[D&D 4E] Create a party!

[XiaoTie]

Ello playground!

I am probably going to run an one-shot adventure (that might continue if we all want to) for a group of friends. This is going to be a very run-of-the-mill dungeon crawl composed of 5 floors where they will face some orcs, goblins and strange animals.

The thing is, I need some simple characters that they can play (they are slightly new to D&D). I can't make the characters, since, well, I know what they are going to face.

And this is why I came to the playground! I need a simple party of 5 level 1 PCs (22 pb or any of the arrays on the PHB). When I say simple, I mean "not very complicated to play".

So, I need:
1- Ranged bow guy
2- Big weapon guy [OR] Sneaky guy
3- Heavy armor guy
4- Arcane guy
5- Healing guy

And...thats it

[Mercenary Pen]

First thing to cover, what are your available resources? What books do you have, and do you have the 4e character builder as an available tool?

[XiaoTie]

Good questions!

I have the PHB 1, PHB 2 and Divine and Martial Power.

I do have the CB, but a VERY old version one.

I'm planning on giving the players sheets like the ones supplied on D&D Game Days.

Anything else?

[kyoryu]

Ello playground!

I am probably going to run an one-shot adventure (that might continue if we all want to) for a group of friends. This is going to be a very run-of-the-mill dungeon crawl composed of 5 floors where they will face some orcs, goblins and strange animals.

The thing is, I need some simple characters that they can play (they are slightly new to D&D). I can't make the characters, since, well, I know what they are going to face.

And this is why I came to the playground! I need a simple party of 5 level 1 PCs (22 pb or any of the arrays on the PHB). When I say simple, I mean "not very complicated to play".

So, I need:
1- Ranged bow guy
2- Big weapon guy [OR] Sneaky guy
3- Heavy armor guy
4- Arcane guy
5- Healing guy

And...thats it

Ranged bow guy is a clear case for a bow Ranger - you can run a ranger reasonably effectively doing nothing but Twin Strike each turn, add in the feat that changes your Hunter's Quarry to a d8 and you're pumping 2d10+1d8 damage per turn without even really needing to fire a brain cell. Anything else is just bonus on top.

I haven't played with Barbarians much, but a Great Weapon Fighter can do the job of either Big Weapon Guy or Heavy Armor Guy - or you can go sword 'n' board for Heavy Armor. Both of them can be stacked with feats that just give you bigger numbers (not adding complexity), and you can just choose powers (if you don't go Essentials) that are pretty straightforward. Human's not a bad choice, as the Essentials human power of "add 4 to a bad roll) is pretty awesome and feels pretty cool from a reactive standpoint, and doesn't take a lot of strategy to play.

Paladins make good Heavy Armor Guys, too, especially since they get plate proficiency for free. They seem slightly less straightforward than fighters, though.

Arcane guy can differ based on whether you want to go with a Controller or Blaster flavor. Controllers will *always* be just a bit trickier to play, as they're just inherently trickier than "go hit stuff." You'll never get one as simple to play as a Twin Strike Ranger, ferinstance. If you want to go more blasty, Sorceror or Warlock will probably both work, though I don't have advice on specific builds.

For healer/leader, Cleric seems like a straightforward choice, you'll just need to decide whether you want to go more for blast-at-a-distance as a secondary, or beat-over-the-head as a secondary. Both are viable.

For the choice between "big weapon guy" and "sneaky guy," if you're going for ease of mechanics, "big weapon guy" will probably be a lot more straightforward to play, as you have less to worry about to be effective - less concern about gaining CA, mobility, shrouds for assassins, etc. Great Weapon Fighters are basically striker secondary, anyway, so they can combine decent damage with good survivability. You could also go Polearm or something, which would give you some controlly bits, but, again, that's going to increase complexity.

If you want actual builds, I can probably throw a few together later tonight.

[dsmiles]

So, I need:
1- Ranged bow guy
2- Big weapon guy [OR] Sneaky guy
3- Heavy armor guy
4- Arcane guy
5- Healing guy

And...thats it

My personal choices would be:
1- Elf Archery Ranger
2- Half-Elf Taclord (neither big weapon nor sneaky, but more useful than having three stirkers in a group)
3- Dwarf (or Human) Fighter
4- Eladrin Starlock (Personal preference, though Orbizards are pretty potent)
5- Dragonborn Paladin

Take it with a grain of salt, I don't choose based on power level, I choose based on what's fun for me.

[kyoryu]

My personal choices would be:
1- Elf Archery Ranger
2- Half-Elf Taclord (neither big weapon nor sneaky, but more useful than having three stirkers in a group)
3- Dwarf (or Human) Fighter
4- Eladrin Starlock (Personal preference, though Orbizards are pretty potent)
5- Dragonborn Paladin

Take it with a grain of salt, I don't choose based on power level, I choose based on what's fun for me.

These aren't bad choices, and I had considered a lot of the same. If you're willing to up the complexity just slightly from "the easiest possible", I'd go with this, or something like:

1- Bow Ranger
2- Great Weapon Fighter
3- Shield Paladin
4- Warlock/Sorceror (again, don't have a ton of experience with arcane strikers)
5- Taclord

Pretty much the same classes, I'm just slotting them a little differently (Paladin as defender vs. healer, etc.)

[tcrudisi]

I just created a level 1 wizard (arcane caster) to use later today.

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====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Lah Ze, level 1
Deva, Wizard
Arcane Implement Mastery: Tome of Readiness
Background: Geography - Mountains (Athletics class skill)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 20, Wis 16, Cha 8.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 8.

AC: 15 Fort: 10 Reflex: 15 Will: 15
HP: 21 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5

TRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +10, Religion +12, History +12, Athletics +5

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +3, Endurance, Heal +3, Insight +3, Intimidate -1, Nature +3, Perception +3, Stealth, Streetwise -1, Thievery

FEATS
Wizard: Ritual Caster
Level 1: Staff Expertise

POWERS
Tome of Readiness: Charm of Misplaced Wrath
Wizard at-will 1: Winged Horde
Wizard at-will 1: Storm Pillar
Wizard encounter 1: Grasping Shadows
Wizard daily 1: Sleep
Wizard daily 1 Spellbook: Phantom Chasm

ITEMS
Spellbook, Adventurer's Kit, Crowbar, Tome Implement, Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Staff
RITUALS
Unseen Servant, Tenser's Floating Disk, Silence

Here's a level 1 Barbarian (big weapon guy) that I already had built:

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====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Tugloe, level 1
Goliath, Barbarian
Feral Might: Rageblood Vigor
Background: Born Under a Bad Sign (Born Under a Bad Sign Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 20, Con 14, Dex 12, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 12, Dex 12, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12.


AC: 15 Fort: 17 Reflex: 12 Will: 12
HP: 35 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 8

TRAINED SKILLS
Perception +5, Endurance +6, Athletics +11

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics, Arcana -1, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +1, Dungeoneering, Heal, History -1, Insight, Intimidate +1, Nature +2, Religion -1, Stealth, Streetwise +1, Thievery

FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Fullblade)

POWERS
Barbarian at-will 1: Pressing Strike
Barbarian at-will 1: Howling Strike
Barbarian encounter 1: Avalanche Strike
Barbarian daily 1: Thunder Hooves Rage

ITEMS
Hide Armor, Fullblade, Adventurer's Kit, Climber's Kit, Crowbar

Oh look, I also had two defenders (heavy armor guy) already made up, too:

Spoiler

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====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Tron, level 1
Dragonborn, Fighter
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: One-handed Weapon Talent
Dragonborn Racial Power: Dragon Breath
Dragon Breath Key Ability: Dragon Breath Strength
Dragon Breath Damage Type: Dragon Breath Fire
Background: Arcane Student Who Saw Too Much

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 14, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 14, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8.


AC: 19 Fort: 16 Reflex: 13 Will: 12
HP: 29 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 9

TRAINED SKILLS
Intimidate +7, Endurance +5, Athletics +7

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics -1, Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering +2, Heal +2, History +2, Insight +2, Nature +2, Perception +2, Religion, Stealth -1, Streetwise, Thievery -1

FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Bastard sword)

POWERS
Fighter at-will 1: Brash Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter encounter 1: Passing Attack
Fighter daily 1: Villain's Menace

ITEMS
Adventurer's Kit, Scale Armor, Bastard sword, Heavy Shield

Spoiler

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====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Jerra, level 1
Genasi, Swordmage
Swordmage Aegis: Aegis of Shielding
Elemental Manifestation: Earthsoul
Earthshock: Earthshock Constitution
Background: Akanûl (Akanûl Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 12, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 20, Wis 11, Cha 8.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 11, Cha 8.


AC: 20 Fort: 13 Reflex: 15 Will: 12
HP: 29 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 7

TRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +10, Endurance +9, History +10, Athletics +6

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering, Heal, Insight, Intimidate -1, Nature +2, Perception, Religion +5, Stealth, Streetwise -1, Thievery

FEATS
Level 1: White Lotus Riposte

POWERS
Swordmage at-will 1: Sword Burst
Swordmage at-will 1: Booming Blade
Swordmage encounter 1: Sword of Sigils
Swordmage daily 1: Frost Backlash

ITEMS
Leather Armor, Adventurer's Kit, Climber's Kit, Crowbar, Grappling Hook, Potion of Healing (heroic tier), Longsword

And... good god I've created a lot of characters. I have a ranged guy, too:

Spoiler

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====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Aelar, level 1
Elf, Ranger
Fighting Style: Archer Fighting Style
Ranger: Prime Shot
Background: Luskan (Luskan Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 13, Dex 20, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 13, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8.


AC: 18 Fort: 12 Reflex: 16 Will: 11
HP: 25 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 6

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature +8, Stealth +10, Perception +8, Acrobatics +9, Thievery +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +1, Endurance, Heal +1, History, Insight +1, Intimidate -1, Religion, Streetwise -1, Athletics -1

FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Superior crossbow)

POWERS
Ranger at-will 1: Nimble Strike
Ranger at-will 1: Twin Strike
Ranger encounter 1: Fox's Cunning
Ranger daily 1: Hunter's Bear Trap

ITEMS
Adventurer's Kit, Superior crossbow, Hide Armor, Crowbar, Climber's Kit

[Oracle_Hunter]

Eh, stick with whatever's in the free CB then.

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IIRC, that means you'll want a

Bow Ranger
Brutal Rogue
Shield Fighter
Wand Wizard
Lazor Cleric

To keep things simple, I suggest the following races as well.

Elven Bow Ranger
Half-Orc Brutal Rogue
Human Shield Fighter
Eladrin Wand Wizard
Deva Lazor Cleric

Give them all an Expertise Feat at LV 1 and you're set.

Question: What kind of Players are you going to have? Are they 3.X Veterans? Total n00bs?

EDIT: Also, why don't you just create the party? Make one which will have a good time in the dungeon crawl you've set it - it hardly matters if you know what they're going to face.

[WitchSlayer]

Time for the weird party combo!

1- Changeling Bard
2- Razorclaw Shifter Avenger (With Execution Axe!)
3- Warforged Warden
4- Shardmind Psion (KIND OF ARCANE-Y, SHUT UP)
5- Minotaur Runepriest

[XiaoTie]

Those are some neat ideas.

The ranger one is indeed THE easiest class to play (bow one even more so than the sword one).

Oracle_Hunter: 'Cept for one of them (who has played as a 4E sword ranger for a while in another game) they are all total n00bs, but all with some experience with at least computer games.

[tcrudisi]

I posted 4 of the requested characters above (I edited them in). I don't seem to have any level 1 healers saved... which is weird, because my fiancée and I have played a few of them. Hmm. That means they are probably on her laptop.

Anyway, that should be a good start. Use 'em or not, doesn't matter to me.

[XiaoTie]

And once again, The Playground delivers!

Thank you everyone for the advices and builds (I think I'm going to use tcrudisi's wizard, and maybe barbarian), I think I have enough to get the party going.

[DragonBaneDM]

Time for the weird party combo!

1- Changeling Bard
2- Razorclaw Shifter Avenger (With Execution Axe!)
3- Warforged Warden
4- Shardmind Psion (KIND OF ARCANE-Y, SHUT UP)
5- Minotaur Runepriest

I like this! I'll mix it up, too, just to show you the variety you could get.

1- Sniper Rogue
2- Shifter Monk
3- Dwarf Paladin
4- Halfling Sorcerer
5- Human Artificer

[Oracle_Hunter]

Oracle_Hunter: 'Cept for one of them (who has played as a 4E sword ranger for a while in another game) they are all total n00bs, but all with some experience with at least computer games.

So... explanations for my choices.

Elven Bow Ranger
Natural synergies and the Elven Racial Power is easy to remember and use.

Half-Orc Brutal Rogue
Lots of damage and good natural synergies. Can be flanking buddy with the Fighter.

Human Shield Fighter
Humans work best as Shield Fighters under basic CB because there are a wide variety of useful Fighter powers. Plus, Fighter doesn't really need a secondary stat so there's little penalty for being Human.

Eladrin Wand Wizard
Personally, I'd do without the "arcanist" if I could, but the Wand Wizard is a classic choice for the "blaster wizard." Plus, the Eladrin Racial ability is a lot of fun - and something the Wizard Player probably will enjoy.

Dwarven Melee Cleric
OK, I changed my mind on this one. Having an extra melee around will make the Rogue's life easier and the melee buffs are actually pretty sweet. Plus, you really should have a Dwarf around.

[Tengu_temp]

5- Dragonborn Paladin

Paladins make terrible primary healers.

[Excession]

Just for fun you could create them as a FiveManBand. As a straight example:

The Hero: Human paladin. Cardboard cut-out hero and all round Lawful Good nice guy.
The Lancer: Elf Ranger. Dispenses arrows and snark in equal quantities. Does what is needed to get the job done, and thinks the hero is an idiot.
The Smart Guy: Typical bookish wizard, probably Eladrin.
The Big Guy: Goliath Barbarian. Specialises in rushing in, killing something, then getting smashed unconscious.
The Chick: Kalashtar Pacifist Cleric. Massive healing, but fragile, and the only one of the group with much common sense.

[KingFlameHawk]

I have a level 1 shaman you can use

Spoiler

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Rain, level 1

Razorclaw Shifter, Shaman

Protector spirit: Stalker Spirit

Final ability scores
Str 10 Con 12 Dex 12 Int 16 Wis 18 Cha 10

Starting ability scores
Str 10 Con 12 Dex 10 Int 16 Wis 16 Cha 10

AC: 15 Fort: 12 Ref: 13 Will: 15
hp: 24 Surge V: 6 Surges/day: 8

Trained skills
Heal +9, Athletics +5, Nature +9, Perception +9

Untrained skills
Acrobatics +3, Arcana +3, Bluff 0, Diplomacy 0, Dungeoneering +4, Endurance 0, History +3, Insight +4, Intimidate 0, Religion +3, Stealth +3, Streetwise 0, Thievery +1

Feats
Level 1: Stalker spirit adept

Powers
Class: Call spirit companion
Class: Healing spirit
Class: Speak with spirits
Class: Spirit's fangs
At-will 1: Stalker's strike
At-will 1: Watcher's strike
Encounter 1: Twin Panther's
Daily 1: Wrath of the spirit world

Items
Adventurer's Kit, Totem implement, Leather armor, Longspear

[ImperiousLeader]

You may want to consider getting into the Essentials books. Heroes of the Fallen Lands and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms offer some well-written classes that are much more newbie friendly than the older material. I've been running Encounters and a new player sat down at our table, having never played DnD before. I handed her a Slayer, and now she's quite the expert, even running a more complex Sentinel Druid.

[Meta]

Ello playground!

I am probably going to run an one-shot adventure (that might continue if we all want to) for a group of friends. This is going to be a very run-of-the-mill dungeon crawl composed of 5 floors where they will face some orcs, goblins and strange animals.

The thing is, I need some simple characters that they can play (they are slightly new to D&D). I can't make the characters, since, well, I know what they are going to face.

And this is why I came to the playground! I need a simple party of 5 level 1 PCs (22 pb or any of the arrays on the PHB). When I say simple, I mean "not very complicated to play".

So, I need:
1- Ranged bow guy
2- Big weapon guy [OR] Sneaky guy
3- Heavy armor guy
4- Arcane guy
5- Healing guy

And...thats it

Archer Ranger
Avenger
Paladin
Wizard
Bard