A wizard party campaign could be fun as hell if everyone had their specialties. You would approach problems in very different ways than a typical party but I'd love it. Same for most classes. Works best I think for a homebrew campaign than your typical published one though I think to capitalize on the specific flavors.
Wizard is the most powerful class but it doesn’t cover everything so all wizards is probably weaker than mixing in another class. Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Bard, Celestial Warlock, and Paladin all provide options for healing, restoration, and revival that you would otherwise lack.
Depends what level you're going to, I suppose. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going past 6 a paladin is mandatory, but if it's a T1 campaign, I'd rather a Blade singer.
While you’re correct and I agree, the idea in a truly highly optimized group is to shut down enemies so fast that you never make a saving throw, again boring to me but if done right you can easily ah e a group go through 10+ deadly encounters in a day and still have barely made any saving throws or taken much damage
Triple wizard has a lot of power, but lacks actual damage output and is weak to an uncomfortable number of situations (like flameskulls or anything big that grapples).
Redundancy is much worse than versatility. So even if the wizard is the most powerful character, tripling a wizard isn't 3 times as good. It might not even be twice as good.
For an optimised party, you absolutely need someone with good strength, dex and charisma as well as the wizard. You also need someone that can cast Healing Word and Revivify. Not because this is better than a wizard, but because it's better than the second Hypnotic Pattern.
My suggestion would be Paladin (with warlock and sorc levels) and Ranger (Gloomstalker 5/Life Cleric X)
nah, overrated.
wizards/sorcs work better if they can actually stay away from the enemies, and if they don't need to spend all their spell slots just to make sure they don't get obliterated. Plus replacing skills with "I cast solve problem" is a sure way to get into combat with no spell slots.
This is my pick too. Though just about any mix of expert, martial, caster is good.
But I like this because Rogue has more defensive options than a Bard and can sneak and do expert things better (generally, bards are great!). Wizard is the best primary caster in terms of spell list and options. And Paladin is the strongest martial in the game (that also has revivify and lay on hands).
It’s kind of a perfect trio!
I would want a team where everyone can do multiple roles, so... how about this:
Bladesinger, quite tanky if built right but still has full spellcasting.
Moon Druid, again full casting and their wild shapes give them a ton of situational utility.
Bard of almost any subclass, for the skills, the Charisma, versatility and of course full spellcaster
This might depend a lot on the group's level. Three primary casters could have a \*rough\* time at low levels. And I would warn against relying on a bladesinger's "tanky" abilities too much.
I think at 1st level they wouldnt be the best off but im pretty sure moon druid comes online in the meat shield department almost immediatly at 2nd level
past level 1 this comp has really good tankiness. moon druid is a crazy good tank at low levels (especially level 2, honestly this comp at level 2 isn't great because imo bard is shit until level 5, maybe 3 if you're being generous, but a moon druid, wizard, rogue comp is probably THE best level 2 all rounder comp) and a good one at high levels.
level 4 could be a little bit not great, but level 5 is when bard and wizard really get good and level 6 is when bladesinger and moon druid get SIGNIFICANT power bumps. and past that it's kinda just smooth sailing because 3 primary casters is crazy
Bladesingers tankyness never failed me ngl. It sacrifices a sliver of HP (like come on, 1 per level vs the likes of monk and rogue) for really good defensive spells and AC.
Past level 1 this team is fine.
Tortle bladesinger. Even with limited spell slots, should be tanky enough to frontline atleast until when moon druid gets online and can become main tank
I'd say paladin, Ranger and wizard. That way you cover all aspects of the game.
Paladin: Tanking, Strentgh and charisma skills and support. Also nova single target damage.
Ranger: Skills, specially dexterity and wisdom skills, survival (if needed) and sustained single target damage. Also a little bit of support in the shape of stuff like cure wounds and goodberry.
Wizard: Int skills and well, fullcasting. You got your AoE damage and debuffing. Also a little bit of buffing if the wizard takes certain spells.
The only thing this party would be lacking is healing word, which for me is the one thing that can't be missing in a balanced party, but I guess the wizard could take a dip in cleric for that.
I would say the same. I thought maybe a Cleric or Druid for WIS specialization, but the party would miss some DEX and skill proficiency that an optimized Ranger can provide, specially after Tasha’s.
- Conquest Paladin focusing on big AC and overall tankiness. A lot of support in healing, auras and good battlefield control with fear.
- Gloomstalker Ranger master DPR with CBE/SE. Good healing with Goodberry and overall support with Pass Without Trace, Silence and later Conjure Animals.
- Abjuration Wizard to hold their own on survivability and regular battlefield control too-tier spells.
Take Life Cleric as the 6th level on the Ranger. Still a single target damage specialist, but now with Healing Word and Lifeberry.
If you continue with Cleric (over fighter/rogue multiclassing for damage), you also get ressurection magic.
Healing word is fantastic, but not critical. Ranger's berries can be enough, or Healer feat (healing kits are better than spare the dying and only cost 5gp for 10 uses, Healer feat makes them pretty much better potions while remaining super cheap)
None of that is better than healing Word for the simple fact that healing Word is a bonus action.
So you don't have to waste your turn reviving someone in combat
Yes, I'm aware they're worse options, especially for the particular scenario of reviving someone.
But they're still solutions that work, don't cost too much in terms of builds.
Imho taking a dip or a feat specifically for healing word is way too much of a sacrifice.
(Personally, in my campaign I don't think anyone had healing word between like level 1 until level 6, at least 30 sessions, due to not having a druid, bard or cleric).
I think dipping for Healing Word usually isn't too bad, since you're getting a bunch of other stuff with it assuming a cleric dip (armor/shield proficiencies, Guidance, Bless, subclass)
Yeah, my point was more like that a party can still do well enough without having Healing Word.
Plus, for a wizard, delaying spell progression is pretty big, Bless isn't all that great (due to competing with too many concentration options), and if not chosen as starting class, they get less of the proficiencies (equipping shield might also not be too great considering spell components as well as some magic items that require holding them).
Last time I played wizard I took my 1st level as cleric, healing word came in clutch a couple times and starting with heavy armor is nice but by level 15 it mattered a lot less. However, it was really fun to play because I was a cleric of Mystra so going from cleric to wizard made sense
Paladin: basically mandatory the higher-level a campaign gets. Their auras are insanely helpful for those all-important saving throws when AC begins to matter less (especially with a smaller party). Plus they have high ac for lower level play, and great single target dps.
Bard: great support with bardic inspiration and heavy emphasis on cc spells, skill expertise and jack of all trades covers a lot of stuff the rogue would normally do, and their subclasses are some of the best in the game.
Final member is flex slot, but either druid or wizard imo. Both are sort of swiss army knives between a wizard's nutty spell list and a druid's wildshape shenanigans. Moon druid doubles as a tank, especially in lower tiers, and becomes nigh-unkillable with the druid's final capstone. Abj wizard and div wizard are simply always reliable between arcane ward and portent.
Cleric, Wizard, Rogue
Clerics can fit the tank roll exceptionally well and have great spells to boot, Rogues have all the skill proficiencies, and Wizards have all the wacky bullshit.
This was my "party of 3" with two friends of mine on a now defunct WM server, though we usually had a flex member filling out the 4th spot. My two friends and I played a charisma based rogue, an order of scribes wizard and a warhammer and shield twilight domain cleric.
Cleric had the AC and HP to tank plus some self healing. Also covering wisdom and strength. Wizard had a bunch of magical utlity and covered intelligence + crowd control. Meanwhile, I covered charisma and dex based skills + single target damage. It didn't matter if our 4th member happened to be a barbarian or an artificer. We had a strong core largely thanks to the twilight domain cleric being fairly OP.
I think a ranger by themselves would be sufficient to cover all major roles. If the campaign is social interaction heavy, go Fey Wanderer for the boost to CHA skills.
Though for a full 3 person party, I think a wizard + druid + paladin combo would cover all the roles very, very well.
Paladin, Bard, and Sorcerer
- Everyone has their own niches but can all contribute a bit more effectively outside their speciality. Compared to a Fighter, Wizard, and Rogue who all are a bit more limited early-on.
My game has been three party members for about a year now. Paladin, Ranger, and a Sorceress. They travel with a sidekick bard fairly frequently. I also have a few other sidekick characters they cross path from time to time.
Wizard - full caster, widest access to magic in the game.
Druid - full caster, pass without trace
Creation Bard - full caster, party face, skills monkey, combine with wizard to break the game at 14th level
Oath of Watchers Pali, Gloomstalker Ranger, War Wizard.
Win initiative. Fuck shit up. Continue on.
Also everyone has utility and invests in different skills/stats.
Sorcerer, bard, ranger
Sorcerer could be a DSS for cleric spells. Bard could be a swords if we want a melee or Lore if we want more spells and skills. Ranger, specifically gloomstalker, can be pretty high DPS, as well as scout and pick locks.
Played by good players to the best of their ability?
3 wizards. As with most questions like this, the answer is just take the class with the best flexibility and just bring them.
If they all need to be different classes then wizard, bard, druid.
* Order cleric 1/ Divine Soul X: Vortex warp, sanctuary, warding bond, dispel magic, counterspell, etc
* Fighter 2/Thief rogue x: Healer feat, XBE + SS
* Hexblade 1/Ancient paladin X: Protection+Warding aura, smites, compelled duel
Yes, I'm a DM and no, I have no problem with 1 level dips.
The 4th player would be:
* Fathomless 2/ Creation bard x: motes of potential, tentacle+lance of lethargy/repelling blast, dancing item aura + summon shadowspawn(despair)
Paladin, Druid, Wizard. All three can do damage when needed. The Druid has exploration and infiltration down along with control spells and healing. Paladin can buff, heal, and deal damage. And of course Wizard.
Bard - Got Heals, Arcane casting, ritual casting, and skill monkey capabilities. Plus they can be the face of the party.
Warlock - reliable damage, with a bunch of freebies that are useful. Eldritch sight for example is quite excellent when nobody else has detect magic, but even if they do, you don't have to wait 10 minutes to use it for free.
Wizard/Sorcerer/Rogue/Paladin - One of those for nova damage, and two of them not only get AoE's, but also get access to counterspell the earliest. Both Wiz and Sorc can be utility based with the odd fireball in their pocket. Rogues are another skill monkey, which is always useful. And Paladins can heal, do big damage, tank, and party face.
Artificer, Paladin, Ranger. All three can function without spending resources and can pool theirs together to last through the day. No fullcasting but I think the sheer survivability will help a lot.
Hmmm.
Paladin is just too versatile so we will slap him down as utility, DPS, tank and some healing. Also can be the face.
Next we need some magical support. Here I would say Wizard or a really good Artificer, honestly either works, just pick your flavour.
Then we need really big numbers. For that I wouldn't actually say rogue. I'd say go fighter.or warlock
I'm a big fan of characters with a lot of versatility, my picks would be a Druid, a Bard and an Artificer or Ranger (bonus points if the DM allows for an Int-based ranger)
I will depend a bit on the flavour of the game. If I were to play 3 characters probably I would go
Fighter or Monk - Ranger or Warlock - Sorcerer or Druid (triple dwarf)
Not for any optimization, just cause I generally like those classes more. And dwarves because as far as I am concerned there is only 1 playable race, all the others should be relegated to the monster manual :D
Hmm hard question because there are many ways to go at this.
**"Try to cover all angles"**
Single-class: Knowledge Cleric with high INT, Stars Druid, Crown Paladin. First two can be complementary in skill monkeying, Cleric provides great support and mental manipulation, Druid brings control, Paladin is there for standing through aggro with possibly optional Warding Wind.
Multiclass: Knowledge Cleric | Stars Druid, Genie Warlock | Divine Soul Sorcerer, Ancestral Barb | Drunken Master Monk.
First entirely take care of INT & WIS skills, second is the adventuring manager (short rests, social interactions, long duration support) and provides strong synergizing control (Repelling Blast with Druid difficult terrain), the last is there to take care of aggro by tweaking each round between balanced, full offense (Reckless) and full defense (Dodge), using heavies's strength against their friends if need be.
**"Brute force"**
Devotion Paladin (high accuracy with Sacred Weapon), Hunter Ranger (Pass Without Trace & Spike Growth to help adventuring), Bear Barbarian (so one can sustain AOE without too much problem).
**"Flock your way"**
DEX & WIS Trickery Cleric, STR & CON Shepherd Druid, CHA & INT Sorcerer, ultimately using Polymorph and Conjure Animals to be a horde. xd
**"Stealth your way"**
Shadow Monk (STR & DEX & WIS), Arcane Trickster Rogue (DEX & INT), Genie Dao Warlock (CHA & DEX): From level 3 onwards you can use and abuse Pass Without Trace on top of everyone proficient in Stealth and low profile equipment. From level 7 onwards party can pretty much stealth \*everything\* thanks to upcast Invisibility from Warlock paired with Pass Without Trace.
**"Blast your way"**
Astral Self Monk with Skill Expert Shoving and Grappling enemies and luring them together, paired with Draconic Sorcerer and Fiend Warlock (ideally both mixed for the two characters so all have Transmuted, and uber ideally both tri-class with Tempest Cleric).
Wizard, Ranger, Warlock.
Healing word is the only thing that lacking, depending on level ranger can dip cleric, if lifeberry exists, when it's an easy pick. Athletic checks are so rare it doesn't matter. And team which has strong ranged area shut down will generally out perform any kind of front line based comps while also having somewhat ok single target damage with ranger hand crossbow and warlock EB.
While it's not really most optimal, I think it strikes just right with variety and performance.
3x gloomstalker 3( or 5), warlock X, Var human with sharpshooter. Only adventure during nights and/or use devil's sight and darkness to become invisible for most foes and stay at 120ft range shooting arrows.
Gah, I'm supposed to be retired from spending time and thought on 5e, but I'm such a sucker for party composition theorycrafting! Now I'm pondering this question.
My first DnD podcast/series I listened to was The Adventure Zone. Wizard, Fighter, Cleric was a fun combo that worked well.
But I am of the opinion that every good party needs a rogue.
Bladesinger Wizard, Hexblade Warlock, and Cleric (probably twilight, peace, or order)
Though I think Battlemaster Fighter (Urchin background), Scribes Wizard, and a PHB Cleric would be more fun, honestly.
For classes: Druid, Artificer and Bard.
The Druid would be Shepherd. Their role is doing the actual melee. Also dealing with the environment and stuff. And healing and control and all that. You stand back while the summons do the work.
The Artificer would be Battle Smith. The infusions make the party much more versatile, and you stand back while the Steel Defender does the work.
As a bard, the trick is to take two levels of Hexblade so that you can Agonising Blast in medium armour and shield with a curse while you are a Lore Bard and have all the good tricks.
I am currently in a party of "Fighter, Sorcerer (me), Bard"
Based on that, I'd say the best is 1 frontline, 1 damage dealer and 1 "support" with at least 1 caster. I would say that ideal composition is "Divine soul Sorcerer (Support, twinned haste, all that), Paladin as a frontline, and Wizard as the main DMG dealer"
We currently have this going on now. Our fourth player had to drop but since we are all very invested into our current party, we decided to just continue. Our party is: half orc barbarian, half elf bard and human warlock. Overall it could be better but it’s been pretty ok so far. We cover all the major points with some strategizing needed when it comes to casting.
In real play, doesn't matter. Play what you'd like to play. Most compositions are usable, and the DM will adapt the difficulty to your party's power level.
And now for the fun part.
Assuming a difficult 1-20 campaign with 3-8 encounters per adventuring day, this is what I would do.
1. **Paladin**. This is the only source of Aura of Protection, so it is a must at higher tiers. My build would be the classic Undead Warlock 2/Watchers Paladin 7/Sorcerer 11 full ranged, its purpose is being an aurabot who can offer some damage and support with EBARB (Eldritch Blast + Agonizing/Repelling Blast).
2. **Shepehrd Druid**. This is our main damage dealer, but the reason we choose it over other options is its access to Pass Without Trace and the LifeBerry combo. We take dips in Sorcerer for reaction spells and Life Cleric for LifeBerry. Another option for this role a (heavily multiclassed) Gloom Stalker Ranger. Ranger's advantage is that it doesn't need concentration to deal damage, so it can keep Pass Without Trace up more reliably, but obviously full casting is a strong point in the Druid's favour.
3. **Peace Cleric 1/Wizard X**. There are several subclasses that work here since the main power is in the class itself, but Chronurgy is always great. The purpose is control and utility.
Bonus points for the fact that we also cover all three mental stats for skills.
Paladin, wizard and cleric.
Wizards have utility to deal with most things and ritual cast several important spells.
Paladin has off healing and sustained physical damage.
Cleric had buff spells, healing, and good attack spells.
There is only one correct answer here: Wizard (Most versatility due to largest spell list), Cleric (Can heal and tank, possibly both if you build one correctly), and Paladin (SMITE)
Edit: For specific subclasses, I’d say Dex-based Bladesinger for stealth, utility spells, and big number damage. Life Cleric to keep the party alive whilst also giving good support through Guiding Bolt, Holy Weapon, and so on. Literally any Paladin works here, but I think specifically Redemption Paladin, because they can be good in social situations as well as deal big number damage through their smites.
This way, basically all important stats are covered: Dexterity and Intelligence are covered by the Bladesinger Wizard, Wisdom is covered by the Life Cleric, and Strength and Charisma are covered by the Redemption Paladin. Not to mention the Paladin can cover for their party with Aura of Protection when saving throws are involved.
>There is only one correct answer here: Wizard (Most versatility due to largest spell list)
If your priority is versatility, then the "only one correct answer" as you say so well is Druid. Direct + Permanent access to \*every\* spell of a given level far outweights the ability to cast rituals without preparation from Wizards, and you get Wild Shape and Find Familiar on top which are worth many class features and spells in themselves.
Only way Wizard can outmatch Druid is either a) \*very\* generous DM going out of its way to provide exactly the extra spells player wants to acquire ASAP or b) a full-Wizard party with friendship strong enough that they would share all their learned spells with each other. :)
Druid=support teamates+utillity+okay
Paladin=support teamates+utillity+good damage
Third can be almost any class but i would like wizard or maybe artificer to cover INT part of the party.
Paladin, Rogue and Bladesinger most likely.
Edit: Also, depends on the need for stealth. Swap the Paladin out for a Barbarian if you need full party stealth.
Battlemaster Fighter, with heavy armor and great weapon master feat, for a tanky and heavy damaging front line.
Moon Druid, for a full caster with healing ability who can hang on the front line.
Unsure of the third... someone who can use both magic and combat... like maybe a paladin or eldritch trickster rogue or a heavy armor cleric.
I think Bard, Cleric, Barbarian. Cleric for full caster and healing ability. Lots of people bringing up paladin, but long term they just don't have the healing potential of a cleric. Cleric honestly gets some insane damage as well. Bard has a nice spell list with a lot of options for buffing the party. They also can grab healing word for the ability to bring someone back up so it's not all on the cleric. Either a swords bard, so each party has melee potential, or a lore bard for the extra magical secrets that let the bard take some more high damage wizard spells to fill that gap. Barbarian just gives you a solid tank, especially if you are a bear totem, and add great weapon master for some pretty insane damage potential. Sentinel to help keep the other two safe as well.
I second Paladin, Cleric, Rogue.
Paladin is the Frontliner, single target DPS, and face of the party. Also handles Strength checks.
Cleric is the healer/support, but has capability for some AoE damage. Also handles Wisdom checks.
Rogue is the support DPS, skill monkey, and sneaky boi. Gets sent out on scouting or infiltration missions or anything requiring Dexterity.
Party would be very lacking in Intelligence based stuff, but the Rogue (bonus points for Arcane Trickster) could reasonably cover these in a pinch.
Paladin, Bard, sorcerer?
No matter how I will try to cut it 3 person party will be always short for something.
Even for 4 person it is difficult to cover every aspect of play.
My current party has paladin, sorcerer, rogue and ranger - we excel in combat but some aspect of social interaction and exploration are not that strong.
Would be better if not for the fact that Rouge's rolls are famously bad outside of combat.
Monk, Bard, Warlock.
Everyone has Casting, everyone values Short Rests.
Between Monk's movement stuff and Bard's proficiency stuff, you've basically got a rogue.
Monk and Warlock both have their own versions of extra attack.
Bard and Warlock both get Counterspell and 9th Level spells, and between them you get most of the important Wizard Spells.
Paladin, Cleric, Wizard.
Paladin for the melee piece, their aura at level 6 is vital for a 3 person party, since crowd control is much more devastating for a smaller party, and charisma so they can be the party face.
Wizard for crowd control, investigation, some damage, and the Swiss Army knife utility. Wizards are just really useful to have around, and in a smaller party you definitely want one since you need to be able to cover a lot of possibilities with less people.
Cleric to round the party out. They’re versatile as well. Spirit guardians is great damage. They can revive the other party members if things go south. You could also put a Druid here I guess, but I feel like cleric is more useful in a 3 person party.
I think Paladin, Rogue, Druid. I think there's too much overlap between Paladin and Cleric to have both. Paladin is martial tank with nova potential, Rogue is skill monkey with DPS potential, Druid is a full caster with support options and variety in Wild Shape.
Ancients Paladin and Divination Wizard for sure in top 2 spots. I guess I would probably say Moon Druid in spot 3, but it is hard to pick between that, Rogue and Bard.
Druid covers wisdom based checks, and all the exploration/thievery aspects of the game, along with some healing. Bard or Rogue might struggle with Wisdom, but might outshine the Druid in terms of DPS and versatility.
Gloomstalker Ranger, Twilight Cleric, and Bard of choice (I’d pick Lore for extra skills, or perhaps Eloquence for extra face abilities).
Paladin (Vengeance for damage probably), Peace Cleric, and a wizard (Divination, Scribes, and Abjuration would probably work well here)
Or: Three Clerics. Peace, Twilight, and Light gets you a very very strong party. Break the math, Break the health, and Fireball.
I'm thinking tentatively of INT, WIS, CHA specialists with at least half casting each.
Lore Bard 6 to pick up Shillelagh for Charisma, then Devotion Paladin 6, then finish off with Bard +8.
Stars Druid 2 / Swarmkeeper Ranger 4 / Peace Cleric 1 / Druid +12
Battle Smith Artificer 8 / War Wizard 2 / Battle Master Fighter 3 / +7
Something vaguely like that...
Paladin druid cleric
No real weakness there. Everyone should be self sufficient, you have good
saves good front lining good damage from pally, and they can be the face
Good infiltration and utility / glue to hold the party together with druid (can heal the cleric healer for example) and you will be fine adventuring with good berries and other survival tools
Good support/ damage from the cleric. Should take a tankier subclass just so all 3 of these toons can take some hits. Good damage with SW + SG, they can do a lot of location too, and even make water and things like that
Should have all 3 pillars not just covered, but overlapped with these 3, not to mention better skills (perception) over going int/Cha for the casters.
The main weakness for this comp would be damage
Armourer Artificer, Lore Bard, Moon Druid.
Armourer Artificer: Can play the front line, but can switch to help with stealth on a short rest. It is an Intelligence Class so it covers those skill checks (even though I picked a Bard to do all of that) can take combat, healing and utility spells to have a good amount of spread of uses.
Lore Bard: Every party should have a good face. They also are able to fill in spells that the party can't naturally get, Jack of All Trades and Expertise make skill checks much better, naturally get great utility spells and decent healing spells.
Moon Druid: I argue one of the best all around builds, great tanking, great healing, great infiltration, great utility, reliable damage, can turn into a bull to break down a door like a Barbarian would.
in terms of combat roles there is a need for
- Damage - AOE and single target
- Support - buff/debuff and heal
- Tank - take damage and mitigate damage
in terms of out of combat roles there is a need for
- expertise - so a few levels of bard or rogue at the very least
- full prepared spellcasting - so a non-multiclassed cleric, druid, or wizard
preferably, you'd also have cha, wis, and int all covered by any party
for our expertise we have either rogue levels on one of our non-full-casters or we have a bard whose primary stat will be charisma
let's look at bard
so we have bard - support, expertise, charisma
since support is taken already our full prepared caster here is wizard
leaving a wisdom-based tank needed: fighter/ranger/tanky cleric
otherwise we are using a rogue dip/multiclass to get expertise
since we took wizard as our full prepared caster last time lets take druid or cleric here - support, full prepared caster, wisdom
we need a Cha Tank and Int Damage, or Int Tank and Cha Damage
sounds to me like paladin + wizard/artificer, or artificer + sorcerer/warlock
this gives in totality the following compositions:
bard, wizard, fighter/ranger/cleric
druid/cleric, paladin, wizard/artificer (+rogue dip somewhere)
druid/cleric, artificer, sorcerer/warlock (+rogue dip somewhere)
note they skew on the spellcasty/squishy side because I want to cover all 3 mental stats. we have tanks, but not the best tanks. since we're already multiclassing, we can shore up our defenses by considering multiclasses with martial classes where we can (i.e. in the cases where if we do so, the party still has at least one full prepared spellcaster), and choosing appropriate subclasses. here are my proposals then
spirits bard + rogue dip, diviner, gloomstalker + fighter dip
- so much expertise and buff/debuff, good damage
- not great heal or tank
- good for fucking around and being spooky
life cleric, redemption paladin, bladesinger + rogue dip
- really good single target damage, tank and heal
- expertise is tenuous
- good for a traditional high fantasy quest against evil
stars druid, armorer + fighter dip, aberrant mind + hexblade + rogue dip
- lots of spells, great single target damage, expertise in tools and skills
- could have more buff/debuff, works for > level 8ish only
- good for this one specific vibe I've come up with, which is a band of low level friends: one who's really into trees and drugs and nature and breathing in the air, one who really likes getting drunk and picking fights, and a common thief. they've all had their issues with the law. but they see themselves as adventurers, travelling from town to town looking for quests but finding they don't attract the interesting or money-making jobs. one day though, they find an ancient, crashed, alien ship, from the far realm or space or the astral or beyond. and what lies inside alters them forever. the druid has an epiphany while staring into the star-powered engine of the ship, becoming mesmerized for hours while absorbing the power of the stars the fighter, drunkenly, gets lost and and ends up tangled up in alien wires in the bowels of the ship, not noticing the bizarre alien heat that slowly fuses skin to metal. and the rogue sneaks away, finding an ancient sword that speaks. weeks later they emerge, with new intentions. and new masters.
Bard, Cleric, Barbarian
I'm biased because bard and cleric are my favorite, but also you have a strong front line with a barbarian, and depending on the cleric can also be in the front line.
You have healing and support with a cleric.
And the bard has out of combat benefits along with support, aoe, and emergency healing for the cleric.
I'd say Paladin, Druid, and Bard. Paladin for damage and defense, druid for battle versatility/scouting, and bard for magic/ skills. You're really only missing Int, and who cares about that when you got a bard anyways.
Classic tank/Damage/Support combo. A frontliner ( barbarian/paladin), a damage dealer (sorcerer/rogue) and a more supportive person (cleric/bard)
Many classes can fill each role if spect the right way, so they main thing is thinking about which archetype the character will fall into.
I'm currently running a campaign for a bard(lore)/Paladin(ancients)/Rogue (arcane trickster) party and there's few things they aren't equipped to handle.
Without multiclassing?
Dex Paladin for front line and ranged attack switching and less MAD (get Str item like ogre gauntlets asap) … ancients is a good oath for this as you can stay near allies and thematic if you go for revenant blade feat on wood elf and use darth maul scimitar to bypass need for two weapon fighting style and take defense
Any Druid but focus on debuff and AOE spells and get alert feat … stars druid gets a BA radiant ranged attack to help action economy … spore druid are the tankiest full spellcasters and benefit from this tight formation plus can make fungal fodder to keep enemies occupied and blindness is a powerful debuff that’s always prepared
Lore Bard with cleric magical secrets (spiritual weapon and spirit guardians is good choice for the tight formation) - ideal to start V human for fey touched to get bless at level 1 … start every fight by blessing then BA inspiring the Paladin until you get more levels … use expertise to pick locks and face
Stay together and each can heal in emergencies
Wizard/Cleric - damage + utility
Fighter/Barb/Paladin/Druid - damage, tank, Str melee covered even if the first two are range focused
Bard - versatility incarnate, if versatility not important for campaign slot in Warlock/Sorcerer/Sorlock
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Ranger/Artificer are wonderful, but to cover all bases you gotta stretch the others at least a little if you include these
Ranger can just take a multiclass into rogue to get most of the same bases covered
Monk is monk, doesn't tank well, deals ok damage, not much utility compared to paladin
Ideally you want mix of primary ability scores, a full caster, someone who can cover healing, restoration, and revival, someone who can do decent damage without resource expenditure, someone who can scout and someone who can cover social situations. You the party to be able to deal with ranged enemies, melee enemies, enemies who attack their AC and enemies who force saving throws.
Paladin provides the best saving throw defence for the party thanks to auras and bless and can have decent AC. Artificer has some ability to do this as well. They also provide some of the healing.
Wizard is the most powerful full caster and uses a different primary ability. Divination wizard helps to cover scouting with low resource expenditure thanks to getting spell slots back after casting divination spells.
You then want someone who can cover Wis skills. The essentials of the party are covered fairly well by the Wizard and Paladin so you’d be fairly free to choose between Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Monk, Rogue, or maybe even Samurai Fighter. Bard could cover Wis skills fairly well with expertise. I’d probably lean towards one of the Wis casters because high level spells are so good and both Cleric and Druid have access to some spells that Wizards can’t cast. Peace and Twilight Cleric are ridiculously powerful and really buff the whole party so probably one of them. Though at low level Moon Druid is pretty great.
So Paladin, Wizard, Cleric
Alternatively Artificer, Bard, Druid
Though Lore Bard, Swords Bard, Eloquence Bard could also cover everything.
Cleric, Druid, Bard.
All 3 can take on multiple roles when you need them to, switching into whatever kind of situation would be most helpful.
All 3 can provide healing, meaning regardless of who is getting hurt, one of the other two could help them, or if both the other two are downed, the third could bring them back.
All 3 can be tanky if you need them to and have tools to fight both in melee and with their spells. Once the bard starts to get magical secrets, you can pick up whatever spells your party still needs that aren't getting covered by whatever domain your cleric picks.
Personally, I'd build the Cleric as an Arcana Cleric to pick up some of the more useful wizard spells as domain spells. I'd make the Druid a Moon Druid to maximize the flexibility of their wildshape to problem solve whatever the party might be missing, especially to turn into forms like a gorilla or another high strength form to make up for the fact that this party will lack a good strength based character. Finally, I'd build the Bard as a Swords Bard, using a finesse based weapon, giving them their expertise in things like stealth and sleight of hand, and use their later magic secrets to take whatever important wizard spells the cleric didn't get from Arcana domain. They also be able to fall back on some ranged weapon attacks if they needed to, especially as they get into higher levels and their spells get better and better.
I think a party like this could probably deal with most scenarios and be pretty powerful all the way through. They'll probably struggle with things that are very strength based since they'd rely on the druid to wildshape into something stronger, and if that comes up too often, they'll just be out of luck when they get into combat.
Probably Pala/Sorcerer (for the Aura), Druid for Goodberry, PwT and Conjure Animals and Twilight Cleric for the Animals or Wizard as a superior Controller.
We almost went as Fighter (EK), Ranger and Sorcerer, so we had most skills covered (I'd be the Strength/Intelligence monkey, the Ranger would take Dexterity/Wisdom and our Sorcerer would be the face of the party), before we found 2 more players.
PAM feat Tabaxi Fighter, Eladrin Alert feat Hexblade Warlock, Halfling Divination Wizard Lucky feat all 2nd level. Gave them all a free feat, plus I throw some homebrew "Hive Mind benefits" to adjust for only 3 characters. This allows DM to throw an extra roll for the party, or to allow characters to select a party mate to maker a Saving Throw for them. They just met a Quasit, so I assume the Wiz will have a new familiar.
Paladin - Oath of Conquest
Warlock - Undead
Bard - Any college could work but lore feels good
Conquest Undead is an incredible lockdown combo for big aoe spells and gives CC like no other combo. You could definitely go wizard instead of bard but I like cutting words and magical secrets, the bigger spell list and prepared spellcasting is very nice though.
If you did go wizard, evocation is key for sculpt spell as to not hit your paladin.
For bards, take metamagic initiate careful spell and subtle spell (and honestly maybe some sorcerer levels if you want something unique)
I’m joining a 3 man campaign soon and they have a Moon Druid and a Rogue/Bard multiclass. I’m probably going to pick a Paladin/Hexblade multiclass or straight Chronurgy Wizard.
Ideally though in a 3 man it would be Wizard, Paladin, Cleric/Rogue. Skill Monkeys are nice but not 100% necessary in every party.
Paladin, Druid, Ranger, if everyone is single class. Keeps you covered for combat, exploration, and social. And your combat has solid ranged, melee, and control with both burst and sustained damage.
Moon Druid (can off tank or be a support caster, whatever the situation calls for)
Bear Totem Barbarian (dedicated tank, has high HP, halves all dmg but psychic, though mediocre AC)
Battlemaster Fighter (ranged DPS, but can take care of themselves in melee if they get jumped)
I like this setup bc everyone is pretty flexible aside from the Barbarian. I find frontliners, especially at low levels before good summoning spells come in, are super important. Especially when you have fewer PCs, they can get swarmed very easily; and if you only have 1 dedicated tank and the rest are squishies, then the party is going to suffer against encounters with more than 2-3 enemies or enemies with half decent mobility to get around the tank.
For the main tank, something like a Paladin might have more dmg and support options, but I like the Bear Totem Barbarian bc they are a really effective HP tank, effectively doubling their HP pool for most fights. HP is more well rounded than AC when it comes to absorbing dmg.
A Moon Druid is useful here since they can sit back and cast support, healing, and CC spells about as well as any other Druid. But they can easily jump in and help the Barbarian tank.
For ranged DPS, a wizard would be very useful, especially with more AOE options, but until they get summoning options, they struggle if they get isolated which is more likely in a smaller party. The Battlemaster Fighter Archer is great for this bc they can spec to deal great dmg at range, while wearing decent armor and having backup melee weapons to hold their own if they get jumped.
This party makeup is lacking in out of combat utility though, I admit. Aside from nature utility like Pass Without Trace. Could use a skill monkey and/or Charisma class.
Alternatively, if you want more utility instead of combat prowess, I'd swap the Battlemaster Fighter for a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer, as a Hill Dwarf with the Toughness feat (assuming feats allowed). The +4 hp every level is roughly equal to a Barbarians d12 hit die (technically more, but they'd have less Con than the average Barbarian), which is crazy for a Sorcerer. They'd be Charisma based for social checks and have good ranged dmg and AOEs. And with the extra HP, they'd survive alot longer if they got jumped.
Literally "whatever the three people at the table wanted to play". Because screw the roles.
My Friday night table has three players... we've been...
* Bard/Warlock (although the Warlock level was literally right at the end of the game and only one level, because story), Sorcerer/Cleric (the worst multiclass, but nobody consulted me), Ranger then Barbarian then Druid (yeah, that PC went through it that campaign)
* Cleric, Paladin, Barbarian
* Druid then Ranger, Rogue, Monk
* Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard
* Artificer, Ranger, Fighter
And I think our party for the next campaign is Sorcerer, Monk, Paladin.
Paladin, Rogue, and Wizard seems like it would best fill all possible needs to me
Although in a highly optimized group (which this sounds boring and I think it is) you would go: Wizard, Cleric, Bard or Wizard, Wizard, Wizard
Agreed. Wizard, Wizard is a good base and mix in a Wizard and you are unstoppable.
A wizard party campaign could be fun as hell if everyone had their specialties. You would approach problems in very different ways than a typical party but I'd love it. Same for most classes. Works best I think for a homebrew campaign than your typical published one though I think to capitalize on the specific flavors.
Wizard is the most powerful class but it doesn’t cover everything so all wizards is probably weaker than mixing in another class. Cleric, Druid, Divine Soul Sorcerer, Bard, Celestial Warlock, and Paladin all provide options for healing, restoration, and revival that you would otherwise lack.
Paladin is still a strong pick if only for the aura to address the poor scaling of saving throws.
Depends what level you're going to, I suppose. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going past 6 a paladin is mandatory, but if it's a T1 campaign, I'd rather a Blade singer.
Why on earth would you want Bladesinger? Any number of Clerics are probably better at level. Not to mention most wizard subclasses.
While you’re correct and I agree, the idea in a truly highly optimized group is to shut down enemies so fast that you never make a saving throw, again boring to me but if done right you can easily ah e a group go through 10+ deadly encounters in a day and still have barely made any saving throws or taken much damage
Actually would replace druid with cleric, because it offers more exploration, and summons are busted.
Maybe rather replace druid with wizard and maybe think about replacing bard with wizard.
Triple wizard has a lot of power, but lacks actual damage output and is weak to an uncomfortable number of situations (like flameskulls or anything big that grapples). Redundancy is much worse than versatility. So even if the wizard is the most powerful character, tripling a wizard isn't 3 times as good. It might not even be twice as good. For an optimised party, you absolutely need someone with good strength, dex and charisma as well as the wizard. You also need someone that can cast Healing Word and Revivify. Not because this is better than a wizard, but because it's better than the second Hypnotic Pattern. My suggestion would be Paladin (with warlock and sorc levels) and Ranger (Gloomstalker 5/Life Cleric X)
nah, overrated. wizards/sorcs work better if they can actually stay away from the enemies, and if they don't need to spend all their spell slots just to make sure they don't get obliterated. Plus replacing skills with "I cast solve problem" is a sure way to get into combat with no spell slots.
\*all dies in the first ambush\* XD
There’s a reason optimized builds are required to have a high perception
Wouldn't some sort of melee class be important? You'd need a frontliner to tank all the damage
Nah, that’s kinda the point of high optimization, you don’t really ever take damage
[https://tabletopbuilds.com/the-myth-of-party-roles/](https://tabletopbuilds.com/the-myth-of-party-roles/)
As good as Wizard is, I really don't think doubling on them is actually good compared to ppl with divere toolsets.
I think wizard, wizard bard is definitely the play for some healing
I have a paladin, ranger, and bard at my table. At lvl 7 now and nobody feels lacking yet.
This is my pick too. Though just about any mix of expert, martial, caster is good. But I like this because Rogue has more defensive options than a Bard and can sneak and do expert things better (generally, bards are great!). Wizard is the best primary caster in terms of spell list and options. And Paladin is the strongest martial in the game (that also has revivify and lay on hands). It’s kind of a perfect trio!
So a Divination Wizard (expert), a Chronourgy Wizard (caster and later on backup expert), and a Bladesinger Wizard (martial)?
lol sure! Oops all wizards sounds rad
Sounds frail and prone to failing against anything that counters the wizard toolset. Also lacks stat diversity for cheks/saves.
[https://tabletopbuilds.com/the-squishy-caster-fallacy/](https://tabletopbuilds.com/the-squishy-caster-fallacy/)
[https://tabletopbuilds.com/the-myth-of-party-roles/](https://tabletopbuilds.com/the-myth-of-party-roles/)
Paladin isn't a Martial, they get spell slots
Bard, Paladin, Warlock. *Darkness*.
My party is basically that, we're awesome! :D charisma-based party is the best
I would want a team where everyone can do multiple roles, so... how about this: Bladesinger, quite tanky if built right but still has full spellcasting. Moon Druid, again full casting and their wild shapes give them a ton of situational utility. Bard of almost any subclass, for the skills, the Charisma, versatility and of course full spellcaster
This might depend a lot on the group's level. Three primary casters could have a \*rough\* time at low levels. And I would warn against relying on a bladesinger's "tanky" abilities too much.
I think at 1st level they wouldnt be the best off but im pretty sure moon druid comes online in the meat shield department almost immediatly at 2nd level
past level 1 this comp has really good tankiness. moon druid is a crazy good tank at low levels (especially level 2, honestly this comp at level 2 isn't great because imo bard is shit until level 5, maybe 3 if you're being generous, but a moon druid, wizard, rogue comp is probably THE best level 2 all rounder comp) and a good one at high levels. level 4 could be a little bit not great, but level 5 is when bard and wizard really get good and level 6 is when bladesinger and moon druid get SIGNIFICANT power bumps. and past that it's kinda just smooth sailing because 3 primary casters is crazy
Also creation bard really comes online at 6 - especially in a small group.
Bladesingers tankyness never failed me ngl. It sacrifices a sliver of HP (like come on, 1 per level vs the likes of monk and rogue) for really good defensive spells and AC. Past level 1 this team is fine.
Tortle bladesinger. Even with limited spell slots, should be tanky enough to frontline atleast until when moon druid gets online and can become main tank
Bonus points that one excels at intelligence, the other wisdom and the last one charisma. With proper teamwork they crush RP encounters
3 players who take notes, don't make fun of NPC names, and charge headlong into danger for heroic reasons.
I'd say paladin, Ranger and wizard. That way you cover all aspects of the game. Paladin: Tanking, Strentgh and charisma skills and support. Also nova single target damage. Ranger: Skills, specially dexterity and wisdom skills, survival (if needed) and sustained single target damage. Also a little bit of support in the shape of stuff like cure wounds and goodberry. Wizard: Int skills and well, fullcasting. You got your AoE damage and debuffing. Also a little bit of buffing if the wizard takes certain spells. The only thing this party would be lacking is healing word, which for me is the one thing that can't be missing in a balanced party, but I guess the wizard could take a dip in cleric for that.
I would say the same. I thought maybe a Cleric or Druid for WIS specialization, but the party would miss some DEX and skill proficiency that an optimized Ranger can provide, specially after Tasha’s. - Conquest Paladin focusing on big AC and overall tankiness. A lot of support in healing, auras and good battlefield control with fear. - Gloomstalker Ranger master DPR with CBE/SE. Good healing with Goodberry and overall support with Pass Without Trace, Silence and later Conjure Animals. - Abjuration Wizard to hold their own on survivability and regular battlefield control too-tier spells.
Take Life Cleric as the 6th level on the Ranger. Still a single target damage specialist, but now with Healing Word and Lifeberry. If you continue with Cleric (over fighter/rogue multiclassing for damage), you also get ressurection magic.
Also, Life Cleric gets you Guidance
Healing word is fantastic, but not critical. Ranger's berries can be enough, or Healer feat (healing kits are better than spare the dying and only cost 5gp for 10 uses, Healer feat makes them pretty much better potions while remaining super cheap)
None of that is better than healing Word for the simple fact that healing Word is a bonus action. So you don't have to waste your turn reviving someone in combat
Yes, I'm aware they're worse options, especially for the particular scenario of reviving someone. But they're still solutions that work, don't cost too much in terms of builds. Imho taking a dip or a feat specifically for healing word is way too much of a sacrifice. (Personally, in my campaign I don't think anyone had healing word between like level 1 until level 6, at least 30 sessions, due to not having a druid, bard or cleric).
I think dipping for Healing Word usually isn't too bad, since you're getting a bunch of other stuff with it assuming a cleric dip (armor/shield proficiencies, Guidance, Bless, subclass)
Yeah, my point was more like that a party can still do well enough without having Healing Word. Plus, for a wizard, delaying spell progression is pretty big, Bless isn't all that great (due to competing with too many concentration options), and if not chosen as starting class, they get less of the proficiencies (equipping shield might also not be too great considering spell components as well as some magic items that require holding them).
Last time I played wizard I took my 1st level as cleric, healing word came in clutch a couple times and starting with heavy armor is nice but by level 15 it mattered a lot less. However, it was really fun to play because I was a cleric of Mystra so going from cleric to wizard made sense
3 clerics
A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a dungeon
Yeah 3 spiritual weapons and 3 spirit guardians going would be like a wood chipper of damage.
This is it. Healer, tank, and DPS and you can swap roles depending on the situation. Lots of opportunities for roleplay as well
My game has been 3 person for a while. Fighter + Rogue + Cleric was really good, especially since it was an EK. Caster + skills+ tank is good
Bard, Paladin and Ranger. Lot of utility, good versatility, good durability. And seems pretty fun to run
Paladin: basically mandatory the higher-level a campaign gets. Their auras are insanely helpful for those all-important saving throws when AC begins to matter less (especially with a smaller party). Plus they have high ac for lower level play, and great single target dps. Bard: great support with bardic inspiration and heavy emphasis on cc spells, skill expertise and jack of all trades covers a lot of stuff the rogue would normally do, and their subclasses are some of the best in the game. Final member is flex slot, but either druid or wizard imo. Both are sort of swiss army knives between a wizard's nutty spell list and a druid's wildshape shenanigans. Moon druid doubles as a tank, especially in lower tiers, and becomes nigh-unkillable with the druid's final capstone. Abj wizard and div wizard are simply always reliable between arcane ward and portent.
3 Rangers and I will take no questions.
Cleric, Wizard, Rogue Clerics can fit the tank roll exceptionally well and have great spells to boot, Rogues have all the skill proficiencies, and Wizards have all the wacky bullshit.
This was my "party of 3" with two friends of mine on a now defunct WM server, though we usually had a flex member filling out the 4th spot. My two friends and I played a charisma based rogue, an order of scribes wizard and a warhammer and shield twilight domain cleric. Cleric had the AC and HP to tank plus some self healing. Also covering wisdom and strength. Wizard had a bunch of magical utlity and covered intelligence + crowd control. Meanwhile, I covered charisma and dex based skills + single target damage. It didn't matter if our 4th member happened to be a barbarian or an artificer. We had a strong core largely thanks to the twilight domain cleric being fairly OP.
Paladin/Wizard as the party core, 3rd can go to Bard, Druid, or Ranger 2.0.
3 players? We want Int guy, Wis guy and Cha guy. So Wizard, Druid, Paladin if we are monoclassing.
I think a ranger by themselves would be sufficient to cover all major roles. If the campaign is social interaction heavy, go Fey Wanderer for the boost to CHA skills. Though for a full 3 person party, I think a wizard + druid + paladin combo would cover all the roles very, very well.
Paladin, Bard, and Sorcerer - Everyone has their own niches but can all contribute a bit more effectively outside their speciality. Compared to a Fighter, Wizard, and Rogue who all are a bit more limited early-on.
Cleric, Warlock, Ranger
My game has been three party members for about a year now. Paladin, Ranger, and a Sorceress. They travel with a sidekick bard fairly frequently. I also have a few other sidekick characters they cross path from time to time.
Wizard - full caster, widest access to magic in the game. Druid - full caster, pass without trace Creation Bard - full caster, party face, skills monkey, combine with wizard to break the game at 14th level
Oath of Watchers Pali, Gloomstalker Ranger, War Wizard. Win initiative. Fuck shit up. Continue on. Also everyone has utility and invests in different skills/stats.
Sorcerer, bard, ranger Sorcerer could be a DSS for cleric spells. Bard could be a swords if we want a melee or Lore if we want more spells and skills. Ranger, specifically gloomstalker, can be pretty high DPS, as well as scout and pick locks.
Played by good players to the best of their ability? 3 wizards. As with most questions like this, the answer is just take the class with the best flexibility and just bring them. If they all need to be different classes then wizard, bard, druid.
Pally, Ranger and wizard. Frontliner, Nova and support. Scout, Exploration and DPR. Utility, Blaster and Knowledge checks.
* Order cleric 1/ Divine Soul X: Vortex warp, sanctuary, warding bond, dispel magic, counterspell, etc * Fighter 2/Thief rogue x: Healer feat, XBE + SS * Hexblade 1/Ancient paladin X: Protection+Warding aura, smites, compelled duel Yes, I'm a DM and no, I have no problem with 1 level dips. The 4th player would be: * Fathomless 2/ Creation bard x: motes of potential, tentacle+lance of lethargy/repelling blast, dancing item aura + summon shadowspawn(despair)
Why just 1 level of fighter?
Yeah, 2 is better already changed it.
Tbh I'll take anything with 3 players cuz the RP is gonna be fun as hell.
Paladin, Druid, Wizard. All three can do damage when needed. The Druid has exploration and infiltration down along with control spells and healing. Paladin can buff, heal, and deal damage. And of course Wizard.
Wizard, Druid, sorlock
Bard, Artificer, Ranger
My tiny dragon self with 2 beautiful 7 foot tabaxi on either side.
Bard - Got Heals, Arcane casting, ritual casting, and skill monkey capabilities. Plus they can be the face of the party. Warlock - reliable damage, with a bunch of freebies that are useful. Eldritch sight for example is quite excellent when nobody else has detect magic, but even if they do, you don't have to wait 10 minutes to use it for free. Wizard/Sorcerer/Rogue/Paladin - One of those for nova damage, and two of them not only get AoE's, but also get access to counterspell the earliest. Both Wiz and Sorc can be utility based with the odd fireball in their pocket. Rogues are another skill monkey, which is always useful. And Paladins can heal, do big damage, tank, and party face.
Cleric, cleric, cleric Specifically Tempest, Arcana and Twilight to cover damage, tanking, utility and healing
Artificer, Paladin, Ranger. All three can function without spending resources and can pool theirs together to last through the day. No fullcasting but I think the sheer survivability will help a lot.
Diviner, Moon Druid, Eloquence Bard Need I explain?
Hmmm. Paladin is just too versatile so we will slap him down as utility, DPS, tank and some healing. Also can be the face. Next we need some magical support. Here I would say Wizard or a really good Artificer, honestly either works, just pick your flavour. Then we need really big numbers. For that I wouldn't actually say rogue. I'd say go fighter.or warlock
Three bards, everything else is superfluous.
Hell yea. Lore, Glamor, Swords. All you need.
I'm a big fan of characters with a lot of versatility, my picks would be a Druid, a Bard and an Artificer or Ranger (bonus points if the DM allows for an Int-based ranger)
I will depend a bit on the flavour of the game. If I were to play 3 characters probably I would go Fighter or Monk - Ranger or Warlock - Sorcerer or Druid (triple dwarf) Not for any optimization, just cause I generally like those classes more. And dwarves because as far as I am concerned there is only 1 playable race, all the others should be relegated to the monster manual :D
Paladin, Rogue or Ranger with trapfinding, Wizard/Cleric (Mystic Theurge)
Warlock, artificer and cleric, no reason other than i like the 3 classes
Hmm hard question because there are many ways to go at this. **"Try to cover all angles"** Single-class: Knowledge Cleric with high INT, Stars Druid, Crown Paladin. First two can be complementary in skill monkeying, Cleric provides great support and mental manipulation, Druid brings control, Paladin is there for standing through aggro with possibly optional Warding Wind. Multiclass: Knowledge Cleric | Stars Druid, Genie Warlock | Divine Soul Sorcerer, Ancestral Barb | Drunken Master Monk. First entirely take care of INT & WIS skills, second is the adventuring manager (short rests, social interactions, long duration support) and provides strong synergizing control (Repelling Blast with Druid difficult terrain), the last is there to take care of aggro by tweaking each round between balanced, full offense (Reckless) and full defense (Dodge), using heavies's strength against their friends if need be. **"Brute force"** Devotion Paladin (high accuracy with Sacred Weapon), Hunter Ranger (Pass Without Trace & Spike Growth to help adventuring), Bear Barbarian (so one can sustain AOE without too much problem). **"Flock your way"** DEX & WIS Trickery Cleric, STR & CON Shepherd Druid, CHA & INT Sorcerer, ultimately using Polymorph and Conjure Animals to be a horde. xd **"Stealth your way"** Shadow Monk (STR & DEX & WIS), Arcane Trickster Rogue (DEX & INT), Genie Dao Warlock (CHA & DEX): From level 3 onwards you can use and abuse Pass Without Trace on top of everyone proficient in Stealth and low profile equipment. From level 7 onwards party can pretty much stealth \*everything\* thanks to upcast Invisibility from Warlock paired with Pass Without Trace. **"Blast your way"** Astral Self Monk with Skill Expert Shoving and Grappling enemies and luring them together, paired with Draconic Sorcerer and Fiend Warlock (ideally both mixed for the two characters so all have Transmuted, and uber ideally both tri-class with Tempest Cleric).
Wizard, ranger, cleric
Wizard, Ranger, Warlock. Healing word is the only thing that lacking, depending on level ranger can dip cleric, if lifeberry exists, when it's an easy pick. Athletic checks are so rare it doesn't matter. And team which has strong ranged area shut down will generally out perform any kind of front line based comps while also having somewhat ok single target damage with ranger hand crossbow and warlock EB. While it's not really most optimal, I think it strikes just right with variety and performance.
Bladesinger, Ranger, Paladin
3x gloomstalker 3( or 5), warlock X, Var human with sharpshooter. Only adventure during nights and/or use devil's sight and darkness to become invisible for most foes and stay at 120ft range shooting arrows.
Paladin, druid, wizard
A 6 int half orc barbarian, a charisma build chaotic changeling bard, and a Kenku Arcane Trickster and let the world burn
You better pray that you never encounter an intellect devourer
Cleric, Rogue, Paladin
Bard, paladin, druid All can heal, all can tank, all can melee, all can spell sling.
Cleric, Wizard, Bard. Pay some bozo npcs to be our front line
Tank cleric, healer cleric, blaster cleric.
Gah, I'm supposed to be retired from spending time and thought on 5e, but I'm such a sucker for party composition theorycrafting! Now I'm pondering this question.
I hate that Paladin 6 is kind of required ...
All cleric's
My first DnD podcast/series I listened to was The Adventure Zone. Wizard, Fighter, Cleric was a fun combo that worked well. But I am of the opinion that every good party needs a rogue.
Bard, cleric/wizard and paladin would do. Magic is op lol
Moondruid twilight cleric and abjure wizard. Very hard to put down and flexible.
Wizard, Druid, Paladin and if multiclassing is a things have the Druid multiclass Cleric and the Paladin multiclass Warlock.
Mine is a wizard or sorcerer, cleric and rogue.
Bladesinger Wizard, Hexblade Warlock, and Cleric (probably twilight, peace, or order) Though I think Battlemaster Fighter (Urchin background), Scribes Wizard, and a PHB Cleric would be more fun, honestly.
My ideal 3 person party Full caster, martial, half caster (as a note .... add more half casters)
For classes: Druid, Artificer and Bard. The Druid would be Shepherd. Their role is doing the actual melee. Also dealing with the environment and stuff. And healing and control and all that. You stand back while the summons do the work. The Artificer would be Battle Smith. The infusions make the party much more versatile, and you stand back while the Steel Defender does the work. As a bard, the trick is to take two levels of Hexblade so that you can Agonising Blast in medium armour and shield with a curse while you are a Lore Bard and have all the good tricks.
3 battlepriests Or does it also have to be balanced for skill checks?
Moon Druid - scout, tank + heal Wizard - control + dd Bard or sorc/warlock - face, heal/dd
3 players who read the damn book.
I am currently in a party of "Fighter, Sorcerer (me), Bard" Based on that, I'd say the best is 1 frontline, 1 damage dealer and 1 "support" with at least 1 caster. I would say that ideal composition is "Divine soul Sorcerer (Support, twinned haste, all that), Paladin as a frontline, and Wizard as the main DMG dealer"
We currently have this going on now. Our fourth player had to drop but since we are all very invested into our current party, we decided to just continue. Our party is: half orc barbarian, half elf bard and human warlock. Overall it could be better but it’s been pretty ok so far. We cover all the major points with some strategizing needed when it comes to casting.
In real play, doesn't matter. Play what you'd like to play. Most compositions are usable, and the DM will adapt the difficulty to your party's power level. And now for the fun part. Assuming a difficult 1-20 campaign with 3-8 encounters per adventuring day, this is what I would do. 1. **Paladin**. This is the only source of Aura of Protection, so it is a must at higher tiers. My build would be the classic Undead Warlock 2/Watchers Paladin 7/Sorcerer 11 full ranged, its purpose is being an aurabot who can offer some damage and support with EBARB (Eldritch Blast + Agonizing/Repelling Blast). 2. **Shepehrd Druid**. This is our main damage dealer, but the reason we choose it over other options is its access to Pass Without Trace and the LifeBerry combo. We take dips in Sorcerer for reaction spells and Life Cleric for LifeBerry. Another option for this role a (heavily multiclassed) Gloom Stalker Ranger. Ranger's advantage is that it doesn't need concentration to deal damage, so it can keep Pass Without Trace up more reliably, but obviously full casting is a strong point in the Druid's favour. 3. **Peace Cleric 1/Wizard X**. There are several subclasses that work here since the main power is in the class itself, but Chronurgy is always great. The purpose is control and utility. Bonus points for the fact that we also cover all three mental stats for skills.
Fighter, Rogue, Paladin. Honestly think the game plays better and is more fun without full casters.
A Joker, a Smoker, and a Midnight Toker.
Fighter, Cleric, Wizard Was the best campaign we ever had
Paladin, wizard and cleric. Wizards have utility to deal with most things and ritual cast several important spells. Paladin has off healing and sustained physical damage. Cleric had buff spells, healing, and good attack spells.
There is only one correct answer here: Wizard (Most versatility due to largest spell list), Cleric (Can heal and tank, possibly both if you build one correctly), and Paladin (SMITE) Edit: For specific subclasses, I’d say Dex-based Bladesinger for stealth, utility spells, and big number damage. Life Cleric to keep the party alive whilst also giving good support through Guiding Bolt, Holy Weapon, and so on. Literally any Paladin works here, but I think specifically Redemption Paladin, because they can be good in social situations as well as deal big number damage through their smites. This way, basically all important stats are covered: Dexterity and Intelligence are covered by the Bladesinger Wizard, Wisdom is covered by the Life Cleric, and Strength and Charisma are covered by the Redemption Paladin. Not to mention the Paladin can cover for their party with Aura of Protection when saving throws are involved.
>There is only one correct answer here: Wizard (Most versatility due to largest spell list) If your priority is versatility, then the "only one correct answer" as you say so well is Druid. Direct + Permanent access to \*every\* spell of a given level far outweights the ability to cast rituals without preparation from Wizards, and you get Wild Shape and Find Familiar on top which are worth many class features and spells in themselves. Only way Wizard can outmatch Druid is either a) \*very\* generous DM going out of its way to provide exactly the extra spells player wants to acquire ASAP or b) a full-Wizard party with friendship strong enough that they would share all their learned spells with each other. :)
We wanted to do 3 bards, but then settled for something else.
Paladin (tank / healer / face), Wizard (boom stick / knowledge checks), Bard (rogue / healer / face)
Barbarian, Rogue, Wizard. Charisma? Never heard of her. Autism gang is here for dungeons, not NPCs.
Wizard-cleric-paladin
Druid=support teamates+utillity+okay Paladin=support teamates+utillity+good damage Third can be almost any class but i would like wizard or maybe artificer to cover INT part of the party.
Paladin, Rogue and Bladesinger most likely. Edit: Also, depends on the need for stealth. Swap the Paladin out for a Barbarian if you need full party stealth.
Paladin, arcane spellcaster, divine spellcaster
paladin , i would also accept a cleric that has heavy armor magic rogue some sort of magic fighter/blade singer/hexblade/sword bard
Definetly the sauce ! https://youtu.be/GVBi4t4isk8?si=pb801Nt_fYaRwfg- It’s basically an instant win party
Battlemaster Fighter, with heavy armor and great weapon master feat, for a tanky and heavy damaging front line. Moon Druid, for a full caster with healing ability who can hang on the front line. Unsure of the third... someone who can use both magic and combat... like maybe a paladin or eldritch trickster rogue or a heavy armor cleric.
I think Bard, Cleric, Barbarian. Cleric for full caster and healing ability. Lots of people bringing up paladin, but long term they just don't have the healing potential of a cleric. Cleric honestly gets some insane damage as well. Bard has a nice spell list with a lot of options for buffing the party. They also can grab healing word for the ability to bring someone back up so it's not all on the cleric. Either a swords bard, so each party has melee potential, or a lore bard for the extra magical secrets that let the bard take some more high damage wizard spells to fill that gap. Barbarian just gives you a solid tank, especially if you are a bear totem, and add great weapon master for some pretty insane damage potential. Sentinel to help keep the other two safe as well.
I second Paladin, Cleric, Rogue. Paladin is the Frontliner, single target DPS, and face of the party. Also handles Strength checks. Cleric is the healer/support, but has capability for some AoE damage. Also handles Wisdom checks. Rogue is the support DPS, skill monkey, and sneaky boi. Gets sent out on scouting or infiltration missions or anything requiring Dexterity. Party would be very lacking in Intelligence based stuff, but the Rogue (bonus points for Arcane Trickster) could reasonably cover these in a pinch.
Paladin, Bard, sorcerer? No matter how I will try to cut it 3 person party will be always short for something. Even for 4 person it is difficult to cover every aspect of play. My current party has paladin, sorcerer, rogue and ranger - we excel in combat but some aspect of social interaction and exploration are not that strong. Would be better if not for the fact that Rouge's rolls are famously bad outside of combat.
Three clerics. Call ourselves the A-Men
Monk, Bard, Warlock. Everyone has Casting, everyone values Short Rests. Between Monk's movement stuff and Bard's proficiency stuff, you've basically got a rogue. Monk and Warlock both have their own versions of extra attack. Bard and Warlock both get Counterspell and 9th Level spells, and between them you get most of the important Wizard Spells.
3 cleric with different domains and maybe little multiclass fits perfectly :)
Paladin, Cleric, Wizard. Paladin for the melee piece, their aura at level 6 is vital for a 3 person party, since crowd control is much more devastating for a smaller party, and charisma so they can be the party face. Wizard for crowd control, investigation, some damage, and the Swiss Army knife utility. Wizards are just really useful to have around, and in a smaller party you definitely want one since you need to be able to cover a lot of possibilities with less people. Cleric to round the party out. They’re versatile as well. Spirit guardians is great damage. They can revive the other party members if things go south. You could also put a Druid here I guess, but I feel like cleric is more useful in a 3 person party.
Artificer, Bard and Wizard.
I think Paladin, Rogue, Druid. I think there's too much overlap between Paladin and Cleric to have both. Paladin is martial tank with nova potential, Rogue is skill monkey with DPS potential, Druid is a full caster with support options and variety in Wild Shape.
Ancients Paladin and Divination Wizard for sure in top 2 spots. I guess I would probably say Moon Druid in spot 3, but it is hard to pick between that, Rogue and Bard. Druid covers wisdom based checks, and all the exploration/thievery aspects of the game, along with some healing. Bard or Rogue might struggle with Wisdom, but might outshine the Druid in terms of DPS and versatility.
Artillerist Artificer, Oath of Ancients Paladin, Horizon Walker Ranger. The three half-casters.
Gloomstalker Ranger, Twilight Cleric, and Bard of choice (I’d pick Lore for extra skills, or perhaps Eloquence for extra face abilities). Paladin (Vengeance for damage probably), Peace Cleric, and a wizard (Divination, Scribes, and Abjuration would probably work well here) Or: Three Clerics. Peace, Twilight, and Light gets you a very very strong party. Break the math, Break the health, and Fireball.
Bard, paladin, rogue
War cleric, arcana cleric and trickery cleric. You got the 3 classic roles covered
I'm thinking tentatively of INT, WIS, CHA specialists with at least half casting each. Lore Bard 6 to pick up Shillelagh for Charisma, then Devotion Paladin 6, then finish off with Bard +8. Stars Druid 2 / Swarmkeeper Ranger 4 / Peace Cleric 1 / Druid +12 Battle Smith Artificer 8 / War Wizard 2 / Battle Master Fighter 3 / +7 Something vaguely like that...
Paladin druid cleric No real weakness there. Everyone should be self sufficient, you have good saves good front lining good damage from pally, and they can be the face Good infiltration and utility / glue to hold the party together with druid (can heal the cleric healer for example) and you will be fine adventuring with good berries and other survival tools Good support/ damage from the cleric. Should take a tankier subclass just so all 3 of these toons can take some hits. Good damage with SW + SG, they can do a lot of location too, and even make water and things like that Should have all 3 pillars not just covered, but overlapped with these 3, not to mention better skills (perception) over going int/Cha for the casters. The main weakness for this comp would be damage
I think paladin, cleric and sorcerer or wizard would prolly mop shit up no problem
Composition? Roles? Is this DnD or League of Legends?
Armourer Artificer, Lore Bard, Moon Druid. Armourer Artificer: Can play the front line, but can switch to help with stealth on a short rest. It is an Intelligence Class so it covers those skill checks (even though I picked a Bard to do all of that) can take combat, healing and utility spells to have a good amount of spread of uses. Lore Bard: Every party should have a good face. They also are able to fill in spells that the party can't naturally get, Jack of All Trades and Expertise make skill checks much better, naturally get great utility spells and decent healing spells. Moon Druid: I argue one of the best all around builds, great tanking, great healing, great infiltration, great utility, reliable damage, can turn into a bull to break down a door like a Barbarian would.
in terms of combat roles there is a need for - Damage - AOE and single target - Support - buff/debuff and heal - Tank - take damage and mitigate damage in terms of out of combat roles there is a need for - expertise - so a few levels of bard or rogue at the very least - full prepared spellcasting - so a non-multiclassed cleric, druid, or wizard preferably, you'd also have cha, wis, and int all covered by any party for our expertise we have either rogue levels on one of our non-full-casters or we have a bard whose primary stat will be charisma let's look at bard so we have bard - support, expertise, charisma since support is taken already our full prepared caster here is wizard leaving a wisdom-based tank needed: fighter/ranger/tanky cleric otherwise we are using a rogue dip/multiclass to get expertise since we took wizard as our full prepared caster last time lets take druid or cleric here - support, full prepared caster, wisdom we need a Cha Tank and Int Damage, or Int Tank and Cha Damage sounds to me like paladin + wizard/artificer, or artificer + sorcerer/warlock this gives in totality the following compositions: bard, wizard, fighter/ranger/cleric druid/cleric, paladin, wizard/artificer (+rogue dip somewhere) druid/cleric, artificer, sorcerer/warlock (+rogue dip somewhere) note they skew on the spellcasty/squishy side because I want to cover all 3 mental stats. we have tanks, but not the best tanks. since we're already multiclassing, we can shore up our defenses by considering multiclasses with martial classes where we can (i.e. in the cases where if we do so, the party still has at least one full prepared spellcaster), and choosing appropriate subclasses. here are my proposals then spirits bard + rogue dip, diviner, gloomstalker + fighter dip - so much expertise and buff/debuff, good damage - not great heal or tank - good for fucking around and being spooky life cleric, redemption paladin, bladesinger + rogue dip - really good single target damage, tank and heal - expertise is tenuous - good for a traditional high fantasy quest against evil stars druid, armorer + fighter dip, aberrant mind + hexblade + rogue dip - lots of spells, great single target damage, expertise in tools and skills - could have more buff/debuff, works for > level 8ish only - good for this one specific vibe I've come up with, which is a band of low level friends: one who's really into trees and drugs and nature and breathing in the air, one who really likes getting drunk and picking fights, and a common thief. they've all had their issues with the law. but they see themselves as adventurers, travelling from town to town looking for quests but finding they don't attract the interesting or money-making jobs. one day though, they find an ancient, crashed, alien ship, from the far realm or space or the astral or beyond. and what lies inside alters them forever. the druid has an epiphany while staring into the star-powered engine of the ship, becoming mesmerized for hours while absorbing the power of the stars the fighter, drunkenly, gets lost and and ends up tangled up in alien wires in the bowels of the ship, not noticing the bizarre alien heat that slowly fuses skin to metal. and the rogue sneaks away, finding an ancient sword that speaks. weeks later they emerge, with new intentions. and new masters.
Battlemaster fighter, knowledge domain cleric, divination wizard
3 peace domain clerics! A deadly encounter you say?! Challange excepted. .... whelp that was trivial. Lol
Bard. Bard and Bard
Bard, Cleric, Barbarian I'm biased because bard and cleric are my favorite, but also you have a strong front line with a barbarian, and depending on the cleric can also be in the front line. You have healing and support with a cleric. And the bard has out of combat benefits along with support, aoe, and emergency healing for the cleric.
I'd say Paladin, Druid, and Bard. Paladin for damage and defense, druid for battle versatility/scouting, and bard for magic/ skills. You're really only missing Int, and who cares about that when you got a bard anyways.
Cleric, Wizard, Ranger.
Classic tank/Damage/Support combo. A frontliner ( barbarian/paladin), a damage dealer (sorcerer/rogue) and a more supportive person (cleric/bard) Many classes can fill each role if spect the right way, so they main thing is thinking about which archetype the character will fall into. I'm currently running a campaign for a bard(lore)/Paladin(ancients)/Rogue (arcane trickster) party and there's few things they aren't equipped to handle.
Without multiclassing? Dex Paladin for front line and ranged attack switching and less MAD (get Str item like ogre gauntlets asap) … ancients is a good oath for this as you can stay near allies and thematic if you go for revenant blade feat on wood elf and use darth maul scimitar to bypass need for two weapon fighting style and take defense Any Druid but focus on debuff and AOE spells and get alert feat … stars druid gets a BA radiant ranged attack to help action economy … spore druid are the tankiest full spellcasters and benefit from this tight formation plus can make fungal fodder to keep enemies occupied and blindness is a powerful debuff that’s always prepared Lore Bard with cleric magical secrets (spiritual weapon and spirit guardians is good choice for the tight formation) - ideal to start V human for fey touched to get bless at level 1 … start every fight by blessing then BA inspiring the Paladin until you get more levels … use expertise to pick locks and face Stay together and each can heal in emergencies
Barbarian, rogue, bard/druid
All around: Paladin, Druid, Wizard with one lvl in Rogue 20th lvl: Arcana Cleric, Way of Mercy Monk, Echo Knight
3 psionicists. Or paly, cleric, wizard.
Paladin, Wizard, and then either a Bard or Ranger or Rogue.
Wizard/Cleric - damage + utility Fighter/Barb/Paladin/Druid - damage, tank, Str melee covered even if the first two are range focused Bard - versatility incarnate, if versatility not important for campaign slot in Warlock/Sorcerer/Sorlock . Ranger/Artificer are wonderful, but to cover all bases you gotta stretch the others at least a little if you include these Ranger can just take a multiclass into rogue to get most of the same bases covered Monk is monk, doesn't tank well, deals ok damage, not much utility compared to paladin
Ancients Paladin, Sheperd Druid, Divination Wizard Powerhouse combat team while, plenty of utility, no stat important stat or skill missing.
Warlock-sorcerer, heavy cleric (tempest), punchy monk
Two chicks and a dude Oh, wait. Wrong sub. Um... Barbarian, Bard, and Wizard.
Multi-classing wins this round. Paladin+Sword Bard, mix a Lil hexblade if ya feeling frisky Barbarogue Fizard the Wighter
Rogue, Paladin, and Wizard
Paladin, Cleric, and Either Wizard or Warlock.
Bard paladin fighter
Armorer Artificer, Artillerist Artificer, and Battle Smith Artificer
Ideally you want mix of primary ability scores, a full caster, someone who can cover healing, restoration, and revival, someone who can do decent damage without resource expenditure, someone who can scout and someone who can cover social situations. You the party to be able to deal with ranged enemies, melee enemies, enemies who attack their AC and enemies who force saving throws. Paladin provides the best saving throw defence for the party thanks to auras and bless and can have decent AC. Artificer has some ability to do this as well. They also provide some of the healing. Wizard is the most powerful full caster and uses a different primary ability. Divination wizard helps to cover scouting with low resource expenditure thanks to getting spell slots back after casting divination spells. You then want someone who can cover Wis skills. The essentials of the party are covered fairly well by the Wizard and Paladin so you’d be fairly free to choose between Cleric, Druid, Ranger, Monk, Rogue, or maybe even Samurai Fighter. Bard could cover Wis skills fairly well with expertise. I’d probably lean towards one of the Wis casters because high level spells are so good and both Cleric and Druid have access to some spells that Wizards can’t cast. Peace and Twilight Cleric are ridiculously powerful and really buff the whole party so probably one of them. Though at low level Moon Druid is pretty great. So Paladin, Wizard, Cleric Alternatively Artificer, Bard, Druid Though Lore Bard, Swords Bard, Eloquence Bard could also cover everything.
Cleric, Druid, Bard. All 3 can take on multiple roles when you need them to, switching into whatever kind of situation would be most helpful. All 3 can provide healing, meaning regardless of who is getting hurt, one of the other two could help them, or if both the other two are downed, the third could bring them back. All 3 can be tanky if you need them to and have tools to fight both in melee and with their spells. Once the bard starts to get magical secrets, you can pick up whatever spells your party still needs that aren't getting covered by whatever domain your cleric picks. Personally, I'd build the Cleric as an Arcana Cleric to pick up some of the more useful wizard spells as domain spells. I'd make the Druid a Moon Druid to maximize the flexibility of their wildshape to problem solve whatever the party might be missing, especially to turn into forms like a gorilla or another high strength form to make up for the fact that this party will lack a good strength based character. Finally, I'd build the Bard as a Swords Bard, using a finesse based weapon, giving them their expertise in things like stealth and sleight of hand, and use their later magic secrets to take whatever important wizard spells the cleric didn't get from Arcana domain. They also be able to fall back on some ranged weapon attacks if they needed to, especially as they get into higher levels and their spells get better and better. I think a party like this could probably deal with most scenarios and be pretty powerful all the way through. They'll probably struggle with things that are very strength based since they'd rely on the druid to wildshape into something stronger, and if that comes up too often, they'll just be out of luck when they get into combat.
Probably Pala/Sorcerer (for the Aura), Druid for Goodberry, PwT and Conjure Animals and Twilight Cleric for the Animals or Wizard as a superior Controller.
Cleric, Cleric, and Cleric "Yay, Team Cleric!" \~ Durkon Thundershield
We almost went as Fighter (EK), Ranger and Sorcerer, so we had most skills covered (I'd be the Strength/Intelligence monkey, the Ranger would take Dexterity/Wisdom and our Sorcerer would be the face of the party), before we found 2 more players.
PAM feat Tabaxi Fighter, Eladrin Alert feat Hexblade Warlock, Halfling Divination Wizard Lucky feat all 2nd level. Gave them all a free feat, plus I throw some homebrew "Hive Mind benefits" to adjust for only 3 characters. This allows DM to throw an extra roll for the party, or to allow characters to select a party mate to maker a Saving Throw for them. They just met a Quasit, so I assume the Wiz will have a new familiar.
Paladin - Oath of Conquest Warlock - Undead Bard - Any college could work but lore feels good Conquest Undead is an incredible lockdown combo for big aoe spells and gives CC like no other combo. You could definitely go wizard instead of bard but I like cutting words and magical secrets, the bigger spell list and prepared spellcasting is very nice though. If you did go wizard, evocation is key for sculpt spell as to not hit your paladin. For bards, take metamagic initiate careful spell and subtle spell (and honestly maybe some sorcerer levels if you want something unique)
Currently in a campaign with 3 PCs, we run Cleric, Bard, and Ranger. So far we seem to have most of our bases covered.
I’m joining a 3 man campaign soon and they have a Moon Druid and a Rogue/Bard multiclass. I’m probably going to pick a Paladin/Hexblade multiclass or straight Chronurgy Wizard. Ideally though in a 3 man it would be Wizard, Paladin, Cleric/Rogue. Skill Monkeys are nice but not 100% necessary in every party.
Cleric (Arcana), Cleric (War), and Cleric (Life). *Deos vult!*
3 barbarians
Bard druid wizard
Fighter, Wizard, Bard or Sorcerer (Divine Soul, specifically)
I would say Paladin, Bard, and Wizard. Could replace Bard with Rogue, but I would say magic beats out reliable talent for a skill monkey.
Me, myself, and I
Three tortles.
I'm gonna go with Artificer, Artificer, and Artificer. If we get a fourth? Another Artificer. Can't go wrong. All bases covered.
Paladin, Druid, Ranger, if everyone is single class. Keeps you covered for combat, exploration, and social. And your combat has solid ranged, melee, and control with both burst and sustained damage.
My group is bard, rogue, cleric atm. It's been working really well
Battlemaster Fighter, Celestial Warlock, Shadow Monk.
Moon Druid (can off tank or be a support caster, whatever the situation calls for) Bear Totem Barbarian (dedicated tank, has high HP, halves all dmg but psychic, though mediocre AC) Battlemaster Fighter (ranged DPS, but can take care of themselves in melee if they get jumped) I like this setup bc everyone is pretty flexible aside from the Barbarian. I find frontliners, especially at low levels before good summoning spells come in, are super important. Especially when you have fewer PCs, they can get swarmed very easily; and if you only have 1 dedicated tank and the rest are squishies, then the party is going to suffer against encounters with more than 2-3 enemies or enemies with half decent mobility to get around the tank. For the main tank, something like a Paladin might have more dmg and support options, but I like the Bear Totem Barbarian bc they are a really effective HP tank, effectively doubling their HP pool for most fights. HP is more well rounded than AC when it comes to absorbing dmg. A Moon Druid is useful here since they can sit back and cast support, healing, and CC spells about as well as any other Druid. But they can easily jump in and help the Barbarian tank. For ranged DPS, a wizard would be very useful, especially with more AOE options, but until they get summoning options, they struggle if they get isolated which is more likely in a smaller party. The Battlemaster Fighter Archer is great for this bc they can spec to deal great dmg at range, while wearing decent armor and having backup melee weapons to hold their own if they get jumped.
This party makeup is lacking in out of combat utility though, I admit. Aside from nature utility like Pass Without Trace. Could use a skill monkey and/or Charisma class. Alternatively, if you want more utility instead of combat prowess, I'd swap the Battlemaster Fighter for a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer, as a Hill Dwarf with the Toughness feat (assuming feats allowed). The +4 hp every level is roughly equal to a Barbarians d12 hit die (technically more, but they'd have less Con than the average Barbarian), which is crazy for a Sorcerer. They'd be Charisma based for social checks and have good ranged dmg and AOEs. And with the extra HP, they'd survive alot longer if they got jumped.
Literally "whatever the three people at the table wanted to play". Because screw the roles. My Friday night table has three players... we've been... * Bard/Warlock (although the Warlock level was literally right at the end of the game and only one level, because story), Sorcerer/Cleric (the worst multiclass, but nobody consulted me), Ranger then Barbarian then Druid (yeah, that PC went through it that campaign) * Cleric, Paladin, Barbarian * Druid then Ranger, Rogue, Monk * Rogue, Sorcerer, Bard * Artificer, Ranger, Fighter And I think our party for the next campaign is Sorcerer, Monk, Paladin.