. It’s probably the best soloist of the list, with archetypes to be even better at soloing like sacred huntsmaster.
Is there a particular reason you picked those 5 classes? If you want 6th level casters who can perform in combat and act as a skill-monkey we should add the Hunter, the Occultist and the Skald ... possibly others.
Occultist would be my favourite, but ...
Of the ones you've chosen I feel like the Inquisitor might be the most self sufficient , but the Investigator definitely does it very well, so I'm willing to be proven wrong there.
I really like the flavour of the Investigator, but I don't think they're made well for a team game. You can absolutely make everyone else feel irrelevant when rolling skills, and they have enough class-based buffs that you actually can ignore their stats entirely at a certain point.
For Combat ... probably Magus or Alchemist? They can both break the action economy pretty hard. Although a Lamplighter can get ridiculous bonuses to Initiative and get a full-round action in the surprise round. 2 full-round actions before the enemy goes is a pretty big advantage (although it is archetype specific)
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Overall I think the inquisitor is probably the most versatile of those classes. Bane and latter greater bane gives him a way to boost his damage not matter what he is fighting. Judgements can also be tailored to what he needs at any particular moment. He usually has a good selection of weapons he is proficient in. Between his deities favored weapon and racial weapon proficiencies he will usually have at least one decent melee weapon, and is already proficient with most of the better ranged weapons. With 6 skill points per level and scaling bonuses in multiple skills he is one of the top skill monkeys in the game. His spell list is decent and synergizes well with his class abilities. He may not be the best any anything, but he is good at everything. Basically he has no real weakness.
Investigators are hands down the best skill monkey in the game. Combat wise he has a few good weapons and honestly is probably going to be using a rapier and taking weapon finesse. With no good ranged weapons proficiencies ranged combat is not his forte. His extracts can give him some decent boost, but being unable to affect others makes them weaker than spells. Studied Combat and Studied Strike can boost his combat ability, but has some limitations especially Studied Strike. Investigator Talents can give him a lot of class abilities, but once chosen they are pretty well fixed. His low Fortitude save is one weakness. Since CON is not a main attack stat or a casting stat it is unlikely to be maxed out. If skills are important to you the investigator is great. He is a little on the fragile side and a tad on has no real way to boost anyone but himself.
The Magus is basically a combat spell caster. He is very good at dishing out damage, but outside of that he is not anything special. With INT being his primary casting stat he will get a decent number of skill points, but does not really have a lot in the way of class skills, especially social skills. With CHA being a very low priority for him that means social interactions is his big weakness. All his class abilities are focused on combat and he gets very few utility spells. In combat he can be a beast, out of combat not so useful.
The base bard is one of the best force multipliers in the game. He was the best skill monkey in the game until the investigator came out. He may no longer be the king of skills but he is still very good at it. Bardic performances often allow him to adjust the whole party instead of just himself. His spell list is actually pretty good and early access to some important buff is always handy. As a force multiplier his efficient is dependent on that of the party. He can make a bad party a little better, but can make a good party a lot stronger.
Special consideration has to go to the archeologist bard. He is the opposite of the standard bard. With his luck bonus and heroism he can boost everything he does through the roof. He may not be able to sustain it all day, but if you absolutely need to get something done he can often do it.
Alchemist, especially branching into Master Chymist as a prestige class can be a lot of fun. One of the things I really enjoy about alchemist is all the esoteric things you can do with your discoveries but also archetypes. Always leads to somewhat eccentric gameplay, be it a Winged Marauder Goblin or a Mummified Gnome with an extra appendage he calls a familiar.
Inquisitor I think is the next one following that, the class by nature has a lot of character and is extremely useful.
The answer to your question though, of all those walking into a bar obviously a Bard is at a huge advantage, a bar is virtually his sandbox. While I like Bard's and think they have good RP versatility I think being way too knowledgeable and a face can at times be too easy. Sometimes it's good to have flaws or allow other PC's to shine.
Investigator I don't really like for teamplay. The Magus is pretty straightforward but nothing exceptionally interesting, very powerful in combat.
Inquisitor has a lot going for it. A lot of skill points with skill boosts. A few good spells. And some amazing class abilities. The class itself is very versatile and there are archetypes to specialize in some crazy stuff, like summoning with the monster tactician.
^ My thoughts exactly. Judgement, Bane, Monster Lore, Stern Gaze, Stalwart, all amazing.
"Give me Wizard, or give me death." ~Unknown