Post/Author/DateTime	Post
snakebliskan 05-07-07, 10:02 AM	I have seen alot of threads on what is the best character. But this game isnt about the character its about the party. (unless your in a 1 person game..) So on that note. What is your fav party make up and why? Here is mine Fighter Wiz Cleric rog The next 2 can be almost anything. ( I have 6 people I game with so our parties are always 6 characters) Now as to why.. with this comb we have found that most encounters we run into can be overcome alot easier than when we had to many of any one class.
Ralvuimego 05-07-07, 10:24 AM	For optimization? I'd probably have to go with... Cleric (With War and Strength domains) Druid Wizard Rogue (I don't actually consider this party build fun, but it is one of the most powerful out there) Depending on how late into the campaign, the rogue could probably be replaced with another wizard (As much as I hate to admit it, anyway. Personally I like rogues) For fun? I'll take any class combo I can get. I'm really partial to those strange off classes though, those that don't fit directly into the Tank/Support/Control/Skillmonkey roles.
snakebliskan 05-07-07, 10:28 AM	cool! but we never go for the opitmized junk ruins alot of the fun. any way I have also love the other classes alot.
RobbyPants 05-07-07, 10:29 AM	Well, it's always good to have your bases covered. The typical Fighter Rogue Cleric Wizard group is always a nice staple, but truthfully, it depends on your situation. If the campaign featured lots of undead and evil outsiders, swapping the fighter out for a paladin could be a good thing. With enough undead, constructs, and elementals, the rogue will seem almost useless. I've heard people give arguments for either Cleric Cleric Cleric Cleric or Druid Druid Druid Druid The advantage of both of those combos is that they can be very versitile. With clever domain selection, the clerics can cover a lot of bases. Also, the druids can be some scary melee machines, and they still have full access to a good array of spellcasting.
Pallando97 05-07-07, 12:05 PM	Well the typical party of five is the Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Bard, and Wizard. Using the plethora of classes introduced by WotC over the past few years, however, I think the following party is not necessarily the most powerful, but the best rounded. Knight- Not only a full BAB and d12 hit points, the Knight is arguably the best suited melee character for the "long haul" and is able to keep the other members of the party alive better than other classes. Cleric- Let's face it, when it comes down to healing the Cleric is still the best way to go (unless someone actually wants to play a Healer ::shrugs::). Regardless, the Cleric is very well-rounded and can fit many roles. Factotum- This relatively new class is the ultimate expert, and with the added benefits of limited healing and spellcasting, the Factotum gets just as many skill points as a Rogue, can dish out similar damage, and has more skills to boot. Psion- With just as much firepower as a Wizard, and (I think) more flexibility, the Psion fills the same niche with some added benefits. The "Helper"- Personally, all of the groups I have played with have benefited from one of the classes that provides bonuses to everyone at once (Bard, Divine Mind, Dragon Shaman, or Marshal) and I think this is a good way to go. Of these, I think the Dragon Shaman is the best bet due to the added ability to heal (something no group can have enough of). Anyway, those are my thoughts. :)
RealSorceror 05-07-07, 12:26 PM	We tend to just cover our bases with a tank, caster, and expert. Since there are usually 4 or more players, we tend to have room for a second caster (usually divine) and some other odd-ball class.
Nadaka 05-07-07, 01:06 PM	Druid, Druid, Cleric (archer), Wizard 4 casters, 3 melee (2 druids + animal companions), 3 healers, 2 strong ranged attackers (and the druids can bring a few ranged spells into the mix as well).
Johnny_Angel 05-07-07, 01:07 PM	4 Optimized Bards
Tolby 05-07-07, 01:16 PM	Cleric (frontline fighter during fights heals after fights) Fighter (or other melee type) Rogue Arcane Caster Marshel Archer build (there are a couple of decent ones out there) Cleric/fighter keep the parties backfield alive. Rogue scouts/disable traps/and attacks the badguys backfield Arcane caster blows things up/transport and other cool stuff Archer lays down precision fire on bad guys. Generally attacking enemy casters or concentrating fire power with the arcane caster/melee guys to take the bad guy down fast. Marshel makes every do thier job better.
StevenO 05-07-07, 02:49 PM	The "best" party make up is so dependant on what the adventure/campain will be that there is no single answer. Party size that deviates from the assumed standard of four also changes what is needed as some roles that are normally filled by one specific character can now be handled by two or more.
DwarfPcfan 05-07-07, 03:18 PM	The best party is the one where all the characters are having fun, point and simple, thats it, thats all folks. For ultimate power (meaning no thought is placed into role-playing at all). The best all-round 4 character party would be at 20th level -dwarf fighter1/wizard 4/Runesmith1/Eldritch Knight10/Abjurant Champion4, as the warrior mage with 9th level spells, +16 bab, no arcane spellfailure for casting in Battle plate with Tower Shield -Grey elf wizard3/druid5/Arcane Hierophant10/Mystic Theurge2 . No explination needed. 9th level divine spells, 8th level arcane spells, utimate versitality. Plus a mounstrous animal companion/familiar -Gnome artificer 20, takes care of trap problems, excellent skill monkey, plus an insane blaster. -Lesser Aasimar paladin5/Warmind10/Fist of Raziel5. Takes melee damage to epic levels, takes care of healing pretty well, excellent tank, gets psionic powers to make full attacks at the en of a charge (remember charging smite and that paladin levels and Fist of Raziel levels boost your smite evil like crazy) There the perfect party for pure power...
Khatoblepas 05-07-07, 03:25 PM	Well, rouge seems a popular makeup on these boards.... ... but in a five-man party (Skillmonkey, arcanist, healer, tank, buffer) I like these combinations: Skillmonkey: Rogue/Spellthief/Arcane Trickster (Well, more like Spellthief 1/Rogue X/Wizard X/Arcane Trickster) Arcanist: Sorcerer/Sand Shaper/Mage of the Arcane Order/Incantatrix Healer: Cleric/RSoP Tank: Barbarian X/Paladin of Freedom 2/Champion of Gwynharwyf/Crusader X Buffer: Bard/War Weaver/Sublime Chord/Abjurant Champion And for the cohorts: Nature-loving Sharpshooter: Warlock/Bearshaping Exalted Prestige Class. Genius Inventor: Warforged Artificer 20 *guitar wail* Oh yeah. 7 man party. The Rogue takes the "utility belt" role with their arcane trickster wizarding, and also can steal spells from other people. Probably a gnome or something. The Arcanist needs to have all his spells on hand, but still requires a little flexibility. A Kobold Sorcerer would still be able to cast all his spells at this point. Nothing says healer like Radiant Servant of Pelor! Divine Bandaid, go! Also doubles as a nifty tank with Persistance. Considering there's only one other tank in the party, it's alright. The Tank should be a barbarian. The paladin levels and the Champion of Gynharwyf levels give him healing and buffing, so he can act as a secondary healer if the Cleric goes down (if you use Dragon Magazine, Serenity lets everything work off of Wisdom, so you can dump Charisma but have an insightful barbarian). Alternatively, Runescarred Berserker let's him buff himself up. The Quintessential Buffer is the Bard. The War Weaver levels let him buff all the party at once. The sharpshooter's a warlock. No need to make a big deal out of it, really, but he can turn into a bear and track people. The warforged artificier is mature cheese, but lets the party concentrate on adventuring and not making items. He probably won't even be adventuring with them much. That's my favourite party makeup. Powerful, varied, and most of all, everyone can do something at all times.
Empiro 05-07-07, 04:12 PM	I have to say that a versatile party is still the best way to go. While a party of 4 druids or clerics may steamroll many encounters, there are certain types of challenges that they are just weak against, and will be ill-equipped to deal with. That said, like several of the others here, I agree that the most optimal 4 person party would be: Druid (tank) Rogue (twf) Cleric (bow) Wizard (generalist) If you have a fifth person, I'd go with one of the more "hybrid" classes that don't really fill a specific niche, like a Bard, Marshal, Warlock, Warmage, or MT/Arcane Hierophant.
Peregrine_Wolf 05-07-07, 04:35 PM	There are no monks, ninjas, or scouts here...those are the only base classes I see missing.....I am sad..... :nonono:......
BelainDefenderofJerusalem 05-07-07, 04:46 PM	my personal favorite: Ranger: well balanced and can pack a punch with a bow Bard: Amazing and can do anything anyone else cant do Cleric: Healer Paladin: Full on Melee
Rhuiner 05-14-07, 07:32 AM	We currently just started a new game, heres how were rollin out the gates: Fighter/Marshal Rogue Cleric Bard Wizard Barbarian/Dragon Shaman
Naderion 05-14-07, 07:35 AM	Our group is Ranger Ranger/Rogue Druid Sorcerer/(Ranger) Works pretty well as sneaky Elf-Guerillas.
Titan W 05-14-07, 07:46 AM	My most recent party in a one-shot was: Divine Spellcaster (UA) (2/3 arcane 1/3 divine spells on list) Cleric Monk Barbarian It worked reasonably well, however we only played at level 2 so the spellcaster wasn't the best choice. My normal party in our continuous adventure is: Rogue (Highly optimized for skills and combat) Fighter (Low optimization) Fighter (low optimization) It has some problems but usually the two fighters provide flanking for the rogue who takes out 70% of the enemies in about 1-3 hits (averages about 37 damage a round at level 4+cleave/great cleave) My ideal party would look more like: Rogue (because it's my favorite class) Warlock (Because I like the long term consistant support casting, and the item making.) Druid Druid
CantripN 05-14-07, 08:00 AM	My optimal party would be: Human Paragon 3 / Barbarian 1 / Fighter 2 / Warblade 1 / Frenzied Berserker 10 / Titan Bloodline 3 Elf Paragon 3 / Beguiler 1 / Wizard 1 (with sub level) / Ultimate Magus 10 / Geometer 5 Halfling Druid (with sub levels) 4 / Bard 1 / Green Whisperer 3 / Arcane Hierophant 2 / Fochlucan Lyricist 10 (using a Ring of Evasion) Illumian (Uurkrau) Beguiler 8 / Loredelver 10 / Unseen Seer 2
Krusk 05-14-07, 09:40 AM	My team of 4? Knight- melee tank wizard- arcane caster druid- divine, and can heal decently enough with the right feats scout- traps, woodsy guide Knight- it is my favorite melee class, and it does a good job protecting others during the fight. Shield other, and the ability to force people to attack them. Wizard- because you are set for anything dealing with arcane magic. Druid- i say druid over cleric mostly because of the utility. there is a feat in complete divine to spontaneously cast the cure spells -i believe- so you are set there. plus wildshape is always useful. Scout-i like skirmish over sneak attack, it can find traps, and if it gets caught during a scouting mission it can get out quickly.
RobbyPants 05-14-07, 09:43 AM	Cleric (With War and Strength domains) Druid Wizard Rogue I've seen this one posted more than once, which is a pretty good idea. Another I thought of (very similar) is: Druid Cleric Beguiler Wizard (or maybe Sorcerer) It's a bit of an odd idea. You still get the trapfinding of the rogue. You lose sneak attack (which only works on certain types of enemies) and get full 9-level casting (which, oddly enough, works mostly on the same type of enemies ;)). It also aliviates the need for the primary arcane caster to have many illusion or enchantment spells. As already mentioned. There's relatively little need for a fighter or barbarian in the group with a well built druid and cleric. Espescially if the DM allows Divine Metamagic. All the tanking you ever need, plus two full 9-level divine casters.
runestar 05-14-07, 09:55 AM	While I like the idea of all spellcasters, I agree that there might be some need for a party tank to draw enemy fire and possibly a rogue for traps(though spells can go some way in replicating this). Fighters suck as tanks(using Stormwind's definition), so I guess a knight or crusader would have to suffice. Human rogue1/spellcasterX(possibly wizard or beguiler) with able learner takes care of the problem of access to rogue skills. Wizard for versatility or beguiler for the extra skill points. So probably something like... Knight or crusader Rogue1/Wizard or BeguilerX(for the synergy with int) Cleric Druid Wizard Whatever(maybe sorc or archivist or perhaps even an ultimate magus for utility) Wizard is self explanatory. Cleric and druid can make for very potent fighters or casters, whatever the situation at hand demands. And you get a free animal companion to sweeten the deal(which makes for another decent fighter). The last slot is for whatever you feel complements your party best. If you ever need extra firepower, use planar ally/binding to snag temporary allies. Scouting can be done by the wizard's familiar(improved familiar for earth elemental is not bad). Don't forget to pass around the item creation feats.:)
Garonak 05-14-07, 12:58 PM	The best (optimal) party would probaly be: Blaster (Wizard, Sorc, Warmage, whatever) Healer (Cleric, Fav Soul, druid) Skill Monkey (Rogue, Scout, Ninja, etc) Melee (Warrior of some sort, buffed up divine caster) My groups at this moment: Dwarf Fighter (AC) Maug Fighter/Monk (Trip-monkey) Dragonborn Wood Elf Ranger/Dragon Shaman (Support/Healer) Human Wizard (Whatever we need at the moment) Petal Rogue/Swordsage Red Hand of Doom, Four players, the role of DM changes Human Warblade Halfling Rogue/Swordsage Human Crusader Dwarf Wizard/Warblade This is a test group, for trying out Tome of Battle Human Fighter Aasimar Samurai (modified, fighter bonus feats instead of twf)/Exotic Weapon Master/Warblade Human Favored Soul Human Sorcerer/War weaver Weirdo campaign taking place in Midkemia Dwarf Caver(Ranger) Human Wizard Human Cleric Half-Elf Druid Human something something Aasimar Knight Human Paladin/Ashworm Dragoon Githzerai Fighter Human Fighter Neraph Dragon Shaman Draconic Human Rogue/Swashbuckler/Invisible Blade Every group except the second last works out just fine (probaly because the players don't along to well and the DM uses rule 0 all the time, but forgets what he changed). The RhoD group works very well, the wizard is a new character, used to be a human fighter (but died from overexposure to Razorfiends and their crits). The last one works out because I'm a bad (read: too nice) DM that make encounters that focuses on the party's strengths instead of their weaknesses.
lord_xarallon 05-14-07, 03:03 PM	I was bored one day and made a party build around the alternate class feature in dungeonscape: Goliath Fighter Barbarian - Basher Dire Werebat Human fighter with spiked chain - AoO/Reach-cheese master Kobold Sorcerer - Wall maker Buomman Druid - Ranged Grappler The idea was the druid to use kelpstrand and the sorcerer to make a wall. Then the basher would take his greatsword and slash the nearest creature into the wall, with the AoO/Reach-cheese master making like 100's of AoO. It was cheesy and will not use it as a DM (unless I fell like TPK)
CuttinCurt 05-14-07, 03:30 PM	As was mentioned before, we have a campaign that is partially centered on a Vampire lord and his cult of undead. So our party build started as... Paladin Cleric Fighter/Wizard Ranger Bard Sorcerer Now, at lvl 12 and 13, and with us just about to end the threat of the Vampire lord, we are Paladin/Undead-Hunter 6/7 (13th) Cleric 12 Fighter/Wizard/SpellSword/HavocMage 1/6/3/2 (12th) Ranger/Fighter 11/2 (13th) Bard 12 Sorcerer 12 Our paladin is the main fighter, the ranger is our archer, and our cleric is a good melee guy, but he is 3rd tier fighter, and the spellsword/havoc mage is a melee mage, then the bard and sorcerer stay in the back with spell support. Very nice build and we have done well with it. The only reason for some xp differences dealt around xp losses due to death, magic item creation, decks CC
brutuskrieg 05-14-07, 05:57 PM	here is my party build, cleric wizard warrior rogue 1 with able learner feat, into druid maxing out search, dd,open lock. although one of the best parties i played in ever was an all stealth group with a wizard cleric monk rogue
Johnny_Angel 05-14-07, 07:04 PM	4 Optimized Bards Why fight when you can just fascinate everything? Alternatively: fascinate; suggest they lay down and go to sleep; kill them while they sleep (or steal the loot and run away)