Your perfect party (3.5/PF)

[Seharvepernfan]

Just as the title says; what would your perfect party be?

Let's assume that you control all the characters (or you're DMing for this party), and let's assume three different games here:

1 - Regular 3.5

2 - 3.5, but no tier 1 or 2 classes

3 - PF (optional)

I know many of you love gestalt, so feel free to list gestalt parties as well.

"Perfect" is entirely subjective. It could mean "mechanically well-rounded", "personal preference", "fun to play", etc.

[Hamste]

1 is a team of 2 clerics, druid and wizard for me (a bit light on social but hopefully one of the clerics could cover it)

3 is a team of 2 clerics, synthesist summoner and wizard (possibly replacing a cleric for an oracle or druid)

2 is a team of 4 bards simply for all the jokes that can come from it.

[Snowbluff]

I'd do Dread Necro, Warmage, Warblade, Bard, Beguiler. That'd be some balanced and fun stuff going on. Bard would fashion himself as a bit of an archer.

[sideswipe]

a true namer, a shadow caster, a fighter, and a samurai (the bad one)

just so the tag line could be "YES WE CAN" and they can prove that they are finally playable classes.

I know the fighter is playable as a dip. but seriously has anyone ever gone fighter only above lvl 5?

but seriously, I don't really have a perfect party. its the mix of players and classes with different levels of op that make my games fun.

[Kudaku]

PF:


(Dervish Dance) face Bard
Bit of a glass cannon but excellent attack and damage output, excellent secondary source of arcane magic with many of the utility spells the magus misses, good skill spread, can second knowledge skills with the Magus.


Conversion Inquisition Tank Inquisitor
Excellent secondary face to the bard, very viable defensive options, provides various forms of divine magic as needed via scrolls and wands (lesser restoration, remove disease etc).


Bladebound Magus
Similar to the bard in that he is a bit of a glass cannon when he goes all out, INT focus provides a good set of skill ranks, takes main responsibility for INT skills - spellcraft, knowledge etc.


Switch Hitter Ranger
Rounds out the party nicely, provides a bit of ranged firepower when needed. Again a good set of skills, lots of useful class features that round out the party nicely.


With all of these classes getting 6 or more skill ranks per level they could collectively max out most of the skill options in Pathfinder. Not having a single 9th level spellcaster hurts but I wanted to keep them all on roughly the same tier. I think this would be a nicely rounded party where everyone contributes, with no one dominating or stealing the spotlight.

[Snowbluff]

a true namer, a shadow caster, a fighter, and a samurai (the bad one)

just so the tag line could be "YES WE CAN" and they can prove that they are finally playable classes.

I know the fighter is playable as a dip. but seriously has anyone ever gone fighter only above lvl 5?

but seriously, I don't really have a perfect party. its the mix of players and classes with different levels of op that make my games fun.
I did a game where everyone played classes T4 and below. I spent a lot of time healing the paladin who was being smacked by an ogre over and over...

I've also played a level 11 fighter. :smalltongue:

[sideswipe]

I did a game where everyone played classes T4 and below. I spent a lot of time healing the paladin who was being smacked by an ogre over and over...

I've also played a level 11 fighter. :smalltongue:

wow Your the pioneer :smallbiggrin:
I have played a truenamer, and it was the third favourite character i have ever had.

[Phelix-Mu]

1.) Druid, cleric, warlock, skillmonkey/stealth. I actually ran a long-lasting campaign for a group like this, though the warlock was eventually replaced with a soulknife/melee charger. It worked really well, surprisingly, but the campaign was admittedly pretty low-op.

2.) Bard, warblade or crusader, binder, factotum.

3.) Almost no experience with PF.

[D4rkh0rus]

1 wold probably be 4 clerics, one a church inquisitor, another a radiant servant of pelor. Both with some lvls in contemplative. Then a cloistered cleric and a archivist with that feat that makes it an int caster.

Now the catch. They all believe that they follow this superhuman deity called "Teh Emprah" oh and the radiant servant of pelor is named edrick boreil


2 would probably encompass a warblade (overall damage and leader) a something x/chameleon (spell support, social skills), a rogue/deepwood sniper (ranged and outdoor/stealth skills), beguiler (trap skills, good spells)


Another take on 2 wold be the fun party.
Adept, warrior, Aristocrat and chicken infested commoner.

[Snowbluff]

wow Your the pioneer :smallbiggrin:
I have played a truenamer, and it was the third favourite character i have ever had. I was a fighter guy when I was young. The Healer was for a T4 Competence Test, though. :smalltongue:

I've always wanted to play a truenamer. I am not sure how I would go about it.

[Bigbeefie]

My ideal Pathfinder party is:

Divine Hunter Paladin Archer

Switch Hitter Ranger

God Conjuration Wizard

Evangelist Cleric

This party ends fights usually before a response can be made from enemies. It can also accomplish darn near anything with both full casters.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

1. Illumian Beguiler/Wizard/Ultimate Magus; Druid; Druid; Cleric.

2. Wildshape Mystic Ranger/Master of Many Forms/Warshaper; Beguiler; Bard/Sublime Chord; Bard/Ur-Priest.

[Seerow]

I know the fighter is playable as a dip. but seriously has anyone ever gone fighter only above lvl 5?


I rolled up a level 6 Fighter for an E6 game a while ago. Haven't played it yet (have it as a backup should an active character die, or barring that to use as an enemy next time I'm in the DM seat), but I took advantage of the fact that E6 recommends lower point buys rather than actual LA for high LA races. Half-Minotaur Goliath Fighter 6 with Dungeoncrasher, Knockback and a bunch of feats supporting that is simply deadly at EL6/CR6. And it can just keep on adding on to that same trick up to somewhere around level 6+15 feats (which is effectively EL9), before running out of synergistic options to help it.





On the actual OP's question, I don't think I do have a perfect party. But a party of fun characters I'd like to see would probably be:
1) The Conductor. A Bard with Born of Three Thunders who has Perform(Tesla Coil), and focuses almost exclusively on Sonic/Electric spells, plus inspire courage (lightning of course). Possibly going into Sublime Chord depending on level of play.

2) The Wannabe Paladin. Paladin2/Binder3/Knight of the Sacred Seal5/whatever X. The Paladin who gets Turn Undead (hi Divine/Devotion feats!) and Smite Evil both on a 4 round cooldown, great all around saves, the ability to give up either Turn Undead or Smite for some extra utility situationally.

3) The do-it-all guy. aka Factotum/Chameleon. Yes, there's already a Bard in the group, but Factotum and Bard can both max out their skills and still have almost no overlap. For Combat, he plays as an Archer and takes full advantage of the DFI buffs from the bard. This is probably a more common build, but it's one I haven't seen in play and sounds like it'd be fun.

4) The Summoner. Druid with a focus on summoning/support. Ideally trading out Wildshape for something that helps that, and taking a prestige class that supports it, but this is something I haven't looked too closely at. But definitely take all of the Augment Summoning, Imbue Summoning, Elemental Summoning, etc abilities. More synergy with the Bard, still lots of utility/buffing in the back pocket to help out, and covers the party's travel needs if the Bard ends up not being a sublime chord.

[Malcador]

In 3.5, I've always wanted to try a party with 6 Psions, one from each discipline.

[Thrawn183]

2) Fighter, Fighter, Rogue, Rogue, Healer.

[ChaoticDitz]

Really, the perfect party is a party that has all the classes and playstyles that all the players and the DM think constitute the perfect party, but of course no group could ever have that perfect a dynamic amongst its members.

I warn you now, this is based on fun, and I usually play in VERY low-op groups.

1) Sword-n-Board Paladin/Melee Cleric leader, Blaster Wizard, Ranger/Druid Archer, Chaotic Swashbuckler, and Rogue/rogue-y thing... That last one should be a dwarf, too, but that bias just comes from the fact that in the very first game I played a fellow party member was a dwarf rogue, and at the time I thought it synergized incredibly well despite the dwarf's lawful lean.

2) Not much different, I guess. Paladin into Divine Crusader or Shining Blade of Hieroneous (with a clause that gives Paladins full spell progression, because a Paladin just doesn't feel Paladin-y to me any more if it doesn't get Holy Sword and Restoration) as the leader, some specialized utility (is that an oxymoron?) caster, an Invocation or Soulmeld user (such as Warlock or Incarnate), and Rogue, possibly of the Psychic variety.

3) Don't have enough experience with Pathfinder to say anything here.

[Alent]

1) I think I'll stand with everyone here and just go if it's "perfect", and 3.5, it's tier 1 all the way with the tier 2 skill monkey in tow: Cleric, Druid, Wizard, Craft Contingent Spell Artificer, Factotum.

2) When you throw Tier 1 and 2 out the window, tho', it becomes different. I look more for specialists and utility, but don't have enough experience with straight 3.5 to have a complete idea of what I want, but in general, something full of skillmonkeys and socialites w/ combat utility like: bardblade, Swordsage, Binderlock, Wildshape Ranger, PsyRogue

3) When you start looking at pathfinder, your ideal party begins looking something like this: Synthesist Summoner x4, Handle animal optimized Ranger. The Ranger's just there to tame the Tarrasque when you find him, the Summoners do all the work.

[Seharvepernfan]

1 - Human Cloistered Cleric (Pelor - Sun/Good/Knowledge), Gnome Artificer, Half-Orc Scout/Druid/Prestige Ranger (except without the backwards feat prereqs), Dwarf Fighter 1/Cleric (War/Str), Half-elf Beguiler/Prestige Bard, Elf Rogue/Shadowdancer 1, Halfling Diviner/Loremaster/Archmage

2 - (Gestalt) Human Factotum//Warblade, Elf Scout//Unarmed Swordsage, Dwarf Dragon Shaman (Gold)//Crusader, Half-elf Duskblade//Beguiler (with martial stance [island of blades] & shadow trickster,), Half-Orc Ranger//Healer, Gnome Warmage//Binder
(my "special forces" team)

3 - Gnome Summoner (biped yeti), Dwarf Cleric (Liberation/Strength), Half-elf Rogue, Elf Magus, Halfling Bard

4 - (My houserules) Human Diviner/Loremaster/Archmage, Gnome Priestess (Good/Sun/Healing/Knowledge/Magic/Protection), Half-Orc Paladin, Dwarf Cleric (War/Str/Destruction/Fire/Law), Half-Elf Bard/Arcane Trickster, Elf Ranger