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Message: <blockquote data-quote="extralead" data-source="post: 7282140" data-attributes="member: 6899775">In theory: Barbarians, Fighters, and Paladins are the only-acceptable choice from a mechanics-only perspective.In practice: DM's, modules, and the creators of D&D disarm and unarmor PCs on the regular. That's why Barbarians care less about suits of armor and why Druids and Monks are sometimes-useful in combat. Other times, Druids and Monks are the ones that are completely-useless in combat for entirely different reasons. Maybe the Monk forgot his crossbow and there is a chasm. Maybe the Druid is just plain without ranged attacks of any kind.Lore/Glamour/Whisper Bards, Arcana/Knowledge/Light/Grave Clerics, Rogues, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards are their own thing. They don't take the frontlines unless they are a Bladesinger, Hexblade, War/Tempest/Forge (maybe Life or Nature) Domain, take feats like Moderately Armored followed by Shield Master, or cast spells that make them temporarily like a Fighter.Valor/Swords Bards and Rangers are special snowflakes. They are good and they aren't good, mechanically-speaking. It's even more-situational than the Druid or Monk.Personally, I like a party that starts off with an Arcane Trickster and then adds a beefy Cleric and a non-beefy Cleric, followed by a Barb/Fighter/Pal and then some type of Bard/Sorc/Lock/Wiz. Everyone's favorite beefy Cleric is the Tempest, but I think you always need two (they are almost two different classes!) and one of the better non-beefy Cleric Domains is Arcana (although Grave is pretty-sweet and very-Clericy). In some ways, I think you need even more Cleric power, so throw the Divine Soul Sorcerer into your mix. Maybe a Paladin, too, why not?Minimum Party (5 Players): Paladin with chain mail (later splint and plate, followed by magical splint or plate), Tempest with chain mail (uh oh, now you need to get a bunch of heavy armor and count on not being in the jungle or running into rust monsters), Arcana with scale mail (adding more metal when the breastplate comes along), Arcane Trickster with no shield (and probably a bow or crossbow), and a Divine Soul with pretty-much no weapons or armor of any kind (a soft target that craves hex over square-graph mats).Advanced Party (6 Players + 2 allied NPCs): Try to fit a Wizard in there so that found/acquired spellbooks aren't useless. Try to fit a Barbarian in there so that advantage is gained in combat. Try to add a Monk and/or Druid for the common-corner scenarios where you Paladin is caught wearing no armor and your Barbarian's maul breaks in half by magic. Try to balance out your party's ability to survive the likelihood that they will pass Group Checks for Stealth, Perception, Survival, Insight, and all of the Charisma-linked skills (especially if your DM uses the Group Check rule often).My Advanced Party idea (6 players): Ancestral Guardian, Cavalier, Forge Cleric, Light Cleric, Arcane Trickster, Divine Soul.</blockquote>

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