Which classes/builds should I look at to try to cover party roles?

[saintstardust]

I play in a group with party members that frequently change due to schedule conflicts. I was wondering which class/build might be able to be decent at multiple roles, particularly in the tank and healer categories (but dabbling in more versatility of damage, control, social, etc.)?

[Foxhound438]

I believe Paladin checks all of those boxes-

d10 hit die plus heavy armor is tanky
lay on hands plus cure wounds/aura of vitality does some healing, albeit not the best in the world
high charisma makes social interaction viable
spells like command and wrathful smite give some amount of control, and certain oaths can expand on these
divine smite gives all the damage in the world if you really need to

downside is that your ranged damage is trash to nonexistent, and stealth is out of the question. If you want to be able to cover both of those as well, you'll have to sacrifice a bit in AC and make a dex build.

[Aett_Thorn]

I'll put my usual plug in for the Arcana Cleric. Gives good utility, you can take the SCAG cantrips for melee damage (and/or Word of Radiance from XtgE if you have access to it), with Medium Armor and a Shield, it can go into melee without too much problem, and has access to all of the usual Cleric options like Spirit Guardians.

[2D8HP]

....decent at multiple roles, particularly in the tank and healer categories (but dabbling in more versatility of damage, control, social, etc.)?.
What is meant by the "control" role?

[the_brazenburn]

For both tanking and healing, both War Cleric and Paladin provide excellent opportunities. Cleric has more spells, so more versatility and much better ranged damage, plus near-unlimited buffs and heals. They also get access to Revivify, so if you anticipate needing rezzes in combat, pick this guy. The pally, on the other hand, can definitely output more damage, especially at low level, and can tank for much, much longer due to its higher HD. It has fewer spells and half as many slots, but you can just use them to spam Divine Smite and use Lay on Hands for your healing. Go with paladin if you expect long dungeon crawls or very, very combat-heavy adventures.

[Aett_Thorn]

.
What is meant by the "control" role?

Likely someone with 'control'-type spells. Hold Person, Hypnotic Pattern, Slow, etc.

[nickl_2000]

Valour Bard - Has good control spells, has decent gish abilities, knows lots of healing
Lore Bard - With Magic secrets and major skills, can fill almost any role but tank
Hexblade Warlock - Can be blasty, has decent AC, can fight with weapons, can hut from a distance with EB
Paladin - Tank and good spells
Tortle Moon Druid - 19 AC base with Shell and Shield, Full caster with lots of battlefield control and summons, can also wildshape and be a major damage sponge, and knows all the healing you need (especially if Healing Spirit is allowed)

[opaopajr]

Really, 5e is surprisingly strong in having just about any class work well on this respect. The reason being is Background perks, Archetypes, and Equipment can cover so much. Throw in houserule expansions, especially for equipment and magical gear, and it's hard to make a useless one-note.

Heck, a Champion fighter with decent CHA, some caltrops/oil/ball bearings, and potions of healing or healing kit (esp. w/ Healer feat) covers all that you asked for. :smallamused:

But the obvious class choice for tanky healer would be Cleric. :smallsmile:

More important, what sounds FUN to you? Give us a race/class combo and we can most likely get you to your desired goal. We might even be able to do it with something unusual, too! (No promises of greatness, but amusement is assured. :smalltongue: )

[mer.c]

Off the top of my head, there are two single-class build that tick all your boxes.

First, you can go Cleric. Preferably one with Heavy Armor proficiency to help with tanking (but not necessary if you can get strong Dex and good Medium Armor). This gives you high-level tankiness from armor and shield, powerful healing, battlefield control (Spirit Guardians and Guardian of Faith are excellent in this regard), powerful buffs (Bless, Aid), and even some direct damage (Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon).

Second, you could go Moon Druid. Your humanoid form isn’t super durable because of no metal armors, but you get two Wild Shapes per short rest, which give you big gobs of extra HP. You can offset the low AC of most wildshapes with Barkskin (bringing it to 16), or you can instead concentrate on a control spell (Entangle, Hold Person, Spike Growth), damage (Flaming Sphere, Moonbeam, Call Lightning), or a summoning spell. Outside your wild shapes, you have full caster progression to fall back on, including strong healing and good utility.

The one place you mentioned where both do less well is in skill proficiencies, but you can compensate for that with your background features, possibly racial skills, the fact that Wisdom skills are generally really useful, and the Enhance Ability spell letting you dish out advantage on skill checks. Also, Pass Without Trace for Druid is absolutely insane when stealth is a factor.

Also note that many of the key spells for both builds are concentration. If you want to remain on the front lines, you’ll probably want to get Resilient: Con and/or War Caster to keep from dropping them all the time. This is especially true for Moon Druids. While you’re wildshaped, you’re not a very threatening tank without a spell going and your AC is generally quite weak.

That said, if you really want top-tier fill-(almost)-any-hole versatility, and you’re OK with not being able to tank, Lore Bard is an exceptional option. Buffs, debuffs, healing, battlefield control, Expertise, Jack of All Trades, Magic Secrets at level 6 to grab any 2 spells from any class list, Inspiration, Cutting Words; it’s basically the flexibility subclass.

If you really want to tank (and you won’t be the best tank ever this way, but you’ll be much better), you could go Valor bard for the extra armor and shields, but you lose a lot of the flexibility that way. Maybe start as a martial class if it’s a dealbreaker. I can see starting 2 Paladin for armor, shields, Divine Smite, and a Fighting Style (Defense or Protection, probably), although you’ll need 13 Str for the multiclass and 15 for heavy armor. Fighter 1 can be MCd with 13 Dex, which should be easy for you (then go medium armor with decent Dex), and can also give you a fighting style and proficiency in Constitution saves, which is super important if you want to concentrate on spells while in the front lines. Or, you could always go Mountain Dwarf for medium armor, although they don’t get shields.

Or you could just follow most of the other advice posted here, which is also really good. :)

[Eradis]

Experience thought me that playing on your strengths and weaknesses alike is a key factor to enjoy fully your game. You can always work your way around your party's weakness with cleverness. Stuck without a tank or any other front liner? Fine, avoid venturing in plain sight on the commonly raided roads and take the side path. It might slow you down, but you should get the drop on your enemies more often than they do. No healer? Alright, well, focus as much as you can on controlling the battlefield, extending the duration of the fight, but minimizing injuries. And so on... If you want to have easier access to pretty much anything, as many mentioned, Bard, Cleric and Druid are good versatile classes. Personally I'd go Bard for skill versatility, Cleric for fighting in the fray and Druid for an half-way support/control and fighting (if you go moon circle), or more support oriented and personal interest (for land circle). But honestly, all classes are versatile in their own way. A fighter will be a versatile warrior, apt in both melee and range, Wizard can be great at support, control or damage, etc.

[Biggstick]

Nothing really additional to contribute that hasn't been already said. Cleric is capable of filling many roles in regards to combat, while Bard is amazing at filling out of combat roles. Neither though, is going to be that great at contributing on the damage front, but in my experience, that's usually not a problem.

[Gtdead]

Sorcadin. (Tank, Healing, Nova, Spell Support, High Charisma)

I prefer the Paladin 2/ Dragon Sorcerer X variation. Vhuman with alert, Defender+Shield+Armor+Blur makes him pretty much invincible, GFB offers good frontline damage, with quickens and smites for Nova potential. Lay on Hands in case someone gets knocked out.

High charisma and smart spell choices can help in social situations.

Falls a bit behind on the spell curve, but Fireball remains relevant for quite a while and has access to twin buff shenanigans.

Perhaps a dip into Hexblade can make this better, but I haven't worked out the specifics yet.


Archer Wizard (DPR, Spell Support)

This is a crazy little build that I've been developing for quite a while now.
It's basically a Bladesinger with Sharpshooter and CE

At lvl 9, he has access to greater invisibility, a second attack, a possible lvl 1 Fighter Dip.
Later at lvl 12 he can pop Tenser's Transformation.
At Wizard 18/Fighter 2, he can deal stupid amounts of dmg with simulacrum and action surge.

And while doing all these, he has access to the full wizard spell list, better than average survivability with shield, misty step and later song of defense, he has the option to attack from half a mile away.

I'd consider this build for a high level campaign though.

[Specter]

I've been discussing Valor Bards so much I need to throw a vote for them here.

[2D8HP]

Likely someone with 'control'-type spells. Hold Person, Hypnotic Pattern, Slow, etc..
Thank you!
:smile:

[Citan]

I play in a group with party members that frequently change due to schedule conflicts. I was wondering which class/build might be able to be decent at multiple roles, particularly in the tank and healer categories (but dabbling in more versatility of damage, control, social, etc.)?
Some of what I will say below will be redundant but anyways...

- Single-class, easy: Paladin
- Single-class, nearly as easy: Moon Druid.
- Single-class, with DM help: Bladesinger Wizard (no healing though but Healer feat).
- Single-class, less variability but better skills: Bard.

- Multiclass: anything with a few levels of Rogue or Bard (skills), Cleric (healing/buffs) and caster providing up to 3rd level control/damage spellcasting.

A Shadow Monk / Divine Soul Sorcerer / Warlock with Devil Sight could actually end as a great gish, although difficult to level up.
Easy ways are Sorcerer mixed with Cleric, Paladin or Arcane Trickster / Eldricht Knight. Or Land / Shepherd Druid mixed with any martial.