Best class mix for party of five or more?

[Drowbane]

Fighter: Main tank.
Cleric: Back-up tank, buffer, healer.
Rogue: Back-up tank, boxman, recon.
Wizard: Blaster and/or versitile support casting.

Personally I'd say that if the Classic Four are well covered, then 5th Wheel should be whatever that player wants to play. However, the Classic Four are almost never completely covered (read: someone gimps a build )... and in so 5th Wheel supports whatever is lacking. For example: the Party Wizard is purely utility... 5th Wheel would add alot by bringing in a Nuker (Sorc, War mage, Wilder, or even Warlock).

 

[Lanefan]

Well, 5 is still a tiny party by our standards...

With 5 players, each playing 1 or 2 PC's, plus NPC's either by party choice or picked up as part of the adventure, our average party tends to be around 10-12. So, a football analogy works well:

Front 3 (or 4): Heavy Fighters; can include Paladins, Cavaliers, etc.
Tight ends: Secondary combat e.g. battle Clerics, heavy Rangers, etc.
Backfield: Wizards, Druids, Bards, whatever suits.
Wideouts: Thieves, light Rangers.

So to answer the original question, the "extras" would include a couple of tanks, a Druid, a Ranger (or two?), maybe a Bard...whatever people feel like playing.

That said, I've been in parties this size where the front line has consisted of a couple of War Clerics, with everyone else playing non-combat types. The non-com's did fine; the Clerics got pasted!

Lanefan

 

[Aus_Snow]

Druid as 5th.


It would make for an interesting poll, though.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

Aristocrat
Adept
Commoner
Expert
Warrior

 

[Nyaricus]

Aristocrat
Adept
Commoner
Expert
Warrior

ur just bein' a jerk, now

 

[Herobizkit]

As snarky as the poster intended the list to be, the Aristocrat, Warrior, Expert, and Adept make for a very functional party of 4. The Commoner is a bum, and is always meant to be.

('Course, in the video game days of a time long ago, if you kept the bum on your party long enough, he often ended up becoming the uber-member by way of secret items, classes, or bum-only items that rocked.)

So to those 4 NPC's I would add a NPC "fool", which would be a bard-like character who has bardic talents without being able to cast magic. He'd be the comedy relief.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think Bard is one of the best choices.

He doesn't take the other character classes thunder (since he can't outsneak, outdamage, outspell or outheal the other classes), but adds to the power of each of these classes. In addition, he will shine where most of the other characers will usually lack - social "encounters".

In addition, he can replace both a Cleric and a Wizard in emergency situations where they aren't available - A dead Cleric? Quick, Use Magic Device on the Scroll of Raise Dead (or the Scroll of Teleport, to get to the next temple). A petrified Wizard? Quick, take his Scroll of Stone to Flesh. Any command-activated or spell-completion can be used to good effect by the Bard, allowing the Wizards and Clerics to focus on their own spells.

The fact that he improves especially melee and ranged combat effectiveness of the Party with Bardic Music is very important. A second fighter might seem nice at first glance here, but if you have two fighters that have trouble hitting or damaging their enemies, you just have two ineffective combattants instead of one effective. At medium levels, a +2 (Inspire Courage) to +4 (Inspire Heroics) to attack can make a considerable difference.
Power Attack and Combat Expertise become especially useful in this situation.
In regards to melee combat the Bard has the slight advantage of not staying in the way while still contributing to it.


That said, I think any other character class will probably also very useful. I think it is important to ensure that none of the "extra" characters has the same (cap)abilities as the rest. If you have a trip-expert Fighter, add a Weapon Specialisation with Power Attack and Combat Expertise. If you have a Melee Combat Cleric, add a Healing Expert Cleric.

The "non-standard" classes will grant these benefits often automatically, but I see potential for redundancies. A Barbarian can augment the Trip Expert, but the synergy with the Weapon Specialist above is lower. A Combat Cleric will not be able to heal the Barbarian, but the Healing Expert Cleric will be perfect for him.
A Druid can easily assist with a Healing Expert, but if he concentrates on wildshape melee combat (possibly augmented by Summoned Animals and the Animal Companion), he quickly gets in the way of the other melee fighters.
A Sorceror and a Wizard Evocer will probably easily seem redundant (though "stacking" their spell effects is easier), but a Sorceror and a Wizard Transmuter (Buffer) will prove very useful.