Ideal Party Make-up.

[Wolfen Priest]

Ok, here is (IMHO) the ultimate 6-person party, dominant in combat, adventuring, and intrigue, all:

1 human fighter
1 half-orc fighter
1 human cleric of Pelor
1 human cleric of Heironeous or St. Cuthbert
1 human wizard (mage, evoker, or diviner)
1 halfling rogue

Forget the bards and rangers. A paladin can be substituted for either (a) the human fighter, or in a tight pinch (b) the human cleric of Heironeous/St. Cuthbert.

This party will have a spokesman (cleric of pelor w/ high charisma or paladin), a sneaker, and plenty of firepower and combat prowess. 2 clerics and a wizard (IMO) are the keys to this devastating party combo. YMMV.

 

[cerberus2112]

Here's my take:

Human Barbarian/Fighter/Ranger (start as Rgr, go to
Bbn2/Ftr2/Rgr1, then jam on Bbn)
Elf Psychic Warrior
Dwarf Cleric
Elf Sorcerer
Halfling Rogue
Human Bard

That gives you two powerful frontline fighters, with back-up from the cleric, and the skills and spells to hanle just about anything.

 

[Morose]

I think I would agree with Wolfen Priest for the most part. 2 Clerics, 2 Fighters, a Rogue and a Mage. However, I personally find DnD more enjoyable with 4-5 players... 6 starts to get unwieldy (again... in my opinion). So for a 4 person party, it's pretty easy. You can sub a Paladin or Barbarian for the Fighter, but the other 3 are just too good at what they do to make an optimal part without one. That doesn't mean you can have fun without them, it's just not as "uber" as if you do.

 

[kingpaul]

Well, I'm not sure how "uber" it is, but this is the party make-up in my campaign, and our DMs (we share the responsibility) have dificulty keeping pace with our bizarre thinking:

human fighter 5/sor 2
human ranger (monte) 4/fighter 3
human sor 6/cleric of misanthropy 1
halfling rog 4/wiz 3
halfling ranger (monte) 3/rog 4
gnome pal 6/knight channeler (PrC from Librum Equitus) 1

 

[Balsamic Dragon]

My ideal party only has four members:

One character with an unusual race - ex: fire genasi

One character with an unusual class combination - ex: bard/druid

One character with an unusual personality quirk, code of ethics or regional background - ex: Rashamani witch

And one character with a major plot-hook in his/her background - ex: lost heir to a throne.

The idea is not just to come up with a combination that will kick ass (there are lots of those), but to make sure that each player has his own schtick. From a gamemaster's point of view, this is ideal becaues when you come up with a plot idea, it is easy to give it a twist based on your unusual PCs. And when you want to have a subplot, you can tie it to something cool about that PC and give them the opportunity to roleplay that distinction.

Balsamic Dragon

 

[Sigma]

1. Tank: Your meat sack front line fighter. Fighter, Paladin, or possibly Barbarian.
2. Artillery: Straight classed arcane caster, either Wizard or Sorcerer will do fine. The former gives you flexibility, but the later gives more raw firepower.
3. Medic: Straight classed Cleric. Druids don't get enough healing spells to do the job well.
4. Scout: Rogue, Monk, or Ranger are all good in this role.

Beyond that, it's all gravy. Druids and Rangers make good supplemental fighters, Bards are good for support and face, so one of those would fill my #5 slot.

The most important thing is for the party to have at least one fully dedicated spell caster. IMO, D&D games are won by the spell casters. The other classes just exist to get them where they need to be and protect them once they get there.

 

[Aeolius]

The current roster in my game includes:

CHARACTERS: Ferlius (krakidan), Xmador (triton), Dubheasa (Malenti), Storm (sea elf), Cilvia (tiefling mermaid), Nee'Kaa (oceanid), unnamed water genasi

COMPANIONS: Mulan (Plasmanta; Cilvia's Familiar), Croceus (Agathion; Xmador's golden crown), unnamed cuttlefish construct (Ferlius), Smalt (foo sea lion, Dubheasa)

TOPICAL NPCs: Stinger (anemonoid cleric), Meir (greenhag), Xaetra (spectral hag), Orrok (sea bugbear), Zander (shade), unnamed half-dragon (deep)/half-hag (night)

 

[Airwolf]

I don't know if this is ideal or not but the party that I play in and sometimes DM runs very well.

We have:
Human Fighter5/Wizard5
Air Mephit Sorcerer9
Human Druid9
Human Monk10
Human Bard 10
(Part time)
- Human Bard 9
---> Bard's Cohort - Half-orc Cleric 8
- Halfling Rogue 9

When I DM the part time bard and the cleric are replaced with the halfling rogue.

Since we don't have much in the way of simple melee fighters it makes the group work together to best utilize the strengths of the characters during a fight.

 

[Lord Ben]

1. Fighter - kick butt, take names style - could be pally or barbarian
2. Fighter - reach out and touch someone, composite Longbow style
3. Cleric - High str, moderate wis. Backup fighter. War domain ideal.
4. Wizard or Sorceror
5. Rogue - something sneaky who's good with sneak attack, halflings are too slow.
6. Not sure here, a 2nd arcane caster is nice. I don't like parties this big.

My current party is
1. Fighter - two weapon fighting samurai.
2. Sorceress - necromancy
3. Halfling Cleric with Wis as AC like a Monk.
4. Rogue
5. Rogue
6. Infiltrator - kind of a wilderness rogue from Kalamar

It's fun, but the side-treks in town from the rogues slow it down some.

 

[ForceUser]

1. No sheng
2. Fighter
3. Monk
4. Rogue
5. Shaman
6. Wu jen

*ahem*