3 Man Party help [Archive] - Wizards Community

3 Man Party help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Nuclearsunburn
01-05-06, 03:25 PM Alright... this being my first post here, I apologize for any mistakes I make, or if this is in the wrong forum. Anyhow... Here's the background.
We have three people in the party, and we're playing in Eberron, starting at level 2.

Would a party like this cover the bases well enough?

Member 1 : Ranger / Rogue (PrC suggestions? level distribution?) - forward scout, trapfinder, light melee guy.

Member 2 : Wizard / Cleric / Mystic Theurge - all around spellcaster.

Member 3 : Paladin ? Barbarian? Fighter? Psychic Warrior? I'm pretty lost on this one, and it's where I need the most help... we're playing adventures designed for 4 players, so we all need to be optimized to deal with things, and any help you guys could give me would be very much appreciated.
WendigoMonk
01-05-06, 03:45 PM With only 3 players? Show your DM gestalt and TALK him into it. :devil:
PhaedrusXY
01-05-06, 03:50 PM The role that is most easily covered/discarded is the one of the rogue. Since a wizard has a high Int score, they are the most natural choice to cover this role. At level 2, a rogue1/wiz1 could serve as the scout/trapfinder. Daggerspell Mage + Arcane Trickster is probably the best follow-up for that.

The cleric can easily double as the party tank, and a druid can perform as a tank, spellcaster, and secondary healer (and scout by using Wildshape). So I think a good 3-person party would be a rogue/wizard, cleric, and a druid. You could substitute a traditional "tank" for the druid, if you'd rather.

Mystic Theurge type characters are notoriously weak at the low levels, and really don't reach a reasonable strength until the high ones. Also, light tanks (like the ranger/rogue you mentioned) while fun to play, don't really serve much of a purpose in a "traditional" party, except for scouting/trapfinding. They can't really act as a "tank", and scouting/trapfinding is something that can easily be picked up by someone else.

Of course, you could opt for a "non-traditional" party. A party composed entirely of individuals that are mobile and sneaky can be quite effective, if you take advantage of your strengths. In such a party, you want to always make sure you're ambushing your enemies, and if you yourselves get ambushed, you want to be able to escape quickly and effectively.
Seeker of Truth
01-05-06, 03:52 PM I think the Thurge is a mistake. I'd go with a cleric of a magic diety. Yeah you arcane casting is going to suffer, but starting from level 2 the thurge is going to leave you with crippled arcane and divine casting.

I'd make the rogue splash a couple levels of ranger, but mostly I'd stick with rogue/roguish prcs. It's pretty important to keep UMD at or near max ranks IMO.

As for the tank, there are lots of options. Champion of Gwynnhrff is a solid choice if exalted doesn't bother you. The mineral warrior template is something to consider, it's well worth the +1 LA.

You could try to cover the tank role with the other two characters too. Straight cleric can make a decent tank, as does a dwarven rogue/ranger/deewpwarden. If you think this campaign will continue until high levels I'd try somthing like that and use this third slot for a full casting arcanist. Spell casting mostly just trumps melee at higher levels.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nuclearsunburn 01-05-06, 03:25 PM	Alright... this being my first post here, I apologize for any mistakes I make, or if this is in the wrong forum. Anyhow... Here's the background. We have three people in the party, and we're playing in Eberron, starting at level 2. Would a party like this cover the bases well enough? Member 1 : Ranger / Rogue (PrC suggestions? level distribution?) - forward scout, trapfinder, light melee guy. Member 2 : Wizard / Cleric / Mystic Theurge - all around spellcaster. Member 3 : Paladin ? Barbarian? Fighter? Psychic Warrior? I'm pretty lost on this one, and it's where I need the most help... we're playing adventures designed for 4 players, so we all need to be optimized to deal with things, and any help you guys could give me would be very much appreciated.
WendigoMonk 01-05-06, 03:45 PM	With only 3 players? Show your DM gestalt and TALK him into it. :devil:
PhaedrusXY 01-05-06, 03:50 PM	The role that is most easily covered/discarded is the one of the rogue. Since a wizard has a high Int score, they are the most natural choice to cover this role. At level 2, a rogue1/wiz1 could serve as the scout/trapfinder. Daggerspell Mage + Arcane Trickster is probably the best follow-up for that. The cleric can easily double as the party tank, and a druid can perform as a tank, spellcaster, and secondary healer (and scout by using Wildshape). So I think a good 3-person party would be a rogue/wizard, cleric, and a druid. You could substitute a traditional "tank" for the druid, if you'd rather. Mystic Theurge type characters are notoriously weak at the low levels, and really don't reach a reasonable strength until the high ones. Also, light tanks (like the ranger/rogue you mentioned) while fun to play, don't really serve much of a purpose in a "traditional" party, except for scouting/trapfinding. They can't really act as a "tank", and scouting/trapfinding is something that can easily be picked up by someone else. Of course, you could opt for a "non-traditional" party. A party composed entirely of individuals that are mobile and sneaky can be quite effective, if you take advantage of your strengths. In such a party, you want to always make sure you're ambushing your enemies, and if you yourselves get ambushed, you want to be able to escape quickly and effectively.
Seeker of Truth 01-05-06, 03:52 PM	I think the Thurge is a mistake. I'd go with a cleric of a magic diety. Yeah you arcane casting is going to suffer, but starting from level 2 the thurge is going to leave you with crippled arcane and divine casting. I'd make the rogue splash a couple levels of ranger, but mostly I'd stick with rogue/roguish prcs. It's pretty important to keep UMD at or near max ranks IMO. As for the tank, there are lots of options. Champion of Gwynnhrff is a solid choice if exalted doesn't bother you. The mineral warrior template is something to consider, it's well worth the +1 LA. You could try to cover the tank role with the other two characters too. Straight cleric can make a decent tank, as does a dwarven rogue/ranger/deewpwarden. If you think this campaign will continue until high levels I'd try somthing like that and use this third slot for a full casting arcanist. Spell casting mostly just trumps melee at higher levels.