War Cleric and two-handed axe great weapon fighter
I've a straight human fighter (archery) in my campaign that's by far the most potent character. But that's mostly because the kid rolled ridiculously well.
One thing I've noticed is the starting level can affect this since if you start at a high enough level you don't have to play through sub-optimal levels and class dipping is easier. YMMV.
In my kid's campaign (which is pretty loosely DM'ed and is mostly combat, started Lvl1): Human Vengenance Paladin5/Rogue2 - Morningstar and Board with Vow of Enmity+Smite+Sneak Attack
In the FLGS campaign (which is strictly DM'ed and is a good mix of combat/RP, big time optimizing group, started Lvl10): Human Lore Bard6/Battlemaster Fighter6 - A grappling build (gleaned from these very forums!) that is great at locking down foes so our Sorlock and Rogue can just blast and stab away.
In my online campaign (which is DM'ed inconsistently and is almost all RP - we've had one battle in 4 levels, started Lvl4): Half-Elf Lore Bard6/Rogue2 - Skill and cantrip monkey and a 20 in CHA.
In my campaign there are the following pcs:
Human wizard (diviner)
Human war cleric
High Elf rogue thief
Human monk
Human battle master fighter
They are nearly 6th level, and to be honest, none really over power the others. There are times when each shines.
That said, I think the experience of the player makes a huge difference. My experienced players know how to squeeze life from their pcs. They play their characters to the fullest so they tend to seem more powerful. (The wizard and the cleric). The fighter is played by the least experienced player, and I think that makes it seem less powerful. The rogue is played by my 15 year old son, who hasn't played table top RPGs so much, but even so, his rogue does lots of damage with sneak attack and he helps with locks and scouting so he plays more powerfully.
In the campaign I'm Playing in, the Lore Bard seems to be the most powerful. I might be biased, though, because it's MY character. (Besides me, that group contains a Hunter-Ranger, a War-Cleric, and a Champion-Fighter).
In the campaign I'm DMing, the five players all seem pretty well balanced (there's a Shadow-Monk, a Wild-Sorcerer/Vengeance-Paladin, a Rogue-Assassin, a Fighter-Battlemaster/Rogue, and a Chain-Fiend-Warlock). No one seems to be outshining the others.
My current campaign has:
Elf Fighter with Archery
Elf Rogue
Elf Wizard School of Evocation
Like Rhenny's group, none of my players overpower the others. They work well together and each has their moments to shine.
No particular character is standing out as more potent than any of the others in my current campaigns.
Demon King's Conquest: dwarf fiendish blade pact warlock and gnome wild mage are pretty evenly matched (the warlock has been running low on HP/Hit Dice at about the same pace as the sorcerer is running out of spell slots and sorcery points - he might pull ahead in the buttkicking department if he ever manages to get hit less often).
Escape from Dungeonland: elf thief, human cleric, human ranger, and dwarf barbarian are all holding their own against the deadly monsters inhabiting the dungeon they are trapped in... though some might say the thief is proving to be MVP on account of noticing secret doors and traps (though the ranger is just as capable, but currently not "on duty" to be searching).
Carrion Crown: human cleric, tiefling barbarian, dwarf warlock... they are each constantly pulling the others' butts out of the proverbial flame. The cleric may step ahead briefly now that he has destroy undead, but that will quickly self adjust as the campaign steers away from undead monsters for a couple levels.
in one of the games I am currently playing in (took a break from Dming to play)
our group just gained level 3
Ranger (two weapon fighting, animal companion)
Paladin (sword and board)
Fighter (two handed, battle master)
Wizard (evocation)
so far in the game we have found that the paladins high ac makes him nearly untouchable, the rangers multiple attacks has allowed him to take out the most foes per round, and the fighters out right power allows him to take down the big foes. My wizard tends to give support but I am not optimal for dps, but I provide aoes, and ranged support for the party.
Even in a game that is mostly warriors I have found the party to be fairly balanced.
In another game I was running we found that the warlock is a fantastic class.
it mostly came down to charisma to damage, and free mage armor allows for a very capable ranged combat character, it also doesn't hurt to have dps spells like hex, or the fact that the damage he does is magical which allows him to bypass certain resistances.
The barbarian in our party is also nearly unstopable with his rage reducing the damage he takes significantly, he also does a lot of damage, and as a half orc the abiltiy to stay in the fight makes our clerics life a lot easier.
The player with the most agency has the most power.
Freakishly enough, in Encounters play, the Warlock was hands-down the highest-performing character. Bards and Rogues were just terrible.
At AL tables I've run, Clerics and Wizards have been high-performing, and Druids - including a Druid/Barbarian - a bit broken.
When I've used random generation, though, the PC with the best stats tends to dominate, class notwithstanding. 5e really puts a lot of emphasis on stats, and if (and, yes, this actually happened) one PC has a highest stat of 13, and another has a lowest stat of 14 (and a post-racial 20 and 18), the disparity is going to be overwhelming and across the board. As you level up, class should start to tell - multiple attacks will mean the 13 DEX fighter-archer is no longer as inferior to the 20 DEX elf wizard at archery, for instance - or a high-stat non-caster's broad fascility with checks will eventually be countered by a low-stat caster's versatile range of utility spells.
But, so far, I haven't run anything at higher levels.
The campaign I am Dming for the party is thus:
Half-Elf Wild mage Sorc
Human Battle-Master Fighter
Dragonborn Totem Barbarian
Human Tempest Cleric
While the sorc can dish out the pain his sporatic surges can hinder him and the group as well as that he is prone to getting taken out due to his low AC and HP.
The Fighter right now is on top, both due to damage and due to the current arc is one of his design (going after his own goal atm and had paid the other party members with promisses of wealth and information.
The Barbarian can also rise to the occasion should he ever get teh dice on his side and choose to use his heavy weapon in favor of the hand-axe and shield.
The Cleric is pretty new to the game but she is doing very well in her role as support caster and fortune teller ( due to her background she uses Augury often.
The only reason I have see anyone really outshinning another really is the particular character personalities. One being meek, another just filled with wanderlust, another being more of the 'leader' knowing what he wants to do for goals and seeking to accomplish them, and yet another who sees the group of adventurers as a means to an end of her goals.
Tony_Vargas wrote:
feartheminotaur wrote:
Ranged weapons don't trigger a smite either. I think that's where we get to the whole "pretty loosely DM'ed" part.
My characters are fifth level. We have:
Dwarven Fighter
Another Dwarven Fighter
Gnome Wizard
Elven Ranger
Human Monk
The Ranger has been owning things for the most party - Ranged weapon, Hunter's Mark, and Colossus Slayer.
The Wizard has had some fantastic moments too - mainly with Fireball and bunch of weenie opponents.
NamelessHero wrote:
This week, my party was huge:
Drow Warlock
Human Ranger
Halfling Thief/Assassin
Dwarf 2H Fighter
Highelf Wizard
Half-elf Paladin of Ancients (me)
Human 2H Fighter
Elf Cleric of Selune
Our most powerful characters are based on personality, mostly. We had three miniboss fights plus a boss fight in one night, and everybody contributed something important to the group - either a great big damage die or incredible AC (me again) or a scenario-changing spell. One big problem I've seen so far is that none of our opponents are designed to be minions, so combats take a long time to cycle through. The other problem is RPing - some characters cannot get along with Lawful Authority, others are horrible at keeping a secret during political negotiations. If we remain at 8, we can split the party safely and send the effective people to deal with each issue.
Any Adventures League legal PC with the Extra Attack Action that has the sentient sword Hazirawn from HotDQ.
Suffice to say, I have an AL legal Barbarian PC with Hazirawn as his only magic item. While immensely strong, it's not as OP as a GW Fighter/Barb Champion with the GWM feat and Action Surge.
Other than that, I don't really see any true OP builds that are not item dependant.
Hazirawn throws fighters over the edge, haha.
Here's hoping for some good mage items in EE.
I'm DMing the Lost Mines of Phandelver right now and really like all my player characters! They are great defensively, but need a bit more offensive prowress...
I have a ...
- Lightfoot halfling cleric of Brandebois (hey, I let Brandebois, the halfling god of thievery, trickery, and rogues! come back since the Realmslore is up in the air, and I'm not even sure if he would have died in the Spellplague) with the trickery domain, originally from Neverwinter, just joined the Lords Alliance
- Moon elf sorceress, noble background of Neverwinter and initiate member of the Lords Alliance, worships the elven deity Corellon Lathander
- Half elf ranger of Neverwinter Wood, member of the Emerald Enclave, worships Silvanus (who also should be back in 5e)
- and a female hill dwarf fighter from the nearby Starmetal Hills, with no patron deity nor a member of any factions just yet
My dwarf fighter is tough because she is really hard to hit, with a scale mail armor and shield that just got enchanted at the Forge of Spells in the Wave Echo Cave, she's gonna have an AC of 20, level 4 going on level 5. Magic and saving throws seem the best way to whittle her down...
My halfling priest also kicks ass, and sometimes doubles as the group "tank" since he has the second best AC.
The sorceress in my group has the lowest AC but unleashes some really heavy spell damage, and maybe the closest "striker" we have in damage per round.
Land finally, the ranger needs a bit of revision because he came into the group late, and has been playing his character incorrectly by choosing abilities that work with dual weapon fighting and archery styles together, when he needs to follow one tree path. I allowed it so far, because I thought he knew what he was doing when he made his character, and didn't want to "inspect" anyone...I know it was an honest mistake, but I gotta take a closer look at it...
KlaudisRex wrote:
Ive been playing a game with people comeing and going so no one person stands out but from different players sleep spell has saved our butts more times than I can remmber .
So most powerful player in our game SLEEP SPELL
KlaudisRex wrote:
Update: our group turns L5 over the weekend. Based on the fight we got into to do it (argue with a Noble whose bodyguard is a Red Wzard), I think our group's Wizard is going to become much more effective in combat, very quickly. The RW killed both our Fighters and had me bloodied at the end of Round 2.
Our party is 5th level.
Elf Ranger (Beast Master)
Human Fighter (Battle Master)
Human Fighter (Champion)/Monk
Human Cleric (Light)/Barbarian
Halfling Rogue (Thief)
None of them stick out at noticeably more powerful than the other, but the Cleric/Barbarian is surprisingly awesome.
I've got a half-elf assassin ranger who can tear things up if he gets surprise, which he does with some regularity.
I've also got a necromancer wizard with Vampiric Touch which is doing incredibly well. He also loves fireballs.
I've got other really powerful people too, but they seem to not play their strengths as well, like the moon druid who is only recently starting to get into the swing of things.
All lv 10 by the way