D&D General Most common NPC/sidekick for a party

[Wasteland Knight]

I mix it up. Different campaigns and parties end up with different NPC sidekicks. I like the designation of long term NPCs as "sidekicks". As much as I thoroughly despise the "DMPC" (and will never have one in any game I run, nor would I play in any game where such a thing was being run), having NPC sidekicks is a different story.
NPCs who can fade into the background most of the time, but offer occasional mechanical assistance and roleplaying opportunities are a great tool in the GM toolbox.

 

[akr71]

In my experience, comic relief and/or talking animal.

My group is small - fighter, rogue, ranger. They learned early on that they were kinda short on healing. This was about the same time the Sidekicks UA came out and I shared it with the party.

Not thinking, as a throwaway encounter while they set up camp, a bear walked into their camp and asked if they'd share the fish they just caught with a hungry bear. They did, they bear went on his way and the next morning they suddenly realized that they could have a talking bear spellcaster as part of the group. They spent the whole next session trying to find him again, which gave me time to figure out why he talked, and what his motivations were ... besides eating apples and fish and long naps.

He's theirs to run as they see fit, but I reserve the right to override any moral dilemmas he might face based on their decisions

 

[Helldritch]

We rarely use sidekick these days. The three times in 5ed we saw any we had: 1 cleric, 1 rogue and one fighter (archer).
5ed does not lend itself well to sidekick. Especially with 6 players.

 

[SkidAce]

We rarely use sidekick these days. The three times in 5ed we saw any we had: 1 cleric, 1 rogue and one fighter (archer).
5ed does not lend itself well to sidekick. Especially with 6 players.

I dont stop them from recruiting or tagging along, if thats the actions that would occur in story.

But the one time the 5 players had; 1 sidekick, 2 members from a friendly rival guild with info on the area, a beastmaster's owlbear, the cleric they hired for healing, and an expert on planar incursions, I asked them "okay, decide who ain't coming along folks, have some mercy on the game".

They kept the owlbear, their fav sidekick (a Norse Conan woman,) and the expert.

 

[MarkB]

My group is small - fighter, rogue, ranger. They learned early on that they were kinda short on healing. This was about the same time the Sidekicks UA came out and I shared it with the party.

Not thinking, as a throwaway encounter while they set up camp, a bear walked into their camp and asked if they'd share the fish they just caught with a hungry bear. They did, they bear went on his way and the next morning they suddenly realized that they could have a talking bear spellcaster as part of the group. They spent the whole next session trying to find him again, which gave me time to figure out why he talked, and what his motivations were ... besides eating apples and fish and long naps.

He's theirs to run as they see fit, but I reserve the right to override any moral dilemmas he might face based on their decisions

When I ran Out of the Abyss for my group, they started out with several NPC companions as designed in the campaign. But the only companion they kept with them for the long term, really working to ensure he could accompany them through tough terrain and hostile settlements, was Glabbagool, the intelligent gelatinous cube.

 

[SkidAce]

My players also kept a goblin pistol expert as a favorite.

Until the kaiju sized ankylosaur stepped on him....