What will be your First Party?

[Stonecracker]

With the release less than a week away, I am curious what everyone is planning for their first party. I for one will be purchasing the season pass. So, I know that Amiri will be in the team... (just a personal favorite) but havent decided on the rest of my party...

 

I am thinking a party of 4 for my first game...

 

Does anyone else have plans for kicking this off...

 

Stonecracker

[Hannibal_PJV]

Traditional four.

One healer

One lock picker

One flameball Person...

And one who can fight.

 

Not sure of exact company yet.

[PinkRose]

For me:

Kyra

Seelah

Lini

Ezren

Harsk

[Nathan Davis]

Start out with a mix your first time out.

 

I like a challenge, so I will often go with an overly specialized party. No magic parties are great for that. Or no weapons parties for that matter.

 

Beyond that, just remember: Seelah's the best. http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lhdj?Chads-Best-Character-Ever-Seelah

 

Edit: Before I forget!

 

Tips for a balanced party in RotR.

1. Try to have one Strength Melee and one Ranged Dex character. Likewise one Divine caster and one Arcane caster.
2. Try to create a group that doesn't compete for cards. So balancing card lists so that not everyone is looking for allies or another card type is good.
3. Balance skills: Try to balance skill die for each character and get as many '"sub" skills (like Diplomacy and Disable) as you can.

[trashcondor]

I'm very fond of monks - so much so that I wrote a Pathfinder-compatible PDF on monks: the Monk Unfettered - so if given half a chance I'll play with Sajan. I've only had about 30 minutes of exposure to the (real) card game, but I'm assuming Sajan is a great choice for a 1-man party if he plays somewhat like a Pathfinder monk.

 

Of course... that presupposes that the Steam version will release soon. Any word on that? 

[Borissimo]

I like to play with a full 6-person group. The real fun of the game is watching your characters get stronger, and a 6-player team lets you do that with the largest number of characters at once!

 

My dream team is the following:

 

1. Seelah

 

Potentially getting 1 (later 2) free explorations per turn is just too good in 6-player game, where time is your biggest enemy. Scouting also increases your odds of catching the villain with his/her/its pants down, which is sometimes the easiest (or, if you're unlucky enough, only) way of beating a tough scenario or a bad draw.

 

2. Amiri

 

When Seelah closes a location or scouts a monster at the end of her turn, her subsequent start-of-turn scouting is wasted. Amiri's ability to (with a power feat) move other characters at the end of her turn allows her to squeeze extra scouts / free explorations out of Seelah. Amiri is great in general, but I think it'd be a toss-up between Amiri and Valeros if not for Amiri's end-of-turn movement.

 

3. Merisiel

 

Merisiel wasn't in my dream team for a while, but she adds too much value to a large party to pass up. If she encounters the villain, she can evade to keep him in the deck (or, after her role card, freeze him on top). This alone can make or break a scenario. Her evasion ability also makes her the only character who can comfortably use Ilsoari, one of the strongest allies in the game. Although she's a "lone wolf" type of character, it's actually very helpful to a 6-player party to have someone who can go just about anywhere and confidently kill anything that shows up. This saves the party's resources. Merisiel also adds a lot to the team simply by having a ludicrous number of item cards. While items suck early in the game, they eventually get very good, and having Merisiel in the party can spare other characters the burden of taking item card feats to prevent the loss of powerful items when they'd rather be taking allies, blessings, or spells.

 

4. Lini

 

The first three characters in this list seem almost non-negotiable if your goal is to win with 6 players as consistently as possible. My last three picks are personal taste, starting with Lini. Lini's an "investment" character. She starts out, honestly, pretty abysmal. Getting a free d4 on every check only helps so much when you only have 2 combat spells, no weapon, and a d4 for strength (that you can upgrade to d10 by discarding a card, whoopee). Eventually, however, that free d4 becomes a d4 +2 (or +3 or +4), her spells all essentially auto-recharge, and she can auto-acquire and auto-close just about everything, adding a lot of power and flexibility to the team. She's also the best survivalist in the game, which is important because the survival skill is of disproportionate importance in the latter stages of the adventure.

 

5. Ezren

 

Are Lem and Seoni better choices for the arcane caster spot? Probably. But I just can't help but love this cranky old guy. I love spells, and he's got the most of them. End of discussion.

 

6. Harsk

 

Like Ezren, this cranky old bastard is here because I have a soft spot for him. Sajan, Kyra, and Lem would probably all serve as mechanically stronger choices. However, I love scouting, and I love firing arrows. Since I'm playing with some combat-weak characters (Lini to start, Ezren by the end), it helps to have extra d4's flying about to smooth out fights. If Harsk has extra arrows in his quiver, he can also spare Seelah and Amiri from expending resources to their own hero powers. Harsk's biggest weakness is that at the beginning and end of the adventure, he can't take down enemies without spending party resources, making him a tough character to explore multiple times with. But like I said, he's a personal choice to have in the party, not an objective one.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Borissimo

[Nathan Davis]

I'm very fond of monks - so much so that I wrote a Pathfinder-compatible PDF on monks: the Monk Unfettered - so if given half a chance I'll play with Sajan. I've only had about 30 minutes of exposure to the (real) card game, but I'm assuming Sajan is a great choice for a 1-man party if he plays somewhat like a Pathfinder monk.

 

Of course... that presupposes that the Steam version will release soon. Any word on that? 

Monk is a steam roller until he hits Nualia (in Scenario 1.5). Then it's all about finding a bow and an armor laying around.

 

Steam is planned but not imminent.

[Dunesparrow]

Hey there

 

First party will be:

 

Harsk

Merisiel

Lini

Seoni

Valeros

Amiri

 

Thanks

[Stonecracker]

Some good groups..   I'm a little torn for my rogue...  I normally play Wu-Shen but she wont be available so I will be playing Merisiel.

I don't think you can ever go wrong with Seelah and my favorite Amiri...  

 

That leaves my one for a spellcasting type...   I agree with Borisimmo about the old grumpy Ezren but I also have a soft spot for Lini.  Yes, I know that Seoni is probably the best choice but I just cant say no to the old man...

 

I think my first game with be:  Amiri, Ezren, Seelah and Merisiel  FTW.. 

 

Stonecracker

[da_mayor]

Lem, and...  some other people.  It is ALWAYS awesome not to have to worry about having the wrong kinda spellcaster when a spell comes up.  That, plus blessings, plus non-animal allies, and Lem is a boon-grabbing MACHINE.

[Rbsk216]

My first party will be I don't remember the names of the characters

Cleric

Sorcerer

Ranger

Barbarian

[Stonecracker]

Lem, and...  some other people.  It is ALWAYS awesome not to have to worry about having the wrong kinda spellcaster when a spell comes up.  That, plus blessings, plus non-animal allies, and Lem is a boon-grabbing MACHINE.

I have always wanted to try Lem but my friend always and I do mean ALWAYS plays her.... With that reminder, I may need to reconsider my options... hmmmmm.

[hfm]

If there's an option for a randomized party I'm just going to do that. That's my favorite way to play Elder Sign's digital version. I'd like to just try my hand at using different heroes in different combinations instead of trying to plan it out. There's still so many chars I haven't tried in the tabletop version. It will make it easier to give those a go if I can do it in the app.

 

If I was playing an actual RPG campaign, then I'd plan it out with my fellow party members to make sure we were diverse. But PACG? Bah.. lets go random! No harm. If I end up getting stuck due to lack of diversity I'll start over.

Edited April 23, 2016 by hfm

[Nathan Davis]

One other small factor as you are making a decision. Some character combos yield distinct dialogues as well. For example, solo Valeros at the beginning of Poison Pill and a Lem-Merisiel only party at the beginning of Approach to Thistletop will cause a special dialogue to fire. 

[trashcondor]

^

^

^-------- see that above? *That* is how you do a teazer

[da_mayor]

 

I have always wanted to try Lem but my friend always and I do mean ALWAYS plays her.... With that reminder, I may need to reconsider my options... hmmmmm.

 

Lem gets a little shorted (heh) on the primary skills, but his secondary skills are awesome.  Also, she's a he.  B-)

 

I've played Lem, now, and he's fairly awesome, but DEFINITELY manipulate his deck before his first Scenario.  They always give you CRAP spells to start.