Does this group seem balanced?

[Dudewithknives]

Hey guys,

Here is the deal.

Starting a new game and people are getting characters build but I think we might have an issue on balance.

All with normal point buy and official races and such with the exception of we each get a free feat at level 1.

We have:

An open hand monk who fights with a spear or quarterstaff.

A lizardfolk moon druid.

A rogue, probably going scout.

And a raven queen blaster warlock.

Here is the issue:

Nobody in the group has a good strength.
The best ac is the monk and druid at 17 each.
Nobody has a D 10 or better hid die and I can not imagine anyone having a con over 14 but the druid.

I am not sure we are sturdy enough to make it through a rather hard campaign.


P.s. this is for the Out of the Abyss campaign, but please no spoilers.

[nickl_2000]

The moon druid will do a decent job being a damage sponge, just make sure that he either encounters the better animals or has them from his background. This will give you a pretty strong frontliner that can take some abuse. If you are worried about it as you get further along, give him some magic items that will work in his animal form (bracers of defense, ring of protection, etc) and rule that they will resize with the animal size.

Your only healer is also the Druid, who is going to be in animal form for many of the combats. So, you should be generous with finding/buying discount healing potions as well.

If you find they are dropping like flies and barely surviving, balance it out with magic items or drop the power of some of the encounters to balance it out.

[mephnick]

It's going to be a very mobile group with amazing scouting capabilities. If they play to those strengths and plan well they should be fine.

They'll adapt or die :)

[Dudewithknives]

It's going to be a very mobile group with amazing scouting capabilities. If they play to those strengths and plan well they should be fine.

They'll adapt or die :)


The moon druid will do a decent job being a damage sponge, just make sure that he either encounters the better animals or has them from his background. This will give you a pretty strong frontliner that can take some abuse. If you are worried about it as you get further along, give him some magic items that will work in his animal form (bracers of defense, ring of protection, etc) and rule that they will resize with the animal size.

Your only healer is also the Druid, who is going to be in animal form for many of the combats. So, you should be generous with finding/buying discount healing potions as well.

If you find they are dropping like flies and barely surviving, balance it out with magic items or drop the power of some of the encounters to balance it out.

I am playing the Warlock, not running the game.

The other players are new to 5e and only played Pathfinder for about a year.
They are all smart players and are not going to do something stupid or anything, but they are not experienced D&D mechanic strategists.

I want everyone to have a great time with this because from what I hear it is a very long campaign, however I also hear that Out of the Abyss is pretty unforgiving and challenging.
I am all for that, I have been playing D&D since 3rd edition was new on the shelf.

I just hope the group is well rounded enough to handle everything without getting in too much of a hole.

Again no spoilers please.
This is the first time I have gotten to play in a game in like 2 years and I want to go in blind.

[MBControl]

Not a lot of beef, but you do have a lot of tools.

The rogue and monk will get some damage in, a bit of healing and tanking with the druid, caster in the warlock.

You cover the bases, and if they survive, it will help shape the characters as they level up.

Go for it.

[nickl_2000]

I am playing the Warlock, not running the game.

The other players are new to 5e and only played Pathfinder for about a year.
They are all smart players and are not going to do something stupid or anything, but they are not experienced D&D mechanic strategists.

I want everyone to have a great time with this because from what I hear it is a very long campaign, however I also hear that Out of the Abyss is pretty unforgiving and challenging.
I am all for that, I have been playing D&D since 3rd edition was new on the shelf.

I just hope the group is well rounded enough to handle everything without getting in too much of a hole.

Again no spoilers please.
This is the first time I have gotten to play in a game in like 2 years and I want to go in blind.


Missed that piece that you weren't DMing, although the No Spoilers comment makes a lot more sense now. If you don't get help in the way of magic items, you will need to be careful and cautious. As the other person said, adjust or perish.

A suggestion I would have though is try and persuade your DM to allow you to cast several of the new UA starter spells. Healing Elixir could really help you survive. Snare, Cause fear, and Puppet can very helpful battlefield control spells.

[BoxANT]

With everyone getting an extra feat at 1st, having the Healer and Inspiring Leader feats would help a lot. Would take pressure off the druid/tank, especially if the rogue goes Thief so they can use the healer feat as a bonus action.

[Specter]

The Moon Druid will do a good job casting stuff like Entangle, Faerie Fire, Cure Wounds, Conjure Animals, and all the stuff that will put the battle in your favor. Ironically, turning into animals should be the least of his worries.

[Foxhound438]

2 issues that I would have if I were looking for a "standard team":

1) you have a tank/healer, which is kind of fine, but moon druid can at any time be just one or the other... meaning, you're always missing one

2) it looks like you're high on ranged dps roles but don't have much for area damage. Note that I consider monk a ranged dps substitute, since it doesn't really have the hp to stand there in melee.

but role balance is rarely an issue outside of pre-made stuff, since your DM can tailor make encounters to fit your group.

[Herobizkit]

It looks like your team will be through the roof on Stealth capability. I'd encourage your team to lean into that.

Given that surprise is your best ally, you may want to choose your races carefully. Abysses tend to be... deep.