I need a new class.

[almack9]

So, I finally beat the game with a gray elven wizard. I need a class/race combo thats not faceroll, but that is still reasonably possible for someone with minimal actual skill :P

[Sadface]

High elven priest, high elven barbarian...those two I've won with,
and pretty easily, though wizard far surpasses them in ease .
The high elf barbarian starts with literacy, so you get
some of the perks of barbarian, without one of its drawbacks. Barbarians
also have some pretty great crowning gifts, and start with Herbalism.
Priests (especially high elves) get better starting armor than wizards
and the Detect Items skill, even though their starting repertoire of spells
usually isn't too eye-opening (I think I recall reading most, if not all,
priest starting spellbooks are of the helpful flavor). Also, if you do
try a priest, remember spells for them have a different name.
Rain of Sorrow = Acid Ball, Minor Punishment = Magic Missile etc.

[JellySlayer]

Archers are a great choice, especially hurthlings and grey/high elves. They're reasonably easy to start, and get extraordinarily powerful as the game progresses.

Priests play very much the same as wizards, except that you're less likely to find offensive spells. Pretty easy nonetheless. Dwarf is good here, or orc if you want a bit of flavour.

If you want a strong melee class, barbarian is good, although I strongly disagree with the choice of high elf--that is probably my bottom pick for races for barbarians, below even humans. Barbarians should be orcs, drakelings, trolls, or maybe dark elves. Yes, you will be illiterate for awhile, but it isn't really that bad, actually. Beastfighter plays quite similar to barbarian and is pretty strong too. Orcs, drakelings, and dark elves are good here again, but don't play a troll.

Paladins are a good melee/caster mix. They start out reasonably strong, have a nice skillset, and find a reasonable number of spellbooks. Dwarves are awesome, but dark elves, orcs, and drakelings are good choices too. If you get crowned with the weapon Justifier, you're in for a really fun game.

If you're looking for something a little more out there, roll yourself a gnome bard with some half decent skills. Take Charming, Boon to Family, Heir as starting talents for seven league boots at level 1.

[Sadface]

I strongly disagree with the choice of high elf

Perhaps I was just lucky that game, but the high elf seemed easier than every
other barbarian I'd played

[JellySlayer]

Perhaps I was just lucky that game, but the high elf seemed easier than every
other barbarian I'd played

It may be a playstyle thing. If you like to play a barbarian like an archer, it's probably decent (although hurthling would still be better in that case). But looking at skillset, starting St and To, and equipment, high elf is really sub-optimal compared to something like Orc if you want a melee powerhouse. Orc gets >20 St and To (>25 if you're lucky), +Find Weakness, and starts with something like 10/8 DV/PV. High elf adds only literacy to skillset, has ~15 St and To, and starts with 2 PV on average.

It's like playing a troll wizard. It's a workable combination and can be really interesting to play, but your race and class aren't complementary.

[Sadface]

Ah, I might simply have been lucky then; the character won without
using either bow, crossbow or sling for more than a few scant minutes,
everything else was mowed down by Grod, once I got it.

Jellyslayer's examples are great picks, too, and I'd probably follow
his race advice instead of mine - most of my characters are
flavor-based and not USUALLY meant to stack bonuses

[Silfir]

Let fate decide! You've won, now you can have some random unexpected fun. And it teaches you to adapt to your character's abilities and become better. Rock on!

[gut]

> the high elf seemed easier than every other barbarian I'd played

Barbarians have a good skillset, and an elf would
prolly give you a few extra skill increases per level
if you rolled a high starting Le stat. Maybe that
accounted for it? I've played gray elf barbarians in
the past, and also noticed that they are surprisingly
good.

As for my class recomendation, my vote for most
survivable race/class combo in the game goes to troll
druid.

[pblack]

play a high elf thief... its so easy that it stops being fun.

[grobblewobble]

If you do not mind scumming for birthsign, IMO candle hurthling barbarian + heir is also a great combination.

Candle + hurthling garantuees you have the 3 starting talents for heir, while candle healing effect is very welcome at the start anyways. Further, the drawback of hurthling barbarian is the crappy starting weapon, but you get a great skillset and loads of ammo with your bow. Now add the heir gift, and instead of a crappy starting weapon you have a great starting weapon. It exactly fills up the weak spot.

Add to this that hurthling has an easy time getting crowned quickly and that the crowning gifts of barbarian are very much worth it. It all fits perfectly together.