Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Davic77 Sep 04, 2015 9:17:32	I'm a new player to DnD. I've previously played another tabletop game but that was a long time ago. I'm joining a group that plays 3.5 and only uses phb 1 and 2 and the compendium.    I always optimize my characters but with just these books as canon I'm not familiar enough with the game to be confident in something by myself.    Any advice?
#2 Tempest_Stormwind Sep 13, 2015 10:28:57	Sorry for not replying to this sooner.   Welcome to the game!   When you're "optimizing" characters in this game, we usually need to know more than just this. (Thank you for at least including which books you're using, but there are three different "compendiums" - Rules, Magic Item, and Spell.)   If you're looking for general advice on the system as a whole from an optimizer's perspective, the Noob Guide is the best we can offer. Most of the help we can usually offer requires at the very least a concept to optimize around.
#3 StevenO Sep 13, 2015 11:17:17	I had seen this earlier but a problem comes down to what you mean by "optimization" which can have different meanings.  Often times optimized is equated to 'most powerful possible' and with your limited available sources, although expanding the selection may not really help, you're top three choices for classes are Cleric, Druid, and Wizard although a Sorcerer could possibly squeeze in.  These three are considered the top classes in the game simply because of the power of there spells and if you get the Spell Compendium you pretty much get all of those from a large number of other original sources already.   Other types of optimization include trying to maximize a given character type or role.  It can also be simply avoiding really bad choices such as stopping a multiclass character with Fighter 5.   Now forget about optimization for a moment and just tell us about the CHARACTER you want to make in generally fluff terms.  Figuring out character mechanics often works best when you know what you are shooting for.
#4 Krusk Sep 14, 2015 17:47:09	Awesome, you've got the best two books with the most powerful options in them. The players handbook and Spell compendium.    Pick something that gets level 9 spells "one day" and don't take evocation or cure __ wounds spells. Everything else is gravy.    Any specific questions we can help you with?   *edit if its not the spell compendium it probably sucks (power wise), and you should just ignore it.