need advice on what makes a worthy party.

[Raph]

there are seven people in our group including the dm, we are all starting out at 1st level to play age of worms dungeon path.

its hard for first levelers to survive in normal adventures and this 'age of worms' is going to be a very hard road to says the dm.

my friends are making the characters from all core rulebooks and in addition the complete warrior, arcane, divine and adventurer are used for us. heroes of horror has just become availanle to be used also.

the dm is using his own world called 'Pathqui' based on ancient india, using hindu myths. there is a house rule so there is a very free and easy attitude towards alignment, so classes can be free from restrictions and paladins and monks can multiclass how they want. paladins still must be having a 'good' component in the alignment, but most other class are allowed any.

we have not played this game for long and wish to make our creations good for this dungeon path, we got into dungeons and dragons last year and have loved to play all the weekends away being all manner of peoples.

how would you suggest we make this group one that has survivability?

i am excited to be a monk, while my other friends are going to create

a ninja

a wizard, but will be called a 'magus'.

a paladin, but will be called a 'chosen of the vedas'

a hexblade, but will be called a 'shiva given'

a dread necromancer, will be called a 'kali birthed'

is this a reasonable party? could it go all the way without many death if we were clever enough? should we get the hexblade to be a cleric?

the ninja player wants to know if he multiclasses into a magical class which to choose, he would like to be an arcane user not godly.

we are all playing humans.

thank you kindly for your time and patience, not the greatest english but i am learning to be british and you are always all americans.

thank you.

 

[DamionW]

Sounds like a fun twist to make it Indian, an environment you're all more familiar with. I'd say as a minimum make one character a cleric, or else expect to have to stop and rest for nights at a time in the game after battles. Also, be wary of thinking the monk and ninja being strong enough to charge into combat head first. They are best suited as secondary combatants, harrassing the enemy while stronger warriors such as fighters, paladins and barbarians hold the front lines. Overall though, you should try and get some more divine magic in your party to keep it healthy. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Shin Okada]

6-men party is solid and tough. Much better than 4-men party. So basically, you don't need to worry much about party configuration.

Still, I suggest to include those classes/abilities if you challenge published adventures.

1. Someone who can find and disable traps.

You already have Ninja. Just be sure he always has enough ranks in Search and Disable Device skills.

2. Medic

At least one full-level cleric, or multiple characters who can cast cure spells. Your party has only one weak healer (paladin) and it may be a little bit dangerous. Paladins and Rangers can use Wand of Cure Light Wounds even if they cannot yet actually cast those spells. So having another such character may help at lower level. But still, I suggest you guys to include at least one better healer.

3. At least one full-level spell caster, preferably, a cleric.

In my experience, writers of adventures assume that the party has at least one full-level (I men not multiclassed) spell caster. Especially a cleric. I mean, when that adventure is assuming 5th-level PCs, that adventure may require Water Breathing, a 3rd-level spell. Or, the adventure is assuming that at least one member in the party can cast Dispel Magic at full-caster level. Not every writers do this. But some do.

4. Someone who has Survival skill ranks and Track feat.

In many adventure, some important clues can be found only by someone with Track feat. Also, in some adventures, Survival skill may indeed save the entire party.

5. Someone who can negotiate.

There is always alternative to fighting.

And, if you have chosen Monk. I warn you. It can be a hard way. Monk is, while looks interesting, considered to be one of the least well-designed class.

 

[gabrion]

Well if you want a really high survival rate party (and one that totally rocks), play with...

Cleric (melee tank)
Cleric (melee tank)
Cleric (Elven Archer/healer)
Cleric (Prepare open lock and divine insight [after 3rd lvl] to be the skill-monkey)
Druid (Up till 5th lvl use your wolf companion and summoned wolves, and at 5th Wildshape. Effective tank/healer/spy)
Wizard (Really you could fill this spot with another cleric, but having a caster can be helpful)

That's my opinion on the best way to stay alive, but to comment on your group...

Monks can be effective in party this large. Just be sure you are playing him as an anti-mage skirmisher, since that is where they excell.

Ninjas are not really that great of a class and I would try to convince your friend to play something else. If he really likes the flavor, remember that a rogue can be played as a "ninja" from an RP perspective equally well.

Wizards are cool, but if you have one be sure to keep him safe. (Sorry for stating the obvious here.) He won't be very powerful until later levels, so for the sake of whoever will be playing him, try to keep him alove long enough to reach higher levels. After that you won't really need a party so much.

I wouldn't play a paladin over a cleric.

I wouldn't play a hexblade over a cleric. Even if I did decide to play a hexblade, I would plan on multiclassing, picking up a class with evasion, and being an anti-mage. It seems like you have monk to fill that role though, so I would try to work that out.

I've heard great things about the dread necromancer and I say that one gets points just for being cool.


Ok, so those are my opinions. It sounds like the group is playing characters based on classes that fit the image they have of the charater, which is really great, and I should let it be known that that is the "best" way to put your party together. My advice here is just meant to be pracitcal though, so make sure you take it with a grain of salt (ie a sub-optimal party of people who love their characters is always better off than a bunch of badasses who are just playing the "best party"). Good luck.

 

[Raph]

we are a mixed group, some are english through and through but half are just new to the UK, i am living with my cousin for now until dhivali, later this year when i move out. thank you for your welcome.

we have been thinking about creating a bard but instead of the bard casting arcane, changing to divine, my cousin is british and is DM, he is playing a npc bard for us to be friends with and give support to us after dungeon fighting but will not be travelling to the dungeons with us. the bard is a bhangra music performer and plays the dhol.

the primary and most important instrument that defines Bhangra is the dhol. The dhol is a large, drum, giving deep sound that touches the soul. you can play it by beating it with two sticks. the bard holds his instrument with a strap around his neck. dhol is used all the time in hip hop these days.

would a bard be a good aid to the party?

 

[Shin Okada]

would a bard be a good aid to the party?

Yes definitely. When the party is this big, having a bard is really good. His music can give bonuses to all the members at once. And he can cure, and negotiate.

 

[Raph]

thank you all, once more for your help

i am glad of been a monk it is going to be like my idol: Samo Hung, as i am a fat martial artist in real life lol.

my dm has said that the best of parties are those that are made up of

a fighter

a cleric

a rogue

a wizard

we have more numbers so we should be alright to be more free with choices i think.

could you suggest a multiclassing option for the ninja, as he is with me as i write these messages, and wishes to know more about a powerful mix for a spellcaster.

thank you.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Bard's pretty good support all around. I usually allow them to use caster-lvl-1 CLW wands in "Arcane" flavor, but if you're making his magic Divine, all the better. If it's a DM-run NPC, he can just "give" the character free CLW/CMW/CSW wands to heal the party up after combats.

In-combat I'd suggest the Paladin carry his own CLW wand. It'll be important for him to be able to get to other members and heal them or you're going to find people going down alot.

The Ninja multiclassing into Cleric would actually be better than more arcane magic. Even 1 level of cleric gets him the ability to use wands ... cure-magic wands are critical for adventuring parties.

Another way to do it would be allowing somebody to take ranks in Use Magic Device and get the skill check high enough that he can regularly hit the DC 20 checks for Wands. That way a rogue or some other character type can be a secondary healer. (I actually have a wizard I just built who bought up cross-class ranks in UMD, took Magical Aptitude, and has synergy bonuses from Knowledge (Arcana) and Decipher Script and can activate a 1st level Scroll of CLW 50% of the time ... not great, but y'never know when it'll be clutch.)

--fje

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

You can multiclass your ninja with a cleric with the Trickery domain, so that a few roguish skills become class skills for the cleric. Clerics, on the other hand, don't have as many spells as the wizard or sorcerer that would apply to what the ninja does best: sneaking around, spells like Expeditious retreat, Fly, Invisibility, Mage Armor, etc.

If you want a ninja with a few spells, you might want to head for the Assassin prestige class. It fits the ninja quite well, IMO.

I'll add to the chorus that you need a cleric, or, at the very least, a Favored Soul. The Dread Necromancer (I assume is from Heroes of Horror) could be replaced by a Kali-worshipping cleric, but if he's evil and can't spontaneously cast healing spells, he won't be as much help as a good cleric could be. If the hexblade becomes a cleric, make him play a Favored Soul that knows the Bestow Curse spell. Basically the same thing .

A Bard can help the group, but if the bard doesn't accompany you in dungeons, he won't be of much help. Also, if the DM is inexperienced, I wouldn't suggest to him to add to his workload by having to play an NPC. With six players, you'll be quite enough.

Sounds like a fun game. Hope you all enjoy yourselves.

AR