The Tavern

Feel free to list them in combination with race, although I'm more focused on the background and how it sets you up to -start- the game, rather than later on. Backgrounds don't matter much in the long run. Basically there's been a lot of discussion about fighter being weak in game design, and a fair amount of people seem to believe if you want a strong background, you pick some mage. Even when talking about trolls, a lot of people suggest TrWz for the higher starting int and being able to one day cast spells. This is probably good advice, sadly!

What I want to know is if you're staying true to melee, defined as doing a significant majority of your damage through a weapon skill (you can still cast of course!), what backgrounds do you like? I have recently been playing some TrHu, and love starting with large rocks, so that's my personal recommendation I haven't played too many non-troll hunters, getting large rocks on D:1 just strikes me as too good to pass up, although I imagine it's also a good background independent of race.

You cannot go wrong with berserkers. Toasting mages and toasting their silly books! With a little help from your friends who are as fuming as you are!

If you can survive hunger, TrBe is the way to go, man

The reason I personally prefer hunters is just because hydras need rocks. There are other cases where rocks are a great solution, early orc warriors, etc. Berserk works for most of them but a stray priest when you're slowed or a hydra with now 12 heads means I want my rocks! You can find rocks if you delay the lair, but going down to d:11-13 can be a bit risky, when I can just get rocks on d:1

You can of course choose to go trog on a hunter, although I personally went okawaru. Finesse is just so unfair

My strongest is Berserker, my favourite is Abyssal Knight. Og/Tr are great as Hunter for many different plans, other races should probably only take hunter if they actually want to primarily use ranged combat. Og/Tr Hu is probably a lot like MiscRace Gladiator.

If you are a trbe you can easily kill hydrae by either summoning bros or just berserking the hydra yourself. Alternatively you can kill them with <. There are other ways to kill them too.

Large rocks are good weapons but really hydrae are not something that should really be influencing your weapon/god/background choice.

Anyway mibe and hobe are probably the strongest. My favourite would be various necromancers (yes these are melee characters), probably ho/hu/na/op.

I love the Tengu Monk the most, and my favorite part is because Unarmed Combat + talons, claws, AND beak attacks. Sure there's trolls and ghouls, but they're not nearly as downright badass as a Tengu. Also Monk because they're extremely versatile and it's not stressful to change your mind as you go about how you're going to play your character. Early game if I find both a great spellbook and a great armor, or like if I find two great weapons, I have a lot of room to decide which to go for, whereas if I'm playing a Fighter, the spellbook is clearly out of the question.

I'm not really an optimizer, like some here are. I like characters that I think are cool, which I'll eventually win with, rather than playing a build specifically meant to win. So to me, Tengu > Troll any day.

Can you still make talon, beak, and claw attacks if you have equipment on those slots? I'm told gloves prevent claws from working, do boots block talon attacks? I'd love to try a tengu monk but it seems like I'd have to choose between actually getting armor and resistances instead of the additional attacks. And if I lose the additional attacks, then there isn't much reason to be tengu...

Tengu can't wear boots, and they are restricted in helmets.

I sadly don't have much experience with melee, but when I accumulate ghost I tend to try and make use of Deep Dwarf/Ogre/Troll Hunter/Berserker combos to clear out past failures as the Player Ghosts they leave behind are more manageable.

I don't know which might be best from all the combos but for newbies the Troll Hunter would probably work really well.

TrMo of Oka is pretty easy in early game. OgHu following any god, DSMo of Mahkleb is fun for random games, SpAs following Trog is fun. Easy early game, work towards needlestab for mid/late game, HOBe is probably one of the easiest games you can run.

MiFi of Okawaru then TSO was what got me first 15-rune win. I don't understand how fighters are considered to be 'weak.' I feel most comfortable playing around that combination: spam heroism works till you get to zot, and then switch to TSO for extended. I'm still very poor with understanding game mechanics, but MiFi don't need that much IMO, except luring dangerous enemies into a corner.

And I never liked berserker, mainly due to massive hunger issue that I just can't get used to.

Monk is my favorite background; UC is really strong in this game.
Strongest probably defaults to Death Knight or Berserker.