Ideal Party Make-up.

[Ridley's Cohort]

On a more serious note, I would say:

Dwarf Fighter (good HPs, a little boost to spell saves)
Gnome Wizard (good HPs)
Halfing Rogue (superior scout)
Elf Cleric (racial bonus + Wis gives good spot & listen)

Those are the basic slots. Then I would pick:
Human Druid (good synergy with cleric and fighter, outdoor skills)
Human Monk (hard to kill, mobility is handy in otherwise slow party)

 

[Berk]

My current group is insane, we got something like 12 characters all running around and such, let's see there is the
18th level human paladin
18th level half-orc barbarian
13th/6th level human fighter/weapons master
17th level elf wizard, the above fighters cohort
13th/7th level human cleric/contemplative
17th level human cleric, above clerics cohort
16th level elf rogue
16th level human wizard
18th/2nd level human psychic warrior/mind blade

now some of these sometimes go off and do their own things but usually we have a party of around 7 members

anyways, my ideal party of 6
half-orc barbarian with a high str con and dex if possible
2 clerics, one concentrated on healing and the other on war type stuffs
1 rogue
1 wizard
and 1 fighter with high str and con if possible

 

[Oogar]

How about:

Human cleric
Elf cleric
Dwarf cleric
Gnome cleric
Halfling cleric
Half-orc cleric

I think that will cover all bases pretty well.

Ack, my pretty Idea, all gone Nooooooooo. Okay, that was not exactly how I pictured it...

Dwarven cleric, with a melee focus prestige class. Mounted Dwarven Hospitlar if you want to make your DM's ears bleed. Gold Dwarf would be of good effect. A Neutral Good worshiper of Heala Brightaxe could have quite the style with War and Luck as Domain, Greatsword and a free re roll per day, and still able to Hospitaler.

Dwarven Cleric of Clangeddin or Berronar, the more classical dwarven cleric. Less combative (though still a stout fighter) and more willing to play a support role in combat. Help provide flanking and do healing as well.

Human cleric of Azuth or Mystra. Possible looking down the road to the Contemplative PrC, or a more FR focused PrC. Consider this the Caster Cleric, master of the spell smackdown, as well as being armored and still able to whack someone with a stick.

Human Rogue 3/ Fighter as much as he gets. This is your go to guy for hitting things. You can turn him into some kind of joke (Whirlwind, Cleave, Spikechain guy) or use him as a meat shield. Stack the armor on, or leave him with light armor and evasion. Just buff him first and watch him go crazy.

Rogue - Halfling, Dwarven, Human, Elven - whatever. Gotta have it. It will save your group, and that is what matters. His biggest drawback in this group, he is one of the lightest armored and looks like a good munchy treat. Give him a level of ranger every once in a while and he can double as a tracker, if you really like that outdoors stuff.

The Wizard - Like the rogue, any race can work just fine. But you Need him too, if you want to be the best. He has utility spells the Clerics can't get, and can focus on smackdowns, where you don't have to pray for forgiveness the morning after.

All of the casters should haave at least 1 item creation feat. Boots of striding and springing for all the armored types. Even the non armored ones. These people should be able to take on anything short of an army, and if they need to do so, a few hired mercs and 3 clerics are going to do alot of dammage. The Rogue can cover as the Face of the group in town, if he spends his points that way, or a cleric can do it. I would find it a challenge to challenge such a group.

 

[Buttercup]

As others have said, I think it depends on the campaign setting used, and a few other factors.

But generally, for a six person party I would choose:

Fighter
Paladin
Arcane Caster
Divine Caster
Rogue
Some sort of multi-use character, like a bard, a druid or a fighter/specialist wizard. This last slot would really depend on the specifics of the campaign though.

 

[Hammerhead]

I think that 2 clerics would be almost ideal for a 6 man party. If you only have one cleric in 6, then his spells are stretched too thin. He can't buff everyone, keep them healed, and still have enough juice left over to be useful in his own right. By picking somewhat opposed domains, they could cover lots of other ground as well. Don't have 2 Strength/Destruction/War clerics. If one gets Travel, then you have the Wilderness Lore skill, combined with a high stat. Human clerics work fairly well, since clerics will probably need the extra feat and skill points.

A rogue or fighter type/rogue multiclass will be effective at almost all aspects of dungeoneering. If fighting power is less important, then straight rogue would be best, so he can get some social skills. Human and halfling rogues work well. A wood elf fighter rogue is really mean too.

The group needs a tank type. Fighter, barbarian, paladin, or some multiclass of the above work well - just not the barb/paladin. Heavy armor, high strength/con and either sword and board or two hander weapons. Human, Dwarf, or 1/2 orc work well in this role.

One arcanist is almost a necessity. I prefer a wizard over a sorcerer, because they get spells much faster, both in terms of spell levels, and aquisition. If you need to deal with a certain situation type, then a wizard can buy a scroll, master it, and use it all the time. A sorcerer will spends lots of extra gold buying multiple scrolls, or will simply have to wait a level or two. Also, a wizard can make items more easily. Gnome or human are really good, halfling and dwarf aren't bad also. If you can pick a race with 0 LA and an appropriate ability bonus, like sun elves, then that's also a good choice.

A Bard or paladin would work pretty well in the final slot, as might a decent multiclass guy.

 

[Talvisota]

The biggest campaign I ever ran started with 3 players (ended with 6) and we had (1st ed):

Monk
Druid
Ranger

It was a great combo. Added next were a 2nd ed elf bard, a dual class Assassin/Fighter, and a 1/2 elf ftr/mage. The group was great, of course, but lacked the up-front fighter type and the dedicated arcanist.

Now, with the group in Kazakhstan, we are about to start The Crucible of Freya and then the Tomb of Abythsor with:

Human fighter
Human sorceror
Human cleric
Half-elf ranger
Half-Orc Barbarian

For these modules, I think they need the punch. The missing rogue aspect will be handled by the ranger who plans to multi with rogue.

 

[hong]

Ideal party make-up

Barbarians ... always go for celtic or amerind style face-paint.

Bards are a bit foppish and could use a light dusting with a pale shade.

Party sorceress... ruby lips, every time.

Fighters... skip the make-up... not manly enough! (Assuming the fighter is male. But then, it's not manly enough for most female fighters, either. )

I am shocked, shocked I say, to find that a thread on party make-up has gone for 35 posts without anyone mentioning the rouge.

 

[Garmorn]

For my D&D campains the group likes to have:

1 Fighter or Paladin Soulmech
1 Cleric (any race will do)
1 Rogue (Elf or Tefling)
1 Arcane Spell caster (Wizard or Sor.) (Half Dragons prefered)
1 Mechanic (Soulmech)
1 Pilot (Drow)


Got to have some one to fix the strange weapons and another to fly the space ship.

 

[thalmin]

I am shocked, shocked I say, to find that a thread on party make-up has gone for 35 posts without anyone mentioning the rouge.

Hong, you missed it. The first reply on this thread (Furn_Darkside) had it in his subject line: "Is this where I say 'rouge'?"

 

[hong]

Thalmin is a WEENER-BRANE

Hong, you missed it. The first reply on this thread had it in his subject line "Is this where I say rouge?"

Feh! I mean, as if anyone reads subject lines these days.