D&D 5E Playing within a LARGE party in 5th edition, help me make my character fun and fitting

[Doodledodo]

So We were running a game by a DM friend of mine, who also ran a similar game in the same world and timeframe at another time, and one day we joined up; thus i need help on ways to build a character to fit a certain theme personality/thematically wise as well as within potentially Player options.

Which left us with a large 9th level party consistently of:


6 Warlock (Celestial Chain) / 3 bard (Eloquence)
7 Rogue (Assassin)/ 2 Artificer
9 Bard (Lore)
5 Fighter (Psi Warrior)/ 4 Rogue(Assassin)
9 Cleric (Grave)
9 Fighter (Champion)
8 Monk (Long Death)/ 1 Cleric (Death)
8 Fighter (Rune Knight)/ 1 Barbarian
9 Barbarian (Wild Magic)

I am playing as the barbarian who was a Performer at a tavern but left after finding love and a child of hers but after an incident she was seperated from her loved one, and eventually on the run the child was almost abducted but she tore the veils of the plan and so she got seperated from the child but atleast she is safe but now all alone with magic in her veins.

During the adventure I do find both of them are safe although the city where we used to live in and acts as the main base for the campaign is a target for a group of Wizards of Thay as they are known in the Forgotten Realms, as such she strives to return the place to a safer state for a place for all of them to belong to and live their life better than it was, potentially even in the temple of Selune where she grew up at with her family.

So in the campaign she strives to be a caring and doting mother figure even if she's the second oldest figure in the party, always trying to advice them even if it can come off as a bit uncalled for or at times even a bit preachy/scoldingly, and feeding and baking for them even when they are full, and she also dabbled in Homeopathy making them all kinds of healing salves, sunscreens, ointments, perfumes, deoderants, and even medicine.


All that said on the battlefield I try and player a more sort of "Anti-Bullying character" where she will prioritize allies who are on their last legs or being abused, and will either focus on them even if they are minion fodder and away from the big threats as most of the frontliners in the party always head straight up and start swinging at the main target boss.

With all that said, how do you suppose I would play into a more supportive role with them? I was thinking of even multiclassing later on down the line if need be to flufill this theme in terms of player choices outside the campaign since i am not good at those things

 

[CleverNickName]

Looks like your party doesn't have a "nature bunny" character...someone who can talk to animals, track down prey, hunt dinosaurs, rub elbows with the fey, and enjoys a good fistful of granola. Maybe such a character could stand out pretty well.

Race: forest gnome, wood elf, eladrin, or human (variant)
Class: druid (circle of land), warlock (pact of the fey), or ranger (hunter). Paladin (oath of the ancients) might not be bad either.
Background: hermit (for more of a healer) or outlander (for more of a hunter)

Maybe your character is a warden of a sacred grove, or you are a professional monster hunter/tracker.

 

[aco175]

You could latch on to one of the other PCs as more motherly and protecting as they are "too little" to protect themselves from combat. There seems to be enough fighter-types to take the front rank and you can place yourself in the middle to respond to what is going on. The ability to charge to where you are needed would be ok as an option. You can also come up with a cool catchphrase to use when you charge- Captain Caveman style.

 

[Jaeger]

So We were running a game by a DM friend of mine, ...

I am playing as the barbarian

Are you running the game and playing in it?

Or are just a player?

9 PC's is a lot. I would not want to play through a combat round in that game! LOL...

 

[billd91]

So in the campaign she strives to be a caring and doting mother figure even if she's the second oldest figure in the party, always trying to advice them even if it can come off as a bit uncalled for or at times even a bit preachy/scoldingly, and feeding and baking for them even when they are full, and she also dabbled in Homeopathy making them all kinds of healing salves, sunscreens, ointments, perfumes, deoderants, and even medicine.


All that said on the battlefield I try and player a more sort of "Anti-Bullying character" where she will prioritize allies who are on their last legs or being abused, and will either focus on them even if they are minion fodder and away from the big threats as most of the frontliners in the party always head straight up and start swinging at the main target boss.

With all that said, how do you suppose I would play into a more supportive role with them? I was thinking of even multiclassing later on down the line if need be to flufill this theme in terms of player choices outside the campaign since i am not good at those things

Sounds like you're off to a good start. I think it'll be more of a case of managing to get any time to really interact with that many players (I've got a game with quite a few and it's not easy, particularly online like we are now). But going with the mama bear/lioness protecting her cubs in a fight is probably a good option - though I think it would have been a stronger one if you had taken the Totem Warrior path for the barbarian instead of the wild magic one. Some of the aspects of the beast are really good group support.

 

[ECMO3]

Playing in such a big group is difficult, especially since your group is not very varied.

What are your ability scores? That will limit what multiclass options are available.

 

[Rabulias]

Are you running the game and playing in it?

I think when the OP said they were "running a game by" they meant "discussing a game idea with"

 

[Doodledodo]

Yup sorry for being confusing

I think when the OP said they were "running a game by" they meant "discussing a game idea with"

 

[Doodledodo]

Sounds like you're off to a good start. I think it'll be more of a case of managing to get any time to really interact with that many players (I've got a game with quite a few and it's not easy, particularly online like we are now). But going with the mama bear/lioness protecting her cubs in a fight is probably a good option - though I think it would have been a stronger one if you had taken the Totem Warrior path for the barbarian instead of the wild magic one. Some of the aspects of the beast are really good group support.

The inital backstory was she only got this wild magic because of her tearing a rift that would have otherwise abducted her daughter but instead disrupted the rift and as such cast both the abductor and her daughter between the planes leaving her a charged magic battery.

I think i initially only got this since me and the DM loved wild magic so he would create new tables in his spare time and utilize them for this character, so it was a consensual thing for the sake of party-fun, but in character it's a curse she's willing to bare but so far both her luck in a casino as well as within her surges was exceptional.

Playing in such a big group is difficult, especially since your group is not very varied.

What are your ability scores? That will limit what multiclass options are available.

16
14
16
12
14
14

I forgoed two Ability Score increases for Feats with the Chef Feat(+1 con and she's a mom) from tasha and Mage slayer (During downtime an invasion of wizards happened)

So both knowing she's been brought up under a family who worshipped Selune, as well as dabbling in Homeopathy and medicine, and having performed in the past in a tavern, her hatred for the fey in the form of the rift incident, as well as her doting and overprotective and supportive nature i was really lost on where to take her past 14th level into 18th (maximum end point of the game).

 

[Doodledodo]

Looks like your party doesn't have a "nature bunny" character...someone who can talk to animals, track down prey, hunt dinosaurs, rub elbows with the fey, and enjoys a good fistful of granola. Maybe such a character could stand out pretty well.

Race: forest gnome, wood elf, eladrin, or human (variant)
Class: druid (circle of land), warlock (pact of the fey), or ranger (hunter). Paladin (oath of the ancients) might not be bad either.
Background: hermit (for more of a healer) or outlander (for more of a hunter)

Maybe your character is a warden of a sacred grove, or you are a professional monster hunter/tracker.

I should have mentioned this is my character in an ongoing game, not something i can change on the spot

You could latch on to one of the other PCs as more motherly and protecting as they are "too little" to protect themselves from combat. There seems to be enough fighter-types to take the front rank and you can place yourself in the middle to respond to what is going on. The ability to charge to where you are needed would be ok as an option. You can also come up with a cool catchphrase to use when you charge- Captain Caveman style.

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That's a fun idea, although I can't think of many PC's who would take that kindly, she is also very empathetic and knows her boundaries since they aren't her children so the most she can act like is a mama bear aunt situation be it the day after they are forced to kill an old friend/family member that turned out evil and sit down and talk them out of it, but within combat i kind of already take a similar position where i don't engage in the main fight immediately, but instead sit in the middle and when i see an NPC on death's door i zoom to them, or how last session where a mind flayer and another monster were targeting down the lonesome rune knight so i went in there, broke grapple from it, and became the target of the brain sucking on top of his legendary actions that got my character killed her first death.