Build it: Your ideal party composition?

[asmartfellow]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

[EvilAnagram]

Dwarf Storm Cleric
Dwarf Life Cleric
Dwarf Knowledge Cleric
Dwarf War Cleric
Dwarf Arcane Cleric

Priest Squad!

[Specter]

Human Bearbarian 8 (Sentinel)
Wood Elf Scout 3/Hunter 5 (Sharpshooter)
Rock Gnome Diviner 8 (Resilient CON)
Lightfoot Halfling Lore Bard 8 (Lucky)
Half-Elf Paladin 2/Draconic Sorcerer 6

Good luck to the DM.

[Millstone85]

Dwarf Storm Cleric
Dwarf Life Cleric
Dwarf Knowledge Cleric
Dwarf War Cleric
Dwarf Arcane Cleric

Priest Squad!Elf Eldritch Knight
Elf Arcane Trickster
Elf Valor Bard
Elf Bladesinger
Elf Arcane Cleric

Mage Squad!
Battle of the Gishes!

[asmartfellow]

Dwarf Storm Cleric
Dwarf Life Cleric
Dwarf Knowledge Cleric
Dwarf War Cleric
Dwarf Arcane Cleric

Priest Squad!

I think you missed the part about no duplicate classes. Othwise, it would always be 5 Mages. LOL

[EvilAnagram]

I think you missed the part about no duplicate classes. Othwise, it would always be 5 Mages. LOL

You're right, here:
Halfling Arcane Trickster
Halfling Thief
Halfling Mastermind
Halfling Assassin
Let me think... oh! Halfling Swashbuckler

Very balanced, with tons of utility.

[Asmotherion]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

Half Elf Warlock 3/Sorcerer 5
Sorcerer 1/Warlock 2/Sorcerer 2/Warlock 1/Sorcerer 2
Dragonic Origin
Great Old One Patron
Pact of the Tome
Quicken & Twin metamagic
Agonising & Repelling Blast Invocations
Type: Blaster/Controler/Buffer

High Elf Wizard 8
School of Abjuration
Type: Controler/Blaster/Buffer

Human (Variant) Fighter 5/Barbarian 3
Barbarian 1/Fighter 2/Barbarian 2/Fighter 3
Eldritch Knight
Bear Totem
Crossbow Expert
Type; Ranged/Melee/Tank

Wood Elf Druid 8
Moon Cyrcle
Type: Tank/Healer/Melee

Half Elf Bard 8
Colege of Lore
Typer: Controler/Healer/Buffer


Their strategy focuses on controlling the enemy and locking them away.

The Sorlock focuses on his Repelling blast to keep enemies at bay, wile he blasts them at the same time. He may also twin Haste on the Fighter and Druid for example, or use other control spells/buff spells, but his main focus is Quickened Eldritch Blast and his Hex (Witch he can also twin).

The Wizard provides more control by providing Wall Spells, may also be helpfull to the Sorlock by providing him with a persistant AOE for him to knock enemies at, or even throw the occasional Fireball, but his main focus is keeping enemies at distance. He also has some buff spells to moonlight as a buffer.

The Fighter provides more ranged damage with his Crossbow Expert+Sharpshooter feats, and a good amount of Nova Damage with his Action Surge. At the same time his bear totem allows him to switch his role to that of a tank and melee damage dealer, with the right combination of feats. He has 4 feats after all, and he can take things like Great Weapon Fighter and/or Dual Wielder to be as effective in melee as in ranged. His magic can cover up for when he's out of rages, and vice versa, he can also use some Scag cantrips for versality, and most of all, I wouldn't want to have him be the only non-caster in a party of full-casters.

The Druid is the Main Tank of the Party with his ability to Recycle HP, as well as can be quite an effective melee damage dealer. When controlling is uneffective, he and the fighter will provide the cover the ranged characters need, wile he can also use his abilities as a healer to be even more usefull in the party. In cases the enemy is already locked away, he still has the option to deal some ranged damage with his agressive spells, and even provide more control with his control spells.

Finally, the Bard is here to provide even more control, a bit of a backup if you wish. He can also use buff/debuff options that can be precious, but would cost actions to the other casters. He can be a precious healer. He can even deal some ranged damage thanks to his magical secrets. Overall, he is not amazing in any of those jobs, but effective in all of them, just as his class ability describes, a true "jack of all trades".

[CaptainSarathai]

Stout Halfling Wizard, Divination, Lucky at 4th
-- bring on the save/suck godliness! Low rolls? What low rolls??

Shield Dwarf Fighter, Battle Master, Duellist or Tunnel Fighter, Sentinel, Shield Master
-- stand the party around you, use Commanding Strike to hand the Rogue extra SAs each round, knock people down with Shield Master for easy advantage. Perfect sticky-tank.

Wood Elf Rogue, Arcane Trickster
-- sneaky, and able to serve right up on the front line with good AC. Stand next to the Fighter for lots of damage.

V. Human Bard, College of Valor, Medium Armor Master, Inspiring Leader
-- front liner. Works with the Rogue to fill out skills, works with Wizard to cover buff/debuffs. Hands out plenty of HP to the party.

Half Elf Paladin, Devotion, Defense Style, GWM
-- if MCing is allowed, this becomes Pal2/Sorc6, or Pal6/Lock2. Pal4/Fighter(Knight)4 could also be fun. Otherwise, here's your spike-damage. Lots of easy Advantage, so no sense going Vengeance. Hands out Bless and uses plenty of accuracy bonuses to get the most of GWM and Smiting. Also handles some party healing.

This party would be a tough nut to crack. Built-in healing, lots of Temp HP, good saves from the Pally Aura, lots of synergy with the BatMaster, the Wizard stands back as an ultimate controller, lots of sources for Counterspell and chucking magic about, and everyone but the Paladin has viable ranged options.
All of your roles are covered. There are plenty of Skills floating around even without dictating Backgrounds, and some Expertise in there as well.

[Naanomi]

No duplicate classes eh? Makes creative mutliclassing difficult...
For combat purposes only? Throws out the strong need for many aspects of a skill monkey, face, ritual caster, a scout (unless stealth/surprise rounds are incorporated in the assessment) etc...

UA available?

[tkuremento]

5? Dang, I'd prefer 7 Dwarves who all take a caravan to start a new Mountainhome. More seriously though, I'll have to get back to you on this front. I can give basic roles right now but not so much classes. Just woke up :P



UA available?

This, I'd like to know this as well. I assume not since even Volo's isn't allowed. Are SCAG variants for races allowed?

[Foxhound438]

Vuman Ancients Paladin, polearm master
Vuman Storm sorcerer, inspiring leader
Vuman Light cleric, resilient: con
wood elf shadow monk w/ hunter ranger dip
Vuman Eldritch Knight, sharpshooter

[Gignere]

The Expendables

Frenzy Barbarian - Tiefling
Wild Sorcerer - Half Orc
Trickery Domain - Halfling
Non-UA Beastmaster - Regular Human
Four Elements Monk - Gnome

Or D&D hard mode.

[Armok]

Human sword and shield champion fighter. The average guy who rises to the challenge.

Half-elf dual wielding battlemaster. A highly skilled swordsman who can do archery if needed.

Old human wizard who specializes in Abjuration. He's got the spells to keep evil at bay.

Elven druid, circle of the land. Because I like it, and nobody will ever convince me not to.

And last but not least, a gnomish arcane trickster. Because hilarity.

[Pex]

All Variant Human

Divination Wizard - Knowledge and Magic
Devotion Paladin - Tank and Single Target Nova, Strength, Party Face for Above Board Meetings
Battle Master Fighter - Tank and Combat Tactics, Dex based for bow use
Lore Bard - Everything Support, Traps, Party Face for Below Board Meetings
Life Cleric - Combat Support, Magic Support, Emergency Healing

[EvilAnagram]

Okay, I'm going to give a real answer.

It's important to define the roles that characters take within a party.

Tanking: Keeping your allies from being targeted by attacks and surviving the enemies' onslaught.
Striking: The ability to deliver a lot of damage on a single foe.
Blasting: The ability to deal damage to multiple foes.
Healing: The ability to heal. Duh.
Controlling: The ability to buff allies or debuff enemies in order to control the tide of battle.
Utility: Abilities that provide non-combat benefits that allow for greater exploration and interaction.

This in mind, the ideal party has classes that contribute heavily to at least one role, and moderately to several. Losing one member doesn't hamper your ability to cover threats because two other characters can cover for him while another gets him on his feet. Versatility more than anything else rules the game.

V. Human Paladin of the Ancients - Shield Mastery. It's extremely tanky with high single-target damage and okay healing and buffing.

Half-Elf Lore Bard - Phenomenal control and utility with healing and still able to take a hit or two.

Hill Dwarf Life Cleric - Amazing healing, great control, with a bit of blasting and some tankiness on the side.

Wood Elf Hunter Ranger - Ticks every single box to some degree. Ranged striking with healing, blasting, and control on the side, not to mention the same hit dice as a paladin and solid AC.

Lightfoot Halfling Wild Sorcerer - The ability to affect dice rolls is phenomenal. Pair that with Metamagic and the Sorcerer list, and you have massive control and excellent blasting, plus quality utility.

[ChubbyRain]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

Variant Human Rogue Swashbuckler (Pirate) (Str w/dagger and shield)

Wild Elf Monk Way of the Shadows (Urchin)

Lightfoot Halfling Warlock Fey Pact of the Tome (Entertainer)

Hill Dwarf Light Cleric (Folk Hero)

Half-Elf Sorcerer Dragon Sorcerer (Charlatan) (subtle spell, careful spell)

These are ideal combat choices, for fun.

[Sigreid]

I'd go

Half Elf Ancients Paladin - Aura improves survivability, smites for solid nova damage at need, spells for buffs, additional healing on the side

High Elf Eldritch Knight - Solid defenses and combat potential that are not expendible resources. Mastry of all weapons for effective combat at any range. spells to tip the scale on occasion.

High Elf abjuration wizard - All the power and versitility of a wizard plus the ability to absorb damage for party members when things are looking grim.

Elf Mastermind Rogue - All the normal roguey goodness with the ranged bonus action help action either now or a few levels off (not sure). Full effectiveness even if you can't rest.

Wood Elf Life Cleric - Buffs and the best heals should times be getting rough.

The reasoning here is 4 of the 5 classes can take a reasonable hit. 3 of the classes can buff. 1 has an always on magical defense that is just awesome. 2 of the 5 can continue at or near maximum potential even when all of the party's expendable resources have been expended.

Edit: Forgot to mention you don't defile your party by letting dwarves join. :smalltongue:

[LudicSavant]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

What would the starting gear and attributes be? This would influence what sort of build choices are available.

[DragonSorcererX]

I can't build a party without Dragonborn and Aasimar (either DMG or Volo's).

I know that this is not valid but screw it...

Lawful Good Silver Dragonborn Dragon Sorcerer of the Silver Dragon Heritage, Noble and follower of Bahamut.
Neutral Good Protector Aasimar Life Domain Cleric, Acolyte and follower of Lathander/Pelor.
Lawful Good Mountain Dwarf Fighter Eldritch Knight, Soldier and follower of Moradin.
Lawful Good High Elf (more like Gray Elf from older editions) Rogue Arcane Trickster, Soldier and follower of Corellon Larethian.
Lawful Good Winged Abyssal Tiefling Abjuration Wizard, Sage and follower of Mystra/Pelor???.

This is the Pseudo-Medieval High-Fantasy High-Magic Super-Hero Party, everyone is a Mary Sue from a Mary Sue Race, everyone is almost a Chosen of their Deity and they play with a Piety Score, the Dragonborn is your stereotypical Noble adventurer, the Aasimar is basically the Human of the party (but COOL!) and he is the stereotypical good cleric, the High Elf and the Mountain Dwarf are the stereotypical veteran warriors who met in the battlefield and became friends while killing orcs, and the Tiefling Wizard is basically Blade, The Daywalker, except that he works banishing demons and devils and probably has an edgy background involving "r-word" of and demonic bloodline.

[Aldarin]

This is a really good question. For me:

Mountain Dwarf Bear Totem Barbarian
High Elf Wizard
Human Tempest Cleric
Halfling Thief Rogue
Half-Elf Valor Bard

[fbelanger]

Dwarf barman
Female Eladrin waitress
Hobbit cook
Gnome boss boy
Half elf owner.

[Ogre Mage]

Assuming only AL legal material is allowed ...

Variant Human or Half-Elf Ancients or Vengeance Paladin 8
Half-Elf Lore Bard 8
Wood Elf Moon Druid 8
Hill Dwarf Light Domain Cleric 8
Gnome or High Elf Divination Wizard 8

[agnos]

I'm presuming PHB only due to the specifics

Half-Elf Ancients Paladin 8 (Dex build)
Hill Dwarf Moon Druid 8 (shape shifting focus with sentinel, alert)
Lightfoot Halfling Lore Bard 7 / Life Cleric 1
Variant Human Divination Wizard 8
Variant Human Fighter 2/Warlock 6

[Sception]

Vuman Oathbreaker 7, shadow sorcerer 1
Mountain Dwarf Necromancer 8.

Sadly there really aren't any other real necromantic classes yet in 5e, so that's the extent of the player party, though there will of course be a handful of skeletons and zombies about to fill the gaps.


An Artificer (alchemist) would almost make the list, since skeletons are smart enough to use infusions so they could be used to turn the parties skeletons into skeletal mages, but I'm not really seeing anything on their spell list that I'd especially want such a fragile henchman to be casting, at least not on themselves.

[nmitchell2]

1) Dragonborn Paladin 2/Sorcerer 6. Draconic Ancestry (Gold). Focuses on AoE control spells (Web and Hypnotic Pattern) with Careful Spell. Plate Armour + Shield + Defensive fighting style = 21AC. Green Flame Blade and Divine Smite form the core of DPR. Picked up War Caster at Sorcerer 4. Tanks and protects the party, secondary party face and healer. Plans to go Oath of the Crown for Champion Challenge, final goal Paladin 6/Sorcerer 14.

2) Half Elf Rogue 4/Warlock 4. Swashbuckler and Pact of the Chain. Focuses on single target DPR using Sneak Attack and Cunning Action/Fancy Footwork with Booming Blade, Eldritch Blast provides a ranged option. Picked up +2 Dex at Rogue 4, +2 Cha at Warlock 4 Is the party's resident party face and trap disarmer. Expertise in Perception. Final goal Rogue 12/Warlock 8.

3) Hill Dwarf Ranger 6/Cleric 2. Hunter Conclave and Life Domain. Focuses on multi-target DPR using Hunter's Mark and Horde Breaker, focuses fire with Spiritual Weapon and uses Conjure Barrage or Lightning Arrow for AoE damage. Archery fighting style + Bless = 1d4+2 to hit, Sharpshooter = -5 to hit/+10 damage with the Heavy Crossbow. Picked up Sharpshooter at Ranger 4. Is the party's resident healer, secondary ritual caster. Proficiency in Perception and high Wisdom. Final goal Ranger 6/Cleric 14.

4) High Elf Fighter 7/Wizard 1. Eldritch Knight. Focuses on single target (de)buffs (Mirror Image and Hold Person) and DPR. Picked up +2 Dex at Fighter 4, +2 Dex at Fighter 6. Tanks and protects the party. Plans to go Bladesinger for Bladesong, final goal Fighter 18/Wizard 2. Studded Leather Armour + Bladesong (when available) + Defensive fighting style = 21AC.

5) Forest Gnome Rogue 2/Wizard 6. Arcane Trickster and Evoker. Focuses on AoE DPR with Fireball using Cunning Action to stay at range. Picked up +2 Int at Rogue 4, +2 Int at Wizard 4. Is the party's resident ritual caster, secondary trap disarmer. Final goal Rogue 4/Wizard 16.

[JellyPooga]

Sadly there really aren't any other real necromantic classes yet in 5e, so that's the extent of the player party

Bah! I bet you're one of them fancy "college trained" necromancers; never had to dig up your own corpses, cadavers always nice and clean, no missing bits. I don't know, kids these days, they just don't try hard enough...

Hill Dwarf Death Cleric
Half-Elf Oathbreaker Paladin
Gnome Necromancer Wizard
Half-Elf Lore Bard
Halfling Arcane Trickster Rogue

Everyone has Animate Dead except the Arcane Trickster, who would eventually get it at 13th...so he's just in training. He's along for the ride because the team needs someone that isn't tainted by the foul touch of undeath...you know, for Public Relations. All that "raising corpses to do your bidding" business lends a man a certain...gaunt aspect that makes people a bit leery.

If you really want to go whole hog on Team Undead; an Undying Patron Warlock can replace the Rogue; he won't be raising any of the shambling dead, but he passes himself off as one pretty well.

[Hathorym]

Wood Elf Dex-based Ancients Paladin
Dwarven War Cleric
Vuman Blade Bard
Halfling Divination Wizard
Forest Gnome Mastermind Rogue

[maxwell_wolfen]

1)(i am in love with that build) Sorcerer 17 bard 3 lore.So you get sor 6 bard 2 at 8lvls. wild sorcerer till 6 lvls and 3 lvls of bard. Then sorcerer all the way.. Start wild sorcerer, half elf or variant human or lightfoot halfing(for even more roll cheese). It has spells, a few bonus low level spells from bard, metamagic, per cha dice influence from bard, dice influence from wild plus all the good sorcerer blasting. Disabler, controller, blaster. awesome... (suggestion from EvilAnagram)

2)Fighter 8 (plans to go till 11 lvls then switch to barb till 20) Variant human for PAM, tunnel fighter (if allowed) and somewhere around 8 take GWM. i would go battle master.
-You can also go Barb till the end or take 3 fighter champion lvls sometime. That way start as fighter 3 and then go barb. Choose variant human with PAM and tunnel fighter. These two builds are IMHO the best "melee" builds (in terms of sustained damage and survivability) that you can make with these rules.

3)Half elf or variant human Wizard abjurer. Controller, counterspelling, wall spells.... You can go svirfneblin gnome for adv in spell checks too but it overlaps a bit with Abjurer's Spell Resistance.

4) It may sound duplicated, already having 2 mages and a fighter..but i would add a variant human ranged fighter with Sharpshooter ARCHETYPE from UA. Arguably the best ranged character. Very OP in later levels. Go full fighter.
-IF you are covered in the ranged "department", then maybe a Pal 6 and Sorcerer till 20 will be a great addon. Personally i would choose oath of ancients, longsword and shield for maximum tankiness. Half elf here due to MAD.

5) i am not into healers and cant optimize here, so just choose your best/favorite cleric build

[russdm]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

Easy.

Human Barbarian modeled after Conan the Barbarian

Elf or Half-Elf Rogue designed to be a pirate.

Half-elf Bard, Captain Jack Sparrow

Hafling Cleric, focused on Water deity

Elven Mage, maybe wild magic or sorcerer, focused on fire spells for hilarity.

The Party serve as sea pirates/privateers and probably include standard Pirate trappings. Don't need a dwarf, since they have issues with water don't they? (Flint does) Don't need a gnome either. The party has made a career out of raiding ships, probably of any enemy nation/race, and have proven themselves skilled shipmates.

Their chief enemy, an Orc/Half-Orc pirate lord named Davy Jones, ruling his entire tribe on the seas. Shake things up a bit.

[Edgerunner]

I don't have a whole list but Halfling Divination Wizard is a great class.
Portent + Lucky = Auto WIN vs any Spell save.

[BillyBobShorton]

Bruce Willis: Die Hard w/ a Vengeance Paladin

Samuel L. Jackson: Just Jules the Assassin Monk Nomad

Mila Jovovich: 5th Elemental Adept Sorceress

Liam Neeson: Taken the Oath Tempest Clerry

Zach Galifianakis: 1-man Wolfpack the CN Lore Bard.

[EvilAnagram]

Green Dragonborn Trickery Cleric
Half-Orc Elements Monk
Forest Gnome Berserker Barbarian
Kobold Beastmaster Ranger
Mountain Dwarf Wild Sorcerer

I call this party: Hard Mode.

[nmitchell2]

Or how about this?

Half Orc Fighter (Champion) 5/Barbarian (Path of the Totem Warrior) 3. Wields a Warhammer and a Shield. Picks up Shield Master at Fighter 4. Fighting Style: Duelling. Lvl 20 build Fighter 17/Barbarian 3.

Goblin Ranger (Beast Conclave) 7/Monk 1. Wields a Quarterstaff and/or a Longbow. Picks up Mounted Combatant at Ranger 4. Fighting Style: Archery, Beast Companion: Black Bear. Lvl 20 build Ranger 12/Monk (Way of the Open Hand) 8.

High Elf Rogue (Arcane Trickster) 6/Wizard (Bladesinger) 2. Wields a Rapier and light armour. Picks up Resilient: Con at Rogue 4. Lvl 20 build Rogue 12/Wizard 8.

Half Elf Bard (College of Lore) 6/Sorcerer (Draconic Bloodline) 2. Wields literally nothing. Picks up Inspiring Leader at Bard 4. Lvl 20 build Bard 14/Sorcerer 6.

[Captain Panda]

Variant human battlemaster fighter, crossbow expert. Heavy single target damage.
Paladin 2/sorc 6, half elf, sword and board. General damage, utility, offtank.
Wood elf moon druid. Tanking, healing, battlefield control.
Lore bard 7/life cleric 1, half elf. Aura of Vitality and fireball or a conjuring spell for secrets. Healing, battlefield control, some damage potential.
Bladesinger wizard. Durable battlefield control and area damage.

Pretty much every base covered multiple times. Tons of single target and aoe damage, lots of utility and control, lots of overlapping heals, tremendous damage, and every party member is capable of taking a hit. Though a bear barbarian could be swapped out for the bladesinger, I think the added crown control a wizard brings is of more value than soaking more hits. Especially with a moon druid handy.

[Citan]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!
Hi!
(Considering point-buy stats and multiclass/feats allowed, only official books).

Single-class party:
1. (Half-Elf) Lore Bard: covers the buff and face CHA skills.
2. Gnome Diviner Wizard: rituals, AOE, debuffs, INT skills.
3. Lightfoot Halfling Rogue: Sharpshooter, scout.
4. Dwarf Barbarian: STR stuff, meath shield.
5. Human Nature Cleric: WIS stuff, buff, tank.
Each has a clear enough role to fulfill.


Dual-class party

1. Lore Bard 6 / Warlock 2: get powerful attacks to contribute, along with Mage Armor if needed and usual Bard greatness. Option to go Tome Warlock if you want nice cantrips and another great ritual caster.

2. Life Cleric 1 / Moon Druid 7: the Life Goodberries will have helped the party on first levels. Can contribute to the fight with Bless or Conjure Animals before tanking as Wild Shape(you can grab one level of Monk eating at Moon Druid if DM allows you to keep Unarmored and Martial Arts). Also potentially great scout.

3. Hunter Ranger 6 / Rogue 2: Sharpshooter, better scouting, better chance to get advantage through hiding.

4. Bear Totem Barbarian 5 / Battlemaster 3: because Precision Attack and Trip attack can help further. If it bothers you because "Fighter" is also "used" below, switch with Devotion or Crown Paladin: a bit of utility with spells when out of rages, and either a small bonus to hit and magical weapon (Devotion) or a powerful way to keep enemies targeting you (Crown).

5. Bladesinger Wizard 6 / Fighter 2: Concentration proficiency, Action Surge and Fighting Style makes a pretty potent mix with either Extra Attack + TWF or weapon cantrips. Can add Haste and Mirror Image to be extra mobile/tanky.

This party would probably be my favorite one: each member still has a primary role of sorts, but can contribute solid damage every turn, and can switch to a secondary role as needed. So you can split and regroup people and favor either offense or defense as needed.

Nobody has less than 16 AC, potentially everyone 17+, and is good at stealthing, thanks to Pass Without Trace.

This party also gets most useful rituals and adventuring spells, between Druid, Wizard and potentially Bard: Alarm, Goodberry, Purify, Identify, Detect, Leomund's Tiny Hut, etc...

Finally, between those with expertise and everybody being strong in one particular ability, every important skill should be covered.
Only thing missing here are Sorcerer and Monks. First I love because of Heightened Metamagic (nothing more frustrating than wasting an action and important spell slot just for naught). Second I love because of being great all-around, whatever Tradition you choose.
For the first, you could switch Bard for Wild Magic Sorcerer: after all, it offers a different kind of strength but one great still. Second would be probably a Shadow Monk replacing the Hunter Ranger part.


Other funny thematic parties

Fighter 2 / Moon Druid 6: party leader, leads the whole pack while keeping his own Concentration.
Lore Bard 8, using Magic Secrets on Conjure Animals.
Sorcerer (any) with Twin metamagic and Polymorph.
Conjurer Wizard with Polymorph and Conjure Minor Elementals.
Beastmaster Ranger 8, because next level he can learn Conjure Animals too. Alternative, Trickery Cleric (gets Polymorph).
Basic idea is...
Druid casts Conjure Animals then Wild Shape.
Bard casts Conjure Animals.
Sorcerer casts Twin Polymorph on himself and either Bard or Ranger
Wizard casts either Polymorph on himself or Conjure Elementals.

So you can play several ways:
- Pied Piper of Hamelin: Bard is the one staying "human", everyone else and conjuration are Swarm of Rats or Giant Rats. ;)
- Beast Master: Ranger leads a whole dangerous pack of wolfs/lions/bears/eagles.
- Elemental Breeder: mix of beasts and minor Elementals. ;)




Assassin Rogue (alternative: Arcane Trickster for oncoming Magical Ambush).
Trickster Cleric (alternative: Land Druid).
Shadow Monk.
Illusionist Wizard
Draconic Sorcerer (or Shadow if UA allowed).

Between illusion/concealment spells, stealth expertise of some and Pass Without Trace, everyone being on DEX-based AC, should be pretty easy to sneak around. With choice of Arcane Trickster, everyone can be invisible too. ;)




Any five among these
Valor Bard (Greater Invisibility)
Eldricht Knight (Invisibility)
Illusionist Wizard (Greater Invisibility)
Arcane Trickster Rogue (Invisibility)
Grassland (plain) or Underdark (Greater Invisiblity) Druid
Fey Warlock (Greater Invisibility)
Draconic/Shadow Sorcerer (Greater Invisibility, Twin and Subtle)

The stealthiest of all parties: Pass Without Trace + everyone Greater Invisibility + potential movement addition (Longstrider/Jump from Druid or Wizard, Water Walking/Breathing from Druid) makes this party deadly.
If you pick up Sorcerer, you can even twin one non-caster so you could include a Barbarian into the mix for added fun. XD

[Level2intern]

Stealth party. Everyone has Dex primary or secondary, has dark vision, and is trained in stealth (some have expertise). Add pass without trace for truly sick stealth checks. Sneak in, get the drop on the enemy, focus fire, win. Rinse repeat.

Vhuman(mobility): monk(shadow) 6, lock(fiend) 2. Devil's sight, teleporting, darkness for CC, FoB+hex for bringing the pain, fiend pact and fiendish vigor help with squishiness, mobility frees up bonus action and helps conserve ki.

Half-elf: sorc(shadow) 6, pally 2. Sword and board with Dex primary. Tank, nova, and some buffing.

Half-elf: bard(lore) 8. Buff, heal, blast, control.

Vhuman(sharpshooter): ranger (deepstalker) 5, rogue (assassin) 3. Ranged striker, first round nova. Mark+sneak+assassinate+deep stalker+sharpshooter = one hell of a surprise round.

Elf(wood): fighter(battle master) 8. Ranged striker with some control elements.

[EvilAnagram]

Whoa whoa whoa. Let's pay some attention to the rules in the OP. The last four posters were clearly a party of all necromancers.

[JBPuffin]

Whoa whoa whoa. Let's pay some attention to the rules in the OP. The last four posters were clearly a party of all necromancers.

When the dead walk among us, natural law is almost certainly broken...

Looking at this thread, I just realized I could totally make a five-man no-duplicate party out of my homebrew materials, original classes and all. Holy cow, that surprised me.

Following the given rules, though?

Lightfoot Halfling Criminal Open Hand Monk - Fist For Hire
Tinker Gnome Acolyte Necromancer Wizard - Servant of the Raven Queen
Wood Elf Sailor Hunter Ranger - Pirate Shore Patrol/Watchman
Half Elf Guild Artisan FeyBlade Warlock - Forger of the Blooddrinker
Hill Dwarf Urchin Tempest Cleric - Odin's Hammer

Really, I'm game for anything, but I like eclectic setups. This one plays a more hit-and-run game, trying their best to avoid straightforward fights or melee brawls through the power of "Everyone has magic!"

[Rotsu]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

So lets be fair. Half Elf and Vuman are the best for this, pretty much hands down. Half-Elf gets three sixteens at level 1 (point buy assumed) and Vuman gets a fricken feat. So, we are going to have a party of those.

1.Half Elf(Wood) Rogue Assassin 3 Fighter 5. bump dex and con. We don't need much anything but the ability to convince them it wasn't us, and the ability to do it. That and not die. ASIs go to Dex first, then Con, and then Cap Cha. With feats you want sharpshooter, for skill-shots, then you want a dual wielder feat. Dex will be 18 at this point, but you have lots of capabilities. You also can be party face, DPR person (with flanking) and burst. Utility with thieves tools, etc. You do everything!! (kinda)

2.Vuman Paladin 8.
Copy-paste one of our lovely guides. we have many, and i'm pretty sure all of them are in one of the sticky posts. I think STR-Paladin of devotion would be a good tank. Thats what this guy is doing. Tanking/Party face/ Healer You can do lots of damage on a lucky 20, but that should be saved for rogue, mostly.
ASI's should all be in CON, take resilient. More HP, less death. Sentinel, protection fighting style. TANK.

3.Half-Elf Cleric of (Life/War)
Life if your people are more reckless (and need the heals) and War if you need more tanking/oomph.
I suggest Yorrins Guide.
This guy is your healer/buffer/area controller. Off tank as well. You also do damage. Lots. Just be careful with your spells. They are all necessary. All of them. Probably so you can heal your squishes after combat. also divine strike is really good, free damage.

Vuman Wizard (Evoker)
You believe in our lord and savior fireball. You also think War-Caster is a great feat. I suggest you take it. Your job is area control, Damage, Buffing and Debuffing. You do not tank, you also shouldn't talk to people. Just blast things with spells and you will be loved.

Half-Elf Druid (Moon)
You tank with beast shape and when that runs out you blast with spells. You are a Tank/Blaster/Area controller. You can also buff and heal.

All in all 3~ tankies, 2-3 Big damage dealers 2 utility and 3 area controllers. it will be hard to really put a stop to this party.
I think if played correctly you should be capable of dealing with most anything that comes to your door. Just set up your Assassin and mage and you should be fine, but everyone can do combat here. if you can't set up, then still, you should be fine. Just collaborate with each other and be aware.
I think this is what you wanted
Rotsu

[Citan]

Whoa whoa whoa. Let's pay some attention to the rules in the OP. The last four posters were clearly a party of all necromancers.
I really don't understand what you mean with that message???

[EvilAnagram]

I really don't understand what you mean with that message???

"Thread death," occurs when people stop commenting on a previously active thread. This is a natural and necessary aspect of the thread life cycle, and all part of the Great Wheel.

"Thread necromancy" is the phenomenon in which people go through a forum's archives and find a dead thread which interests them. They comment in that thread, bringing it back from death.

This thread was dead for over a month, then y'all brought it back, and I made a joke.

[Citan]

"Thread death," occurs when people stop commenting on a previously active thread. This is a natural and necessary aspect of the thread life cycle, and all part of the Great Wheel.

"Thread necromancy" is the phenomenon in which people go through a forum's archives and find a dead thread which interests them. They comment in that thread, bringing it back from death.

This thread was dead for over a month, then y'all brought it back, and I made a joke.
Aaaah ok.
So that was what I suspected...
But then your joke fell flat. Like, total flat line.
Because necromancy is considered when you post back on a topic more than 45 days since the last reply.
And since February had only 28 days, when nmitchell2 posted after you, it was exactly 43 days after your reply.
43 being less than 45, this is not even "borderline necromancy", it's not necromancy at all by "forum RAW". :smalltongue:

Have a nice day! :smallwink:

[Phoenix042]

I'm a big fan of:

Vuman (Sharpshooter) Battlemaster 5/Assassin 3 - The Sniper
8 / 18 / 14 / 12 / 14 / 8
Whites of their eyes? Maybe if you had a musket. You have a longbow, and you prefer the back of their neck. Makes a pretty target, and your arrow finds it with alarming frequency. Your job is to make sure the DM never gets to use any of his bad-guy dialogue. You're sort of like the silence spell, but with a duration of instantaneous and a really weird AoE. With precision attack and inspiration, you don't really know what "miss" means even while sharpshooting (which you're always doing), and with the +10 damage, menacing and distracting strike, and that inspiration die for damage, you've got a few ways to boost a critical hit. Now if only you had a sure-fire way of getting one...
Oh and you've got expertise in stealth, on a totally unrelated note.

Vuman (Inspiring Leader) Valor Bard 8 - The Spotter
8 / 16 / 13 / 8 / 12 / 20 (+ resilient: con at 12)
The Sniper may think he's full of himself, but really he's full of you. Wait, that came out wrong.. He thinks he's flying on his own, but you're the flagpole keeping him at full staff. That's better. Point is, he'd be nothing if he didn't have your flute behind him. You fill him up with your good juju, and he knows just how to hit the mark. Every. Single. Time. And you love him for it. You've tried the beat-stick (see below), but it's just not the same. Sure, you'll send a little music his way from time to time, but it's really all about making sure your number one guy's shaft stays true.

Your stealth expertise ensures that you have plenty of reason to go off with the sniper alone every once in a while, and you and him take full advantage.

On your attack rolls. Because you catch the bad guys surprised. Obviously.


Vuman (Shield Master) Bearbarian 8 - The Bouncer
18 / 14 / 16 / 8 / 10 / 8 + Sentinel
Advantage on strength checks and a +7 mod is a nice way to keep people on the ground and give The Beat Stick advantage on his attack(s). Combined with sentinel, this pretty much keeps baddies away from the widdle babies in your back-line who whine and cry when they get poked with sharp things. You laugh at dex saves (if you see them coming), and with a 19 AC (in half-plate), resistance to all damage, and quite a LARGE bucket of HP, you laugh at pretty much all sources of damage anyways.

Vuman (PAM) Paladin 2 / Dragon Sorcerer 6 - The Beat Stick
18 / 8 / 12 / 8 / 12 / 16
If there are 6 - 8 encounters in a day, you've never noticed. As far as you're concerned, there are usually a handful of insignificant mosquitos your butlers deal with for you while you whip off a 2d10 + 3 firebolt or two, or maybe smack something with your glaive. Really, there's usually one encounter in a day, and your job is to make it 0. You turn big scary guys surrounded by a half-dozen mooks into a half-dozen mooks. In the words of the bouncer "You make mean guy go boom-boom." You hit it really, REALLY hard, and it dies. You quicken GFB and smite three times for who-cares-it-doesn't-have-that-much-hp damage, once per day. If you miss, you roll your inspiration die. If it's still alive, it's probably the Bouncer, so you should maybe stop hitting it. That is all.

Vuman (Alert) Diviner 8 - The Third Eye
8 / 14 / 14 / 20 / 12 / 8
You notice things. Which things? All the things. Basically, the DM should just hand you his campaign notes. Except no DM ever thinks of everything ahead of time, so that wouldn't be as good as what you can do. You see the bad things coming, and you make them not come. When fate hangs in the balance, you rig the scales. And when you run out of questions for the cosmos to answer, you can always throw out a haste or something so your puppets can dance a little faster for your amusement.

Those other guys are all smug at how good they are at finding the cheese at the end of the maze. You're the guy in the lab coat with the keys to the cheese-storage fridge, deciding which maze to drop your friend into next. The DM thinks that's him, but that's only because he hasn't read your spell list well enough yet.

It's good to be god.

[nmitchell2]

Feel like I'm thread necro-ing but this is my kinda shtick.

Half Orc Champion 5/Bear Totem Barbarian 3. Shield Master. You're a battlefield presence that can't be ignored, with near immunity to Dex saves and resistance to all damage except psychic. No one tanks as hard as you.

Hill Dwarf Tempest Cleric 8. Magic Initiate: Sorcerer/Wizard (take Booming Blade, Minor Illusion, Shield) You're a tanky mofo with battlefield control and heals.

V.Human Oathbreaker Paladin 8. Polearm Master + Sentinel. You're a DPR machine and off-tank with added battlefield control and Aura of Protection.

Half Elf Warlock 2/Lore Bard 6. Inspiring Leader. You're a top notch party face and flexible backline combatant with battlefield control, DPR, heals.

Forest Gnome Arcane Trickster 8. Observant. You're a trapper and scout with a good amount of DPR. Always keep a Health Potion in your Mage Hand as a pseudo-Healing Word.

[Specter]

Hill Dwarf Tempest Cleric 8. War Caster. You're a tanky mofo with battlefield control and heals. If only you could get Booming Blade to key off Wis.

It would make no difference, as a character with 8 in its casting stat deals the same damage with Booming Blade as one with 20.

[Armored Walrus]

Elf Eldritch Knight
Elf Arcane Trickster
Elf Valor Bard
Elf Bladesinger
Elf Arcane Cleric

Mage Squad!
Battle of the Gishes!

I really want to stat up the dwarf clerics and this party and then have a battle royale. This image may show up on the D&D dreams thread tomorrow morning ;)

[RumoCrytuf]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

Our groups current composition seems to work pretty well IMO. We are:

A High Elf OoT Paladin (Me :D)
A Tiefling Sharpshooter Ranger
A Fire Genasi Lore Bard
A Yuan-Ti Pureblood Assassin Rouge
A Halfling Land Druid (I think they're a halfling, they might have been a gnome)

We have a good Tank, Great DPS, and Amazing support.

[Zman]

Elf Eldritch Knight
Elf Arcane Trickster
Elf Valor Bard
Elf Bladesinger
Elf Arcane Cleric

Mage Squad!
Battle of the Gishes!

Makes me wish we had a "like" feature on the forums.

[nmitchell2]

It would make no difference, as a character with 8 in its casting stat deals the same damage with Booming Blade as one with 20.

You're right, I totally forgot that Booming Blade keys off your attack stat. Even better :D also I remembered that Clerics don't need War Caster because their Holy Symbol should be on their Shield.

[ZorroGames]

Rules: Only races are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Gnome, Half Elf.
Any Class, Level 8
No duplicate Classes.
5 Members in the party.

What would you think is the IDEAL party for combat purposes?

Aaaaand GO!

Basic:
Fighter or Ranger or Paladin (pick 2)
Wizard
Rogue or Monk
Cleric

Specific race based:
Elf Fighter
Half-Elf Ranger
Gnome Wizard
Dwarf Cleric
Dwarf Monk

Actually no particular reason for the races other than no Humans and "Because."