D&D 5E Ideal Party Composition

[SirAntoine]

4 players = Cleric, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard
6 players = Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard
8 players = Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock and Wizard

I like it. What would you say the rogue and the warlock mostly bring to the table?

 

[DaveDash]

I've read others who say this, too. Maybe it was a design decision for 5e?

A Bard can be *almost* as good as a Rogue, and in 5e magical traps can be disarmed with Arcana. Just like Clerics are not *required* any more for healing, Rogues are not *required* any more for traps/puzzles. So there is less dependency on "you must have this class" now.

Is that what you meant by design decision?

 

[SirAntoine]

I wondered the same thing before my first session as a player. I now believe it doesn't really matter. The classic ideas of an ideal party don't really apply anymore since each class can fill multiple roles. Our current party is a rogue, barbarian, cleric, and bard...and we've been kicking @SS.

I've read others who say this. Do you think it was a design decision for 5th Edition?

 

[SirAntoine]

A Bard can be *almost* as good as a Rogue, and in 5e magical traps can be disarmed with Arcana. Just like Clerics are not *required* any more for healing, Rogues are not *required* any more for traps/puzzles. So there is less dependency on "you must have this class" now.

Is that what you meant by design decision?

I actually meant what I said for Gecko85, but this is what I was thinking about. They seem to have made a decision for 5e to make no classes required, even partially.

 

[DaveDash]

I actually meant what I said for Gecko85, but this is what I was thinking about. They seem to have made a decision for 5e to make no classes required, even partially.

Yeah, it is deliberate. I think 4e basically started along those lines. They've also made it though if you really want to be awesome at something you still can (Thief subclass is still the best at disarming traps and such, Life Cleric still the best at healing).

 

[Nergal Pendragon]

Ideal:

Paladin
Cleric
Sorcerer/Wizard
Arcane Trickster Rogue

 

[Paraxis]

How about an all Moon Druid party!

 

[Nergal Pendragon]

How about an all Moon Druid party!

Healing, tanking, spellcasting, and possibly even skill monkeying for everyone!

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

It's not even a matter of role anymore. My current group has six players, but not everybody comes to play every session. The most common party is a dual-wielding fighter, a wizard, a rogue and a monk. They're basically running on full dps, succeeding by killing the enemies before the enemies get a chance to kill them. Backgrounds allow anyone to fulfill roles in interaction and exploration, making class composition even more obsolete in that case.

 

[steeldragons]

My "ideal" party...that is fairly specific/on table to table, play style, type of adventure/feel of the game, personal preferences and a whole lot of other arbitrary variables. I suppose mine would go something like this...

For 4:
As written, I guess Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard. Though I would hate to run a game with such a small party.

For 6:
Fighter (Champion), Dwarf
Fighter (Battlemaster), Human
Fighter (Eldritch knight), Elf
Wizard (homebrew a generalist), Human
Cleric (Life or Light), Human
Rogue (Thief), Halfling

For 8:
Fighter (Battlemaster), Dwarf
Barbarian (Berserker), Human
Fighter (Eldritch Knight), Elf
Wizard (homebrew generalist), Human
Cleric (Light or Life), Human
Rogue (Thief), Halfling
Ranger (Hunter) or Cleric (Tempest), Half-Elf or Human
Rogue (Arcane Trickster) or Druid (Land), Gnome or Human