D&D General Anyone ever run (or played in) a campaign with entire party (or almost) was a single class?

[Hatmatter]

The same unicorn?! No wonder he was grumpy.

That is hilarious!

 

[Bacon Bits]

Closest I recall was back in 2e. We had a game where everyone in the 5 player party was a thief/magic-user or a fighter/thief/magic-user. For chargen we each rolled two arrays, and then the DM told us we could all use the best array that anybody had rolled and arrange to taste. Well, one guy rolled like 18, 17, 17, 14, 11, 8. (I'm not sure about the last 3, but he definitely rolled 18, 17, 17.) It was a pretty silly campaign.

Next would probably be a 3e game where we all played Dwarf Fighters with one Halfling Rogue. This campaign did not bear any relation to The Hobbit, though everyone joked about it especially when the Rogue found a Ring of Invisibility.

 

[delphonso]

In 5e, all Cleric is totally viable. I'd guess all Bard could work well too.

In a 3.5 game with 8 players and a pre-written adventure, I managed to convince everyone (I was a player) to make a Dwarf Wizard. We had merry dreams of just mining through the walls of the dungeon, casting multiple buffs to a single dwarf and solving most problems with magic missiles. Unfortunately, before the first session one of the players decided to try a ranger instead, and everyone switched out from there. I still fantasize about the Dwizards campaign that never was...

 

[Mistwell]

I'd love to play in a travelling band of bards who solve crime on the side XD

It's one of the classes which can pull off any role. A healer, a melee fighter, a ranged fighter, a pure spellcaster, a buffer/controller, a faceman, an explorer, you can easily do an entire party of just bards.

 

[Undrave]

In 5e, all Cleric is totally viable. I'd guess all Bard could work well too.

In a 3.5 game with 8 players and a pre-written adventure, I managed to convince everyone (I was a player) to make a Dwarf Wizard. We had merry dreams of just mining through the walls of the dungeon, casting multiple buffs to a single dwarf and solving most problems with magic missiles. Unfortunately, before the first session one of the players decided to try a ranger instead, and everyone switched out from there. I still fantasize about the Dwizards campaign that never was...

As JoCrap put it: "You can build an entire party of purely priests and call it 'The A-Men'..."

It's one of the classes which can pull off any role. A healer, a melee fighter, a ranged fighter, a pure spellcaster, a buffer/controller, a faceman, an explorer, you can easily do an entire party of just bards.

How tough are melee bard though? I feel like such a party would be pretty bad at DPS too, sadly.

 

[Ogre Mage]

In 5e, all Cleric is totally viable. I'd guess all Bard could work well too.

While I have not played in the single-class game the OP has described, it did get me thinking which class which make for the most well-rounded and optimal single class party. I agree that all clerics and all bards would be high on the list. All warlock as well, since the mix/match of patrons, pacts and invocations make the class highly customizable. I think those three would be my top choices if asked to participate in a single-class game.

 

[billd91]

As JoCrap put it: "You can build an entire party of purely priests and call it 'The A-Men'..."

Someone did run games at successive Gen Cons in the 1980s with parties of all monks called the SWAT team. I never got to play in one.

 

[Mistwell]

How tough are melee bard though? I feel like such a party would be pretty bad at DPS too, sadly.

I think a College of Swords could do just fine.

 

[Undrave]

All warlock as well, since the mix/match of patrons, pacts and invocations make the class highly customizable.

I was a Fey Blade Lock in the same part as a Fiend Warlock (I forgot what pact they had but they were much better than be as spellcasting) and we were pretty different so I could see it.

I also gotta wonder what kind of insane threat to the multiverse would push all those patrons to collaborate! That'd be fun...

Someone did run games at successive Gen Cons in the 1980s with parties of all monks called the SWAT team. I never got to play in one.

Oooh... Monk teams...

I think a College of Swords could do just fine.

Never saw one in play so I guess maybe? I was mostly going off the Valor bard... but I think a Valor bard would probably be a decent archer?

 

[Ogre Mage]

I was a Fey Blade Lock in the same part as a Fiend Warlock (I forgot what pact they had but they were much better than be as spellcasting) and we were pretty different so I could see it.

I also gotta wonder what kind of insane threat to the multiverse would push all those patrons to collaborate! That'd be fun...

It would not be hard to create an all-warlock version of the "iconic 4."

Fighter: Hexblade Pact of the Blade with the Thirsting Blade and Lifedrinker invocations.
Wizard/Evoker: Fiend Pact of the Tome with the Book of Ancient Secrets and Agonizing Blast invocations.
Cleric: Celestial Pact of the Chain/Tome with the Agonizing Blast invocation.
Rogue: Fey Pact of the Chain/Tome with the criminal or urchin background.

Yeah, the DM and players would have to come up with some reason why the group was working together, especially the Fiend and Celestial warlocks. One idea I had was to play on the tensions between true deities and the entities who create warlock pacts. Perhaps all the gods decide warlock pacts are a threat to their power (clerics are the only true way!) and set out to eradicate them. The warlock patrons are forced to band together out of self-interest.

Or maybe the fiend and celestial patrons are actually the same patron. It is a powerful trickster entity playing both sides, lol.