First playthrough - class and RP party compostion

[Dead Sea]

Um. So I'm planning my first playthroung and I can't decide on a class and a theme. 

 

My favorite way of playing party RPGs is to treat the party as a unit with its' own little theme (as opposed to classic D&D group of adventurers). Like, my favorite playthrough of ToEE back in the day was 1 paladin, 1 priest and 4 spear/crossbow fighters - sort of а knightly order squad. My other favorite playthrough was five fighter dwarves and a halfling rogue.

 

So. Ideas very welcome. Maybe a gang? A cult? The knight and his retinue again? What class is most fun to play as a main character anyway, in your opinion?

 

(I'm going to play on normal or maybe even easy)

 

 

[Tigranes]

Dwarves with guns.

[Climhazzard]

Most combinations will probably be able to get you through normal or easy (some are probably hard though like all rogues).  If you sell the ring you have at the beginning of the game to Heodan you'll get about 4x it's worth which will help you create additional companions at the Tavern in Gilded Vale so you can begin your Theme.

 

Personally my favorite MC classes are...

 

For melee: Monk and Barbarian, particularly monk.  

 

For caster: Druid and Wizard.  Both powerhouses that have a ton of options.

 

My favorite party composition for PotD is something like... Monk, Paladin, Chanter, Priest, Wizard, and Druid.

 

Your order of knights might be better off with more than 1 paladin and priest.  Ranged fighters are doable I guess but their abilities aren't really suited to it after weapon specializations.

 

Most D@D themes you could think of would fit well right into Pillars of Eternity.  There are orders of knights, bandits, cults, pirates (seemingly half the bounties are one or the other...), and many more.  Something slightly balanced would probably be best for your first playthrough.  You can mix up the classes yet still give them all similar armor to fit a theme.  Something like...

 

Knights = Paladins, Priests, Fighters

Monks = Monks, Priests, Chanters

Bandits = Rogues, Fighters, Chanters, Ciphers

Druid Cult = All druids would wreck....

Wizard Cult = All wizards would wreck too, but might have a high reliance on resting.

 

Well, I don't really know what classes would fit various themes I guess.  If you look at the examples in game you'll find that many organizations or groups have a wide variety of classes.

 

Racial themes might be interesting as well.  A group of Wood Elves, Dwarves, etc.

 

If you were to ask me which was my least favorite to drag along, I'd probably have to say rogue.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Climhazzard

[Jojobobo]

You could go for a cult of Galawain, who are devoted to the idea of survival of the fittest and so despise the civilised society of Defiance Bay which shields its inhabitants for the savagery of the outside world. By the same dint, they're right at home in Twin Elms and have great respect for the different tribes.

 

In terms races for the main character, I'd go for  a Nature Godlike (the worst of the Godlikes, but a nice fit for the party). Classes which suit the party would be Ranger (Sagani), Barbarian, Druid (Hiravias), Chanter and then your choice - but steering clear of the more civilised classes like a Paladin. Galawain is also the god of pursuit and discovery so you don't necessarily need to shy away from some of the more academic classes like a Wizard.

 

In terms of outfitting your party, get all hunt/nature themed items like the Stag's Helm, Cloak of the Frozen Hunt, Cloak of the Fox and Hunter, Cloak of the Dying Boar, Ring of Thorns, Persistence and Husk of the Great Western Stag.

 

Should be quite an interesting way to play the game, and an easy theme to work with.

[Boeroer]

For the first play through I would def. use the official companions. Then you don't need to bother with the question which hirelings to take. There's one companion of every class - so you don't miss one.

 

For the MC I personally like priest or paladin because they can gain certain bonuses by picking the right dialogue choices. But that doesn't matter too much.

[Ben No.3]

Generally I agree with boeroer. However, if you want that theme going on, I might suggest a pirate-based party. Perhaps frontline a chanter (name his chants after pirate songs ) and a tanky fighter. Offtank barbarian. Then a rouge (Gotta have one for pirates), alternatively blunderbuss/pistol/arquebus ranger. Then a cipher or a wizard (though cipher might be the better choice, especially for a player-character). Finally a priest (RP-wise of skaen, as boeroer said also a good pc), or if you don't like the idea of a pirate-priest a Druid (who has support spells and heals as well).

[DreamWayfarer]

So. Ideas very welcome. Maybe a gang? A cult? The knight and his retinue again? What class is most fun to play as a main character anyway, in your opinion?

 

(I'm going to play on normal or maybe even easy)

For the main character it depends a lot on player, but I like leaders with what I call tactical skills: powerful heals, buffs, debuffs or CC that can be applied at key moments to swing the tide in your favor. Casters, Ciphers and Paladins all fit, and all can be seen as natural leaders or strategists.

 

All the themes you described are viable.

 

For a gang a Cipher or Paladin of the less morally concerned orders would be a good leader, and the followers could be be gun-using Rangers, all kinds of Rogues, more thugish Monks or Fighters, and perhaps even a Wizard with a spellbook full of "nasty" spells or a roguelike Priest of Skaen.

 

For a cult most casters can fit, but Priests and Druids do it better than Wizards, and Ciphers are almost a must. There is no "almost" for Chanters however, because few things fit the scary magical cult image better than masked masses chanting in an ancient tongue, building up power to call dark forces with an invocation. They can even brainwash people and summon undead!

 

The knight idea sounds cool too. The most knight-like Paladin orders are the Darcozonni Palladini and the Shieldbearers but Fighters also make more than fine knights, as do Barbarians (And they benefit more from INT than most casters, instead of what the name suggests). Priests can also be good knights depending on how you build them. Priests of Berath for example have a talent that gives them bonus accuracy with Maces and Greatswords, and their god is said to manifest as the Pallid Knight.

Edited September 2, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Dead Sea]

Thank you for the ideas and detailed responses. I'll probably do the knight thing first in memory of ToEE, and then a gang/pirate crew led by a cipher.

[Messier-31]

If you sell the ring you have at the beginning of the game to Heodan you'll get about 4x it's worth

 

Gaun's Pledge? That's a bonus Kickstarter item, and it's not for everyone, mate.

[Ben No.3]

Go cipher first (even when using knight (or pirate ) ), adds a lot and let's you understand the world better