Best kind of character for a demon's souls noob (POLL)

so what kind of character would be the best for a new player to demon's souls to try... I am not new, I will be starting my second character shortly, but I have not played in a very long time, so it will be a bit like starting new... except I know a lot of the strategies. If you choose other, please elaborate.

I went for a "battle mage" build, combining both magic and melee. I don't remember what I did for my build, but I finished the game the first time with the Purple Flame Shield and the Crescent Kalij, which gives you some idea. That way I had a lot of magic at my disposal, but a good chunk of the time I used melee--in fact, most of the time (even though my weapon was obviously augmented by my magic).

Mainly for looks (sorry) and the ability to roll around, I used the Venerable Sage's set (with the Black Boots). With a combined build, you can take on pretty much anything that comes at you--and I didn't seem to do too bad in PVP, either. Extremes at either end, though, will likely be more challenging if that's what you're going for.

I'm a fan of the royal, even though i've only beaten the first 2 bosses.

Royal.

The barbarian is by far the easiest class in the game.