One of the players in my group plays primarily for the social interaction, but doesn't want to be useless.
She assumes that effectiveness as a character is easily acquired and so just tells us to make her the best character we can without much input. We're currently working her toward a Persisting Cleric, but her distaste for even the most marginal levels of complexity is overwhelming.
I enjoy the complexity and so all of my best concepts are hard for beginners to master. She will be a beginner forever, and there are no two ways about that.
So, I request the aid of more practiced hands than my own at creating the SIMPLEST but simultaneously most effective character builds possible. I know that that it won't be the finest machine in anyone's history, and I expect no miracles, but any help anyone can offer would be much appreciated.
Criteria:
It is a level 5 campaign atm. So builds should aim for level 5 and plan for advancement
No Dragon Magazine without the GM's approval, and the GM's approval is highly unlikely (I don't blame him)
At the moment, nothing that was originally 3.0 is allowed or in use. This includes a lot of Faerun, Oriental Adventures, BoVD and BoED.
We use a superior feat system that grants players their general feats on level 1 and every even-numbered level afterward instead of the every-third-level progression.
We use fractional base bonuses
The player has been shoved into the cleric role since she first started playing D&D and no one has sought to rescue her from it. She's sick of playing pure healer and wanted something dangerous this time around. (This criteria was edited into a later version of this post. Those who posted support characters still have my thanks for their suggestions)
Simplicity level required: Assume the player has only enough comprehension to throw the dice and read their results. She has slightly more ability than this, but I'm not underestimating
Complexity allowed: The character can be cross-classed a bunch of times if necessary. What has to be simple is her gameplay not her design. This works because no matter how many times she's done it she won't learn to level herself and either I or the GM just end up doing it anyway.
Effectiveness required: Any. I list our party below. We need any strong character we can get. We have mostly fighters and rogue-types. We're weak on casting, but that's our fate. Most of the players decide their character concept without much evaluation of what role they'll play in the group and then stick with said concepts. The player I'm posting this for and I are the only ones really interested in flexing to the party. There's a third guy, but he's unpredictable.
Our party is made up of three BSFs, one rogue-flavored rogue, a soon-to-be-persisting cleric (The player in question's current character), and my rogueish... thing (I am in the first 5 ECLs of a 17th level build, so my role is hazy. I scout but can't track)
The simplest builds I have ever created are as follows:
Warforged Fighter 4/Sorceror 1 (Later traded for Duskblade)/Dragon Disciple + (Got to level 8)
Monk 5 or 6/Shintao Monk + (got to level 11)
Fighter 12 (Ranged Combat focus)
As you can see, I do need all the help I can get.
More suggestions are better, especially since the rest of our group is about as versed in the system as the player I post this for and I could make use of a lot of different suggested builds.
Thank you
