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Is there a general theory of party construction?
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<blockquote data-quote="Bacon Bits" data-source="post: 8545569" data-attributes="member: 6777737"><p>I'd identify the roles below. Whether or not you can do without one or more of these roles is wholly depended on your DM and your campaign.</p><p></p><p>Combat Expert -- You need some characters that are very good at winning and not dying in combat. Not just in being able to deal damage, but in being able to absorb a few hits. In a game like D&D, this is everyone's secondary role and it doesn't really suffer from diminishing returns. In other games, however, the cost of being capable in combat weighed against how often it comes up can mean that it's not worth it. There's a lot of depth here (melee vs ranged vs AoE) but outside of situations where you can't melee an enemy, there isn't any one type that is more or less viable in the general sense.</p><p></p><p>Exploration Expert -- This character is capable of scouting, sneaking, tracking, trap finding, and noticing danger. This is fairly easy to accomplish as a secondary role for any character with high Dex, and the opportunity cost of Perception proficiency is so low that it's questionable that any character should be without it. D&D is somewhat unique in that magic exploration is siloed off of everything else. The ability to cast detect magic, have high skill in arcana or religion, and access to magical divination are generally orthogonal to other types of exploration. Magic exploration is typically much more expensive in terms of resources, and that alone generally makes it less feasible. It simply <em>can't</em> come up as often. The abilities that fill this role are somewhat spread across more than one class, but they are overly focused on Dex-based classes (except for the more Int-based magic exploration). This role suffers diminishing returns unless all characters are capable of it, in which case you get entirely new options.</p><p></p><p>Social Expert -- You need a character who can communicate with NPCs. In D&D that means you have a high Charisma, and may have one or more related skills. There's little else that is beneficial or required. In the worst case the character with the player who can role-play the best can fill the position. which is why so many people criticize D&D for having poor social support. This role suffers from diminishing returns, too, since it's often not beneficial in practical terms to have multiple PCs capable of filling the role.</p><p></p><p>Support Expert -- In many ways this is increasingly a historic role. It's a character that is capable of curing and healing to keep the party alive, or capable of enhancing other characters. Healing turns out to be so unappealing to such a broad range of tables that it has been rolled into the base game as much as was feasible. Today it amounts to the ability to cast lesser restoration, revivify, greater restoration, and raise dead. General support still exists, but the best effects are generally very low cost. This role suffers from diminishing returns particularly badly, since these characters are often not as good at any other role, may not be able to help themselves, and even though they can help each other the result isn't as effective.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bacon Bits, post: 8545569, member: 6777737"] I'd identify the roles below. Whether or not you can do without one or more of these roles is wholly depended on your DM and your campaign. Combat Expert -- You need some characters that are very good at winning and not dying in combat. Not just in being able to deal damage, but in being able to absorb a few hits. In a game like D&D, this is everyone's secondary role and it doesn't really suffer from diminishing returns. In other games, however, the cost of being capable in combat weighed against how often it comes up can mean that it's not worth it. There's a lot of depth here (melee vs ranged vs AoE) but outside of situations where you can't melee an enemy, there isn't any one type that is more or less viable in the general sense. Exploration Expert -- This character is capable of scouting, sneaking, tracking, trap finding, and noticing danger. This is fairly easy to accomplish as a secondary role for any character with high Dex, and the opportunity cost of Perception proficiency is so low that it's questionable that any character should be without it. D&D is somewhat unique in that magic exploration is siloed off of everything else. The ability to cast detect magic, have high skill in arcana or religion, and access to magical divination are generally orthogonal to other types of exploration. Magic exploration is typically much more expensive in terms of resources, and that alone generally makes it less feasible. It simply [I]can't[/I] come up as often. The abilities that fill this role are somewhat spread across more than one class, but they are overly focused on Dex-based classes (except for the more Int-based magic exploration). This role suffers diminishing returns unless all characters are capable of it, in which case you get entirely new options. Social Expert -- You need a character who can communicate with NPCs. In D&D that means you have a high Charisma, and may have one or more related skills. There's little else that is beneficial or required. In the worst case the character with the player who can role-play the best can fill the position. which is why so many people criticize D&D for having poor social support. This role suffers from diminishing returns, too, since it's often not beneficial in practical terms to have multiple PCs capable of filling the role. Support Expert -- In many ways this is increasingly a historic role. It's a character that is capable of curing and healing to keep the party alive, or capable of enhancing other characters. Healing turns out to be so unappealing to such a broad range of tables that it has been rolled into the base game as much as was feasible. Today it amounts to the ability to cast lesser restoration, revivify, greater restoration, and raise dead. General support still exists, but the best effects are generally very low cost. This role suffers from diminishing returns particularly badly, since these characters are often not as good at any other role, may not be able to help themselves, and even though they can help each other the result isn't as effective. [/QUOTE]
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