Playing with 1 or 2 players (plus an NPC) - What are the best classes to have?

[HalWhitewyrm]

One of the problems I have with 4e is its reliance on a 5-person party. I will be trying out 4e with my wife at home, and with a couple of teens from my synagogue, so I'm trying to figure out what is the optimal choice for these really small parties. I will surely be including an NPC to help them out as much as I can.

Any suggestions?

 

[DEFCON 1]

If everyone is going to be new to 4e, I'd say either stick with the 4 iconic classes (Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Wizard) or stick with the four Martial power classes (Fighter, Rogue, Ranger, Warlord). The first group because it's a good way to know you (as DM) have your bases covered as far as party requirements, the second group because it's easier for players to understand conceptually what their group is (they are all warrior types, and don't have to try and wrap their heads around being magic-users or praying to the gods for their abilities).

If you need even a smaller number of recommended classes, I'd say Fighter and Rogue. They both are good in melee combat, and they both are easy to understand from a conceptual point-of-view (the big armored guy with the sword and shield, and the faster swashbuckler with the small blade).

Hope that helps.

 

[Mithreinmaethor]

Weapon and Shield Fighter
Reach Weapon Warlord
Ranged Weapon Rogue or Ranger


Dont throw hordes of minions at them.

 

[Nebulous]

One thing you'll want to do is houserule Second Winds, that should help balance out part of the problem. One idea i toyed with is to "charge" an additional healing surge every time the PC uses a second wind. So, 1 surge the first time, 2 the second time, 3 the third time, etc. A character is not limited to one SW per encounter, obviously.

 

[KidSnide]

Reach Weapon Warlord

For small groups, the cleric is a more effective leader than the warlord because the cleric doesn't depend on powers that affect "everyone but him". I would agree that a sword-and-board fighter, along with a cleric and a striker is the way to go. If the striker is ranged, the cleric should be melee focused (or visa versa).

But, of course, a group playing through its flaws can also be fun.

-KS

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Thanks for the suggestions thus far. My gut instinct was also to get the players to use the martial characters while I NPC the arcane or divine help.

 

[Jack99]

Cleric + Paladin has a durability that is hard to beat.

However, I am a player in a paragon campaign, with 2 players + 1 NPC. My friend has a fighter (multiclass warlord) and I have a brutal scoundrel rogue (multiclass ranger). Our NPC has varied a bit, first it was a cleric, then a warlord (although in both cases 4 levels lower than us).

It works quite okay. I guess we have played 30 hours or so, and we are still alive It does get hairy at times though.

 

[WalterKovacs]

In terms of roles, most people have said what I was going to say.

Basically, you need a defender. They have great AC [at least they can if you go the shield route] and they have tons of surges [in addition to their good HP].

Leader is also important, and is the best option for the NPC.

Third character role is striker ... with a party that small, a single defender can protect his 2 friends and a single leader can buff his two friends ... so the third guy should be about doing as much damage as possible to up the group curve in terms of damage.

Controller just isn't necessary when the party is that small. Smaller group translates to less monsters per encounter, so losing out on their area effects won't be as hefty.

There are some options that are a bit hybrid. Paladin gives extra healing, swordmage has some effects that can deal with missing a wizard. Barbarian might be a good option for the striker role, since his HP/surges might let him last as long as the defender [although he may be using more surges].

I would say a Paladin/Barbarian party, with a leader NPC, could be pretty effective, doing considerable damage and having solid survival.

 

[Wish]

I think you end up with too many eggs in one basket with the sword & board fighter. I'd go with great weapon fighter, some variety of striker (anything will do, really) and a cleric. I agree with the advice to mix a ranged cleric with melee striker, or the other way around. Great weapon fighter gives you a solid second damage source if your striker is having issues.

 

[Kalbutt]

I DM with 2 players (cleric and rogue), and a paladin who is 'consensually' controlled by the players. It works fine so far, they even overcame some tough encounters with minimum help from me.
Just consider nerfing some monster powers which can be nasty on a small party and cut them some slack when they're struggling.