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?