What is your favorite class and why?

[Seany C]

In V, I always liked priests for the melee/spells versatility. In FAa, I've had most success with Paladins (again, for the versatility) and Necros for the all-out offensive spell-power.
As for ToME, I've not won it yet but I've got furthest with Warrior-types (bizarre as I hate Warriors normally, but there are a few ways to get utility spells there)...

[Garrie]

Note: I have only really played V and I have stopped at V3.0.5
Starting out I liked the warriors.
Then I liked rangers but got annoyed by how long it takes to get a reliable ID. Once I get to that point they really rock.
Now that I can reliably get a mage to CL 11 on my first dive I like mages. detect monsters, traps (doors and stairs) and ID more than makes up for lack of melee.

[Nystul]

What advantages do Paladins have over other classes? I know that they are the second best fighters, but do prayers make up for lousy ranged skills? At what level do they throw off their "second-rate warrior" reputation?

Prayers should not be underestimated, by any means. The thing I notice immediately when playing a young warrior is how many item slots I have to fill up just to cover the affects I could get from the Beginner's Handbook as a paladin (it's very similar to the list you would make if comparing to a rogue): scrolls or staff of light, rods for trap detection, possibly rods for door/stair detection, potions of heroism roughly cover bless and remove fear. Detect evil... well it would take a while to even find a staff for that. As you get deeper these issues are only going to get bigger, extending to things like identify, satisfying hunger, detection, healing, various escape spells, trap destruction, temporary heat/cold resistance for those big wyrms, and so on. And then there is orb of draining!

I think it takes real experience with a warrior to make sure you have all the items you need to cover essential things as you go, because there is so much to consider. With other classes, you just start with your spell or prayer books, and figure out the few holes that you need to fill with other stuff. For that reason, I find paladin to be a great beginner class, because that second best melee ability is still extremely good, but you don't need to borrow someone's crib notes to figure out the item situation. But they are plenty capable in the end game as well.

[nobody]

rogue rogue rogue, it's fun to sneak around and stabbity stab. i tend to enjoy this sort of class in any game its available. i think its that way for alot of people, their personality fits a certain archtype representated by a class

[Whelk]

My first character ever was a priest, and any of my characters to get past level 10ish have been priests (with the exception of one rogue that got to about 26). I've always been firmly against playing mages and warriors in any game. If I ever want to go the more physical route, I'll play a rogue or possibly a paladin.

I enjoy priests because they can melee but also have an impressive array of spells, and also because I always want my character to have a reason for doing what they're doing, even if it's not really a roleplaying game with reinforced or fleshed-out roles. I tend to either go for "higher purpose" reasons (priest type) or the "I'm curious, clever and stealthy and want to explore ruins/find relics" reasons and end up a rogue type.

This applies to pretty much any game I play.

[Narvius]

Warriors might want show their power, mages could search for ancient stuff they need for their research.

[Whelk]

Warriors might want show their power, mages could search for ancient stuff they need for their research.

To me, warriors are boring and mages are overrated and overplayed.

P.S. This is my opinion, not an attempt to state verifiable fact.

[Narvius]

To me, warriors are boring and mages are overrated and overplayed.

P.S. This is my opinion, not an attempt to state verifiable fact.

I know, basically everything is an opinion...

[Nick]

I know, basically everything is an opinion...

Well, that's your opinion.

[Whelk]

Yeah, didn't want all the warrior and mage lovers poking me with pointy bits and hurling fiery balls of doom at me when I stated my dislike for their classes.

[Poop Loops]

To me, warriors are boring and mages are overrated and overplayed.

In my case it's because I'm scared to try a priest, ranger, or rogue. I mean, a warrior can bash, and a mage can zap. I've been playing paladins lately, so they are like warriors lite + some spells. But going priest, ranger, or rogue, I just can't figure out what to do.

[Whelk]

I'm honestly not quite sure how to handle the rogue, hence my only getting one to 26ish. I'm never sure if I should be meleeing or using ranged and how much I should be relying on magical objects. I just sort of flounder between it all.

I love my dwarven priests. I tend to just melee a lot and heal or remove adverse effects when necessary. Spells like Protection from Evil are really fun, especially when going up against pits of evil monsters. Watching attacks bounce off you harmlessly is great. Orb of Draining is very satisfying when you just want to lay the smack down and blast a roomful of monsters into oblivion, and dispelling roomfuls of evil/undead is quite nice as well.

Priests are by far my favorite Angband class. I can't quite get into the paladin because of the lessened prayer ability. I just look at all those prayers and think, "Shoot, with my priest I'd be able to get so much more use out of these." I don't have a problem with my priests' melee ability, so I see no point in going the paladin path. I guess they can use all edged weapons without penalties though, can't that? That'd be kind of nice.

[Neuro]

Currently, I really like my Ranger, though I play him totally wrong. I use very few spells or magic items, just blast through stuff with melee or occassionally my bow. Based on my playstyle, I probably should be playing a warrior, since the only spells I ever cast are Detect Doors/Traps.

[Dragonboneman]

I'm honestly not quite sure how to handle the rogue, hence my only getting one to 26ish. I'm never sure if I should be meleeing or using ranged and how much I should be relying on magical objects. I just sort of flounder between it all.

My kobold rogue winner mostly used archery and melee combat with a few utility spells/buffs. I didn't even try to be stealthy and actually aggravated monsters for nearly the entire game.

[Jude]

Haven't played Vanilla that much but I kind of like being a ranger. However in Zangband, my second most played class is a Death Paladin, which is fun, but the Chaos Warrior is by far the best, just for the sheer destructive power, and the awesome rewards and occasional fuck-overs you get when you level up. Makes the game way more interesting.