I have never been one to do things easy. If you give me a task, especially a creative one, I will pick the hardest way to fulfill it. When I was taking Theatre Crafts back in collage as a sewing project I chose to do a dice pouch. I chose a segmented pouch design made out of a very slick material. My instructor warned me that it would be near impossible to put together right but I was unrelenting. (It worked in the end although it was a bit lopsided.) I feel that this is what I am attempting with the character concept I shared with all of you a couple of weeks ago. Playing a dwarf (the weakest race) outside of their traditional roles (dwarves aren’t Strikers) with a multiclass feat. So now I am reconsidering. Maybe I should try something a little simpler. You see, when I look thru the various powers that the classes get I get the feeling that I do not comprehend how they work. I won’t have the ability to gauge them until I’ve actually played the game.   

So here I am, back at square one, wondering what to do with this new system. What race should I play?

Dragonborn: Not likely. I think this is a silly race. I don’t know why they made them. Either it was to get more dragons into the game to justify the title or it was so they didn’t have to bother with the Half Dragon template. The only reason I‘d play one is to be at the head of the legions of Dragonborn Paladins of Bahamut that are destined to come. I see this happening as surely as Mua’Dib saw the jihad. It shines so brightly that it is inevitable. Who is the best Paladin god? Bahamut the dragon. What are the Dragonborn stat bonuses? Str and Cha, which just happen to be the best stats for a Paladin. How about their special abilities?  A Dragonborn’s abilities work perfectly with a Paladin’s. Paladins draw fire to themselves. Dragonborn get a bonus when bloodied, a bonus to their healing surges, and a breath weapon that works against targets close to them. Like I said, it is inevitable.

Dwarf: They are one of my favorites so it is still possible but they are still second class citizens in the rules. I’ve worn myself out arguing for the dwarves and no one cares.

Eladrin: No. Really no. Doubleplus No (or would that be Doubleplusunyes.) Eladrin were once a favorite of mine, after all they were the Chaotic Good extra planer beings. I even had a great Bloodwars Deck made exclusively of them. Now Chaotic Good is a thing of the past and the Eladrin are stand-ins for Noldor Elves. Y’all have to have your aloof detached super elves so here you go. Don’t even get me started on their abilities. I’m just going to pretend they don’t exist.

Elf: Possible but unlikely. This version of the elf is the most reasonable we’ve had since Basic. But half of the 3.x characters I made were elves so that alone makes me avoid them. But just for the record, when I say “F*&#@%g Elves” I don’t mean these guys. Their powers are still good. Re-rolls are always nice, shifting over terrain can be huge especially with how many powers there are that allow extra shifting, it is always great to be the fastest guy in the room, and they still get free proficiency with bows. I am also overjoyed to see them descried as “wild and free” and “…easily moved to delighted laughter…” This is such a step in the right direction.

Half-Elf: Maybe. I like their abilities. Natural Multi classers, but I am trying to make a simpler character so I will probably pass. Plus I am still thinking of a low charisma character and these guys are very social. I definitely could see myself playing a half elf once I get a feel for the game, maybe after a splatbook or two.

Halfling: They have one of the best race powers in the game. They are nigh impossible to crit. But the rest of their stuff is a big ‘meh’. I’ll pass on them mostly because of the Charisma bonus but I think they are definitely playable. (Although that fear resistance does remind me of Kender. *shudder*)

Human: I really like the Humans in 4E. They have some nice versatility, picking their stat bonus, and I like the extra power thing they get. The bonus feat doesn’t mean nearly as much as it once did but they are still a strong race. They are definitely my fall back position should the Dwarf not work out.

Tiefling: Not an option. It would bring back too many memories of when Tieflings were cool. You know, back in Planscape.  Now, more than ever, they remind me of Drow for campaigns where DMs don’t allow Drow. Moody, brooding, types always wearing black and going on about their heritage, cursed as outcasts, blah, blah, blah… Their powers are okay and all it is just the attitude that makes my teeth ache.

As for Classes, back in the old days if you wanted a simple character you played a Fighter. You hit things with sticks and went home happy. No thought, no problem. Well now in an effort to make the Fighter more ‘fun’ they’ve given them just as many abilities as everyone else. So it is no longer an easy choice. Here’s how I see it:

Cleric and Warlord: They are both out from the get go. These guys have to work well with others and that makes them hard to play. I don’t want the responsibility of healing the party and I certainly don’t want to direct traffic or whatever the heck the Warlord does. Actually I think the Warlord has some cool abilities but they are a little more complicated than I am prepared to deal with.

Fighter: Party already has one and I am not real fond of their special abilities. If I was going to play a fighter I would just be multi-classing it with something else.

Paladin: As I mentioned before I feel compelled to make a DB Paladin and not in a good way. Sticking to the low charisma idea I’ll pass on them.

Ranger: Still a contender. I like a lot of their abilities but think they need a little more. If I am doing Ranger I’ll have to Multi which will get messy.

Rogue: Another possibility. I am not sure if I could do a Dwarf Rogue. Maybe if I go with a Human or Halfling.

Warlock: I like this potential. Powers based on Con are cool and the Star pact has a decidedly Cthulhu edge to it. If I want to stray from the Lawful Good I was going to do I could easily be swayed by the dark side here.

Wizard: There is some potential, but it looks awfully complicated. The part where you can switch powers on a daily basis sounds like a lot of work. I just want the Prestidigitation class feature/spell. Too bad I can’t get that with a Multiclass feat. That would be awesome.