Your Ultimate Classic Adventuring Party

[Myrinthilar]

Wanted to see what kind of adventuring party people would put together if you could have your choice of 5 characters. Focusing on keeping characters more classic, not maxed out with 5 prestige classes and what not. 20 level character progression. All books excepted.

[TheCountAlucard]

Wanted to see what kind of adventuring party people would put together if you could have your choice of 5 characters. Focusing on keeping characters more classic, not maxed out with 5 prestige classes and what not. 20 level character progression. All books excepted.No offense, but... why?

Anyway, given my choice, it'd be Cleric (advancing into Radiant Servant of Pelor), Cloistered Cleric (advancing into Contemplative), Druid (just Druid), Specialist Wizard (headed into Initiate of the Sevenfold Veils), and Specialist Wizard (advancing into Master Specialist). Very capable of handling all the necessary roles, while still versatile enough for a good switch-up, if need be. Gear and such would vary, but you get the picture. :smallsmile:

[Bovine Colonel]

No offense, but... why?

Anyway, given my choice, it'd be Cleric, Cloistered Cleric, Druid, Specialist Wizard, Specialist Wizard. Very capable of handling all the necessary roles, while still versatile enough for a good switch-up, if need be. Gear and such would vary, but you get the picture. :smallsmile:

This.

Unfortunately, 3.5 wasn't balanced very well.

[TheCountAlucard]

This.

Unfortunately, 3.5 wasn't balanced very well.Luckily, the example party I gave should be balanced just fine. :smallcool:

More importantly, not only are they balanced, but they have a suite of interesting abilities as well. :smallsmile:

[ImperatorK]

No offense, but... why?
Why not?

Warblade/Crusader as beatstick.
Cleric as buffer/healer.
Wizard as... well, God.
Beguiler as skillmonkey.
Sorcerer as heavy artillery.

[noparlpf]

Well, we usually have about five players. Most one-shots we do are 16th level. Some common things we'll see include an arcane caster, a healer/cleric, a druid, a rogue/swashbuckler type (occasionally a scout or ninja), and a barbarian/fighter type (sometimes a ranger).

I would probably go with a 20th level cleric, a 20th level druid, a 20th level ranger, a 20th level barbarian, and a 20th level wizard. All core and nothing else. Just for fun. (That actually could be fun to watch. Maybe I'll try running a game with the players limited to those choices.)

[dextercorvia]

All books excepted.

You want us to build 5 characters without using any books? Is online OGL material that appears elsewhere in books alright, or just online only material?

[Myrinthilar]

all books accepted. sorry I'm a little dyslexic.

[Rukia]

No offense, but... why?


I believe his reasoning is a "classic" party that isn't totally optimized, but relies on the classic archetypes. 2 wizards, 2 clerics and a druid is obviously able to handle any situation but I wouldn't consider that in the spirit of what was asked.

Personally I love the idea of classic parties though 3.5 opened up so many different options that I think it works better with 2.0. My earliest and fondest memories with D&D involved the classic Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard type of party that traveled through a dark dungeon, each having their own important role. Sadly 3.5 destroyed that concept and now you can do the same with all casters. Why have a rogue when you can pick up those skills with a level dip or the proper domain. Why bother with a fighter when you can just optimize wild shape? I myself get carried away sometimes trying to build the "perfect" character, but in all honesty some of the best fun I've had are when you're limited to more simple options and just play the game without worrying about optimization.

[TheCountAlucard]

all books accepted. sorry I'm a little dyslexic.Hey, no problem. :smallsmile:

Anyway, I hope you don't mind if I don't painstakingly equip said party, 'cuz I particularly don't feel that much incentive to go and work up and budget out almost four million gold pieces' worth of gear over twenty character levels. :smalltongue:

On that note, said PCs would probably have taken an assortment of item creation feats, because having the gear you want rocks. :smalltongue:


I believe his reasoning is a "classic" party that isn't totally optimized, but relies on the classic archetypes.Not a bad explanation. Still, I'm asking why OP wants us to do this in the first place. Just curious, is all.


2 wizards, 2 clerics and a druid is obviously able to handle any situation but I wouldn't consider that in the spirit of what was asked.Why wouldn't it be? :smallconfused:

He's asking what our preferences would be, how we would do it. Given the option, it is what I'd do; I'd very much prefer interesting characters, reasonably-balanced against each other, who are able to overcome what I can throw at them without sacrificing too much. And the assortment I provided can definitely fit into said archetypes.

[Stormageddon]

5 Bards. We're starting a band!

[Myrinthilar]

Human Cleric/Radient servent of palor.....Prob the best cleric you could have for a healer;
Elf Fighter/Champion of corellon..... two weapon fighting (thin blades)
Druid
Elf Generalist/Lore master/Archmage
Human Conjurer/master conjurer
rogue/Telflammar shadowlord...... just really love the prestige class.

[Myrinthilar]

like your Perspective Rukia!

[Tvtyrant]

Totemist (melee build with VoP and ToGI)~Fighter
Incarnate/Necrocarnate (Minions and UMD)~Rogue
Binder~Cleric
Dragon Fire Adept~Caster (control and blasting)
Bard~Bard

[Myrinthilar]

The reason i ask is simple. In my own spare time I've done this and was just curious what others would do. making each a typical arch type balancing flavor and power. But feel free to create the party as you like.

[Godskook]

Bard/Sublime Chord
-Grab Dragonfire Inspiration from a force dragon, and put a decent amount of effort into optimizing one's own attack routine afterward. Probably dip 2 levels into Totemist for Girallon claws(or some similar attack optimization). Not only enjoys strong casting, but also skills and a strong buff.

Rogue 1/Wizard 4/Daggerspell Mage X/Unseen Seer Y
-Provides the the trap-monkey/sneak setup, as well as significant nuking power against everything that isn't crit-immune. Against everything else, DFI is still up, so we're all good.

Paladin 2/Sorcerer 4/Spellsword 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Sacred Exorcist 8
-Not sure if this qualifies as 'excessive' multiclassing, but it only has two 'open' prestige classes in the build(Abjurant Champion is only 5 levels long).
-Provides us with a defenses tank(as opposed to a HP tank). With Cha to AC and Saves as a Cha-based caster, he can dump almost everything else other than Con and his offensive to-hit stat...oh yeah, that's Cha late game, with Str early game.

Druid 3/Wiz 3/MT 2/AH 10/MT +2
-Provides us with a healer, which while not needed in-combat, can be vital out-of-combat for at least dealing with wands or the random poison. Is also a power-house in and of himself, and excels at getting bonus attacks(synergy with the bard!).

Warblade 20
-Honestly, I could've put a throw-away build here, but I'm being serious. The 4 classes above lacked two major things. A good HP-tank, and consistency over levels. Warblade offers both, and is one of the few base classes that's just as attractive to take 20 levels in as only a few. And with the general melee-focus of everyone else in the group, White Raven has synergy written all over it.

[Zeta Kai]

I'd assemble a team of 5 factotums (factoti?), each emulating a different party role. That would be so awesome.

[Tvtyrant]

I'd assemble a team of 5 factotums (factoti?), each emulating a different party role. That would be so awesome.

5 Chameleons would also be pretty cool. "Why yes, the entire team is capable of being the entire team" is a good tautology.

[TheCountAlucard]

5 Chameleons would also be pretty cool. "Why yes, the entire team is capable of being the entire team" is a good tautology.Well, at least they'd all be the same tier... :smallamused:

[Morithias]

1. Changling Deathstalker plays the part of the stealthly assassin.
2. Human Ur-priest moving into thrall of manchalent. Plays bard rolls and has powerful cleric spells.
3. Lesser Drow Conjour because well..duh, has master specialist levels
4. Human Disciple of Dispater, a brutal melee fighter
5. Aasimar Cleric (who is evil) plays medic, and has powerful backup powers.

Yes my ideal party is evil, get over it. XD

[Psyren]

Everyone already knows I'd have the all-manifester party.

(Erudite and Wilder make a great team anyway so might as well)

I'd do it in Pathfinder though so I can bring a Vitalist along - excellent addition to a 5-man band.

[Cofniben]

Fighter
Thief
Black Mage
Red Mage

[Soranar]

1 Factotum
1 Bard
1 Druid
1 Paladin (yeah a tier 4 !)
1 Specialist Wizard

Basically a dungeon specialist (factotum), a nature specialist (druid), a city specialist (bard) , a walking nuke (wizard) and a character with a giant ... up his ... that forces the group of smart people to do the dumb thing (For Justice!).

[the_archduke]

Soranar,

As much as I hate and disagree with the rating, Paladin is actually Tier 5

[Soranar]

Soranar,

As much as I hate and disagree with the rating, Paladin is actually Tier 5

Yes and no. Paladin just lacks a well-established optimized variant that bumps it up a tier (like ranger and fighter).

Everyone knows a wildshape ranger is tier 3 just like a dungeoncrasher fighter is tier 4.

There are a lot of ways to mess up a paladin and very few builds that make it worthwhile. Only one I could think of that everybody heard of before is an ubermount/ubercharger build. Unlike the other tier 5 though paladins do have options (ninjas and samurais don't).

[Kantolin]

Psychic Warrior
Fighter
Bard
Wizard (Who is possibly a war weaver)
Incarnate (Who is possibly an Ironsoul forgemaster)
Lurk

There is then a big fight, as I have no idea which of those six I would remove. Probably the fighter, but that's because of the two I prefer psychic warriors to fighters nowadays, and the two have pretty much the same role.

At least, that's totally the team I would make. ^_^ Go my six favorite characters!

[Curmudgeon]

Cloistered Cleric - tank (with Knowledge Devotion)/divine spellcaster
Rogue - skillmonkey
Bard - party face/arcane spellcaster
Scout 3/Ranger X - archer
Scout - battlefield control

[Jude_H]

Bard
Bard
Bard
Bard
Bard

[Telonius]

For power:
Melee: Warblade
Buffer/Healer: Cleric
Arcanist: Wizard
Skillmonkey/Crafter: Artificer
Face/Utility: Bard
If allowed one more, Druid (to further break action economy)

For fun and flavor:
Melee: Knight
Buffer/Healer: Cleric
Arcanist: Sorcerer
Skillmonkey: Rogue (though I absolutely refuse to go a full 20 levels).
Face: Warlock

Just to see if it would actually work:
Melee: Cleric
Buffer/Healer: Cleric
Arcanist: Cleric (Magic domain/Anyspell)
Skillmonkey: Cleric
Face: Cleric

And for the truly crazy:
Melee: Warforged Wizard
Buffer/Healer: Warforged Wizard
Arcanist: Warforged Wizard
Skillmonkey: Warforged Wizard
Face: Warforged Wizard

[dextercorvia]

Buffs: Wizard/Warweaver
Traps and Locks: Wizard/Malconvoker
Divine Spam: CloisterdCleric(of Mystra)/Dweomerkeeper/Contemplative
Gish: Archivist/SacredExorcist
Utility: Bard/Spellthief/Chameleon/MiracleWorker

[Gavinfoxx]

How about...

Shugenja
Warblade
Factotum
Binder
Beguiler

That should be balanced and relatively iconic. One divine, one Melee, One Skills, one Arcane(ish), one Face, without being, you know, CRAZY POWERFUL.

[DemonRoach]

Five bards, as allready mentioned twice or more :smallwink:

Though it would be a requirement for them all to have the half-fiend template or be some form of Devil/Demon, call themselves Lordi and play the appropiate music for each encounter.

IE:

VS Devils: Devil is a Loser (They can't eveil be Lawful, so why not :P)
VS Constructs: Biomechanic Man
VS Kobolds/Goblins/other low CR things: Chainsaw Buffet
VS Undead: Kids Who Wanna Play With The Dead

I acknowledge both that the lyrics don't really work out and its a terrible idea, but that's how I roll :smallbiggrin:

[GuyLoki]

For my team... assuming these were all run by me with my playstyle. Bear in mind this is not to be optimized, its to be fun and silly and yet surprisingly capable of pulling victory out of the jaws of defeat.


Step One: Gnomish Illusionist/Wild Mage
Step Two: Bard
Step Three: Druid - for summons, wild shape, and healing
Step Four: Wildshape Ranger / MoMF
Step Five: Warforged Artificer

The only thing that would make me like that group more would be if there were a feat that allowed Bardic music to effect constructs so that all of the Artificer's effigies could get moral bonuses on their attacks.

Not the BEST group in the world, but it would be a really fun one I think.

[Marxism]

Crusader-Beatstick
Trans spec Wizard- Because having a god is nice
Cleric- Buffs and healing
Beguiler- Face and skills
Warblade- Secondary beatstick primary melee

I think this is what Wizards of the coast should have made the typical party into. 5 people each with their own job that they do. All working together. Everyone has an interesting time as they are not just saying "Oh I full attack again." I <3 ToB

[FMArthur]

Human Mystic Ranger 5 / Abjurant Champion 5 / Swiftblade 10. Takes Sword of the Arcane Order and chooses the Power Attack / Improved Sunder / Great Cleave combat style. He takes Favored Enemy: Arcanists and grabs the Trapfinding ACF for good measure. Abjurant Champion keeps his CL up and Swiftblade makes him the master of actions. The leader of the team who can do nearly anything.

Deep Imaskari Erudite 20. The best psychic in the game. No need to use its overpowered ACFs or broken UPD interpretations here. It's a damned fine class and I'd hate to see it get banned or ruin the game for other players. The Erudite is easily the most flexible psionic class, and this guy tries to learn every single power. That might set him down to 19 levels. Takes on the role a Wizard would have, mostly.

Goliath Dungeon Crasher Fighter 6 / Barbarian 1 / Crusader 11 / Swordsage 1. Power Attack, Shock Trooper and Knockback fuel this build, but it's not a one-trick pony. Devoted Spirit in combination with a reach weapon, Goliath Barbarian size increases and the above tactics allow her to dominate the battlefield and protect her allies. She can support them with White Raven maneuvers as well. The late Swordsage level gives her a huge spike in mobility and provides even more varied options.

Lesser Aasimar Savage Bard 5 / Ur-Priest 10 / War Weaver 5. Team support on steroids. I don't think I need to say anything else.

Vanara Druid 20. More targets for the Aasimar to buff, rounds out the rest of the party as a scout, melee machine and BFC caster, with more support on the side.

This party is utterly rigged, but should be loads of fun and is capable of working as a team superbly.

[Zonugal]

I think I would probably go with something like this:

Barbarian 10 (with the Whirling Frenzy & Trap-Killer variants) into Champion of Gwynharwyf 10.
Rikilan Rogue 2 (with the Rikilan substitution levels and feint death acf)/Monk 2/Rogue 6/Zhentarim Spy 5/Combat Trapsmith 5.
Sorcerer 3/Binder 2/Anima Mage 10/Abjurant Champion 5.
Cleric 3/Church Inquisitor 5/Knight of the Raven 10/Contemplative 2
Ardent 3/Totemist 2/Soul Manifester 10/Thrallherd 5

While it is a bit heavy on prestige classes and such I feel they each bring a nice feel & talent to the team. In addition though each member has synergy with another as to create duos or partners for adventures.


Barbarian teams up with the Rogue for trapfinding & getting the job done.
Barbarian teams up with the Cleric to fight undead and do divine stuff.
Rogue teams up with the Ardent for problem solving and creative solutions.
Sorcerer teams up with the Ardent for unique system versatility and major casting.
Sorcerer teams up with the Cleric to destroy battlefields and tear apart armies.
Ardent teams up with the Barbarian for wilderness survival and guerrilla warfare.

[Deimess]

The classic party is probably

Elf Wizard
Halfling Rogue
Human Fighter
Dwarf Cleric
Gnome Bard

that's the old days and is all core, at least

[noparlpf]

The classic party is probably

Elf Wizard
Halfling Rogue
Human Fighter
Dwarf Wizard
Gnome Bard

that's the old days and is all core, at least

Hehe. I remember dwarf wizards. We had one once.

[Deimess]

Hehe. I remember dwarf wizards. We had one once.

:smalleek: haha oops meant to say Cleric* I edited it to match that.

[noparlpf]

:smalleek: haha oops meant to say Cleric* I edited it to match that.

Haha that makes some greater degree of sense. Actually much more sense. And it is classic. (Though the Cha penalty might not help with turning undead.)

[Draz74]

Well, I've always got lots of ideas for interesting party compostions, but ... the goal here is "classic," huh? Let's see.


Gnome Dragonfire Adept 20
Dwarf Warblade 14 / Fighter 6
Halfling Rogue 10 / Factotum 3 / Swordsage 4 / Uncanny Trickster 3
Human Egoist 5 / Good Incarnate 1 / Sangehirn 3 / Crusader 1 / Soul Manifester 10
Wood Elf Scout 4 / Ranger 16


I wanted to sneak in some Factotum and Knowledge Devotion into that last one, but I don't think it would work so well with the racial INT penalty and so forth. (Maybe if you can switch it for a Gray Elf and ignore multiclass penalties.) And obviously switch the Halfling for a Whisper Gnome if you can get away with re-fluffing it as a Halfling subrace. :smallsmile:

Dungeoncrasher and Penetrating Strike should be so obvious I shouldn't have to mention them. The Ranger should go for Distracting Shot, too, then supplement herself with a Wild Cohort (preferably an eagle).

[Madwand99]

Swift hunter build (ranger/scout) - this guy is the trapmonkey, the ranged guy, and the DPS man.
Crusader tripmaster - could also have a few levels of barbarian, fighter, or warblade mixed in. This guy tanks and protects the party by tripping everything that tries to get near.
Focused conjuror - plays god. Multiplies party effectiveness. Any number of PrCs are possible.
Cleric RSoP - handles undead, divine spells, and healing. Very good at all of these.
Druid - For sheer awesomeness, more DPS, summons, more control and skills.

Can't think of anything these guys couldn't do.

[LordBlades]

Crusader/Cleric/RKV - Almost full cleric casting and good melee ability (especially combining stand still&thicket of blades) can grab Travel Devotion for much better battlefield mobility and of course DMM:Persist if allowed.

Druid - Full divine caster good melee ability, max spot&listen (come in handy from time to time)

Kobold cloistered cleric/contemplative (cheese to taste) - Uses Kobold domain for trapfinding and still a full caster

Wizard/Incantatrix (or whatever prestige you want) - Primary arcane caster, can use Incantatrix abilities for a bunch of persistent buffs on the whole party

Dragonfire Inspiration Warblade/Bard/Sublime Chord/JPM(drop JPM if 2 prestige is too much) - Party face out of combat. In combat uses dragonfire inspiration to boost melee damage output, White Raven Tactics to enable more actions for any of the 4 casters and can turn into a melee brute if he wants to (polymorph+snowflake wardance). Also gets 4th-9th level casting off the wizard spell list.

[Coidzor]

Crusader + Cleric > reflavored Ruby Knight Vindicator - "Paladinny" "Leader" & Tank

Bard > Virtuoso + X - Bard, face, & jack of all trades

Wizard + appropriate PrCing - Magister & Sage

Cloistered Cleric + appropriate PrCing(probably Radiant Servant of Pelor) - Holy Man & also Sage

Rogue+Prc or 2 to give it some more staying power /Factotum - Second story man, scout, and master of the trades that one doesn't need a jack for.

Probably have it set up so that the bard, roguish type, and crusader are all embroiled in the melee while the cleric & wizard more stay back, at least at first, with the bard and cleric possibly taking up some ranged support role over time, if they find themselves wanting for actions to do in combat.

[Amphetryon]

Crusader: Tank and healer.
Binder: JOAT.
Warlock: Artillery archer, scout, and UMD-monkey.
Dread Necromancer: Undead master, 2nd-line tank, and summons' spammer.
Hexblade: Debuffer and tank.

[Angeal976]

An OA samurai/Iaijutsu master/Hoturi's blade
A ninja who dual wields Kama
A paladin/cavalier with charging mounted combat and dual wield lances
A duskblade with a greatsword and an earth elemental familiar who actually fights
A fighter/tempest who dual wields axes

Aw yeah! All melee team!

[Ardantis]

I gotta agree with Deimess-

Elf Wizard
Halfling Rogue
Human Fighter
Dwarf Cleric
Gnome Bard

Still plenty of room for optimization, especially if these are just the lvl 1 classes.

I'd say straight up Archmage for the wizard; I'm really not so sure what to do with rogues; dungeoncrasher, tripping and charging for the fighter into maybe exotic weapon master for the spiked chain?; Cleric is all about STAYING CLERIC; and the Bard can go Sublime Chord.