D&D 5E [poll] How much does party class composition impact your choice on class?

[5ekyu]

Basic question. When you are creating a new PC for an adventure or campaign, how much does the class composition of the rest of the PCs matter? Like that old saying about AD&D, "No one plays a cleric unless there isn't a cleric in the party."

Do you choose your class based on the party/team dynamic, or do you play what you want to play regardless of what anyone else is playing?

really it varies... i see groups who do more or less "party planning" and i see players within the party that vary quite a bit.

For me personally, i usually have a lot of ideas in mind and will try to avoid stepping on others toes/niches and will try and step into roles others don't seem to have an eye on when possible. But it doesn't rule my decision as much as influence it, guide it, because for no other reason than if i am taking up a needed element that others are avoiding then that really pushes my screen time up in my experience.

Of course, i loved playing clerics even back in 1e so... what do I know?

 

[Li Shenron]

A lot.

Normally when I get to play in a game rather than being the DM, I wait until everyone else has picked their class. If the party is missing a more general "role" such as warrior-type, explorer, support/healer or arcane caster, then I typically pick a class of such kind. Otherwise if all those are covered, I choose more freely, but never the same class as another player.

I don't mind choosing like that, because anyway I like all classes and roles, and there are always many characters options I've yet to try anyway.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I try and wait until the end and fill in where the holes are.

 

[CleverNickName]

It definitely influences my choice, but not in a major way. I typically roll up my character last, and then look for gaps. I'm a fairly fluid roleplayer and I am pretty good at improv, so I can have fun in just about any role. So if I see that our party is lacking a major role, I will fill that role. Bonus, I get to claim loot that others can't use.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

I'll start with the PC I want to play. If it becomes obvious we need something else, I don't mind bringing in something different to fill that niche. Usually several other players in the group are of a similar mind so it's not always the same person making that choice campaign after campaign.

 

[Satyrn]

I won't select a class if someone else is already playing it, unless they're cool with me doing so.

And I will probably play a cleric if no one else is. But then, cleric is one of my two favorite classes, so that's not a hardship. (Well, if no one else is playing a healer.)

 

[dave2008]

I can't speak from myself, but I have never had a group of PCs pick there players based on group composition. When we switched to 5e I even suggested that someone might want to be a cleric or paladin for healing (we were playing 4e) - no go: 2 fighters, ranger, wizard, warlock, & rogue

The last time I played in anything other than a 1-shot with pre-made characters was in the mid 80's. We definitely did not think about party composition.

 

[Azzy]

Basic question. When you are creating a new PC for an adventure or campaign, how much does the class composition of the rest of the PCs matter? Like that old saying about AD&D, "No one plays a cleric unless there isn't a cleric in the party."

Do you choose your class based on the party/team dynamic, or do you play what you want to play regardless of what anyone else is playing?

Unless I'm focused on a specific character concept, I always try to play a class/subclass that no one else has chosen. I'm not concerned with maintaining a certain dynamic, or filling holes (unless the others in the group request otherwise).

 

[Sunseeker]

A little. I try not to make the same thing someone else made but I like to play flexible classes to begin with. It also depends on if the party lacks some kind of necessary roll like a healer or defender type.

 

[Shiroiken]

I usually have a few character ideas that work for several roles. If anything is missing, I might opt for a different character to fit that role. I'm not too focused on it, however, and will usually choose to play my first choice.