Rogue, Ranger or Fighter?

[SwampFoot]

So I unceremoniously rolled my Warlock, Rash. The little play time I have coupled with the fact I could never get his intended story started made him dull to me. It was time to let him go.

My next toon should be less story-centric. A character with little to no ties and easily fitting to any available group but with enough survivability to go out alone should a group not be available. What I have so far:

Rogue. Human. Dex based. Level 3 currently. Scads of skills (I can go 12 skills fully or cut some short and gain additional useful skills, that's a lot of points!). I find he is, so far, ill-suited to go to even the sewers alone right now and the boats are a very short excursion leaving me asking myself what to do next. Considering he is dex based and will do little damage toe to toe even at higher levels he might not have the solo ability I'm looking for but definitely has a group appeal (who doesn't like a trap/lock master for those pesky chests and doors?).


Ranger. Halfling. Dex based. Level 13 currently. Jonathin Underleaf is his father's son and having not played him in many months it was easy to adopt a wandering Ranger style over his previous ties to Bendir. His Companion (badger) makes him more survivable in solo play but their low damage makes fights long. Less useful to a group as he is not high damage no matter how well guarded he is, though his Badger's capability to work a crowd comes in handy in dangerous situations.

Fighter. Human. Str based. Not yet made. This one is pretty straight up. A fighter's usefulness took a huge leap with the introduction of the weapon and armor bonuses. AC and AB/damage makes a fighter a group powerhouse and an excellent survivor in solo situations. But the rub is, they are a lot more common now than a ranger or rogue and their RP can be dull (I've yet to figure out how to play a fighter beyond a mercenary and I'm not very good at that either).

So the question is: Which of these offers a better mix of solo survivability, group viability, RP fun and story simplicity to make my short play time not feel like a complete waste? I'm not closed to other class options, though I am not inclined to multiclass with the exception of a PrC that makes sense for both the character and his starting class.

[Mithreas]

I personally like ranger with a splash of rogue. And the recent animal empathy stuff makes them even more fun if you keep your rogue levels low (start taking your 3-4 levels of rogue at level 12 if you want to abuse empathy the whole way, and the 4th at 16+).

[SwampFoot]

I'm fond of rangers myself. I'm unsure what skill points I have to move around for empathy. Currently he's a fair healer (39 on a +1 kit with a 20 roll) and an excellent sneak with points invested in discipline. His Empathy is at 11 which puts actual points invested around 9 (unless he's wearing gear I've forgotten about).

Rogue levels are useful, but I built specifically to avoid class dipping. I wanted to see how well a ranger could do without rogue levels.

[The Kriv]

I say go full on pure ranger with high Animal Emp... one example.. .Dire Bears (often found in two's or threes) you will need to hit 37, or be mauled to death. *winks*

Those Dire Bear models are so intimidating. I wish I could get my bear-companion to have that model.

The Heartwood could use a good ranger with high animal emp. skill to help with the RP to fight back the encroaching civilization! (I hear Myon wants to build a BELL TOWER in the forest! A BELL TOWER! gasp!)

*hugs a badger*