D&D 5E D&D 5e Trope: The Five Guy Band

[Yaarel]

I suspect, the true ‘core four’ tropes of D&D 5e have become:
Bard, Fighter, Rogue, and Wizard.

The current Survivor game thread corroborates this.



We may be looking at a core D&D ‘five guy’ music band.

Jock Guy: Fighter
Rebel Guy: Rogue
Smart Guy: Wizard
Heart Guy: Bard
Protector Guy: Paladin

And the Warlock is the ‘sixth ranger’ who occasionally helps out from the dark side.

 

[Caliban]

Core for whom? I play a lot of adventure league - Clerics are far more common than Bards, Warlocks and Sorcs are more common than Wizards. (Among the circle of players in my part of Phoenix - it may be different on the other side of Phoenix, or in a different city or state.)

Gamers are not a monolithic group. It has many sub-groups: groups who play homebrew almost exclusively, groups who mostly play Adventure Paths, groups who mostly play Adventure League, etc.

The "true" core will vary from group to group and even from campaign to campaign.

 

[Yaarel]

Gamers are not a monolithic group. It has many sub-groups: groups who play homebrew almost exclusively, groups who mostly play Adventure Paths, groups who mostly play Adventure League, etc. The "true" core will vary from group to group and even from campaign to campaign.

It is probably better to say, the D&D tropes or archetypes are in flux.

Since formative D&D, the ‘core four’ has been monolithic. That foursome seems to be evolving into something new.

 

[Caliban]

I guess I just see it as more "Roles" than specific classes.

My preferred "Protector" guy is usually a Fighter 1/Warlock X. Fantastic ability to absorb damage if you play it right.
I also have a gnome fighter who acts more like a rogue (sneaky, opens locks, finds traps) due to the way I built him.
I have a Warlock/Paladin who is a tanky DPS character with a high AC and smites+warlock spell slots.

It's one of the things I like about 5e - you can cover the same role with multiple different character classes and builds.

 

[Yaarel]

My sense of the Protector Guy is the one guy army. It includes taking heavy damage (absorbing, deflecting, perhaps evading), but also dealing heavy damage. Often the Protector Guy is a gentle giant, but can also be a thuggish monster. Either way, the Protector Guy is scary effective and always looking out for the safety of the group. The Paladin class does do this well.

 

[Yaarel]

I have a Warlock/Paladin who is a tanky DPS character with a high AC and smites+warlock spell slots.

I can totally see this person as a Protector Guy.

 

[Caliban]

I can totally see this person as a Protector Guy.

This particular character can serve that role, but he does it begrudgingly. I modeled him after "Brave Sir Robin" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. His first suggestion is always to run away from danger.
When he realizes that isn't going to work he starts frantically beating it to death with his quarterstaff+smites.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Me and the bard player kind of want all the PCs to learn some sort of instrument so our group can form a band in character.

 

[Wulffolk]

Old School:
Fighter, Rogue, Cleric and Wizard

My School:
Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Wizard, Rogue and Bard

New School:
Paladin/Warlock, Paladin/Sorcerer, Paladin/Rogue, Paladin/Bard and Life Cleric

 

[Henry]

Really, a shift was happening in the "iconic quartet" years ago, courtesy of games like Everquest and WoW. Heck, I believe [MENTION=284]Caliban[/MENTION]'s term "DPS" has its origins there. Ever since WoW, it's been "DPS, Tank, Healer" and due to D&D add to that "magicker" and "skill monkey".

In terms of the D&D rules, Bard has always been the best "fifth wheel." In the FR game I've run for 10 levels, the Bard is actually the group's healer. Incidentally, before the fighter left, that group's makeup is EXACTLY as [MENTION=58172]Yaarel[/MENTION] described.