Party building exercise

[Herschel]

Here’s a fun exercise to try: Build the eight best/most balanced parties using one of each role in each party and each build only once.

Leader: Cleric (melee), Cleric (ranged), Warlord (tactical), Warlord (skirmishing), Ardent, Artificer, Runepriest, Bard

Defender: Fighter (single weapon), Fighter (tempest/brawler), Paladin (Strength), Paladin (Charisma), Swordmage (Assault), Swordmage (Shielding), Warden, Battlemind

Controller: Wizard (orb), Wizard (staff), Seeker (thowing), Seeker (bow), Druid (caster), Druid (beast form), Invoker, Psion.

Striker: Ranger (archer), Ranger (melee), Rogue, Avenger, Barbarian (Thaneborn), Barbarian (Rageblood), Sorcerer, Warlock.

Obviously, some classes have more open builds than others but it’s just an exercise and not meant to be all-inclusive. I’m curious to see what theres/synergies different people put together.

IOW: look at it like 32 players show up for a mini campaign and you're the organizer. Some have the build and class already hashed out, some just have the class. You want to get them so they all have the best chance to "succeed" and have fun, and you know nothing about individual playstyle.

 

[Black Knight Irios]

I won't take the challenge but you should allow every build a class has. And you should tell us at which level you want the party to be good and many many things more.

 

[Aulirophile]

Uh... huh... those seem like odd restrictions, not least because you left out a ton of builds.

Tactical Warlord - Battle Captain, Divine MC
Bard|Paladin - Hybrid Talent Virtue of Valor - War Chanter.
Human Wizard - Adroit Explorer, Divine MC
Xbow Cunning Sneak Rogue - Guildmaster Thief, Divine MC
Dragonborn Fighter - Iron Vanguard, Divine MC

Everyone gets a Holy Symbol of Victory. Once/day get an extra AP for a crit (well, technically the ally who crits gets it... but read on!). Rogue will use Knockout on his first AP to virtually guarantee that (particularly if his MC is Avenger and he uses Oath for it). Because the Rogue is a Guildmaster Thief, his allies can spend his APs, and he can spend theirs. Adroit Explorer's start with two APs per day, Warchanters can spend two APs per encounter instead of one, Guildmaster Thief can spend an ally's AP or allow any ally to spend his APs. Add other methods of gaining APs to taste. For each AP you spend you get +1/2 int mod to hit and +int mod to damage from the Taclord. Should be +3 to hit, +6 to damage at mid-Paragon.

The Bard, in addition to being an emergency leader, is extremely durable. Once/round when someone bloodies or kills an enemy, he gives them THP equal to con mod+1, and gains an equal amount of THP. This makes up nicely for the fact the Fighter is not terribly durable (in fact he has some pretty weak NADs), but he is a control and damage power house. Every attack he makes should be able to push and/or knock prone. Every time he pushes he gets str+con, every time he knocks prone he gets str+con, everytime he pushes, he slows, till epic, when he dazes.

You have three solid front liners (very solid), two of which Mark, and two Ranged who have a bunch of get out of jail free cards (Cunning Sneaks can basically perma-hide, and Wizards have a utility at nearly every level that lets them run away or shield).

EDIT: Oh! Skills. Wizard and Taclord sadly kind of overlap, but the Taclord can take History off the Wizard's shoulders, letting him pick up Wisdom based skills (Perception and Insight). Being a human means the Wizard is you Ritual Caster and general skill monkey. Rogue comes with excellent Thievery and Stealth (party scout). Boosting Perception somehow wouldn't hurt him. Bard|Paladin is "The Face" and should take every single Cha-based skill. Everyone should be able to pick up athletics, which in my experience is extremely useful. Having no wis-primary classes does hurt the highest passive perception, sadly. You could switch out an Invoker for the Wizard if this bothers you, but I don't think that is nearly as strong in combat.

 

[Herschel]

I'll add more later but got three of them finalized (hey, conference calls where I just have to sit and half listen are only so long). I'm looking at party composition in general, so level 1 on through Heroic for base parties.

Party 1:
Cleric (ranged), Warden, Druid (beast form), Ranger (archer)
The pairing of the Cleric and Warden seems like a natural with a controller that gets close to melee and a defender who is pretty durable. The Archer is generally the best distance damage dealer. The Warden’s marking ability helps mitigate the lack of bursts and blasts.

Party 2:
Warlord (tactical), Fighter (single weapon), Barbarian (Thaneborn), Wizard (orb)
This party has two targets for Commander’s Strike and the best overall control unit to help mitigate its heavy melee reliance. The Thaneborn has a couple of nice tricks to help make the Warlord’s big powers hit and the three stout melee guys can form a nice pocket for the Wizard.

Party 3:
Warlord (skirmishing), Swordmage (Assault), Avenger, Seeker (throwing)
This party is built for mobility. The Seeker can get stuck in melee and do okay and escape and the Warlord build is potentially the most mobile leader. This party is light on raw damage but deadly accurate.

Party 4:
Cleric (melee), Swordmage (shielding), Invoker, Warlock
There’s a fair amount of squish here but the Swordmage can mark one and Booming Blade another target and the Cleric can stand in melee too, especially if it’s a dwarf.

Party 5:
Runepriest, Paladin (strength), Wizard (staff), Sorcerer
The staff wizard has decent defensive capabilities and the Paladin gives a slight boost to the party’s healing reserves.

Party 6:
Artificer, Paladin (charisma), Rogue, Druid (caster)
The artificer can move surges around and both it and the druid can drop in to melee for a round, if needed. The Paladin helps the healing a bit in case the Artificer gets knocked down while granting CA for the rogue.

Party 7:
Bard, Fighter (Tempest/Brawler), Seeker (bow), Barbarian (Rageblood)
Good overall mix of abilities and powers.

Party 8:
Ardent, Battlemind, Psion, Ranger (melee)
Psionic shenanigans abound and a flat-out beater to go with them.