Which class makes the best 5th wheel?

[CrusaderX]

Ok, you're playing in a D&D campaign with a party consisting of 5 characters. The group already consists of a Fighter, a Cleric, a Wizard, and a Rogue (all single-classed). These characters are all of various good alignments.

What class would you add in the mix with these four to make the most efficient and capable 5-character party?

Assume the following:

The 5th character is a single-classed character.

You don't have to add a new or different class from the four mentioned above. Adding a second Fighter, for example, would be fine.

The party plays in a campaign with a good mix of both dungeon crawls vs. outdoor adventures, as well as a good mix of hack-n-slash vs. social encounters.

 

[Crothian]

Bard. They have healing spells and musical ability. They can back up and aid in almost anything. THey are a great class to really add to the versatility of a party.

 

[takyris]

Any of the classes that everyone thinks are underpowered.

Since you're in a pretty mixed campaign, your 5th wheel ought to either give a LOT of power in some limited area, or a little power everywhere.

Personally, I'd go with Bard or Monk. Not that they're necessarily the best -- a Paladin's healing is great for stabilizing the wounded, and a Ranger offers both scouting and combat potential. In a combat-heavy campaign, Paladin and Ranger would be easy choices.

But Bards can buff, bluff, and even batter a bit, while Monks offer enough specailized abilities to change the combat field, as well as some social ability and potential scouting support for the Rogue. In a campaign that covers more area, they have fewer "out of place" issues.

In a balanced campaign like the one you've described, I don't think that there IS a right a wrong class to add.

-Tacky

 

[Acmite]

If the campaign in question is a mix of social/hack-slash and urban/wild than basically you have two main options:

-Bard

-Ranger

These two classes are ideal for a support role once the core classes have been adequately represented. Since the core clases are weak in the wilderness, my vote would be Ranger and hope the more social aspects are covered by the rogue or the other members of the party.

This allows the player of the Ranger to contribute (Track, Wild Lore, etc) and to have their own niche that should come up at least fairly frequently if there is a decent amount of non-urban adventuring. A druid could also fill this role.

Summary:
1. Ranger
2. Druid/Bard

 

[Zaruthustran]

Well, it depends on the race and focus of the rogue. If you've got a combat rogue, then a bard might be a good choice. If you've got a social rogue, then Paladin.

Actually... scratch that, the best 5th wheel in this case is Paladin all the way.

The Paladin can fight in the front lines, helping the rogue flank and the fighter slay. He's immune to fear and gives anti-fear bonuses to saving throws. He's immune to disease and can easily cure the disease of others--he's great at keeping were-creatures, plague creatures, and various nasty icky things at bay. He can heal, allowing the cleric to spend his spells on non-healing spells (and he can bring the Cleric back up to consciousness, should the cleric fall). He's a diplomatic and charismatic character, able to talk the party into or out of situations.

Plus, he's got that Detect Evil at will thing, which is handy.

Double plus, he's probably got the best saving throws in the party, making him the clear choice for "Hmm... this might be trapped--who should open/close/take it?"

Paladin all the way.

6th wheel would be tossup between Ranger, Druid, or Bard.

-z

 

[takyris]

Thus spake Zaruthustran (I ALWAYS wanted to say that)
Actually... scratch that, the best 5th wheel in this case is Paladin all the way.

I definitely agree that a Paladin is a good choice, but if there's a social/sneaking aspect to the game, I think having another person with ranks in Sense Motive and Hide is a good choice. You REALLY don't want to end up killing the wrong councilman because nobody rolled high enough to figure out that the courtier was lying. That was the basis for Bard. In this campaign, probably an armor-wearing Bard who does secondary tank duty (gnome or halfling bard?), focuses on Constitution and Charisma, and helps the Rogue lie, cheat, and steal as required.

But really, Paladin and Bard are both EXCELLENT ways to go, and you'll have a great time with either.

-Tacky

EDIT: Of course, the Paladin could always Detect Evil and figure out that the courtier was Evil, and get to Lying from there... so yeah. Either way, good.

 

[Balgus]

a second healer is the best way to go- even if the healer has only cure light wounds.

Actually, I would go druid with tracking as a lvl 1 feat. You get the scouting- as per ranger- and a animal companion- to help fighter- and spells- to help in offense- and CLW - to help stabilize.

 

[Ravellion]

I'll vote for Paladin as well. It hink every party should ahve a paladin. They're better to have at the frontline than fighter IMO. (same AC, same BAB, Only slightly less to hit and damage usually, better saves, immunities etc etc)

Rav

 

[Sejs]

Bard: healing, social skills, bardic knowledge.

Ranger: great scout when teamed up with the rogue, supplimentary healing, back up fighter.

Paladin: strong fighter, supplimentary healing.

 

[Dr_Rictus]

I'd tend to say a bard, a ranger, or a cleric with different domains from the first cleric.

All of the above can serve as back-up healers, as has been mentioned above. And clerics actually do a fairly good job of stepping into a variety of different roles, as long as their powers aren't being heavily taxed for healing, which isn't going to be a big problem for a second cleric in a 5-person party.