Tank. Better than anyone. They can also serve as tertiary skill characters, behind rogues and rangers, if the party doesn’t have any.
Use a Dexterity-based build, especially in the 72 point system, where they will need to invest points in Strength and Constitution. Barbarians aren’t designed
Race.
Dwarves,
humans, and half-orcs make the best barbarians, and probably in that order.
Smaller races can’t produce the strength that a barbarian needs, and elves have
low Constitution and high Dex, the latter not being very useful for most
barbarians.
Barbarian
Ability Score Spread.
In
order of importance:
Strength. Barbarians thrive on high
Strength and can deal massive amounts of damage while raging. A barbarian with
maxed-out Strength is nearly impossible for another medium-sized creature to
grapple in most circumstances, and can be a challenge for large-sized creatures.
Constitution. Determines hit points and
rage duration, two of the barbarian’s biggest strengths, if not the biggest.
Dexterity. Dexterity is slightly more
important for barbarians than it is other classes, since they don’t start with
heavy armor proficiency and lose some AC when they rage. However, the class is
meant to absorb damage, not dodge it. 13-16 is a high score for a barbarian
here.
Intelligence. Because barbarians get 4
skill points per level, they really don’t need a high Int to get good skills.
10 or 12 should do it, but 8 will be fine if you aren’t expecting to make a lot
of skill checks or have a rogue or ranger in the party. Some barbarians can get
by on 6.
Wisdom. Barbarians can be built to
make good Listen checks, but again, if a ranger or rogue is in the party, even
a barbarian so built won’t make as good a check as these guys will, in general.
Barbarians also get a bonus to will saves when they rage, meaning that most
don’t need a Wisdom above 8-10.
Charisma. A barbarian don’t need Charisma,
even if he likes to make Intimidation checks, since a higher Int will go a lot
farther for that then a higher Cha will. 6-8 will be fine.
A properly built barbarian is a strength fighter. This means Cleave, Greater Cleave, Improved Critical, Power Attack, and Weapon Focus are ideal feats. Dodge is worthy of consideration if the barbarian wants to maintain a better AC. Iron Will can also create a Will save that is actually halfway good while the barbarian is raging.
Improved Toughness is a good choice for any class, barbarians included.
There is also a wide variety of feats that increase rage
potency, and raging is the barbarian’s foremost strength. Most of these feats
are in Masters of the Wild.
Heavy Armor proficiency is very worthy of consideration, but the barbarian loses his enhanced speed if he does this. Some barbarians take a level or two in Fighter to automatically attain this feat, as well as two others. This will delay the barbarian’s damage reduction and rage abilities, however, so the trade-off is fair, but hardly advantageous. Without Heavy Armor, AC will always be a concern for the barbarian.
Items.
Weapons. Barbarians are probably most effective with two-handed weapons, since they can roll astronomical damage while raged—more even than fighters. A 20th level barbarian that has focused his abilities and items in Strength can easily get more than a +20 bonus to his damage dice with one attack while raging with a two-handed magical weapon.
Armor. Barbarians get plenty of mileage out of AC, but pandering to the barbarian’s ability to take damage can also be key. A barbarian wearing items that absorb energy damage is an incredibly deadly foe.
Miscellaneous. Try to find items that increase Strength and Constitution, and Reflex/Will throws. A good barbarian can usually continue raging completely through most battles alongside a party, but a barbarian caught in an extended fight, or fighting over a range against a spellcaster, can get into a lot of trouble. A barbarian becomes very powerful if he has a good Reflex save to shrug off spell damage and dragon breath. +12 is a high save for Reflex on a barbarian. Increasing the barbarian’s mobility is also very helpful, as it generally is for all classes.
Str
18, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 6
Starting Feats: Heavy Armor Proficiency or Power Attack.
Skills: Climb, Listen, Ride, Swim.
Doesn’t Need Heavy Armor Build. This will save you a feat (heavy armor proficiency) and allows you to keep your movement speed, at the expense of hit points and some skill. The build is optimized to wear breast plate or mithral full plate (the latter of which rocks totally) and actually has halfway decent AC potential. Note that if you are starting at 1st level, the DM is only going to drop Mithral plate on you if he is very nice, or it assumes there is an armorsmith in the group.
Str 18, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 6
Starting Feats: Dodge.
Skills: Climb, Listen, Swim.
Orcbrains Build. This build can be fun to role-play, and is more effective than it looks.
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 6 (for better Will saves) OR Dex 16, Wis 8 (to take advantage of breast plate/ Mithral plate)
Starting Feats: Power Attack.
Skills: Climb, Swim.
II. Bards.
What Bards Can Do
Fulfill any support role in combat. Bards excel at buffing, are passable ranged fighters, and have access to spells and abilities primarily from the enchantment school, but can also do some minor healing. They have a wide range of skills and ideally can identify and use just about any magical item. When surrounded by other party members, the bard dramatically increases the effectiveness of the party on the whole.
What Bards Can’t Do
Take any lead role. A bard cannot tank, will never do the most damage out of the group with either weapons or spells, and will never have skills as good as a rogue. Bards do not absorb damage well and are not that great at dodging it, either, meaning that there should always be another party member between the bard and the direct threat of danger. They do not have as many or as powerful spells as wizards or sorcerers.
Race.
Elves, half-elves, halfings, and gnomes make good bards, though the smaller races’ ranged attacks won’t really be as good. Dwarves and half-orcs have poor ability scores for the class.
Bard Ability Score Spread.
In order of importance:
Dexterity. Bards are not front-line combatants, and are limited to light armor. Therefore, they need Dexterity to remain effective in a combat situation, keeping their ranged attack bonus, AC, and Reflex saves high.
Charisma. The magic number here is 16, as bards can
learn up to 6th level spells and use Charisma in a variety of
skills—yet have no compelling reason to max it out, especially in a point-based
system. They don’t have a lot of offensive magic besides their charms, and even
at 16 are probably the best diplomats in any party.
Intelligence. In order to get all those wonderful skills, the bard needs Int. The higher the bard’s Int, the more roles he can fill for his party. While most can get by with 10 or 12, a party full of tanks, clerics, paladins, and sorcerers will benefit greatly from a smarter bard covering their weak spots. The two best bard skills are Perform and Use Magic Device.
Constitution. 10-12 is about what you should have room for in a point-based build. You should avoid putting yourself in a position to lose hit points if you can—Improved Toughness helps.
Wisdom. 10 will do it here, as the bard has a good Will save and only a couple of Wisdom-based skills, neither of which are essential, especially in a party that already has a rogue or ranger.
Strength. Bards simply do not need Str at all. If a bard is put into a situation where he is using Strength, he is in big trouble and something has probably gone very wrong.
Feats.
Bards can get some mileage out of ranged attacks, so getting Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Rapid Shot can pay off, especially if you are an elf. Defensively, Improved Toughness and Great Fortitude can help when you have no way to dodge the Fireball or get out of the Stinking Cloud. Skill Focus (Use Magic Device) will make the chances of messing up with a dangerous magical item very low. Bards can also make good use of Item Creation feats, especially Craft Wondrous Item.
Items.
Weapons. In the event that a bard actually fights, he does so from a range. Elven bards can benefit greatly from longbow proficiency. Later on, wands become about as useful, especially those you got from classes with good offensive magic.
Armor. Chain shirts, and later on mithral-classed medium armor, is the bard’s garb of choice for a combat situation.
Miscellaneous. Increasing your Constitution and Dexterity is highly helpful. Maxing out your Charisma is only useful if you plan on incessantly charming everyone you meet (which some bards do).
Standard Bard Build. This build allows for the essential skills while maintaining well-rounded scores elsewhere.
Str 8, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
Starting Feats: Point Blank Shot.
Skills: Concentration, Hide, Knowledge (Arcana), Move Silently, Perform, Use Magic Device
My Party Is Hopeless Build. When the rest of your party is made for combat and not problem-solving, this is a more effective build.
Str 6, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16
Starting Feats: Skill Focus (Use Magic Device)
Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
III. Clerics.
What A Cleric Can Do
Clerics are arguably the best class in the game. They can tank almost as well as a fighter or barbarian, and have powerful spells, most of them defensive and/or healing, to benefit themselves and the party. They also have a few very powerful death spells.
What A Cleric Can’t Do
Clerics are optimized far more for defense than offense. While they can tank, most need an actual warrior at their side to actually do significant damage. War clerics can stand up to tanks and powerful monsters for a few rounds, but after using up their smites and spells, will become easy for opponents to ignore. Furthermore, clerics on a point-based system find it hard to acquire any more skills than what are absolutely necessary for their spells.
Race.
Humans make the best clerics because of their skill point bonus, but any race is effective in this class role.
Cleric Ability Score Spread.
In order of importance:
Wisdom. Wisdom is the centerpiece of the cleric’s power—his spells, which serve to augment everything else about him. Maximize it.
Constitution. In most cases, it is imperative that the cleric not die first, since after that the rest of the party is in a lot more danger of being wiped out piece-mail. The cleric has enough defensive magic so that Con doesn’t have to be exceptionally high, but in the event of a dispelling or an attack that their spells do not defend against, they will need it.
Intelligence. Clerics need the following skills: Concentration, Knowledge (Arcana), and Spellcraft. This requires an Int of 12 for most races, 10 for humans.
Dexterity. In order to maintain optimal AC for the class, 10 or 12 is recommended for most clerics.
Strength. Most clerics are generally melee fighters. Rather than a naturally high Strength, however, they can rely on spells to boost their attack bonus if they so choose, making actual Str a low priority in most cases.
Charisma. Charisma enhances the cleric’s ability to
turn undead, but even clerics with high Charisma have a hard time turning
undead in later levels, when most undead have enormous amounts of hit dice,
turn resistance, or complete immunity to turning altogether. 10 is generally a
safe Charisma score.
Feats.
Clerics can choose to optimize themselves for spellcasting, fighting, or a little bit of both. They benefit from metamagic just as much as wizards and sorcerers do, can create magic items, and with a little bit of ability score adjustment, can use effective combat feats in conjunction with their buffs to become relatively fearsome tanks in the absence of a warrior. Consider what type of spells you will be casting before selecting your feats.
Items.
Weapons. Most clerics don’t rely merely on the quality of their weapon to do their damage, often able to enchant it to do more than usual, or back it up with a few offensive spells. Defending weapons can be very useful for clerics that focus on fighting and want their defenses to be as insurmountable as possible, but usually enhancement bonus helps more than special magical weapon powers, as clerics have a lower BAB than warriors.
Armor. Clerics have nearly as high an AC as warriors do, but they don’t have tower shield proficiency and rarely qualify for Dodge. Meanwhile, it’s important that the cleric survives, so AC is very important, and clerics should focus on getting good armor.
Miscellaneous. Clerics can get some mileage out of almost any sort of AC or ability score enhancement (especially Wisdom). They don’t need Intelligence boosts, however.
Combat
Cleric. This
cleric doesn’t turn undead, he clubs them back into their graves after buffing
himself up for the task. He almost certainly has War as a domain, and his
ability scores allow him to take more combat feats.
Str
12, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 18, Cha 6
Starting
Feats: Combat Expertise or Dodge.
Skills:
Concentration, Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft
The
Diplomat. The
diplomat can act as a party leader and healer, configured for maximum turning
potential. Using a variant to turn outsiders, he can be very useful in some
campaigns. He has no melee presence whatsoever.
Str
6, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 18
Starting
Feats: Extra Turning
Skills:
Concentration, Diplomacy, Heal
Spellmaster
Build. This
build is meant for a cleric who stays out of direct combat whenever possible,
instead using spells to do his dirty work. He can also turn with some
effectiveness.
Str
6, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 14
Starting
Feats: Combat Casting.
Skills:
Concentration, Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft